Changing Tides
"Nate West. Hollywood bad-boy. Television
megastar. Womanizer. Basically everything I hate about the male species rolled
into one handsome package. And yet…I want him."
Ellie Turner is a
lesbian. She has tattoos, short hair, and a ‘don’t-mess-with-me-attitude.’ She
knows who she is, loves who she is, and couldn’t care less what the rest of the
world thinks of her. And since she has the most kick-ass best friend on the
planet, Noah Clark, even when family drama gets in the way, nothing can offset
her happy-go-lucky demeanor.
Until television
star Nate West comes along. All thick muscle and alpha-male testosterone. When
Ellie meets him on an airplane the only thing Nate West should be good for is a
brand new profile picture on Facebook. Right? Wrong. Turns out he’s good for so
much more.
This man is going
to flip everything Ellie thought she knew about herself upside down.
***NA Romance. This novel is the second book in the Kill Devil Hills series,
however it can be read as a standalone. Recommended for 18+
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Teasers
Excerpt
She was exactly
what I needed. For far too long I’d felt numb inside—like I’d been stuck in
quicksand up the knees. Since my breakup with Kelly, I’d been looking for
something that could make me feel better again. Maybe this girl could be
the temporary fix I needed. It was worth a shot. Besides, I had nothing better
going on at the moment.
Quick as ever, I
discarded my hat and sunglasses onto the floor. “Hey,” I said before she could
walk past me. So she hadn’t been about to ask for my autograph or to take
a selfie with me? What? “Um, hey,” I said again, a little louder, clearing
my throat.
She stopped
walking. “Um, hey,” she repeated. “I can’t believe Nate West is on my airplane.
No freaking way, right? It’s surreal. Thanks for helping me out back there,
man. I thought most celebrities were assholes. Not the case at all with you.
Seriously, that was awesome. Well…Sherrie the flight attendant might not agree,
but I appreciated you sticking up for me.”
I laughed. She was
blunt and I liked it. “You’re the first person to recognize me all day.” I
pointed at my disguise on the floor. “I guess I need to reevaluate that.”
“Nah, your disguise
was perfect. It was your voice I recognized.”
“Oh.” No one had
ever used that line on me before. Maybe it wasn’t a line. I couldn’t tell.
“Want to sit with me for a little while?” I blurted out. “I’m bored. I’ve been
out of the country and I could use some American company.”
For a moment, she
studied me hard, obviously debating my motives. I had them, yes. And they
weren’t all innocent. But no matter what happened here, I desperately wanted
this girl’s company. Nothing else seemed to matter in this moment.
She merely shrugged
and plopped into the seat to my right. “Sure. I’d love to piss off that prissy
flight attendant a little more.”
Again she had me
laughing.
“You’ve got to know
though—” She stopped talking for a moment, shaking her head. I noticed, barely
creeping up the side of her neck from under her sweatshirt, the end of a
tattoo. Instantly blood rushed harder through my veins. I wondered if she only
had one or many. “I have a serious hard-on for you…as Lucian,” she started to
say. “Dammit. I swear…he…you…are sexy as hell as that character. And that’s
saying a lot since Kelly Patterson is your co-star and all. But whenever new
episodes air, I tune in every Sunday…like it’s my job to watch…not for Kelly,
but for you. That’s totally embarrassing but true.”
I swallowed, hard.
The girl stood,
avoiding any eye contact. “Sorry. Jeez, I’m rambling like a fool. I’m normally
not so pathetically tongue tied. I’ll go back to my seat now.” But she didn’t
leave for her seat, she remained close.
I squinted up at
her, the air between us growing thick with awkward tension or…possibly
something…else. Something hotter. Girls came on to me all the time. But this
was different. I felt more in this small moment than I had in way too long.
“Are you saying you
normally like girls?” I asked, matching her bluntness and needing to know for
sure what she meant.
Her eyes met mine.
“Hell yes, I like girls. I only like girls.”
“But you watch the
show for me?”
“Yes.”
“What’s your name?”
“Ellie.”
She was a lesbian.
It hadn’t even occurred to me earlier because, frankly, even if she dressed a
little like a boy, there was nothing boyish about this girl. Underneath her
sweatshirt and jeans, I was willing to bet big money that she had one
smoldering body. And the way she watched me right now with quick, rapid
breaths, like she wanted me to ravish her the way Lucian ravished that girl in
season two’s opening episode of Dragon Wars, I never would have known
girls were her thing. Lesbian or not, I suddenly had a serious hard-on for her
as well.
One I was ready to
take advantage of. Right now.
Praying to whoever
would listen, hoping Sherrie the flight attendant had puke or something equally
horrible in the back to clean up and wouldn’t be returning soon, I unbuckled my
seatbelt and stood to my feet. Much taller than the girl in front of me, I had
to duck my head on this tiny airplane and lean into her space. “Have you ever
been with a man before, Ellie?” I whispered, my gaze locked heavy on hers.
“No,” she said, her
voice soft but her eyes a force of nature. “Why? Are you offering?”
I gulped. Sweet
hell. I had no idea how to respond, so I simply told her the truth. “Yes.”
She stared up at me
for several long moments, the hum of the airplane taking over all my senses.
Then she suddenly burst out laughing.
Embarrassment fluttered through me. Oh
God, for as confident as I liked to think I was, I was completely out of my
element.
“It’s not really
funny,” I said.
She stopped
laughing immediately. “So,” she snapped, her hands landing on her hips, her
eyes glaring up at me and something beyond fierce taking over her body. “You’re
saying you want to fuckme? Is that it Mr. Nate West? Right now. Right
here.” She nodded toward the bathroom she’d been in minutes ago.
“Yes.”
She gasped.
“And I hate the
name Nate by the way,” I told her. “Please, don’t call me it again.”
“Then what the hell
should I call you?” she demanded.
“Nathanial.”
“Does the lesbian
thing turn you on, Nathanial?”
“Nope. Only you
do.”
“Does the virgin
thing turn you on? Because maybe I’ve never been with a man, but I’m nothing
close to a virgin.”
I smiled, confused
as hell right about now. She was acting mad…but if she was truly pissed off
about this conversation then why was she still standing in front of me,
discussing it?
“Yes or no, little
firecracker.” I dipped down closer to her until my forehead was nearly resting
on hers. “Haven’t you ever wondered what it feels like to have a man inside
you? Not just any man, but someone like me. To feel his powerful thrust—not
some plastic toy or whatever it is lesbians like to get each other off with—as
you scream out in ecstasy? I can give you that. I can even give you Lucian if
that’s who you’d rather be with. It’s your choice. Now please move aside, I’ll
be in that bathroom waiting. Come or don’t come—whatever you want. But I
guarantee if you follow me into that bathroom you’re going to come.”
Her mouth fell
open. I’d shocked her into silence with my cheesy line. She stepped aside and I
moved past her, heading for the bathroom. I was ninety-nine point nine percent
sure she wasn’t going to follow me, not after that tragically desperate speech,
but as I entered the bathroom and went to shut the door, I found her following
me inside.
Other novels in the Kill Devil Hills Series
Kill Devil Hills
Noah is determined
to escape his past and keep his life under control. Then he saves the life of
his best friend’s little sister, Georgina Turner — who is battling her own
demons. He can't get her out of his head, even if Georgina tears down the
emotional walls he so carefully built.
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Meet the Author
Sarah Darlington
lives in Virginia with her husband and two-year-old son. She's a former flight
attendant, navy brat, constant day-dreamer, wannabe photographer, and an avid
scrapbooker. She loves to travel and is working on visiting all 50 states.
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Giveaway
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I was so happy to get this ARC because I really enjoyed
Kill Devil Hills, the first one in this series, and I love Ellie so much that I
couldn’t wait to dive into her story.
This book started out with a HUGE bomb shell that had my jaw on the
ground and me going “WHAT?!?!” I couldn’t put this book down, I instantly need
more and that feeling still hasn’t gone away.
What
I Loved
I was so happy to get this ARC because I really enjoyed
Kill Devil Hills, the first one in this series, and I love Ellie so much that I
couldn’t wait to dive into her story.
This book started out with a HUGE bomb shell that had my jaw on the
ground and me going “WHAT?!?!” I couldn’t put this book down, I instantly need
more and that feeling still hasn’t gone away.
I really loved Ellie before I began
this story and I think after reading this I’m truly head over heels in love
with her. I love that Ellie doesn’t quite fit into a box as far as her
sexuality goes and to watch her explore that was great. All of her life she’s seen herself as a tom
boy and a lesbian, but then this beautiful TV star comes along and knocks her
off her feet. I liked that she started
to question what the meant for her because all of sudden she’s attracted this
man, so does that still make her a lesbian?
I love that she questioned those labels that society puts on people and
finally realized that who cares, she’s happy and in love! Also, I really liked how
caring Ellie is of her friends and family and has this very mature insight and
understanding of the people around her.
She loves her family fiercely and would do anything for them not to be
hurt and that plays a huge role in this story.
When it comes to Nate West, the better
question is; what’s not to love? He’s
beautiful, packing a hot body and on top of all that he’s a star! What more could you really ask for? I love that he puts his heart out there and loves
just spending time with Ellie. He knows
what he wants and puts that ahead of his fame and fortune. Also, I love that Nate just like Ellie is
very much a family man and has immense love for the important people in his
life.
Not
So Much
There wasn’t much I didn’t love about
Changing Tides. I guess my only hang ups
were that Nate at times was just too good to be true. I love that he wanted Ellie so badly, but it
was just too unrealistic for me for him to go from not knowing Ellie to wanting
her to be his girlfriend the very next day.
Not only does he want Ellie in his life, he has no problem with serious
relationships after he’s had his heartbroken pretty badly. He just fell in love with Ellie maybe a little
too quickly and it was too perfect and sweet.
But that’s just me, I love drama and heart break and craziness so I
don’t want to hold that against this story.
Also when the first book in this
series ended there was closure to the plot, which was great. I liked that a lot because it makes this
series very much a standalone series, so if you just read Changing Tides you
don’t feel like you’re being dropped into the middle of a plot and not know
what’s going on. This story didn’t really end that way; which is fine but I
feel like if you want to read the next book as a standalone it’s going to be
harder because there is still a lot of unanswered questions and issues in this
one. I don’t mind that because I really
love this series but for others I feel like that might be a hang up if they do
want to read these books as just standalones.
To
Sum It All Up!
This was such a great easy read. I love the way Sarah Darlington writes, and
with each book I fall more in love with her.
On top of that I really love the Turner family and can’t wait to see how
they are all going to adapt to all the changes going on around them. If you have read the first story in this
series, there is a huge bombshell in this one and the overall plot has
definitely taken a turn and the pieces of that are still being picked up. Also,
I love that the story switches point of views because there was a scene where I
couldn’t wait to hear Georgie’s reaction to something and I got that because
the story switched to Noah’s point of view. I loved the chemistry between Nate
and Ellie because that lead to lots of anticipation of ripping Nate and Ellie’s
clothes off and I wasn’t let down in the slightest when that finally
happened. I love Nathaniel and Ellie
together so much and I was happy to see them have a happy ending and I can’t
wait to see what is next for them and their relationship together.
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