Guest Blogger: Christi Barth

Can an unexplained breakup and ten years of heartache be cured by the romance – and endless buffets – of a tropical cruise? When her sister is left at the altar, small town librarian Zoe Balis jumps at the chance to take the bride’s unused ticket for the honeymoon cruise. But she didn't count on sharing a cabin with the man who broke her heart ten years ago!

Army medic Nate Hyatt never told Zoe goodbye when he enlisted - or the real reason why he dumped her on prom night after a year as high school sweethearts. And he never stopped dreaming about the girl he left behind. Could this voyage be his chance to fix the worst mistake he ever made? After all, a Caribbean cruise should be romantic… if he can convince her to move past ten years of bitterness and hurt.

Once aboard the luxury liner, Zoe befriends a bored Internet mogul with more heart than tact. Nate vents his problems to a ship’s photographer battling PTSD. The four team up on an island hopping treasure hunt. The stakes grow higher with each of Zoe’s mysterious brushes with death. They race to discover why she's a target and who's behind it, while still competing in the treasure hunt.

Zoe’s never gotten over her first love, and is tempted to let Nate back into her life. But she already lost him once. She’s not willing to risk loving a man whose career keeps him in a combat zone. Can Nate breach her defenses and suture her broken heart? Grab a deck chair and see if they survive the stormy relationship seas as they cruise toward love!

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Ahhh, I’m so happy to be under the Tiki Hut. Mostly because I just burned the heck out of my legs at the beach a few weeks ago. When it rains almost every day of vacation, the one day it is sunny, the lure of the unshaded towel is too strong to resist. Anyone else out there peeling from an end of summer beach extravaganza?

When I took my cruise, the same thing happened (sans sunburn). Here’s a picture of our day on the beautiful island paradise of Tortola.  Who knew a day spent hiking a Caribbean rain forest would actually be grey, cloudy and rainy?  The minute we were back on the boat I wrapped myself in layers of towels on a deck chair for warmth…but ordered a piña colada for fun.

Yes, I adore the beach.  No, not because I grew up in Southern California, since I only went to the beach about a total of five times before graduating from high school.  Something about the water just calls to me, hypnotically.  It’s my favorite vacation spot.  However, I only venture out beneath a hat, SPF 50, and an umbrella. (Gosh, I hope my husband never finds out I shared this picture of him with the entire world!).  See my protective sun shirt hanging over the back of the chair?  I tend to go from pale to searingly red in about ten minutes. 

For me, the beach is more of an excuse to read for 8 hours straight.  Right?  Who’s with me?  Which is exactly why I love cruises – they are a built in excuse to read for 7 days straight.  When I decided to write an entire book set on a cruise ship, I sure put my characters through a lot more activity than I’d ever do!  Every once in a while, we deserve to be sloth-like and revel in doing nothing…guilt-free.  Which is exactly why I’m at the Tiki Hut today, where lifting a glass is the sum total of physical activity for me.  So slap on that sunscreen and let me know if you actually do anything at the beach besides reading, eating, and yes, drinking one too many cocktails.  In fact…waiter…I think my glass needs to be topped off…..

Christi is hosting a giveaway of one digital copy of Cruising Toward Love to a lucky commenter.  For more information on Christi’s funny, sexy books, please visit www.christibarth.com