By Abbi Glines
Self Published
Publication Date: July 28, 2012
Genre: Contemporary New Adult/YA-Mature
Source: PurchasedMaybe driving home after a few (or more) shots of tequila had been a bad idea, but hell, he did it all the time. The cops had to have been freaking bored to have pulled him over. He wasn’t even swerving! That’s Cage York’s story and he’s sticking to it.
Unfortunately, his baseball coach isn’t buying it. Cage has a free ride to the local junior college for baseball — or he did, until he’d gotten a DUI. Now, Cage has to decide: does he drop out and give up his dream of getting noticed by a college in the SEC, and possibly making it into the Major Leagues — or does he give in to his coach’s demands and spend his summer baling hay?
Eva Brooks planned out her life step by step when she was eight years old. Not once over the years had she lost sight of her goals. Josh Beasley, her next door neighbor, had been the center of those goals. He’d been her first boyfriend at seven, her first kiss at ten, her first date at fifteen, and her first tragedy at eighteen. The moment she’d received the phone call from Josh’s mother saying he’d been killed along with four other soldiers just north of Baghdad, Eva’s carefully planned life imploded in the worst way possible.
Cage isn’t real happy with his closet-sized bedroom in the back of a foul smelling barn, or his daily interactions with cows, but he knows that if he doesn’t make his coach happy then he can kiss his scholarship goodbye. Only a sick and twisted man would decide his punishment was to be working on a farm all summer. No hot babes in bikinis waiting to meet a Southern boy to make her vacation complete. Just him and the damned cows.
Oh — and an uptight, snarky brunette with the biggest blue eyes he’s every seen. But she doesn’t count, because as hard as he’s tried to charm her out of her panties – he’s pretty sure she’d rather see him hung from the rafters than let him get a taste of her pretty little lips.
Goodreads Summary
I’m good at working myself into a state of ridiculousness waiting for the next book in a series that I love, especially when I have to actually wait until the day it’s released to read (oh, woe!). The second book in the Sea Breeze series is one of my favorite books, period, so just the announcement that the next book would be about Low’s sexy, slightly slutty best friend Cage had me all jittery with excitement. While it Lasts is good and I got plenty of Cage and his new love interest Eva, but it didn’t have me tied up in the same (great) knots Because of Low did.
In the Sea Breeze series, nearly everyone drinks, occasionally irresponsibly and once in a while, illegally. Cage York managed to get caught drinking and driving, which shouldn’t be unexpected to anyone who’s read Because of Low. His coach takes it badly though (good for him) and ships him off to a local farm to work for the summer with the order to keep his nose clean or he can kiss his baseball career and college scholarship goodbye. He’d rather stay in Sea Breeze where he can hang out at Live Bay, see his friends and pick up a threesome when he wants, but if he’s going to slum it in the country he’s hoping there’ll be one or two milkmaids in the area he can lure into the barn.
He ends up under the thumb of Wilson Brooks, who’s big, mean and overprotective of his very pretty daughter, Eva. Her fiancé was killed in Baghdad a year and a half ago and she hasn’t finished grieving for him. She’s clinging to his twin brother for comfort, she’s put her life in deep freeze and while they whine about it, people around her don’t seem to mind enabling her to continue. She takes one look at Cage and correctly identifies him as nothing more than a skirt-chaser and writes him off. One of the things I found tedious in the story was the constant stream of people telling Eva how horrible Cage was for her, that she needed to find a good boy like her dead fiancé and sending her on dates with good boys she didn’t like.
Eva was nice, but I only had strong feelings about her when she was with Cage, when she was more vibrant, spunky and interesting. When they were fighting, or more accurately, when she had pushed him away for something, she was insecure, listening to everyone’s opinion about how she should live her life, immature, and honestly, a little generic. Combined with the amount and level of sexuality in the book (there’s quite a bit of it), Eva was hard to consistently like or figure out. Cage is a little easier, partly because he came pre-packaged with his history from the last book.
Reading it through a couple of times, I don’t think Glines did a great job making sure it was explained well enough why Cage was determined to sleep with half of the state and why feeling safe in a relationship with Eva would make him stop. For all of the icky things he’d done (not to belabor the point), Cage was such a sweetheart, treating Eva with complete respect when he knew she wasn’t the bag ‘em type. Even though the book was told in alternating POVs, I felt like I got in Cage’s head more deeply. His character was steady, mature, cocky, funny and sexy. I’d take second helpings of him.
Eva likes to ogle him and there were plenty of descriptions of his long muscled torso and barbell nipple piercing. Thankfully, my reading has taken place during the Olympics’ swimming events and I’ve been able to use Ryan Lochte for some visualization.
My Summary: I enjoyed While it Lasts and I’m glad Glines gave Cage his story because he was one of my favorite parts of the last book. Will I read it again? Probably not, but only because she completely spoiled me with the first two books in the series and their emotional rollercoasters. Their romance was a good addition to the series and the sexual chemistry factor got turned way up, but I didn’t ache along with Eva or Cage when they were apart and their happy ending was sweet enough for me that I didn’t feel like I needed to know more.
The next book in the series is going to be for Cage’s former roommate, pretty boy Preston and Marcus’ sister Amanda. Shyeah, I’m already getting jittery for it.
My Rating: B
Just to add some more eye candy, Abbi Glines ran a contest, asking her fans to find a picture that they thought best represented Cage and Eva and this was the result:
photo credit: cutecouplesmakememelt.tumblr.com
Just finished reading this one and I’m afraid I didn’t really enjoy it …
I agree about Eva. She only had a personality when she was with Cage. Plus, I didn’t really like Cage for some reason. His man-whory ways just didn’t do it for me. And the nipple piercing wasn’t a positive thing either. I don’t really like piercings on guys (except of course on Lucas from Easy! *Swoons* )
Oh, BTW is this YA ? I thought the sex scenes were a little graphic for YA. Or maybe that’s just me …
I’ve never really enjoyed Abbi Glines’ writing, but I still decided to give this a shot since it sounded pretty great.
That’s it now. I’m no longer reading her books. They just aren’t for me.
Awesome-sauce review, Barbara!
P.S Ryan Lochte is a hottie … and he’s MINE! BACK OFF, girlfriend!
LOL.
I agree about Eva. Something was just off about her unless she was with Cage.
You really had to have read Because of Low to get him (I don’t know if you did or not). I didn’t like some of what he did but I knew he had the potential to really love someone and be faithful. That’s why I worry that Glines may have made him too slutty for people who haven’t read BoL.
This isn’t YA, it’s New Adult/YA-Mature, so it’s a little more umm, adult. This was one of the most explicit or sexual ones I’ve read though. Those two went to third base a lot.
Back away from The Lochte. Slowly. I do NOT share The Lochte.
Not even with you, sweetheart. Well, you can have a little nibble. When I’m done. lol
Oooh, I was scanning the Olympic results this morning and I think we may be able to share if we throw in a little James Magnussen from Australia. *sigh* I love swimming.
No, I haven’t read Because Of Low. Maybe that’s why I didn’t fully appreciate his character. I did read Breathe though and I thought it was a disaster. The characters didn’t talk in contracted form, so it was a little weird to go through it. Plus, it was overly cheesy for me.
I know. I don’t mind having sex scenes in YA books, but I thought this one was the most graphic I had ever come across. There was even dirty talk.
LOL!
That’s not fair. I claimed him first, so he’s mine.
And, no I don’t want your leftovers! 
Swimming is actually my favorite Olympic event. The swimmers are very good looking. (Not that I watch it just to ogle the hotties … )
Yeah, Breathe was a little limp. It was her first book – I didn’t like Sadie all that much, she was quite the Mary Sue.
LOL – Okay, you can have Ryan MWF, I get him T,TH,Sa and he can rest on Sunday. Um, I can admit I watch swimming to ogle. Those Australians are *whew*. Sssssmokin’.
The water polo guys and rowers are something else too.
I’m so ashamed. Well, not really. lol
Darn you all that talk about jitters and the first two books in this series has me drooling, now i need to add all three to my list! Awesome review, i love series like this that are connected and feature a character and their romance..eep.
You at least have to read Because of Low! I think it can stand alone pretty well. I love that one and read it as much as Easy. I’m a sucker for books that make me cry. I hope the next one is better than this one since it has characters that are a little more sedate. lol