UNDER THE GULF COAST SUN

By SKIP RHUDY

Romance / Coming of Age / Surfing

Publisher: Stoney Creek Publishing

Pages: 266

Publication Date: April 22, 2025

Synopsis

This coming-of-age tale set against the sun-soaked beaches of 1970s Port Aransas, Texas, is a love letter to the people and culture of the Texas coast and the enduring allure of the Gulf of Mexico.

Eighteen-year-old Connor O’Reilly isn’t ready to leave his beloved hometown until the tourist girl he met the previous summer, Kassie Hernandez, returns to Port Aransas for one final vacation before college. Their tumultuous summer fling is wrecked by a freak accident in which Connor is lost at sea. His long years of surfing and fishing in the Gulf, as well as Kassie’s desperation to reunite with him, are pitted against the enormity and utter indifference of the sea.

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Review

Surfing and the Texas coast do not usually go together, but apparently, it does happen at times.

Set in the 1970s, this book covers new love, decisions, women’s rights, and dreams. Kassie is a young woman who has dreams that might be commonplace today, but could be considered out of reach in this decade. Connor is adrift and not sure what he wants from life, except for Kassie. While the budding romance is fraught with miscommunication, these two are meant for each other and encourage one another to reach for the stars. That nothing is unattainable if you want it badly enough.

This novel reminds me a little bit of my high school years (although a decade later). There are no cell phones or social media, just friends hanging out and enjoying life. This also reminds me that all teenagers do some silly and stupid things. It is like a rite of passage. However, this novel is also filled with life lessons, hopes, dreams, and much more.

While the book is told primarily from Kassie and Connor’s viewpoints, there is also Stamford’s perspective. He wasn’t one of my favorite characters, and I wondered if his bluster was more for show than reality. However, he does come through in the end for a particular situation.

This story is lovingly told and is for you if you enjoy surfing or books that include surfing; this is one not to miss.

We give the book 4 paws up.

About the Author

Skip Rhudy grew up surfing in Port Aransas, Texas. He has translated poetry and prose from German to English, and translated Wolfgang Hilbig’s novella Die Weiber for his master’s thesis in 1990 at the University of Texas. His short stories were published in numerous small press magazines in the mid-1990s, and his novella One Punk Summer was published in 1993 and reprinted in 2021.

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