Blog Tour: About That Kiss

About That Kiss might just be my favourite Heartbreaker Bay book (so far). Is that OK to say? Am I allowed to play favourites? I've read three others (two of which I reviewed, here and here) and all three were Christmassy themed - usually something I absolutely love. But there was just a little something about Jill Shalvis' latest book that put it above the rest.

Here's the synopsis:

When love drives you crazy . . .When sexy Joe Malone never calls after their explosive kiss, Kylie shoves him out of her mind. Until she needs a favor, and it’s a doozy. Something precious to her has been stolen and there’s only one person with unique finder-and-fixer skills that can help—Joe. It means swallowing her pride and somehow trying to avoid the temptation to throttle him—or seduce him.
the best thing to do . . .No, Joe didn’t call after the kiss. He’s the fun time guy, not the forever guy. And Kylie, after all she’s been through, deserves a good man who will stay. But everything about Kylie makes it damned hard to focus, and though his brain knows what he has to do, his heart isn’t getting the memo.
… is enjoy the ride.As Kylie and Joe go on the scavenger hunt of their lives, they discover surprising things about each other. Now, the best way for them to get over “that kiss” might just be to replace it with a hundred more. 

I think what I liked more about this novel than the others in the series I've read so far is that the other storyline (and by that I mean not the romance) was really strong and interesting. Of course I wanted Kylie and Joe to get together because clearly they had crazy strong feelings for each other. But I was just as invested in them getting to the bottom of the mystery. 

The mystery - and the scavenger hunt they have to go on - has more than a hint of danger and that helped amp up the emotions the characters were having (and, if I'm honest, that I was having too!). I liked that I really had no idea who was behind it and the ending came as a surprise. That being said, I'm not sure if I love who the culprit was...there didn't seem to be enough of a connection made. I understand it but only because I think I filled in the gaps Shalvis didn't quite do herself.

Kylie and Joe were both such genuinely good people (even though they would both disagree with that statement). You can tell by the way they treat those closest to them, whether it's friends or family. And they treat those people extremely well. They're just super hard on themselves and part of that comes from their respective childhoods. Neither of them had it easy and you can also tell that they worked hard to get where they are today. You have to admire and respect that. Plus, Kylie is totally kickass and a strong woman and I loved her.

About That Kiss had a little bit of everything - drama, romance, mystery, and even some literal laugh out loud moments - which made it an entertaining read for me. Jill Shalvis writes romances well and this series is a great one to pick up if you want to jump into a series. You don't have read them in order though. Feel free to hop into any Heartbreaker Bay book that catches your eye...but you'll probably want to read them all and get to know the great group of friends Shalvis has created!

About the Author
New York Times bestselling author Jill Shalvis lives in a small town in the Sierras full of quirky characters. Any resemblance to the quirky characters in her books is, um, mostly coincidental. Look for Jill’s bestselling, award-winning books wherever romances are sold and visit her website, www.jillshalvis.com, for a complete book list and daily blog detailing her city-girl-living-in-the-mountains adventures.

Connect with Jill
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Buy About That Kiss
Amazon * IndieBound * Barnes & Noble * Books-A-Million * iBooks * GooglePlay

*An eARC of this novel was provided by the publisher, HarperCollins, in exchange for a review for the purpose of a blog tour. All opinions are honest and my own.*