Review: Corner of Ocean and Bay by Gina Azzi

Title: Corner of Ocean and Bay
Author: Gina Azzi
My rating: ❤❤❤
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary
Publication date: June 15th 2015
Synopsis: Nessa Moore has sought reliable stability since her father’s death. Now, she’s over it. Tired of always being the mature adult, constantly worrying about her alcoholic mother, stressing about being able to afford college, she wants to have one normal, carefree, fun summer. And be more like her best friend Jacie.

Jacie Hayes is struggling to overcome the recent breakup with her first love. The one that ripped out her heart and left her devastated. Frustrated and bored with her own self pity, Jacie wants nothing more than to forget about Dylan, to go back to her old ways, her old self. To be the fun loving, live-in-the-moment girl who gossips about boys and sips mojitos.

Best friends since childhood, Nessa and Jacie have been through all their ups and downs together. No matter what. Now, the summer before their senior year of high school, they accept an invitation from Jacie’s aunt to join her in Lockwood Quay, New Jersey, a summer beach getaway.

Determined to make this their best, most memorable, summer yet, both girls push their own boundaries, accept new challenges, and find themselves keeping secrets from each other.

But sometimes, stepping out of your comfort zone has consequences.

And some secrets can’t be forgiven.

Or forgotten.

My thoughts: I enjoyed reading this. The writing was good, the plot was okay, but a little boring at times, amd the characters were also okay.
   I liked Nessa. She was pretty careful at the beginning, didn't party or anything, but she wanted to be more carefree, to have a fun summer. Basically, to be more like her best friend, Jacie. And she does become more carefree. It was interesting to see her grow throughout the book.
  I wasn't so sure about Jacie, though. At first, she had potential of becoming a good character, but then she started seeing a married man. And not just any married man, but her aunt's best friend's husband, Dave. And, okay, they had feelings for each other, but, come on! He was married! I just can't see how you can justify cheating.
   And I absolutely hated Dave. He's too much back-and-forth, one second he's telling Jacie he's going to get a divorce, the next he avoids her. He's not only hurting his wife, but Jacie as well.
   The romance was okay, but it didn't really make me feel anything. When I started reading this, I expected something a little more... well, romantic. I understood that Jacie and Nessa were supposed to be falling in love, but the author didn't write about it in a way that was appealing to me. It didn't feel relatable or believable, which is two really important things.
   The writing was good, and the plot was okay. It got a little boring at times, and I didn't really care about the characters as much as I wanted to.
   I have to say something about the ending. It was a really sad ending, and it caught me off guard, so that's a good thing. The problem was, I didn't cry. Now, I know that sounds like a good thing, but really, it's just a sign that I didn't really care what happened to the characters.
   Corner of Ocean and Bay was an okay read, but the characters lacked of that important thing that makes the reader care about them. I'd say it's worth reading, but I wouldn't prioritize it.