Merry Christmas, Baby (Lucky Harbor 12.5) by Jill Shalvis

Chloe and Sawyer's happily ever after has always been my favorite of all the couples in the Lucky Harbor series because theirs was the hardest fought and the most richly deserved. These two amazing people grew up hard, and finding each other ... well, finding each other gave them a chance at a beautiful life filled with family, joy, and the best kind of love - the kind you get when you've found your soulmate.

Blurb...

Wild child Chloe Thompson can't believe how much things have changed. She still can't get enough of her sexy husband Sawyer, but he seems to prefer working to thinking about impending fatherhood. So tonight, a very pregnant Chloe is escaping her troubles at the town Christmas party.

Sheriff Sawyer Thompson hopes surprising Chloe at the party will give him a chance to set things right. But as the snow begins to fall and the wind rages, he wonders whether he can make it back in time. While mother nature conspires to keep Sawyer and Chloe apart, an unexpected arrival will require them to kiss and make up . . . and ring in the happiest holiday Lucky Harbor has ever seen.

Merry Christmas, Baby made me smile, made me sigh, and even had me a little misty eyed. I loved this visit with my favorite couple and being with them and seeing their family grow is the perfect ending to their beginning and a perfect holiday read!

An ARC was provided by Grand Central Publishers via Netgalley.

Purchase on Amazon: Merry Christmas, Baby: A Lucky Harbor short story

 

One in a Million (Lucky Harbor #12) by Jill Shalvis

Absolutely brilliant! Something about this one really choked me up. Probably it’s knowing (but having a hard time accepting) that the series has come to an end. Whatever the reason, when it’s all said and done, One in a Million left me sighing, smiling, and wishing that the story could just go on forever!

Description…

As the brains behind wedding site TyingTheKnot.com, Callie sees it all: from the ring to the dress, the smiles . . . to the tears. It's that last part that keeps her single and not looking. Getting left at the altar will do that to a girl. But when Callie returns to her old hometown, she finds that her sweet high school crush is sexier than ever. And he makes it hard to remember why she's sworn off love . . .

Tanner is a deep-sea diver with a wild, adrenaline-junkie past—and now his teenage son is back in his life. How can Tanner be a role model when he's still paying for his own mistakes? It's hard enough that gorgeous Callie has appeared in town like a beautiful dream, challenging his best-laid plans to keep his heart on lockdown. Though there's something about being around her again that makes him feel like he can be the man she—and his son—deserve. Little Lucky Harbor holds their past; can it hold a beautiful new future?

*****

I really enjoyed this story! Visiting with some of my favorites from the earlier books and spending loads of time with Lucille, who holds a place in my heart because she’s the grandma I want to be when I grow up, made this book a keeper. Tanner and Callie’s story is wonderful, but I have to admit that it’s the supporting cast who made this a 5 star read.

The bottom line…

Hands down, the Lucky Harbor series has been one of my favorite series, ever, because when it comes to small town contemporary romance, no one writes it with the charm, poignancy, wit, and passion that Jill Shalvis does.

An eARC was provided by Grand Central Publishers and Netgalley. To show my appreciation, I’m giving them an honest review!  

   

He's So Fine (Lucky Harbor #11) by Jill Shalvis

He's So Fine is the 11th book in Jill Shalvis' Lucky Harbor series, and it might just be my favorite, yet! With Olivia's guarded approach to life and Cole's quick, charming and oh-so-sexy sexy wit, they balance each other perfectly and make this a feel good story that kept me reading and smiling well into the night!

Description...

For Olivia Bentley, Lucky Harbor is more than the town where she runs her new vintage shop. It's the place where folks are friendly to strangers-and nobody knows her real name. Olivia does a good job of keeping her past buried, not getting too cozy with anyone . . . until she sees a man drowning. Suddenly she's rushing into the surf, getting up close and personal with the hottest guy she's ever laid hands on.

Charter boat captain Cole Donovan has no problem with a gorgeous woman throwing her arms around his neck in an effort to "save" him. In fact, he'd like to spend a lot more time skin-to-skin with Olivia. He's just not expecting that real trouble is about to come her way. Will it bring her deeper into Cole's heart, or will it be the end of Olivia's days in little Lucky Harbor?

The bottom line...

No matter the couple, no matter the story, it's always great to be back in Lucky Harbor!

An eARC of this story was provided by Grand Central Publishers and Netgalley. In appreciation I've given them an honest review.

Once In A Lifetime by Jill Shalvis

Happy Release Day!

Once In A Lifetime is the ninth book in Jill Shalvis’ Lucky Harbor series, a series I absolutely love! They’re fun, sexy, romantic, poignant… wonderful small town Contemporary Romances. 

Description…

Sometimes wrong is oh-so-right…

After a wrenching loss, Ben McDaniel tried to escape his grief by working in dangerous, war-torn places like Africa and the Middle East. Now he's back in his hometown and face-to-face with Aubrey Wellington, the hot-as-hell woman who is trouble with a capital T. Family and friends insist she's not the one to ease his pain, but Aubrey sparks an intense desire that gives Ben hope for the future.

Determined to right the wrongs of her past, Aubrey is working hard to make amends. But by far, the toughest challenge to her plan is sexy, brooding Ben - even though he has absolutely no idea what she's done . . .

Can this unlikely couple defy the odds and win over the little town of Lucky Harbor?

My thoughts...

I've been a fan of Jill Shalvis' stories for awhile now, each and every one a hit. There's just something about how easily her characters become people I care about and want to know better. They're real people with the same hopes and dreams we all have, and sometimes they even have demons to slay before those dreams come true, and this is the how it is for Ben and Aubrey.

I don't know when the last time was that I became so quickly attached to the heroine of a story. Usually - and I'm being honest here - the females are just a byproduct of the heroes story, filler so the hero can find his happily ever after. Trust me on this; that's not the case with Aubrey!

I'm a huge believer that if people would accept responsibilities for their actions instead of making excuses and casting blame on others, the world would be a happier, more peaceful place. With that in mind, it will come as no surprise that I adore Aubrey who decided to do just that. Making amends by facing the people she had wronged, even though some of these things were minor and took place years and years ago… well, she won me over right from the start!

Ben is such a great hero. A true hero in every sense of the word. I adored him, too, as he battled those demons that kept him from having the kind of life a man like him deserves – one filled with hope, joy, and the love of an amazing woman. I’m so glad he was able to come to grips with his own past and accept that he deserves the very best that life has to offer!

The bottom line…

Jill Shalvis’ Lucky Harbor continues to be one of my all time favorite, must read series’. If you’re a fan of Contemporary Romance and haven’t yet given her a try, come on out from under that rock and wait no longer! Story after story, the residents of Lucky Harbor make me laugh, smile, sigh, and wish that I could make my life there, too!

My thanks to Forever Romance for providing me with a copy of this story in exchange for an honest review!

Always on My Mind by Jill Shalvis

After dropping out of pastry school and messing up her big break on a reality cooking show, Leah Sullivan needs to accomplish something in her life. But when she returns home to Lucky Harbor, she finds herself distracted by her best friend, Jack Harper. In an effort to cheer up Jack's ailing mother, Dee, Leah tells a little fib - that she and Jack are more than just friends. Soon pretending to be hot-and-heavy with this hunky firefighter feels too real to handle . . .

No-strings attachments suit Jack just fine - perfect for keeping the risk of heartbreak away. But as Jack and Leah break every one of their "just friends" rules, he longs to turn their pretend relationship into something permanent. Do best friends know too much about each other to risk falling in love? Or will Jack and Leah discover something new about each other in a little town called Lucky Harbor?

*****

4 passionate, romantic, poignant, sexy, laugh out loud funny stars!

Always on My Mind is the 8th book in Jill Shalvis’ brilliant Lucky Harbor series. It’s all the things I mentioned above – passionate, romantic, poignant, sexy, laugh out loud funny – and then some.

I’ve truly enjoyed all the books in the series, but this one hits home in a very personal way, and I can totally relate to Leah’s demons because I share the same ones. But I just love the way Ms. Shalvis can take a character’s heartbreaking situations and turn the trials into triumphs, and the things that can tear you down into things that build you up.

And, as always, the entire cast of characters are people we can connect to. From young adults just trying to find their way in life, to the more “mature” adults who are “old enough to know better but too young (at heart) to care…” each and every person in Lucky Harbor is a person I want to know better. A person I’d love to have as a friend or neighbor, or significant other.

The Bottom Line:

Jill Shalvis is one of the few truly amazing voices in Contemporary Romance, and with Always on My Mind, she’s delivered a beautifully told story about letting go of yesterday’s pain so you can live and love like there’s no tomorrow.

My thanks to Grand Central Publishing and Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this story in exchange for an honest review. Again, it’s been a pleasure.

    

It Had to Be You by Jill Shalvis

 

Ali Winters is not having a good day. Her boyfriend left her, everyone in town thinks she's a thief, and now she's about to be kicked out of her home. Her only shot at keeping a roof over her head and clearing her name is to beg for help from a police detective who's as sexy as he is stern....

After a high-profile case goes wrong, Luke Hanover returns to his hometown for some peace and quiet. Instead he finds a bombshell brunette in a heap of trouble. As he helps Ali put her world back together, the pieces of Luke's own life finally seem to fall into place. Is this the start of a sizzling fling? Or are Luke and Ali on the brink of something big in a little town called Lucky Harbor?

*****

It Had to Be You, the latest addition to my Lucky Harbor addiction, further solidifies Jill Shalvis’ place on my list of top contemporary romance authors. Like all the books in the series, It Had to Be You is romantic, funny, and sexy, with a story that pulls you in and characters who keep you coming back for more, first page to the last.

Whenever I pick up a Lucky Harbor book I’m guaranteed to get a feel good story with people I care about. They make me smile, make me laugh, make me sigh, and sometimes even make me cry and, without a doubt, the time I spend reading is time well spent.

There are many things to love about It Had to Be You, but I think my favorite part of this story is how Luke and Ali, both people who are used to taking care of others and taking nothing for themselves, come together and give to each other exactly what they didn’t even know they were missing. I love their passion, their trials, their triumphs, but most importantly, I love their love!

The bottom line: If you haven’t yet read this series, stop whatever it is you’re doing, pick up the first book, Simply Irresistible, and find out what makes these stories so special. You don’t have to read them in order but so much of the pleasure that comes from these books is getting to know the people and places of Lucky Harbor, and then revisiting them all, time and time again. Trust me on this, you won’t be disappointed!

My thanks to Grand Central Publishing for providing me with a copy of this wonderful story in exchange for an honest review. As always, my visit to Lucky Harbor has been an absolute delight! 

Under The Mistletoe by Jill Shalvis

 

 Just one more kiss….

There's no place like home for the holidays. And the Lucky Harbor Bed & Breakfast is bursting with festive lights and good cheer. But for Mia, Christmas is turning out to be anything other than merry and bright. Her recent break-up with her boyfriend Nick has made her return bittersweet. But then a surprise arrives, when Nick follows her to town bearing gifts-and asking for forgiveness.

Nick grew up without a family of his own so he's overwhelmed by the love that Mia receives from all her relatives, gathered together to celebrate the season. Under their watchful eyes, Nick finds earning back her trust the hardest thing he's ever had to do. If he succeeds, he will receive the greatest gift of all, Mia's love for a lifetime.

*****

Romantic, sexy, sweet… Under the Mistletoe is a Christmas novella from the Lucky Harbor series and, like everything Jill Shalvis writes, is a very charming story. And, it's the perfect way to kick off my holiday reading!

I truly enjoyed this book, but I wish it had been longer. It takes place five years in the future and Mia – Tara and Ford’s daughter from The Sweetest Thing – has been away at college, growing up and falling in love. It would have been nice to have a deeper glimpse into this part of her life, but all-in-all, it’s a great story. It’s a happy for now tale with the promise of a beautiful happily ever after down the road, and because Mia and Nick are young and just starting their lives and careers, I wouldn’t have it any other way.

This novella took no more than an hour to read, so if you're looking for a Jill Shalvis fix, or needing something quick to read for a Christmas themed challenge, then this is a great book to choose!

My thanks to netgalley.com and Forever, an imprint of Grand Central Publishing, for giving me a copy of this story for review. It was such a pleasure!

Forever and a Day by Jill Shalvis

Forever and a Day is the sixth book in the Lucky Harbor series and I am at a loss for words to express how I felt about this story. In all my reviews of Jill Shalvis’ books I use the same words: sexy, passionate, beautiful, wonderful, heartwarming, feel good, magical… and all of those words apply to this story, too.

Love can happen in a heartbeat.

Grace never thought she’d be starting her life over from scratch. Losing everything has landed her in Lucky Harbor, working as a dog walker for overwhelmed ER doctor Josh Scott. But the day his nanny fails to show up, Grace goes from caring for Josh’s loveable mutt to caring for his rambunctious kids. Soon Grace is playing house with the sexy single dad…

With so many people depending on him, Josh has no time for anything outside of his clinic and family–until Grace arrives in town. Now this brainy blonde is turning his life inside out and giving a whole new meaning to the phrase “good bedside manner.” Josh and Grace don’t know if what they have can last. But in a town like Lucky Harbor, a lifetime of love starts with just one day…

I absolutely adore this story… the entire series, in fact. But of the last three books, this is my favorite. There was something special about Grace, something I didn't notice in the earlier books, but something I deeply admired and appreciated. Her strength, her compassion... incredible. But the way she gave Josh whatever he needed, whether he realized he needed it or not? Well, that unconditional devotion made her one of my favorite heroines in the series. And Josh, a man who cared for others, selflessly, even to his own detriment. But a wonderful father, brother, lover... and so, so real. Not a commando or black ops specialist... just a normal guy. The kind of man you really could meet in the grocery store or dropping kids off at school, and I loved that about him! An everyday Hero, but just as hot and sexy as any "dangerous" hero I've read before.

The bottom line: Yep, no surprises here! Jill Shalvis has done it again. With a great story and amazing characters she made me fall in love with Lucky Harbor all over again. If there's really such a place, someone please let me know, because I'd be there in a heartbeat. Who doesn't want that kind of magic in their life?

My sincerest thank you to netgalley.com and Grand Central Publishing for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. As always, it's been a pleasure.    

Head Over Heels by Jill Shalvis

Once again Jill Shalvis has made magic happen in Lucky Harbor, in an absolutely delightful, sexy, and heartwarming addition to the series. She’s given us a beautiful love story and truly incredible characters who jump off the page, becoming honest-to-God living, breathing, feeling people who I can’t help but adore.

Chloe is the only one of Phoebe Traeger’s daughters who was actually raised by their quirky, free spirited mother, and Chloe has that same nature. Her sisters love her to death, but sometimes see her as a bit selfish, and definitely undependable, but I don’t see her that way at all. I see Chloe as a unique, loving woman who doesn’t fit the expectations of those around her, nor does she need to. She has her issues, but don't we all? Thankfully for her, Sawyer can see in Chloe what she can not – yes, she's flawed, but perfectly so.

With his troubled past and his need to make amends for crimes both real and imagined, Sawyer captured my heart. So strong, so honorable, and yet so very vulnerable in ways he’d never imagined, Sawyer is the kind of hero I’m drawn to, the kind I can’t help but love. And lucky for Sawyer, Chloe sees him for the man he truly is - yes, he's flawed, but perfectly so.

For me, the thing that makes Head Over Heels such a romantic love story is that both Sawyer and Chloe don’t believe that they can be loved… they truly, to the depths of their souls, believe themselves to be unlovable – and in Sawyer’s case, even worse – unworthy of love. Watching as they came to see themselves through the other person's eyes was just so beautiful, so... I can't even put it into words.

The bottom line – As I’ve said with each book in this series… don’t waste another moment thinking about reading this book… just do it. These are romantic, sexy, hopeful, uplifting stories about every day people who want what we all want; to live, laugh and love, and to find our own happily ever afters just like the ones waiting to be discovered in Lucky Harbor.