Life, Liberty, and Pursuit [Kindle Edition]

Susan Kaye Quinn (Author)

Book Description

Love is sudden, fierce, and full of choices ...

When college-bound Eliza falls into a cruise-ship pool, she doesn't expect to fall in love. And when navy recruit David pulls her from the water, he finds her surprisingly hard to resist. But a whirlwind of rescues, candlelit nights, and beachside misunderstandings pulls them into a four-day love affair that threatens to break their hearts before their love has a chance to start.

When David leaves for endless drills and physical training in boot camp, and Eliza returns to Albuquerque to prepare for Princeton in the fall, they dare to keep loving each other and struggle to imagine a future when they can be together. But when miles and mistrust pull them apart, they are forced to choose between keeping true to their dreams and having the courage to love.

            

Life, Liberty, and Pursuit is about making choices in life and love, a sweet, clean romance for girls or women of any age who enjoy a sweeping love story.

Also see Susan Kaye Quinn's short afterstory Full Speed Ahead.

Editorial Reviews

Review

I can't recommend this book enough, especially if you like innocent romance, sweet characters, remembering that time when you were newly in love, characters who put time thought and heart into their decisions... just good, positive stuff. -Hairnets and Hopes Blog

I found the interactions between David and Eliza via letters pulled my heart strings as they both try to navigate those crucial decisions made right after high school and beginning college. -4 stars from Fire &Ice Blog

If you want a nice chaste romance this is the summer read for you! Recommended for fans of Simone Elkeles and Sarah Dessen.  -Mel Symonds, Goodreads, Mel's Random Reviews

From the Back Cover

"I'm afraid I'll lose Eliza ... and that it might be the best thing for her."

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• File Size: 464 KB
• Print Length: 262 pages
• Publisher: Omnific Publishing; 1st edition (June 22, 2010)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B003TSEJIE
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• X-Ray: Not Enabled
• Lending: Enabled
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #428,633 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Instant Favorite June 25, 2010

By BKaczmarek

Format:Paperback

As a writer, I have to be discerning about the books I spend time reading. I love to get comfy with a good book as much as the next person, but I simply don't have the time to devote to the mediocre. Life, Liberty and Pursuit, though, was most definitely not a waste of time. The unlikely shipboard romance of David and Eliza kept me guessing, empathizing, and cheering, while the vivid descriptions made me feel like I was traveling alongside the two of them. I enjoyed the life-like dialogue and the pace of the story, even as fate forced their paths to diverge.

The writing and the characters weren't the only things that won me over. As a former English teacher, I'm always on the lookout for books with a compelling story without vulgarity and promiscuity around every corner. David and Eliza carefully and realistically navigate the waters of temptation, making difficult and heartrending choices, because they're grounded and intelligent young people. I can wholeheartedly recommend this debut novel to anyone who wants to cozy up and enjoy a great love story. It will make you smile again and again.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars Life, Liberty, and Pursuit reviewed by The Book Vixen July 12, 2011

By The Book Vixen

Format:Paperback

It was a cute YA romance but I wasn't feeling the love at first sight relationship between David and Eliza. It was cute how they met (he rescues her) but to fall in love in 4 days? Then they have the challenge of having a long distance relationship.

The ending felt inconclusive. This is the kind of book where I expect there to be an epilogue but there wasn't. I was actually expecting there to be one.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Sweet story, nice quick summer read July 17, 2010

By Anne in Virginia

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

It's a sweet story. It's tough to tell whether it will be an ending a la Nicholas Sparks or Nora Roberts. I expected a little more suspense, but it's sweet stroll down first love memory lane.

More About the Author

Susan Kaye Quinn grew up in California, where she wrote snippets of stories and passed them to her friends during class. Her teachers pretended not to notice and only confiscated her stories a couple times.

She left writing behind to pursue a bunch of engineering degrees (B.S. Aerospace Engineering, M.S. Mechanical Engineering, Ph.D. in Environmental Engineering) and work everywhere from NASA to NCAR (National Center for Atmospheric Research) to a little Venice Beach restaurant called The Green Bean (she was the bookkeeper). She has designed aircraft engines, studied global warming, and held elected office (as a school board member). Now that she writes novels, her business card says "Rocket Scientist and Author," and she doesn't have to sneak her notes anymore.

Which is too bad.

All that engineering comes in handy when dreaming up dystopian future worlds or mixing science with fantasy to conjure slightly plausible inventions. For her stories, of course. Just ignore that stuff in the basement.

Her middle grade boys clamor for more middle grade books with magic and gadgets and less teen novels with kissing. Unfortunately for them, she enjoys writing both.

Susan writes from the Chicago suburbs with her three boys, two cats, and one husband. Which, it turns out, is exactly as much as she can handle.

Check out Susan's author website (www.susankayequinn.com) for more information about her books, and subscribe to her newsletter (http://bit.ly/SubscribeToSusansNewsletter) to be notified of upcoming releases.