Bumpy Landings by Donald J Carey

Published January 8th 2011 by Cedar Fort

Food to eat while reading:  Torqued Pani Popo 

Bumpy Landings by Don Carey is anything but bumpy.  The writing is smooth and flowing and I lost myself in Jordan MacDonald’s Hawaiian world.

First off, I love Hawaii so I just soaked in the culture and setting that Carey deftly wove into the background. I was immediately drawn into the story and soon found myself relating to Jordan and his flight plights.

One of the things I love about Hawaii is the food and Carey included the food culture into the book.  I recognized favorite Hawaiian foods and learned about new ones like pani popo, a sweet coconut bread.

I am not a big fan of male protagonists but Jordan is likeable and easy going and I fell into rhythm with his character right away. Readers will have no trouble reading a tropical romance from a guys point of view. 

Jordan experiences all of the ups and downs of returning home from a religious mission, attending college while staying at home with mom and the obvious absence of his deceased father, dating girls who might not have his best interests in mind, and wondering how to win over the girl his heart aches for. Jordan’s voice is refreshing and his heart is in the right place.  You will find yourself routing for this dreaming yet tentative hero.  

Jordan’s mother and girlfriend, Heather, are controlling and try to rule over him. Even though I can see why they act the way they do, their characters feel a bit two-dimensional. When Jordan and his mother talk things through I felt like she was a poster board character instead of an actual force in his life.

The scenes in the flower shop where Jordan worked and in the Polynesian Cultural Center were fun and added extra interest in the story. I get the feeling that Carey worked or frequented both places when he lived in Hawaii.

There were several times in the story that I thought I knew where the story was going and I was pleasantly surprised each time the story took a twist in a different direction. 

I was happy when Carey informed me that there will be a sequel to Bumpy Landings (no word yet as to publication date)—not so much because I am dying to know what happens next, but because I feel like Jordan is an old friend that I want to stay in touch with. 

Bumpy Landings is fresh and clean, like a tropical wind.