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Sea Change
Injured on duty and no longer fit for active service, soon-to-be-ex-Coast Guard Bran Kaulana is drifting, filling his days helping out at the Wai Ola Rescue Center, one of Honolulu’s wildlife charities. He’s working with the new veterinary, Steve, a man drawn to O’ahu by his fascination with dolphins. As their friendship slowly deepens into love, the two men are caught up in the mystery of injured seals and dolphins, a ruthless gang of smugglers and a not-so-dormant undersea lava vent.
432 pages, ebook
First published May 1, 2010
106 people want to read
About the author
Chris Quinton
47 books99 followersChris started creating stories not long after she mastered joined-up writing, somewhat to the bemusement of her parents and her English teachers. But she received plenty of encouragement. Her dad gave her an already old Everest typewriter when she was about ten, and it was probably the best gift she'd ever received – until the inventions of the home-computer and the worldwide web.
Chris's reading and writing interests range from historical, mystery, and paranormal, to science-fiction and fantasy, mostly in the male/male genre. She also writes male/female novels in the name of Chris Power. She refuses to be pigeon-holed and intends to uphold the long and honourable tradition of the Eccentric Brit to the best of her ability. In her spare time [hah!] she reads, embroiders, quilts and knits. In the past she has been a part-time and unpaid amateur archaeologist, and a 15th century re-enactor.
She currently lives in a small and ancient city in the south-west of the United Kingdom, sharing her usually chaotic home with an extended family, two large dogs, fancy mice, sundry goldfish and a young frilled dragon (Australian lizard) aka Trogdorina.
Chris's reading and writing interests range from historical, mystery, and paranormal, to science-fiction and fantasy, mostly in the male/male genre. She also writes male/female novels in the name of Chris Power. She refuses to be pigeon-holed and intends to uphold the long and honourable tradition of the Eccentric Brit to the best of her ability. In her spare time [hah!] she reads, embroiders, quilts and knits. In the past she has been a part-time and unpaid amateur archaeologist, and a 15th century re-enactor.
She currently lives in a small and ancient city in the south-west of the United Kingdom, sharing her usually chaotic home with an extended family, two large dogs, fancy mice, sundry goldfish and a young frilled dragon (Australian lizard) aka Trogdorina.
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
May 28, 2010
Everyone that knows me for a bit, knows that I love long books and this book was long, certainly for m/m standards. It has 432 pages in pdf.
Absolutely wonderful!
The story is about a vet Steve and a soon-to-be former coast guard Bran on Hawaii. In their spare time they work at sea life rescue centre. Next to the long detailed story about how the couple comes together it tells about an increase in hurt dolphins and seals and how they discover an illegal wreck diving organisation with nasty consequences.
Don't expect a lot of sex scenes, there are not, certainly when you take in account that the first kiss happens after page 300. But instead you get a story about how two people slowly realise they are perfect for each other. With they help of an array of entertaining characters.
All in all a very good read. Highly recommended.
Absolutely wonderful!
The story is about a vet Steve and a soon-to-be former coast guard Bran on Hawaii. In their spare time they work at sea life rescue centre. Next to the long detailed story about how the couple comes together it tells about an increase in hurt dolphins and seals and how they discover an illegal wreck diving organisation with nasty consequences.
Don't expect a lot of sex scenes, there are not, certainly when you take in account that the first kiss happens after page 300. But instead you get a story about how two people slowly realise they are perfect for each other. With they help of an array of entertaining characters.
All in all a very good read. Highly recommended.
June 3, 2010
I wanted to enjoy this book more than I did. I really like long, plot-filled romances: my favorite m/m romance type has parallel action and romance plots that enrich each other and often reflect each other thematically. I am not crazy about multiple sex scenes that don't move the plot forward. So it would seem that Sea Change (plot heavy with minimal sex) would be right up my alley. But I was disappointed in this book overall.
I never connected with either Bram or Steve, though goodness knows I wanted to. The point of the book, it seems to me, is that the ultimate relationship is based on a long friendship that simply kept growing into a sexual relationship. There were several times that this was mentioned by one of the main characters, but I never saw it. The intimacy of their friendship alone never seemed intense on an emotional level to me; overall, that's one of the problems with the book, that there wasn't much emotional intensity here at all. What was there...was *told* and not *shown.* I never experienced it along with the characters the way one does in the best of books.
I was bothered quite a bit by the role of the women in the book on two levels. First, they were exclusively observers/reactors/weak. And second, they attempted to put the two men together and were vocal in their rejoicing when they finally did. Especially the second struck me as not only annoying in the extreme but also highly unrealistic. What two men would tolerate such interference in their lives?
I do think the author has loads of talent, but she picked a plot that grew unwieldy, I think. She never succeeded in making it crystal clear and *vibrant* for me. I think it should have been considerably streamlined. (For instance, how many times does Bran think he needs to contact the police department? That kind of repetition could have been cut with no loss.) And her cast of characters was too large. Most of them were simply names for me without substance and no real role to play. So much as I like long books, I do think at least one-quarter of this book should have been edited down. Overall, I do think it would have benefited from a really good, involved editor who not only waded in and found the strands that needed to be pared, but also encouraged the author to inject some life into the proceedings. What was there seemed forced to me, not welling up from the inner core of either Bram or Steve. I needed a lot more genuine emotion than I got.
I never connected with either Bram or Steve, though goodness knows I wanted to. The point of the book, it seems to me, is that the ultimate relationship is based on a long friendship that simply kept growing into a sexual relationship. There were several times that this was mentioned by one of the main characters, but I never saw it. The intimacy of their friendship alone never seemed intense on an emotional level to me; overall, that's one of the problems with the book, that there wasn't much emotional intensity here at all. What was there...was *told* and not *shown.* I never experienced it along with the characters the way one does in the best of books.
I was bothered quite a bit by the role of the women in the book on two levels. First, they were exclusively observers/reactors/weak. And second, they attempted to put the two men together and were vocal in their rejoicing when they finally did. Especially the second struck me as not only annoying in the extreme but also highly unrealistic. What two men would tolerate such interference in their lives?
I do think the author has loads of talent, but she picked a plot that grew unwieldy, I think. She never succeeded in making it crystal clear and *vibrant* for me. I think it should have been considerably streamlined. (For instance, how many times does Bran think he needs to contact the police department? That kind of repetition could have been cut with no loss.) And her cast of characters was too large. Most of them were simply names for me without substance and no real role to play. So much as I like long books, I do think at least one-quarter of this book should have been edited down. Overall, I do think it would have benefited from a really good, involved editor who not only waded in and found the strands that needed to be pared, but also encouraged the author to inject some life into the proceedings. What was there seemed forced to me, not welling up from the inner core of either Bram or Steve. I needed a lot more genuine emotion than I got.
June 16, 2010
I so badly wanted to love this book from the premise and the locale (Hawaii) but I got bogged down by the endless introduction of new characters and had to go back constantly to check who people were...it says something about a book when you are 210 pages into it and you care more about the B storyline - in this case, the work of rescuing and rehabbing injured marine life - than you do about the nonexistent love story.
It took a long time for any spark of a relationship to emerge between Bran and Steve.
Don't get me wrong. I don't need hot sex every five pages...but some dramatic tension between them was needed. Considering the premise that Chris is straight and Bran is determined to start dating women, so much more could have been made of this.
For me the Hawaiian characters never sounded Hawaiian. They all sound British and there are some weird things going on with edits. One character is called a veterinary. She should be a veterinarian.
I won't give up on the author...who has some talent. I found the coast guard scenes were really wonderful.
It took a long time for any spark of a relationship to emerge between Bran and Steve.
Don't get me wrong. I don't need hot sex every five pages...but some dramatic tension between them was needed. Considering the premise that Chris is straight and Bran is determined to start dating women, so much more could have been made of this.
For me the Hawaiian characters never sounded Hawaiian. They all sound British and there are some weird things going on with edits. One character is called a veterinary. She should be a veterinarian.
I won't give up on the author...who has some talent. I found the coast guard scenes were really wonderful.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 21, 2012
This book started out at a very gentle pace; a little gfy, a little bit friends-to-lovers. Most of it details how two men come to terms with their attraction for one another, one who's back-and-forthing with his sexuality and the other struggling with bereavement. It was all very drawn out, but I enjoyed the slow build. I also really loved the Hawaiian setting, which was wonderfully used, as well the backdrop of an animal rescue organization. And Harvey the three-legged dog. These thing I liked, and they completely overshadowed the things I did not like.
My biggest problem with this book is that its entire allotment of drama happens in the last 15%. There's some background plot that happens in fits and starts throughout the bookend eventually explodes riiight at the end, and I just didn't really care about it. My other issue was that there were too many people in this book, most of whom don't say or do much and so I found it impossible to remember names. Also, . Then there was the meddling harpy women (which is a major annoyance for me).
But, okay, overall this book was a lovely read. And the 400+ page count seems like a lie. Yes, there were 400-odd pages but it went by waaay too quickly.
My biggest problem with this book is that its entire allotment of drama happens in the last 15%. There's some background plot that happens in fits and starts throughout the bookend eventually explodes riiight at the end, and I just didn't really care about it. My other issue was that there were too many people in this book, most of whom don't say or do much and so I found it impossible to remember names. Also, . Then there was the meddling harpy women (which is a major annoyance for me).
But, okay, overall this book was a lovely read. And the 400+ page count seems like a lie. Yes, there were 400-odd pages but it went by waaay too quickly.
February 3, 2012
4.5 rounded up to 5
a beautiful friends-to-lovers story, set in the exotic environment of Hawai'i, with witty banter all around, a vast cast of likeable characters (human and otherwise) and just the right amount of Disney-esque considerate animals to appeal to my little inner stargazer...what's not to like? My only niggle was that the narrative voice repetitively told me about the main characters' state of mind and feelings for each other instead of just letting them show me how they felt.
a beautiful friends-to-lovers story, set in the exotic environment of Hawai'i, with witty banter all around, a vast cast of likeable characters (human and otherwise) and just the right amount of Disney-esque considerate animals to appeal to my little inner stargazer...what's not to like? My only niggle was that the narrative voice repetitively told me about the main characters' state of mind and feelings for each other instead of just letting them show me how they felt.
May 19, 2010
"Damn it, Steve, do you know how irritating you can be?"
"Yup, honed by years of practice on top of natural talent. Go ahead."
Loved Aloes & so had looked forward to starting this one. It didn't disappoint - very enjoyable. Slow build up of the romance & not one if you're looking for multi-sex scenes, but a good character-driven read.
"Yup, honed by years of practice on top of natural talent. Go ahead."
Loved Aloes & so had looked forward to starting this one. It didn't disappoint - very enjoyable. Slow build up of the romance & not one if you're looking for multi-sex scenes, but a good character-driven read.
September 3, 2011
Good book. Chris Quinton really did work hard on that book. I recommend book to those who don't have problem with slow coming together. Both main characters are very interesting and for my part I really did enjoy that book very much.
May 6, 2010
I think I fell in love with Steve, then Bran, then Steve, then Bran again. I loved this story, the setting, the mystery and loving. Really clever to use the backdrop of the vets and the rescue centre for the tale of intrigue. I adored that Steve was in denial, I loved when he stopped to think, beautiful stark images of what he had maybe missed out on. Brilliant.
July 2, 2010
4.5 stars. Really enjoyed this book. Great protags, nice build-up of romance from friends to lovers, interesting mystery plot. A few niggles such as too many secondary characters which was a bit confusing kept it from being a 5 star read, but otherwise highly recommended.
February 13, 2018
3.5 stars
maybe
March 2, 2024First kiss on page 300. Most of book spent on plot with one man straight and the other deciding to date only women.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Read
December 27, 2010The first book I read by this author was a paranormal fantasy about some mythological scottish creature. Even if I was surprise by the quality of the book in comparison to the publisher (now, don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that publisher is not good, I’m saying that usually they point to a more fast-written/fast-read target), I was not so surprise by the detailed setting and characterization, after all the author was English, and so, in a way, she had maybe a vantage point in accessing such knowledge to make the story believable, even if it was a paranormal setting.
This time, even if this is a contemporary novel, I’m surprised the author managed the same achievement with a totally stranger setting; the Hawaiian culture is pretty popular, for different reason, to the US author, but I think it had to be difficult for a stranger to reach such detailed background. True, one of the main character is British, but all the quite rich cast is plain American. Plus, due to the length of the novel, more of 400 pages, there was plenty of chances to be caught in mistake, and for as much I can, that didn’t happened.
I also liked the many parallelism the author did with the title of the book: Sea Change of course refers to one of the main character of the novel, the Sea indead, which bind together Bran, a former US Coast Guard, and Steve, a British vet with a specialization in sea animals. The I think the “sea change” refers also to the tides and to the changes happening with them: Bran has always thought his life was to be a Coast Guard, but now, due to a work related accident, he is no more fit to the role; he has to rethink his life, and he is not sure of where this change will lead him. While Bran is unsure of his career future, I didn’t detect any uncertainty on his sexual awareness, Bran is gay and he has no intention to go back in the closet, not even for a man he could arrive to love. On the other hand, while Steve has his future career planned ahead of him, he has not the same clear path on an emotional level: he professes to be straight, and in search of the right woman, but he had at least a long-term relationship (6 months at 20 years old is long-term) with a college roommate, and so, he is not total against the idea of having a relationship with Bran, only that he is not exactly ready to be open with that. I don’t know but maybe since Bran has issues with a lot of his life aspect but apparently not with his sexuality, maybe he cannot accept to barter also on that, and so for him it’s all or nothing.
Now in any “ordinary” length novel, the gay for you sub-plot would have been the easy card to play, and as often happen, the sudden turn from straight to gay of one of the character would have been not so much supported by his emotional development. In Sea Change instead the author has plenty of time, and story, to make it believable, and so when Steve arrives to the conclusion that he is in love with Bran, it’s not sudden, but a well ripe, and well thought, decision.
As usual I concentrated on the romance plot, but this is not “only” a romance novel, it’s something more: there is the setting, that can tags this novel as multicultural, the adventure and even the quest of a man who is searching for his future. But well, from my perspective, the romance is very important, and even if here it arrives a bit late (more or less ¾ of the book), be patient, and I will assure you, it will be worth the wait.
http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/12...
This time, even if this is a contemporary novel, I’m surprised the author managed the same achievement with a totally stranger setting; the Hawaiian culture is pretty popular, for different reason, to the US author, but I think it had to be difficult for a stranger to reach such detailed background. True, one of the main character is British, but all the quite rich cast is plain American. Plus, due to the length of the novel, more of 400 pages, there was plenty of chances to be caught in mistake, and for as much I can, that didn’t happened.
I also liked the many parallelism the author did with the title of the book: Sea Change of course refers to one of the main character of the novel, the Sea indead, which bind together Bran, a former US Coast Guard, and Steve, a British vet with a specialization in sea animals. The I think the “sea change” refers also to the tides and to the changes happening with them: Bran has always thought his life was to be a Coast Guard, but now, due to a work related accident, he is no more fit to the role; he has to rethink his life, and he is not sure of where this change will lead him. While Bran is unsure of his career future, I didn’t detect any uncertainty on his sexual awareness, Bran is gay and he has no intention to go back in the closet, not even for a man he could arrive to love. On the other hand, while Steve has his future career planned ahead of him, he has not the same clear path on an emotional level: he professes to be straight, and in search of the right woman, but he had at least a long-term relationship (6 months at 20 years old is long-term) with a college roommate, and so, he is not total against the idea of having a relationship with Bran, only that he is not exactly ready to be open with that. I don’t know but maybe since Bran has issues with a lot of his life aspect but apparently not with his sexuality, maybe he cannot accept to barter also on that, and so for him it’s all or nothing.
Now in any “ordinary” length novel, the gay for you sub-plot would have been the easy card to play, and as often happen, the sudden turn from straight to gay of one of the character would have been not so much supported by his emotional development. In Sea Change instead the author has plenty of time, and story, to make it believable, and so when Steve arrives to the conclusion that he is in love with Bran, it’s not sudden, but a well ripe, and well thought, decision.
As usual I concentrated on the romance plot, but this is not “only” a romance novel, it’s something more: there is the setting, that can tags this novel as multicultural, the adventure and even the quest of a man who is searching for his future. But well, from my perspective, the romance is very important, and even if here it arrives a bit late (more or less ¾ of the book), be patient, and I will assure you, it will be worth the wait.
http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/12...
November 2, 2012
The main problem I had with this story is that the main characters have a fairly large circle of friends, and most of them were interchangeable to me. I never had a good handle on who was who, or which people were at which veterinary location (the veterinarian works at one clinic and volunteers at another) just kind of buzzed by right over my head, and for the most part it didn't matter. Most of them were never particularly individual or important. It was also awkward occasionally when the story jumped from one time and place to another from one paragraph to the next without any sort of space or break to indicate we were now in a new scene. However it's a nice story about two guys living in Hawaii and caring about animals and growing from friendship to more than that. I never particularly believed or cared about the crime they get wrapped up in trying to solve, but it wasn't necessary to the development of the story. A very pleasant read, generally.
March 13, 2015
It took a little while to get into the story, but once I did I really enjoyed it. Bran and Steve had a nice slow burn friends to lovers story. The underlying mystery was a little distracting, but I don't know if it should have been left out or not. All the Hawaiian names confused me for a little while. The minor characters were fun. Quinton's writing was wonderful, but I did feel all 432 pages of the story. Not my first Chris Quinton, won't be my last :)
June 16, 2013
I'm going to admit to finally just skim reading this one. I'll give it 3 stars because the writing was good but there were so many people that it took away from the main MCs a bit. A little too slow moving for my tastes.
March 6, 2013
Great new author... I am currently on the mission to read all of her books.
September 4, 2011
This story was like an old ripe wine or like slow, deep burn! Really well developed plot with interesting characters and warm enjoyable feelings. Highly recommended story!!
November 26, 2011
See review by Elizabeth H. It sums up nicely all my reserves about the book. Still, a decent read...
February 21, 2016
Excellent slow burn romance with a bit of suspense.
July 28, 2010
3.5 stars
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews