Sunday 5 April 2020

Emma's Review: Meet Me at Pebble Beach: Part One - Out of the Blue by Bella Osborne

Reviewed by Emma Crowley

When Regan’s lottery numbers unexpectedly come up on a rollover, she can’t believe her luck. Having spent the past few years coasting along in the slow lane of life, this is the break she’s been waiting for – and she wastes no time in making some big life decisions.

But Regan’s plans for a life of sipping cocktails on her own private island come crashing down when she discovers that the winning ticket was a bad prank – and she’s now jobless, boyfriendless, and homeless to boot.

When the going gets tough, can Regan stay afloat?

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Many thanks to Avon via NetGalley for my copy of Meet Me at Pebble Beach: Part One: Out of the Blue to review and to Sharon for having my review on the blog.

Out of the Blue is the first in a new series entitled Meet Me at Pebble Beach by Bella Osborne which despite its short length was absolutely packed full with lots of goings on. It was such a strong opener to the series that has only served to whet my appetite for what is to come in future parts. We get to know the main character Regan very well as times of change are arising in her life. Regan works in an office for a health care company and to be honest it's not the most exciting job rather the tedium increases day by day. Playing jokes on fellow co-worker Alex get her though the days, she doesn't feel fulfilled but it does provide money to cover the basics. So what happens when a joke goes more than that one step too far leading to the most disastrous of consequences that leads to Regan's life spinning way out of control.

Regan is in a relationship with Jarvis but you wouldn't say it's all love and romance and that they are the perfect couple destined to be together for ever. They are the complete opposite of each other in terms of personality and what they want in life and really their compatibility is not that strong. Regan is notorious for being late, disorganised, scatter-brained and forgetful. Basically  she loves to go with the flow and not let things bother her too much. Jarvis likes everything to be proper, perfect and just so and is forever trying to get Regan to cut her spending and curb her annoying habits. Whereas Regan is reaching the point where Jarvis' quirks are becoming more than annoying. But still she does enjoy the safety and security he affords her. He's not a bad person deep down as he does have Regan's interests at heart but perhaps they are not the perfect pairing for each other?

I loved how we got straight down to business and we were given lots of information as to Regan's life and daily routines regarding her job and her social life. We got to know her personality and what makes her tick or else what pleases her. Basically she is a fun person who doesn't take life too seriously but at the same time there is room for a little growing up to occur and for her also to truly express what she is feeling rather than keeping things bottled up. As mentioned above when a joke goes too far and she believes she has won the lotto everything goes belly up. It was the cruellest of jokes that could have been played on her and, similar to Regan, I really did believe that she had won the lotto. It was very interesting to see her reaction and what she did when she thought her life had changed forever in a good way. She really let rip and got everything off her chest and you could tell that she had been bottling up things for ages. To be honest we would have all probably done the same. Before she knows it she has quit her job and broken up with Jarvis but when the truth comes out she comes crashing right back down to earth.

Talk about a 360 and a range of emotions developing, poor Regan is utterly distraught when the truth is revealed and she can't take back anything she has said or done. She is now in an awful position and with her friend Cleo, who is an artist, away on a work trip she can't even turn to her for comfort and support. I don't know how Regan just didn't have a complete breakdown there and then as she was homeless, jobless and had no relationship any more. She was creative in her next step but it couldn't be a long term thing and really she was scraping the barrel as to where she sheltered. She was keeping her circumstances well hidden from everybody and I just desperately wanted her to find someone who could offer the comfort, sustenance and advice that she really needed. Regan feels she no longer has any purpose in life and feels so alone. She has lost her direction and motivation and clearly needs to find it again.

In stepped Charlie, a guardian angel of sorts, who seems to be just perfect and the right person that Regan needs in her life. He encourages her to set about completing the list she had written of what she eventually wanted to do with her life. You get the sense a good friendship will develop between the pair that may lead on to something more. I did think for a little bit was it just too easy or too random that Charlie showed up in Regan's hour of need but I soon got over that. As the story said Regan's life was just one long bump and she had to workout out how to overcome it. How she will do so will be very interesting and as for that cliffhanger ending. Bella Osborne how could you do that to us? My heart was in my mouth, roll on part two In Too Deep. I can't wait to see what happens next.

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