Showing posts with label Jill Shalvis. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jill Shalvis. Show all posts

Friday, February 9, 2018

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
Website * Facebook * Twitter * Instagram * Pinterest * Tumblr * Goodreads *

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.*

Monday, November 20, 2017

Blog Tour: Holiday Wishes


We're getting closer and closer to Christmas which means reading even more Christmas romances! It's one of my favourite parts of the holiday - bonus if I can curl up in front of fireplace with a peppermint (or spiked) hot chocolate. I love when I can find a good novella or short story with a holiday theme and I was happy to come across Holiday Wishes by Jill Shalvis. I only just read my first Heartbreaker Bay novel recently (another Christmas one, of course, and you can read my review here) but really enjoyed the group of friends I met. So, I was happy to get to know another couple better in Holiday Wishes.

Here's the synopsis:
It’s Christmastime again in Heartbreaker Bay!
When Sean O’Riley shows up at the Hartford Bed & Breakfast for his older brother’s bachelor weekend, he’s just hoping to make it through the weekend. What he’s not expecting is to come face to face with the woman he lost his virginity to a decade ago—a woman he’s never really forgotten.
The last time Lotti Hartford saw Sean, she told him she loved him while he said nothing. Now, ten years later, she’s just looking for a good time. For once, she wants to be the wild and free one, and Sean – the good time guy – is the perfect candidate.
But as the weekend continues, Sean realizes that after a lifetime of being the hook-up king, he’s ready to find happily-ever-after, and he wants it with Lotti. But will she open her heart to him again? As Christmas sweeps through the little B&B, he can only hope love and magic are in the air.
I feel like I say this all the time in my Christmas book reviews but this novella didn't beat you over the head with holiday spirit. Well. That's not strictly true. I think sometimes these books actually capture the spirit Christmas is supposed to have, what it used to have. You know, the sort of cheesy being surrounded by friends and family and spending time with each other instead of the things you felt you had to buy each other kind of feeling. In the case of Holiday Wishes, it was so lovely seeing how much Sean and his friends care for each other and how close they were. They had made their own family and I loved that.

I'm a big fan of second chance romances (do you ever wonder sometimes why your favourite tropes are your favourites? Am I trying too hard to psychoanalyze myself?) so I really liked that Sean and Lotti knew each other when they were teenagers. I'm proud of Lotti for standing up to Sean and not falling back into his arms just because he was there. Of course, I was also frustrated that she didn't give him a fair enough chance to explain that he had changed. She just couldn't believe it. But then he starts to show her how he changed and oh how he worked to woo her. It was really sweet.

I absolutely loved the setting of the novel. I guess I'm a sucker for quaint hotel/B&B set stories too (I adored Nora Roberts' Inn BoonsBoro novels and someday I will stay at the real Inn!). I also liked that Lotti was running her own business and had a lot of pride in it. 

Holiday Wishes is perfect for you if you want a sweet hit of Christmassy romance this holiday season. Jill Shalvis has written a pretty good (but not great) novella. It can stand alone but I think it might be nice had you read Sean's brothers novel. All in all, I'm glad to have read it but it wasn't a romance that totally knocked my Christmas-themed socks off.

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
Website * Facebook * Twitter * Instagram * Pinterest * Tumblr * Goodreads *

Buy Holiday Wishes
Amazon * Barnes & Noble * iBooks * Kobo * GooglePlay *

*An eARC was provided by the publisher, HarperCollins, for review consideration. All opinions are honest and my own.*

Monday, October 9, 2017

Review: Chasing Christmas Eve


It may be Thanksgiving here in Canada (Happy Thanksgiving, friends!) but I'm getting the holiday spirit going already with Chasing Christmas Eve by Jill Shalvis. This is the latest in her HeartbreakerBay series but you don’t have to read the others to enjoy Colbie and Spence’s story. Of course, if you’re like me and haven’t read them you’re probably going to want to go back and visit the stories Shalvis has already written. That’s how much fun and how sweet this novel was!

Here’s the synopsis via Goodreads:
Meet cute...Run for the hills—temporarily. That's Colbie Albright's plan when she flees New York for San Francisco. Wrangling her crazy family by day and writing a bestselling YA fantasy series by night has taken its toll. In short, Colbie's so over it that she's under it. She's also under the waters of a historic San Francisco fountain within an hour of arrival. Fortunately, the guy who fishes Colbie out has her looking forward to Christmas among strangers. But she's pretty sure Spencer Baldwin won't be a stranger for long.
Make merry...Spence's commitment to hiding from the Ghosts of Relationships Past means he doesn't have to worry about the powerful—okay, crazy hot chemistry—he's got with Colbie. Just because she can laugh at anything, especially herself... just because she's gorgeous and a great listener just because she gets Spence immediately doesn't mean he won't be able to let Colbie go. Does it?
and hope for a miracle.Now the clock's ticking for Colbie and Spence: Two weeks to cut loose. Two weeks to fall hard. Two weeks to figure out how to make this Christmas last a lifetime.

It was really easy to see why Spence would fall for Colbie. I loved her too! She was smart, funny, and down to earth. She had issues – which reared its ugly head a few times over the course of the novel – but she seemed committed to working through them. After running away, of course. I do wish she was more firm with her mom and brothers at the end because they really were taking advantage of her. I get that she’s a fixer – I kind of am myself – but she was so focused on that that she couldn’t see that maybe her life could be different and oh so much better with Spence and San Francisco.

It was also easy to see why Colbie loved San Francisco. I’ve never been but it’s on my travel bucket list. The area Spence and his friends live in sounded so great and had a nice small town vibe in the middle of a big city.

Spence had a really awesome, loyal group of friends which are his self-made family. I loved the friendship between all of them. They’re super protective of him because other people from his past have taking advantage of him. For the most part, that’s sweet. But sometimes their protectiveness became a little extreme. I get that they might assume Colbie is a reporter since they know virtually nothing about her but I also couldn’t quite see why there was so much fuss about Spence. Sure he’s crazy smart and rich and good-looking but…I don’t understand why the media was crawling all over him. I also really didn’t understand why Elle was so crazy Mama Bear protective of Spence. It was honestly annoying to read and I wish she, and some of the others, gave him the chance to fall in love instead of blocking his relationship with Colbie whenever they could. They liked her – and it was sweet that the ladies of the group immediately took Colbie under their wing – but instead of allowing her to share her background in her own time, they forced the issue.

The romance was totally believable in this story, even if it happened really quickly. Colbie and Spence had so many common personality traits and differences where it mattered that it made so much sense for them to fall for each other.

I’m finding that most Christmas romances these days aren’t really too Christmassy. So it wasn’t that weird reading a book set in the three weeks leading up to Christmas when it was October and unseasonably warm here in Ontario. But, had I been reading this in December and wanted a romance with all of the Christmas trimmings, I may have been disappointed. As long as you don’t expect Santa or tinsel at every turn, I think you’ll enjoy the hints of holiday throughout this book.

All in all, Chasing Christmas Eve was a really nice read. Jill Shalvis is so talented at creating worlds that are sweet and so much fun to read about. I read this one really quickly and my heart was full at the end for Colbie and Spence. I’d consider that a win.

Excerpt
At the unexpected sight of Spence, Colbie startled hard. How was it that he was the one who needed glasses and yet she’d not seen him standing against the window? “No, I don’t kill a lot of people,” she said cautiously because she was wearing only a towelin front of a strange man. “But I’m happy to make an exception.”
He laughed, a rough rumble that was more than a little contagious but she controlled herself because, hello, she was once again dripping wet before the man who seemed to make her knees forget to hold her up.
“I didn’t mean to scare you,” he said and pushed off the wall to come close.
She froze, but he held up his hands like, I come in peace, and crouched at her feet to scoop up the clothes she hadn’t realized she’d dropped.
Leggings, a long forgiving tee, and the peach silk bra-and-panty set that hadn’t gotten so much as a blink from the TSA guy.
But it got one out of Spence. He also swallowed hard as she snatched them back from him.
“Hold on,” he said and caught her arm, pulling it toward him to look at her bleeding elbow.
“Sit,” he said and gently pushed her down to a weight bench. He vanished into the bathroom and came back out with a first aid kit.
It took him less than two minutes to clean and bandage the scrape. Then, easily balanced at her side on the balls of his feet, he did the same for both her knees, which she hadn’t noticed were also scraped up.
“You must’ve hit the brick coping as you fell in the fountain,” he said and let his thumb slide over the skin just above one bandaged knee.
She shivered, and not from the cold either. “Not going to kiss it better?” she heard herself ask before biting her tongue for running away with her good sense.
She’d raised her younger twin brothers. Scrappy, roughhouse wild animals, the both of them, so there’d been plenty of injuries she’d kissed over the years.
But no one had ever kissed hers. Not surprising, since most of her injuries tended to be on the inside, where they didn’t show. Still, she was horrified she’d said anything at all. “I didn’t mean—”
She broke off, frozen like a deer in the headlights as Spence slowly lowered his head, brushing his lips over the Band-Aid on her elbow, then her knees. When he lifted his head, he pushed his glasses higher on his nose, those whiskey eyes warm and amused behind his lenses. “Better?”
Shockingly better. Since she didn’t quite trust her voice at the moment, she gave a jerky nod and took her clothes back into the bathroom. She shut the door and then leaned against it, letting out a slow, deliberate breath. Holy cow, she was out of her league. He was somehow both cute and hot, and those glasses . . .

Connect with JillWebsite * Facebook * Twitter * Instagram * Pinterest * Tumblr * Goodreads 

Buy Links for Chasing Christmas Eve
Amazon * IndieBound * Barnes & Noble * Books-A-Million * iBooks * GooglePlay


*A copy of this novel was provided by the publisher, Avon Books/HarperCollins, in exchange for review consideration. All opinions are honest and my own.*

Tuesday, June 20, 2017

Review: Lost and Found Sisters


If you're a romance reader, you'll know Jill Shalvis. You may know her work even if romance isn't your go-to genre. I've read a few of her books before and always found them lovely so I was looking forward to her latest book, Lost and Found Sisters. While it wasn't a bad book, it didn't thrill me or live up to my expectations.

Here's the synopsis:
They say life can change in an instant…
After losing her sister in a devastating car accident, chef Quinn Weller is finally getting her life back on track. She appears to have it all: a loving family, a dream job in one of L.A.’s hottest eateries, and a gorgeous boyfriend dying to slip an engagement ring on her finger. So why does she feel so empty, like she’s looking for a missing piece she can’t find?
The answer comes when a lawyer tracks down Quinn and reveals a bombshell secret and a mysterious inheritance that only she can claim. This shocking revelation washes over Quinn like a tidal wave. Her whole life has been a lie.
On impulse, Quinn gives up her job, home, and boyfriend. She heads up the coast to the small hometown of Wildstone, California, which is just a few hours north, but feels worlds apart from Los Angeles. Though she doesn’t quite fit in right away, she can’t help but be drawn to the town’s simple pleasures…and the handsome, dark-haired stranger who offers friendship with no questions asked.
As Quinn settles into Wildstone, she discovers there’s another surprise in store for her. The inheritance isn’t a house or money, but rather something earthshattering, something that will make her question everything she thought she knew about herself, about her family. Now with a world of possibilities opening up to Quinn, she must decide if this new life is the one she was always meant to have—and the one that could finally give her the fulfillment she’s searched so long for.
I wish I could put my finger on why I didn't really like this one. Like I said, it's not bad. It's sweet but it's very two dimensional. I felt like there were a lot of missed opportunities for really expanding on the story and building up the characters. This novel - and the series - is supposed to be more of a "women's fiction" story than a contemporary romance. And maybe that's the problem? Not to say that romances can't be deep, but there's usually more meat to a women's fiction than a romance. I'm saying this as a romance reader who loves that they follow a certain formula and don't mind as long as they have an interesting journey in the middle...but this one wasn't as interesting or well developed as it should have been. I could also really tell that Shalvis was setting this up to be a series (side note...are there really that many women's fiction series out there?). It seemed like the characters that would be showing up in the next books were plopped into Quinn and Mick's story simply because they had to be...and not necessarily because they added anything to the story.

I did really like Quinn. I wanted her to be more three dimensional, but she was sweet, funny, and an all around good person. She knows her flaws and is trying to work on them but it's hard for her. I can't blame her because I am sure the death of a sister would be an awful, terrible thing to go through and it would definitely screw you up for awhile.

I thought Mick was really right for Quinn. He had his own stuff to sort through (I totally get the not wanting to move back to his small hometown, though mine isn't nearly as teeny as Wildstone) but he and Quinn just seemed to fit. He supported her and tore down the walls she put up after her sister's death. And he didn't really push for more than what she was willing (or able) to give. He understood that creating a relationship with her new sister was the most important thing in her life and he helped her work on that relationship.

I love stories set in small towns so I enjoyed that aspect of this novel. There were many quirky (and nosy) characters in town. Wildstone was hit during the recession and hadn't quite found a way to bounce back, despite many townspeople trying their hardest to succeed. These issues actually play a part in Mick's backstory and I really wish the first hurdle - and a very big problem - hadn't been resolved between the end of the story and the epilogue. I felt a bit let down by not seeing how Mick succeeded. (Vague, I know, but I don't want to give anything away.)

Overall, Lost and Found Sisters is a cute read but Jill Shalvis' latest wasn't anything special. I wouldn't really consider it a women's fiction novel and really wonder why it's being pushed as such. Despite not being wowed, Shalvis did enough to keep me interested in Wildstone. I want to make sure everyone I met in this first story is going to be ok and get their own Happily Ever After.

*I received a copy of the novel from the publisher, HarperCollins, in exchange for review consideration. All opinions are honest and my own.*

Sunday, December 8, 2013

Review: A Christmas to Remember


Warning: the following is a phrase you’ll probably hear often from me over the next few weeks. I love Christmas and I love holiday themed anthologies. When I got a Netgalley email telling me I could read the short story collection A Christmas to Remember I immediately went on the site to download it. The collection features stories by Jill Shalvis, Kristen Ashley, Hope Ramsay, Molly Cannon, and Marilyn Pappano - a nice combo of familiar and new to me authors. Some of the stories thrilled me more than others but as a whole this anthology was immensely enjoyable.

Here’s the description of all the stories:
Curl up with this heartwarming Christmas collection!
Jill Shalvis, Dream a Little Dream: Melissa has kept every man at a safe distance-especially firefighter Ian, a sexy friend with sexy benefits. But Ian secretly longs for more. Luckily, 'tis the season for giving love a chance.
Kristen Ashley, Every Year: Holidays don't come easy for Shy and his brother, Landon. But with the magic of Christmas, along with a little help from Tabby and her family, the Cage brothers are about to get the gift of a lifetime.
Hope Ramsay, Silent Night: Down on her luck and evicted from her apartment, single mother Maryanne hopes to start over in Last Chance. When the snow begins to fall, it looks like her baby might literally spend Christmas Eve in a manger. And Maryanne might celebrate the holiday with a handsome stranger.
Molly Cannon, Have Yourself a Messy Little Christmas: Lincoln is a bachelor who's set in his ways-until a professional organizer dressed up as Mrs. Claus changes his life, one tip at a time.
Marilyn Pappano, A Family for Christmas: War widow Ilena doesn't mind spending Christmas alone. But when a new doctor blows into town with the winter wind, will she get her secret Christmas wish?
Anthologies can be a funny thing. Sometimes the best story is the first, the one by the author with the biggest name on the front, or sometimes one of the others sneaks up and grabs you – in a good way. In the case of this collection, Jill Shalvis’ short story, “Dream a Little Dream”, was great and really set the bar high for the following stories. I read a few Lucky Harbor books a couple of years ago and I’ve always wanted to read more. After reading this sweet, sexy, but heartfelt story set in the adorable small town, I plan on checking out at least a few more Lucky Harbor books in the new year. Plus, Shalvis wins the year by having a character who spells her name the same way I do. Trust me, this is a very rare thing. In my entire 26 years of living I have personally met only two people who spell it “Kaley” as well, not including the hot actress (but how cool would it be to meet Kaley Cuoco? :) )

The next two, Kristen Ashley’s story, “Every Year”, and Hope Ramsay’s, “Silent Night”, didn’t thrill me too much, unfortunately. Ashley’s needed just a bit more framing (when and how did the couple get together?) and…something…to make it work as a standalone. It had a lot of heart though, I’ll give her that. Ramsay’s was sweet and I did like the farmhouse aspect but it just wasn’t one that will really stick with me.

Molly Cannon’s story, “Have Yourself a Messy Little Christmas”, was so much fun. I found myself giggling out loud at some of the things Dinah said to provoke Lincoln. They were just the cutest oddball couple and I loved it. Plus, there was a super sweet surprise at the end for Dinah, not what you’d expect, that makes you fall in love with Lincoln just a little bit more.

Finally, “A Family for Christmas” by Marilyn Pappano really tugged on the heartstrings. I cannot imagine having to go through what Ilena did, losing a husband to the war before he could meet – or even know about – his son. Pappano should be commended for really making Ilena’s feelings come through the page and making me, the reader, understand how she can be feeling what she’s feeling. Plus, reading about Jared with little baby John was just too sweet.

I liked that Christmas played a large role in each of the stories. Sometimes it was about making a new family and new traditions, sometimes it was about finding your way back to your family. But family definitely played a huge part in all of the stories and I loved that. To me, Christmas means spending some quality time with your family, whether blood related or handpicked, while enjoying the festive spirit and so much good food. And two of the stories/author introductions referenced over stuffed stockings and placing each family member’s stocking where they would be seated on Christmas morning. My family does that too and it made me smile, knowing that others do the same thing.

Overall, A Christmas to Remember is a winner when it comes to holiday romance short story collections. It was cute, funny, sweet, heartfelt, and sometimes a little sexy. Maybe if you’re really good Santa will place it in your very own overstuffed stocking. Just don’t forget to put it on your list!

Sunday, January 1, 2012

Just Finished: Small Town Christmas




First of all, happy new year! I hope you all had a great time ringing in the new year and I wish you all the best for 2012! :)

As you can see, I like to drag out the Christmas season as long as possible. I figure it's ok until after New Year's...makes sense, right? That's at least what I'm telling myself :) I had Small Town Christmas on my Kobo and I just couldn't let the season go by without diving in. So yesterday, amidst New Year's Eve celebrations (which were quite tame but enjoyable), I finished the collection.

This collection had three short stories - emphasis on short. The whole book is not even 150 pages so I flew through it. I'm not a huge short story person to begin with so these seemingly even shorter stories didn't thrill me as much as I hoped. They were quick and didn't really give me a lot of detail. They were, however, Christmassy. So they at least had that going for it.

I just finished Jill Shalvis' Lucky Harbor series (read my review here) so I could easily recall the featured characters in the first short story, "Kissing Santa Claus". It was just like the three full length novels - sweet and predictable in a good way. It was ridiculously short though and I barely had time to dive back into Lucky Harbor before I finished the story. It was nice to see how Logan's life turned out though.

I hadn't heard of Hope Ramsay or Katie Lane before reading this collection. Both of their stories were very sweet but didn't give me much insight into what their other works might be like. I won't hold that against them and if I ever come across something by either author I will definitely give it a try.

I really liked the idea of this collection - Christmas in a small town. That's probably because I'm a small town girl through and through, even if the town I grew up in is probably a bit larger than Lucky Harbor, Last Chance, or Bramble. I can easily imagine the small town charm and what it would be like during the holidays.

Overall, this was a quick read that gave me a good last hit of Christmas romance. If this one happens to come across your path, I say give it a shot but it definitely could have used another story or slightly longer ones. Small Town Christmas made me smile and that's usually all I ask for with my Christmas stories. Mission accomplished :)

Happy reading!

Saturday, December 31, 2011

Just Finished: The Lucky Harbor Series


I did it, I did it! I have finished another Christmas book in time to make it on the list for the Book Lovers Inc. Holiday Challenge. Phew! You're probably wondering how the above three novels qualify for a Christmas Challenge, aren't you? I actually read Simply Irresistible and The Sweetest Thing together in the combo book Christmas in Lucky Harbor. Those two books, plus Head Over Heels, were all written by Jill Shalvis. I thought they were sweet stories and I enjoyed reading them.

I got these books courtesy of NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing. "Christmas" in the title of Christmas in Lucky Harbor was what led me to them and I figured I may as well read the third novel while I was at it! I'm not going to put the synopsis in this post for these books because it would take up a lot of space so instead I will direct you to the Goodreads pages for each. You can find them here, here, and here. :) In a nutshell, these books each focus on a different sister - Maddie in Simply Irresistible, Tara in The Sweetest Thing, and Chloe in Head Over Heels. In true romance novel fashion, each sister falls in love with a different man and after a few obstacles are thrown in their path they all live happily ever after. The nice thing about these novels was that the relationship between the sisters was just as important as the romantic relationships. The three are actually half sisters, same mother but different fathers, and have never spent much time together. In fact, they hadn't seen each other in five years when they all came together for their mother's funeral. As it turns out, Phoebe, their wild and carefree mother, owned an inn in the quaint town of Lucky Harbor and the girls inherited it and all its problems. It's great to see how all the relationship between the women progress through the three novels.

It's very easy for romance novels (ok, any genre really) to get predictable and fall into a pattern. I always say that I don't care if I know who is going to end up with who at the end of the book as long as I'm entertained throughout the rest of the story. Fortunately, the Lucky Harbor novels gave me three sweet and fun stories. The sisters have to learn to fix themselves before they can let anyone else in and it was nice to see how they grew and evolved over the course of the series.

The only thing that I found disappointing was that I went into reading Christmas in Lucky Harbor expecting it to be totally Christmassy. Sadly, it was not. By now you'd think I would have learned my lesson but every year I assume that if "Christmas" or "holiday" is in the title of the book then it's going to be all Christmas all the time. Oh well. Even though I wished there had been a lot more Christmas in the book, I survived and still enjoyed reading it.

Overall, I enjoyed reading these books and I'm glad I read them back to back to back. I didn't really want to leave the world of Lucky Harbor and the inn and kept thinking about the books when I wasn't reading them. I think chick lit and romance lovers alike will enjoy Jill Shalvis' series. I'm definitely going to keep an eye on other books by her in the future.

Happy reading and happy New Year everyone! :)