Review - Sweet Little Lies

Title: Sweet Little Lies
Author: Jill Shalvis
Publishing Date: 2016
Genre: Contemporary
Rating: B-
Sensuality: Hot
Book Disclosure: I checked this one out from the library.

Sweet Little Lies is the first in a new Jill Shalvis series, Heartbreaker Bay.  Just to give you a little bit of background if you are not familiar with Jill Shalvis (shame on you!), she writes awesome contemporary books set in small towns.  She gained well deserved popularity with her Lucky Harbor series, which is where I fell in love with her writing.  So back to Sweet Little Lies... Pru, a captain of a tourist boating operation, has made it her life's mission to right the wrongs her parents caused when they chose to drink and drive.  Her last operation is to make sure that hunky, bartender Finn is happy in life.  She sets out to make sure he finds happiness by falling in love, however, she certainly didn't intend for it to be herself!

What I liked.  I am super excited about all the new characters introduced in this book.  I love the little community set in San Francisco that theses characters have been able to carve out for themselves.  You have the brooding/man whore Jake, who has taken in upon himself to protect Pru.  There are several guys friends with Finn and then several girls friends with Pru.  I smell lots of sequel baiting!! Sweet Little Lies also has plenty of funny scenes where either Pru or Finn ends up in some sort of predicament. 

Why didn't I give this one a higher grade?  Well, I had a little trouble buying into Pru and Finn's romance.  I was much more interested in everything else going on in the book that the romance was secondary to me.  Also, for most of the book Pru withholds some important information about her history from Finn and that was looming over the story.  The reader is on pins and needles waiting for the big bomb to drop.  When it finally does, it is fairly predictable how Finn reacts.  It all seemed very anti-climactic and unnecessary.

Sweet Little Lies was not my favorite by Shalvis, but I am definitely interested in reading more in this series.

Review - The Trouble with Paradise

Title: The Trouble with Paradise
Author: Jill Shalvis
Publishing Date: 2007
Genre: Contemporary
Rating: B-
Sensuality: Hot
Book Disclosure: I purchased a used copy at a book store.

Dorie Anderson's life is just not turning out as great as she had hoped. She is at a dead in job in the retail world, when really what she wants is to be a fashion designer. Then consider her love life, or lack of in any case. All in the blink of an eye Dorie is on her way to Fiji on a cruise with not one but two hunky men who have caught her eye. Things turn sour when the yacht ends up in a terrible storm leaving them shipwrecked. At least she has sexy doctor, Christian to tend to her needs.

The Trouble with Paradise is not a terribly deep story. If you are looking for something simple and cute to pass the time then this is the book for you. Dorie is a sweet heroine who has a tendency to stumble her way into things. She is a very klutzy heroine, but she has luck on her side. She may not know it, none-the-less.

I liked the premise of the story. Girl looking for adventure and romance finds more than she can handle when her vacation boat ends up shipwrecked. I thought that more time would be spent on the island. It doesn't actually happen until two/thirds through the book. There is a little bit of complication because one of the crew members ends up missing and the characters don't know if it was foul play or not. That mystery was a bit distracting from the romance between Dorie and Christian. Also, I never understood why Christian kept pushing Dorie away when he was obviously drawn to her. Overall this was an easy read and was a nice way to pass the time.

Review - Slow Heat

Title: Slow Heat
Author: Jill Shalvis
Publishing Date: February 2010
Genre: Contemporary
Rating: B
Sensuality: Hot
Book Disclosure: I purchased a new copy.

Samantha McNead is the publicist for a Major League Baseball team. One of the players Wade O'Riley has been getting a lot of bad press the team doesn't need. Sam concocts a plan to pretend to be Wade's girlfriend to take some of the heat off of Wade and therefore the team. Only Sam and Wade had a one night stand a year ago and Sam has never been able to get over Wade. Since she is dedicated to her job, she is willing to go to whatever lengths she needs to, even stir up her feelings in order to help the team.

Unless you have been hiding in a cave, you must know that Slow Heat has been getting rave reviews all over the internet. Jill Shalvis is hit or miss for me and after all the fantastic publicity, I decided to give her latest release a try. I am happy to say that this one was a hit for me, as well!

Slow Heat has great pacing, while the romance is still front and center with enough side conflicts to keep things interesting. One of my favorite things about the book was Wade's confidence. Many times Sam would push him away or lash out at him. Of course Sam was doing this to protect herself from getting hurt and Wade caught on fairly early. He doesn't get discouraged. He is able to see through Sam's act and put Sam in check. Wade has his own commitment issues, but he is still remains the pursuer.

As much as I liked Wade being the pursuer, I wish that Sam would have thrown him a bone every now and then. She kept pushing him away up until the very end. I would have liked to see her come to terms with her fear of letting go and take a chance. I don't think she grew enough by the end of the story for me to really believe she had worked out all her issues.

One other thing I'd like to point out was that I enjoyed the addition of Wade's father and Sam's nephew, Tag. These two characters helped to showcase both Sam and Wade's commitment issues and were the catalyst that eventually got them to work through those issues. Plus, these side characters were able to add laughs when needed.

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This book can be purchased in print or kindle format from Amazon.

Review - Smart and Sexy

Title: Smart and Sexy
Author: Jill Shalvis
Publishing Date: 2007
Genre: Contemporary
Rating: D
Sensuality: Hot

Noah Fisher is one of the co-owners of a private airline that caters to the filthy rich. After six months of taking a hiatus from flying, he has decided to get behind the wheel again. Only unfortunately for him, this day wasn’t the best day to pick. Bailey Sinclair’s husband died in a ski accident six months ago. After his death, it comes to light that some of his investments went bad and that he was in fact broke, not rich. To make matters worse the investors want their money back and swear that Bailey knows where it is hidden. So Bailey hijacks Noah Fisher to have him fly her to one of her husband’s resorts where she hopes the money is hidden.

Oh dear. I wanted to like this one. I really did. But alas, I just can’t, in all honesty, give it a higher grade. Bailey and Noah were nice enough, but they were completely superficial. If I had to read one more time about how broad his shoulders were, or how nice of an ass she had, I’d scream. On top of that, the whole book takes place over two days (possibly three) and they are on the run from these goons the whole time. But somehow in the middle of running for their lives, they have plenty of time to stop and do the horizontal mambo. I mean priorities people! Then to make matters worse, at the end of it they are completely in luuvvvvve. Only it is just not believable because it was lust, not love that brought these two together. Actually, the whole book takes an inordinate amount of suspension of disbelief, from their headlong fast fall into love, to the silly decisions that the characters kept making.

I will admit to enjoying Brody and Maddie. Brody is one of Noah’s partners and Maddie is their secretary. Maddie stole the show with her candor in telling the boys like it is. She has a secret though and it’s that she has feelings for Brody. I think Brody does too, but it will take a lot of pushing to make him admit it. I have a feeling that they have a book with their name on it. I am such a sucker that I will probably even read it.

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Review - Get a Clue

Title: Get a Clue
Author: Jill Shalvis
Publishing Date: 2005
Genre: Contemporary
Rating: B+
Sensuality: Hot

Breanne Mooreland has had a pretty bad day. It starts out with her fiancée standing her up on her wedding day and ends with her stranded in a mountain lodge during a snowstorm, only to find that her honeymoon suite is already occupied by a very naked man. He is a man who has enough testosterone to quickly make her forget her new mantra, “no more men.”

Cooper Scott recently quit his job as a vice cop and is desperately in need of a vacation. Preferably one where he can sit back and relax, maybe meet a snow bunny or two. What he finds though is a dead body, not your normal run of the mill hotel staff and a guest who he can’t seem to keep his hands off of.

I have to say I really enjoyed this story. It was a light, quick read that had me amused at the antics within. It sort of had a “Clue” feel to it, but not too much that I was annoyed. Shalvis got the humor just right for me. She was able to take man-hating Breanne and make her come across as vulnerable, instead of overbearing and mean-spirited. Cooper was also a great match for Breanne because he didn’t play games, always told it like it was and, well, he was sexy as all get out! Also, I got a kick out of him calling her Princess. I think he hit the nail on the head with that one, and instead of him finding it annoying, he thought it was sexy and endearing. Even though this story only takes place over a matter of a few days, I felt that their relationship was believable.

The other secondary characters were a nice addition to the story too. There is also a bit of a mystery, but not enough to make this a romantic suspense. I will definitely be looking into Shalvis’s other works. She has quick wit and a breezy style that makes for an enjoyable, easy read. She is definitely one to watch for.

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