When I’m traveling, I feel like the secret to my life, to myself, to really becoming, is one step ahead. It’s in the next destination, the next town I get lost in, the next stranger I talk to. It’s always next but never here . . .
After six months of backpacking and soul-searching across the world, Amber MacLean is flat broke. There are worse places for a twentysomething to be stuck than the Amalfi Coast, but the only way she can earn enough money for a plane ticket home to California is to teach English to two of the brattiest children she has ever met.
It doesn’t help that the children are under the care of their brooding older brother, ex-motorcycle racer Desiderio Larosa. Darkly handsome and oh-so-mysterious, the young master of the crumbling villa tests Amber’s patience and will at every turn—not to mention her hormones.
When her position turns into a full-time nanny gig, Amber grows dangerously closer to the enigmatic recluse. But can she give up the certainty of home for someone whose closely guarded heart feels a world apart from her own?
Racing the Sun is set on the Amalfi Coast of Italy, and most of the story takes place on the Island of Capri. Karina Halle toured these locations just before she wrote this novel, so she wrote from experience. I did internet searches of many of the locations named in Racing the Sun. Her descriptions are accurate. Landscapes. Sounds. Colors. Foliage. Ruins. Halle did an amazing job translating her experiences to page. Racing the Sun was a pleasure to read. Just as she did with Where Sea Meets Sky, Halle carried me away from real life to an adventure in a land far away.
Racing the Sun is a new adult/contemporary romance featuring twenty-four-year-old Amber MacLean from San Jose, California. Halle first introduces us to Amber as a secondary character in Where Sea Meet Sky, a story in which she backpacks around New Zealand with Josh Miles and Gemma Henare as part of her worldwide travels. After six months of backpacking through New Zealand, Australia, Southeast Asia and Europe, Amber has now come to the end of the line in Positano, Italy. She has enough money to stay at a hostel for a week and only two months until her visa runs out. It’s time for Amber to get a job and save money, so she can buy a plane ticket to return to the United States. It’s time for Amber to quit running and face her fears.
Twenty-nine-year-old Desiderio Larosa hasn’t left the Island of Capri since his accident. The retired motorcycle racing great lives a solitary life. He’s confined to the island by his fears, left only with memories of how his life used to be. Derio is the guardian to his seven-year-old brother and sister, Alfonso and Annabella. He resides in the crumbling family villa, The House of Sad Lemons, with the twins and their nanny. Derio hires Amber, an American with an English degree, to work two hours every evening teaching the children English.
It takes some time to reach the meat of this story with the world-building, but Halle does a fantastic job of countering this with her descriptions of Positano, the Amalfi coast and Capri. Nobody drops you down into a scene like Karina Halle. Nobody. It felt like I had been transported to Italy. The attention to detail, down to the description of a typical Italian breakfast of cheese, bread and cold cuts, and how Italians drink their espresso, is spot on. The writing feels impressively authentic, and not just with her descriptions of places. When Amber feels panic, Halle conveys this anxiety through her words. I felt a whole gamut of emotions while reading this novel. It was very realistic.
Racing the Sun feels more like a grand adventure to me than a romance. Please don’t misunderstand. The romance is there, but I never quite felt an undeniable attraction between Derio and Amber – the push-pull you should feel between two characters who are falling in love. More specifically, with the standoffish, dark and brooding Derio. It also felt like the pacing of their romance is a bit delayed, but when they finally declare their love for each other, I found it to be very heartfelt and full of emotion! Overall, Racing the Sun is a wonderful story, a great summer read, and Karina Halle should be very proud of this 4-star novel!
Michel’s Review
Wow…Racing The Sun by Karina Halle is one of the most descriptive novels I have read. It took me on an adventure beyond my imagination. I became a part of this book. I was experiencing the Amalfi Coast and Capri for the first time right along with Amber MacLean. I could feel the salt in the air, smell the citrusy scents, taste the distinct flavors of the food, and feel the kick of expresso in my blood. I literally became a part of this book.
Amber MacLean has spent the past few months backpacking across Europe, Asia, and New Zealand. She is escaping her reality and life at home in California. She is searching for her destiny and place in life. She is avoiding her reality and expectations of her family. She is at personal crossroads in her life. Although she has had a grand adventure and experienced many international customs, her journey is coming to an end. She is out of money and her parents are no longer willing to finance her adventure. The problem is she is so broke that she can’t even purchase a plane ticket home. Her visa is running out, her wallet is empty, and she still hasn’t found what she was been searching for. When a job opportunity arises to teach English to the children of a prominent family in Capri , she jumps at the chance. She can experience the Amalfi Coast, make the money she needs to go home, and it buys her a bit more time abroad. What she didn’t expect was a life changing experience.
Desiderio Larosa is the guardian of his young twin siblings. Their parents were killed in boating accident. Desiderio was the only survivor. Since the accident his life has taken a very dark path. He has survivors guilt, PTSD, and has lost his confidence in life. He has let his fears take over his life and his grief rule his heart. He has become a prisoner of his life and has not left the island in over a year. His self imposed isolation and self disgust has made him impossible to be around. His younger siblings are also suffering the loss. Their behaviors are out of control, their grief is hard for them to deal with because of their young age, and the nurturing they once had is no longer there. The Larosa family is falling apart. Their home is gloom and doom. Amber has walked into a living nightmare.
Eventually you have to wake up and face your nightmares. Amber is the one that will wake up the Larosa family and teach them how to dream once again. She will also learn about herself and what her place is in the world. She will learn that she is made of more than what she ever dreamed she could be. She will find the love she never anticipated having. It is not going to be an easy journey for any of them. They will all have to face their fears and let the sun shine in their souls once again.
Racing The Sun was a profound book on so many levels. I loved the self discovery and facing what life throws at you. What I didn’t feel was the intense romance on many levels. The relationship lacked the intense chemistry that romance readers have come to expect. I also struggled with the sibling relationships and hoped they would become more personal once the story began to unfold.
RacingThe Sun felt more like life journey rather than a romance. It felt like a life adventure. That is okay because Racing The Sun was still a brilliant novel and an enriching reading experience. I would highly recommend this book.
With her USA Today Bestselling The Artists Trilogy published by Grand Central Publishing, numerous foreign publication deals, and self-publishing success with her Experiment in Terror series, Vancouver-born Karina Halle is a true example of the term “Hybrid Author.” Though her books showcase her love of all things dark, sexy and edgy, she’s a closet romantic at heart and strives to give her characters a HEA…whenever possible.
Karina holds a screenwriting degree from Vancouver Film School and a Bachelor of Journalism from TRU. Her travel writing, music reviews/interviews and photography have appeared in publications such as Consequence of Sound, Mxdwn and GoNomad Travel Guides. She currently lives on an island on the coast of British Columbia where she’s preparing for the zombie apocalypse with her fiancé and rescue pup.
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