Book Shelf: A Little Faith (Ocean Beach #1) by Emma James

I had no idea a carefree island vacation would tear my life apart.
But now it’s time to put my walls up, make them impenetrable.
It’s the only way to survive.
~Faith

Six Years Later…

Harley, the protector. Retro, the straight shooter.
Keanu, the funny bone. Levi, the model. And Text, who can’t seem to find himself.

All their lives were permanently altered by one event.

With a pact made, these five best friends need something from Faith.

Is she ready now to give them what they have been waiting for?

Join Faith as she goes on an emotional and heartwarming discovery where all may not be what it seems.

But with every ending, comes a new beginning, a second chance.

You just gotta have A Little Faith...

Welcome to Ocean Beach.

“You never know how strong you are until being strong is the only choice you have.”
~ Bob Marley

More info on Goodreads.....


Review:

In the tradition of an Abbi Glines novel, Emma James debut tale A Little Faith is an emotional and driven story of friendship, loss and the potential moving on can bring. Featuring five luscious male specimens and a likable heroine, A Little Faith is a great start to a promising new NA series!

I have to be honest here, A Little Faith is a hard book to review for me, predominately because I know the author personally through blogging and the world of books. I went into this novel hopeful, but also wanted to keep an open and unbiased mind. So in saying that, I was really liked A Little Faith and I was impressed with the amount of emotion author Emma James managed to convey in her debut. The opening chapter tugged on my heart strings and made me feel, as we witness the loss of an individual who was young and living their life in a horrendous event. As the novel progresses you come to understand the impact such a loss and the event that caused it had on the lives of a group of young people.

A Little Faith is told through varying POV’s, including that of main character Faith and see’s Faith head to Ocean Beach, a beach side suburb to visit the best friends of her brother Chance. Now I don’t want to give away spoilers, but Faith is still reeling from a devastating loss years prior and hopes this visit will give her what she needs to be able to move on and come to terms with her grief.

While the book does centre predominately around Faith, A Little Faith also introduces us to Harley, Text, Retro, Keanu and Levi, the best friends of Faith’s brother Chance, men whose lives were tremendously impacted when tragedy struck. Personally I really liked all the guys and found them to have their own unique personalities and traits. A Little Faith focusing solely around the lives of these characters and seeing them live is actually quite interesting—they’ve made a lot of themselves and I enjoyed seeing how James works the dynamics of their relationships together.

There’s a lot of possibility for future books, with each main character deserving of their own tale as well as some of the minor characters like Retro’s sister Phoenix and bartender Slade. I’m really interested to see each character fall in love with Retro the first with his Birdie and the others soon to follow if the first book is any indication of what James has planned.

A Little Faith is a fun and flirty start to a new NA series as well as a great debut. While the characters are already very well rounded, they have even more potential for future storylines and as author Emma James leaves this novel with readers beginning to find themselves invested in the lives of her characters, I for one look forward to seeing what happens next!

Rating:
Source: Sent for review by the author (Thank you Emma!)
Format: Kindle copy
Buy it: Amazon (Kindle) | Amazon (Paperback) | Kobo
My Recommendation: Fans of Abbi Glines and NA will enjoy this fun and fresh novel.
Cover: I love the colors--for a cartoon-type of cover it's nice.
Will I read sequel/continue with series: Yes.....