Title: One Hawaiian Morning
Author: Kelli Gard
Publisher: XlibrisUS
ISBN: 9781796085499
Pages: 356
Genre: Historical Romance
Reviewed by: Anita Lock
Pacific Book Review
A young woman’s life unimaginably changes when she meets the man of her dreams in author Kelli Gard’s debut, One Hawaiian Morning. Twenty-year-old Ruth Shepler can’t imagine a life beyond her ten-year experience on the island of Oahu. Of course, spending countless hours surfing with her Hawaiian friends wouldn’t be possible if her military father hadn’t transferred to the island and settled there once he retired. Since Oahu has a naval base, it is not uncommon to see sailors milling around town—many of whom are looking to meet up with single gals.
Except for Kekoa, her childhood surfing friend, Ruth stays clear of the sailors, knowing that developing a romantic relationship makes no sense since their time on the island is temporary. Unbeknownst to Ruth, a surfing competition accident will change the course of history when Lt. Cr. William Wellington—aka to Ruth as Captain America—comes to her aid. An internal battle ensues between her resolve and falling head-over-heels with William. But as their romance unfolds, so does the future uncertainties that often associates with the unanticipated threat of war.
Kelli Gard paints a wartime picture of life on the island of Oahu in One Hawaiian Morning. Gard opens her plot in the year 1940 as she plunges into Ruth’s unusual life as a white (haole) resident amongst the native Hawaiians. Regardless, she and her family are well received and treated as one of the locals. Ruth particularly stands out both as the only girl surfer and a fierce competitor, a rarity to the norms expected of women of that era.
Gard’s first-person narrative shines a light on Ruth’s internal struggles between the pressure behind marriage and her determined spirit of individualism. While the Hawaiian setting is not a lifestyle norm for white girls during that period, the irony between self-will and traditions placed on women were real issues of which Gard provides an accurate picture.
One Hawaiian Morning is a quick read, even at nearly four-hundred pages. Gard’s writing style contains an easy-flowing storyline with a varied supporting cast and a robust relatable character and female situations. Light cliff-hanging endings seamlessly segue from one chapter to the next. Although the plot is mostly predictable, Gard throws in enough “unexpected” moments to keep readers second-guessing the story’s ending. One Hawaiian Morning is a historical romance that ends on a note, easily identifiable as a cliffhanger to part two of this endearing page-turner.
