Tsunami Blue by Gayle Ann Williams - Sometimes what washes up on the beach is pretty sexy!

Title: Tsunami Blue
Author: Gayle Ann Williams
Pages: 290 pages, paperback
Genre: post-apocalypse, paranormal romance
Standalone/Series: standalone (I think?)
Release:  already out
Publisher: Dorchester Publishing Company
Won in a contest
Author info:  http://www.gayleannwilliams.com/ and Twitter @GayleWriter
Spoiler Alert: Small plot spoilers
GoodReads Blurb: "To some I was a freak; to others, a fantasy. I was Satan or savior; a witch or a goddess. I was legend, I was lies. And tonight it really was, just all too much." -- Kathryn "Blue" O'Malley. NO SAFE HARBOR. With her badass rain boots, her faithful dog, and the ability to predict the monster tsunamis that have reduced the US to a series of islands, Kathryn O’Malley isn’t afraid of much. Cut off from all society, she takes to the airwaves as Tsunami Blue, hoping to save something of humanity as the world around her crumbles. But Blue should be afraid—because her message reaches the wrong ears.

Now she’s the target of ruthless pirates known as Runners who want to use her special talents for their own profiteering—as soon as they can find her. Blue’s only shot at survival lies with the naked stranger who washes up on her rocky beach. A man who might just be working for Runners himself. Torn between suspicion and attraction, the two will have to navigate a surging tide of danger and deceit if they hope to stay alive.

What would have happened if the tsunami that struck Southeast Asia in 2004 was just the first of many that ended up destroying the world as we know it. This is the world the Blue lives in – one where there are no countries since the waves destroyed almost everything and a lawless and dangerous world now exists. But Blue has an advantage over the other survivors – the ocean speaks to her and warns her when other waves are coming. Though this gift also has made her a target for those who wish to control the waves – the ruthless pirates known as the Runners. Blue is currently living on an island trying to keep hidden from the Runners while broadcasting what the ocean tells her to save other survivors.  The only “person” she has for company is her dog Max who she often chats with (I talk to my dog too so I can appreciate a heroine who does this as well).  One night when Max and Blue are out for a stroll they come across the body of a man that appears dead. Blue is quick to resuscitate him and brings him back to her cabin to later determine whether or not he is an enemy when he wakes. Though Blue doesn’t get much time to determine whether the man, Gabriel is a friend or foe, since the next day the Runners catch up with her and she is forced to trust Gabriel and flee with him.

There was definitely a Mad Max/Water World feeling to the book and the lawlessness and brutality of Blue’s existence was engaging as it was scary. Blue has been raised since a child in this increasingly dangerous world and she struggles to maintain hope that there are people out there that listen to her warnings from what the ocean tells her. One of her greatest fears is that there are no children that survived the waves and as Gabriel helps Blue escape the Runners she gets glimpses of what’s left of the Pacific Northwest area. And for the most part it isn’t pretty.

This book is a great mix of action, adventure, and romance in one quick read. Gabriel, otherwise known as "what the ocean washed up", seems to want to help Blue though he does have ties to the Runners. It’s hard to know whether Blue should trust him or not since he keeps his intentions hidden from her, though Blue can’t help but be attracted to him, he gives her coffee and red meat – things in short supply in their world. Truthfully a world without coffee would be a very difficult one for me to survive in – so I can totally understand her attraction to Gabriel. Though coffee isn’t the only thing Gabriel has going for him and as Blue gets to know him better she feels drawn to him as well. I have to admit I loved reading about their little “lessons” during the book and what buds between them is pretty hot.  The constant threat of his possible betrayal also kept the story engaging since you’re never quite sure what his intentions are for most the book.

Overall 4 out of 5 for me, the ocean washed up a pretty sexy package for Blue and she knows how to use it.