Blog Tour: Ties by Steph Campbell and Liz Reinhardt.

When a shiny new convertible arrives for her twenty-first birthday, Hattie Beckett has had enough of her absent dad trying to buy a place in her life. It’s time for him to face her--or get out of her life forever.
She tosses some clothes in a bag, looks up her father’s last known address, and sets her GPS for Silver Stand, California.
When she arrives at a beach-bum paradise that’s totally foreign to her New England upbringing and finds nothing but an empty lot where her dad maybe once lived, her immediate instinct is to pack up her car and head right back to Connecticut.
But she also finds... Deo. The half-brother she never knew she had. He and his hippy-dippy mom insist that Hattie stick around—at least for the summer. And with all of her friends spending the summer abroad, what else does she have to do?
Her ideas about family are blown wide open as Deo and Marigold pull her in with their charm and love. But there’s still a huge question mark where her dad is concerned, and that question mark definitely looms over her ideas about love and relationships.
When Hattie meets Ryan, the college dropout turned competitive sailor, her perspective flips with her heart. Like it or not, Hattie is falling fast and hard for Ryan... even if it’s the last thing that she expected - and the last thing her newly found brother wants for her.
Why?
I have been a massive fan of the Lengths series since I fell in love with Deo and Whit last year- I knew I had to read Ties!

What I loved:
Plot-  Normally the 'secret child' plot never works out to well as the characters don't react naturally or it doesn't fit with the series plot. However from how Deo's dad, Dante, was described it was always a possibility that there could be a number of unknown children so the idea slotted in with the series. . I really enjoyed how it was written into the series and how all the existing characters reacted to Hattie. I loved that Hattie took off to face her absent Dad and ended up discovering a whole new family in Silver Strand.  The existing characters all reacted naturally and well to the appearance of Hattie partly I think to nature of Dante and partly because they are a welcoming bunch of people! I think it was interesting to see how Dante's actions and present based parenting had affected the personalities and lives of Deo and Hattie, two very different people with different upbringings. Deo had slowly accepted Dante for who he was and just cut him out whereas Hattie was stuck between resenting him and wanting to understand him. It was interesting to see how being in Silver Strand challenged her ideals and perspectives.
Silver Strand- I loved how welcoming everyone was towards Hattie! Marigold opened her home and her heart to Hattie despite the fact she was the result of Dante cheating on her. I love Marigold so I really enjoyed reading her again and I think she's responsible for the majority of relationships in Silver Strand! It was great to read Grandad again- for obvious reasons he had a much minor role in Depths and Limits but in Ties he was forefront again and his welcoming nature and quick wit were as entertaining as always. I knew Deo would make a brilliant big brother and he lived up to my expectations. Deo was his usal charming self but he managed to be over protective, caring and compassionate towards Hattie as well as knowing when to back down!  I love that Whit, Maren, Gen and the Rodriguez sisters have formed their own little group and how they immediately induced Hattie in. I was so pleased that Hattie liked Lydia because we got a positive picture of her for a change! I also enjoyed seeing the previous three couples from Hattie's point of view as she had a complete lack of prior knowledge.
Ryan- I knew Ryan sounded familiar but in Lengths I only had time for Deo! However Ryan completely took my love in Ties! I adored him from his whistling shirtless debut to his surprising ending. I found him to be honest, passionate and committed! I liked that he'd turned over a new leaf and how he reflected on his past so honestly.  I loved his passion for boats and sailing in it's purest form not for profit or competition.I loved how he really grew into his passion and took Hattie's comments to heart! I liked how he was with Hattie, he seemed to get her almost perfectly and managed for awhile to play her at her own game.

What I didn't love as much:
Hattie's family and friends- I feel like once Hattie for to Silver Strand her mum, best friend and potential home love interest are very rarely mentioned! I wanted to see her mum and kay reaction to her unknown family.
Bex- I couldn't stand his arrogance and overly competitive nature! He was so self centred and harsh, I couldn't believe how he complained that after spending years sleeping around and spending money he now found it boring! I sadly imagine he was quite a realistic character and as the book went on he annoyed me even more!

Rating!

I loved the realistic characters, the Silver Strand community and the clever plot!

Have you read the Lengths series?
Much Love!
Lettie
Xxx