Genre: Young Adult Contemporary Romance

Publication Date: June 4th, 2024

Surfing with her best friend Brody by day and playing guitar alongside her other best friend Nate in the evenings is what Sam equates as the ideal way to spend summer vacation. When her mother announces they will be moving from the California beach where Sam grew up, Sam’s world gets rocked off its core. Her mother and her childhood best friend from Michigan, both newly divorced, decide they want a fresh start, and what better way than a sleepy fishing town on the coast of South Carolina, their families all together in one big house.

Sam’s mother doesn’t tell her that Julie’s boys will be joining them. She last saw Ledger and Noah on a visit to Michigan when she was thirteen. Gangly limbs, braces, pimples, and a hefty dose of brotherly competition didn’t amuse Sam then, and nothing is going to amuse her about them now. Ledger and Noah aren’t her boys. Nate and Brody hold that title.

But Ledger and Noah grew up…

The brothers begin to show an interest in Sam, and slowly, day by day, they wiggle their way into her guarded, tentative sphere. It’s not until one night that a race in the swimming pool changes Noah’s feelings for Sam, but it’s too little too late.

Will Sam be able to navigate her feelings for both South Carolina and her new housemates in the midst of missing her old life, or will she let the tide sweep all her passions away? Find out in the latest teen romance from author Kristi Ayers, Falling in the Blue Hour.

Warning: Contains strong language and sexual situations.

Excerpt

I can feel her respirations have evened out, but she’s not asleep yet, just relaxed. “I’m sorry, Sam.”

She’s quiet for a few moments, staring at the ceiling. “No. You warned me. I didn’t listen.” She turns her head to look at me. Our faces are so close now. “…and I should have.”

My eyes glance at her lips, but I drive them back up to her eyes. I want nothing more in this world than to kiss her right now, but we can’t. Not yet.

“I want you to look back up at the ceiling.” Her brows draw together, confused by my request. “Look up there, Sam.” She tries to read me for a few moments and then finally turns her head and looks up at the white ceiling.

Her profile is stunning. I have a hard time continuing, taking one long blink to get back on track.

“That’s a blank canvas. We can paint any kind of picture we want. Now I want you to close your eyes.”

She lets her eyes close, her long lashes resting against her cheeks now.

“Picture yourself in the ocean, sitting on your board.” She gives me a side-eye with a raised brow. “Just humor me.” When her eyes are closed again and she’s focused, I continue, “Think of what the water feels like moving against your legs, your hands. What it sounds like. What the breeze feels like flowing through your hair. Focus on the peacefulness that’s out there because it’s just you and the warm sun shining on your back, your shoulders, your arms. Do you feel it?”

She nods. Her lips are parted.

“This time, there isn’t a wave coming. Just soft lapping ripples that started a thousand miles away. Each ripple is determined, and it never once lost faith that it would reach the shore. It saw sharks that cut it in half, boats that flattened its drive for the minutes of time they took to leisurely move along, and storms that threw it off its course completely, throwing droplets in every direction, but it never wavered in its determination to reach the sand.”

I love that she’s intently listening to me. “The ripple meets you where you are and you both head in the direction of the shore. You lie on your stomach and paddle, following alongside the ripple that started before you even decided to go out on the ocean, before you even woke up that morning. When you both reach the shore, you realize that, like seashells, as fragile as you seem, you traveled, you overcame, and you made it home.”

Her eyes remain closed, but I feel her hand search for mine, threading her fingers through mine when she finds it.

I freeze. Any words that were on the tip of my tongue to say next get stuck in my throat along with a plethora of emotions. How many times did I want to simply hold her hand since the night we kissed? Countless. Though admittedly, half were to lead her away from Ledger. But the other half…I wanted to take her wherever made her smile.

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About the Author

I write in the hope of sparking infinite imaginations for all readers who enjoy love stories. I most enjoy writing young adult and new adult novels containing slow-burn romance with a dash of pining, a sprinkle of pounding heartbeats, and a measured heaping of desire. When I’m not writing, I’m reading, planting flowers, or hanging out with my family.

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