Cruisin': A Short Story
3.5/5
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About this ebook
From the critically acclaimed author of Ten Things We Did (and Probably Shouldn't Have) and the Magic in Manhattan series comes a fun short story about taking the plunge on the high seas, where not everything is what it seems.
Kristin is ready to take the next step. . . . The only problem is she hasn't found the right guy to take it with her. That's why she agreed to go on the ominously named Cruise to Nowhere with her best friend, Liz. There are plenty of cute guys on the ship to choose from if only Kristin can work up the nerve—and stop worrying about the reports in the tabloids that passengers on cruises have been mysteriously disappearing and that someone suspects it has to do with . . . vampires.
Epic Reads Impulse is a digital imprint with new releases each month.
Sarah Mlynowski
Sarah was born in Montreal, Canada. After graduating with an honors degree in English literature from McGill University, she moved to Toronto to work for Harlequin Enterprises. While she never met Fabio, she used her romance publishing experiences to fuel her first novel. Sarah's books have been translated into twenty-one languages and optioned by Hollywood. She now lives in New York City with her husband and daughter.
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Reviews for Cruisin'
5 ratings1 review
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5As I was reading this short story, I kept thinking, "Oh, this is going to be so predictable."I was SO wrong about that!Kristin and her friend, Liz, are on a cruise that was gifted to them from their parents after graduation. Time alone on a cruise to nowhere (seriously, this ship just cruises around the ocean, no stops!), they're on the prowl for cute boys. Especially Kristin, who thinks it's time to finally "take the next step" in her life. And her and her friend think that having a one-time-stand with a stranger is the way to go.But as soon as they're set to go scope out the pools, they run into a girl who tells them about the mysterious disappearances that have been happening on cruise's lately... the one where passengers are disappearing and these disappearances are rumored to be because of vampires. Do vampires really exist?Oh my, the humor! The silliness! These girls!So much fun!So NOT predictable at all!The ending!!!What a twist!!!Did not see that coming!!!I really wish that this story wasn't so short - I would have liked an extra chapter or two just to get to know the main characters a bit better - it truly felt rushed.I highly recommend this as a go to read to help you get out of a reading slump, to get over an emotional read or a bumper for in-between long reads! It won't disappoint!
Book preview
Cruisin' - Sarah Mlynowski
"Sunblock?" Liz asks me.
Check!
Sun hat?
Check!
Sunglasses?
I point to the pair perched on my head. I’m ready. Can we go?
Bikini?
Um…
"Kristin, you are wearing the new blue bikini we bought you last week?"
Well…
She leans across her twin bed, lifts up my shirt, and gasps. "No. You are not wearing that hideous brown one-piece. You are not allowed to wear anything that you bought before you met me, okay?" Liz is already clad in a tiny white bikini, if you can call what looks like two pieces of string holding up three triangles a bikini.
But I’m going to burn,
I whine.
You will not. That’s why we bought SPF 100 or whatever. Don’t be a baby. Put on your new suit so we can hit the deck already.
I feel queasy—and it’s not because I’m stuck in a cramped cabin on a cruise ship. Although I’m sure that’s not helping.
I am excited to be here—of course I am—but I’m a little nervous. I’ve never been on a cruise before. What if I get seasick? The boat hasn’t even left port yet and already it’s kind of swaying from side to side like a slightly drunk rocking chair. What if it leans in a crazy angle and I fall off? What if it slams into an iceberg and we plummet to the bottom of the ocean?
Even the name of it—the Cruise to Nowhere—sounds spooky. Supposedly they call it that because we’re not headed anywhere specific; we’re going to float around international waters for three days and three nights and then zip back to New York. But still. It sounds ominous. If I was in charge of the marketing, I’d call it Sea Wanderer or Ocean Extravaganza, or something that doesn’t scream Dead End.
But that’s just me.
Okay, I’m not just nervous about falling off the boat.
I’m really nervous because . . . All right, I’ll say it. On this trip, this Cruise to Nowhere, I have a goal. I am going to do it.
Yes. It’s time. My first time.
Ack. I can’t believe I’m going to do it.
Are you sure about the bikini?
I ask now, self-conscious. I don’t bother looking at myself in the mirror. I already know what I look like. Medium boobs, shoulder-length brown hair, not too big, not too small. Just call me Goldilocks. Average, average, average. My eyes are cool, though. I’ll admit that. They’re kind of green and brown and blue. Swirly.
Kristin, if you wear that hideous one-piece there is a zero percent chance you’ll pick someone up. Less than zero. Minus one.
See that’s the other thing. I don’t actually have a candidate in mind for the big event. First step: find guy. Second: reel him in. Third: do it.
No pressure or anything. I take a deep breath.
Except what guy will give me a second look with Liz lying on a pool chair by my side? Liz, with her white string bikini, waist-length wavy red hair, and legs that are longer than my entire body. She’s the Little Mermaid come to life. I bet she’d be fine if the boat pulled a Titanic. She’d toss her hair and twelve guys would give up their life rafts to save her.
I unzip my bag. All right, I’ll change.
Hurry up. I want to be there when the boat—
Before she finishes her sentence, the floor beneath us shifts. I look out through the window and over our balcony and see the pier drifting