He's So Fine - Jill Shalvis (Grand Central - Oct 2014)

Series: Lucky Harbor (Book 11)

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?

Another fun and emotional trip to Lucky Harbor. Olivia is relatively new to Lucky Harbor, where she came to escape from her past. She runs her vintage shop and pretty much keeps to herself, though I'm not quite sure how she's managed to avoid the small town nosiness for so long. She's been pretty successful until she's out walking on the pier one morning and sees a man fall into the freezing water of the harbor. She immediately jumps in to try to save him.

First of all, Cole can't believe that he fell in the water, then he has to deal with a woman jumping in on top of him in an effort to "save" him. But once they're out of the water, he doesn't mind getting up close and personal with Olivia. There's something about her that reaches places in him that haven't seen the light in two years.

But both Olivia and Cole have gotten very good at keeping their secrets. Cole was hurt two years ago when he discovered that his fiancee was actually in love with one of his best friends and both had hidden it from him. He found out when she fell apart at his friend's funeral, and now he's not so sure that he can believe in love again. He's never told anyone what happened, but it has made him reluctant to trust. Cole also expects the best from himself and everyone around him, and isn't very forgiving of those who he feels let him down. Olivia hasn't told anyone in Lucky Harbor that she used to be a child television star. She had liked the people she worked with and was devastated when the show was cancelled, so much so that she had quite the meltdown. Now she has reinvented herself, but she is getting pressure from her family, her agent and the network to do a reunion show, but she doesn't want to risk the new life she has built for herself. But when the truth comes out, she almost loses it anyway.

I loved the way the relationship developed between Cole and Olivia. The attraction was strong and hot between them, but the connection went deeper than that. Olivia sees past the front he shows everyone else to the pain that he is hiding. She's also pretty good at showing him that life's events can't be reduced to black and white, right or wrong, and that there are reasons that people do the things that they do. Because he doesn't know who she used to be, Cole shows Olivia that the person that she has become is someone that can be loved as she is. When the truth is revealed, both Cole and Olivia have to face up to their deepest fears before they can move on. I was impressed by the way Olivia took control of her future. I loved seeing Cole finally see the truth of the way he'd been living his life. His big moment in front of the entire town was sweet and romantic and the perfect ending for the book.

It's in His Kiss - Jill Shalvis (Grand Central - Sept 2014)

Series: Lucky Harbor (Book 10)

ONE KISS CAN LAST FOREVER

Becca Thorpe has uprooted her life and escaped to the beach. Now's her chance to get away from city living, throw caution to the ocean winds, and live in the moment. Especially if the moment includes the deliciously sexy surfer she meets shortly after arriving in Lucky Harbor. Something about the dark intensity of Sam's eyes and the thrill she gets at his touch convinces her to stay awhile.

Boatbuilder and investment genius Sam Brody is a self-made man who knows how dangerous it can be to mix business and pleasure. But he can't resist offering Becca a job just to hear her laugh and have her near. Yet when her brother comes to town asking for help, will he tempt her back to her glamorous life in the city? Or do Sam and little Lucky Harbor have a chance to win Becca's heart?

This is the first book in the final trilogy of Lucky Harbor books, and I am going to miss the whole crew. In this book, Becca is a newcomer to Lucky Harbor. In need of a change in her life, she packed up everything and drove until she stopped in Lucky Harbor. She'd always wanted to see the Pacific Ocean, and finally doing so soothes her soul. Something that isn't so soothing, but is equally intriguing, is the sexy surfer she meets on the beach. Between the two she decides to stay in Lucky Harbor for awhile and see where it takes her.

Sam is co-owner of Lucky Harbor Charters, a business he owns with his two best friends. He's the money guy in the business, with a knack for increasing their income. The cute and sexy brunette he meets on the beach is a complication he doesn't need in his life, but he can't seem to stay away from her.

I loved Becca. She's smart and feisty and determined to get her life back. She grew up as part of a very musical family and is talented on the piano. She also suffers from terrible stage fright, and after years of fighting it in order to help her younger brother and meet parental expectations, she's had enough. She quit touring with him and took a job writing jingles for an ad agency. That went well until she lost her "muse" and now she's struggling, and hopes that a fresh start will help her. I loved her upbeat personality that has her making the best of her crappy living quarters, and her attempt at waitressing was great. She finally finds the perfect job as the office manager for Sam's company, a job that creates some trouble for the relationship that is growing between them. 

Sam is a man who keeps his emotions locked up pretty tight. His childhood was rocky with no mother and a father who was irresponsible. Sam grew up quickly, learned how to manage what money his dad did bring home, but still ended up in foster care on a regular basis. Fortunately for him, the foster mother he ended up with was wonderful, and her son became like a brother to him. But his father's easy use of "love ya" without any action to back it up gave Sam a distrust of the words, preferring to judge people by their actions. 

Sam and Becca are attracted to each other from the moment they meet. The chemistry between them is hot. Becca is ready to seize the moment with him, but Sam is a little more wary. He senses that she could get past his walls and is soon proved right. I loved the way that their relationship develops. There's a great deal of teasing between them, with his nickname of "Peeper" for her because of the way he catches her watching him, and her calling him "sexy grumpy surfer" because he is. Sam is protective of Becca (loved the spider scene!) and wants to help her get past the things that have been dragging her down. I loved the way that he sees that she hasn't had much fun in her life and is determined to bring it to her now. At the same time Becca is drawn to Sam's confidence, but also sees the neglected boy underneath. In spite of the issues she has with her own parents, she tries to help Sam deal with his own father issues. The feelings they have for each other deepen and grow, but their ways of expressing those feelings are so different that it nearly drives them apart. I loved Sam's big moment at the Summer Bash, when he comes through for Becca in so many ways. I look forward to seeing more of them in the next books.

I also loved the secondary characters. Sam's two friends and partners are terrific. They know Sam and all his foibles and love him anyway. I also liked the way they had no trouble giving him a hard time about anything from Becca to answering the phones. They are also always ready to support him, and are there when he needs help with Becca or his father or anything else. I enjoyed the stories they told from when they were all kids, and also their time on the rigs and when they started their business. It gave a good insight into what made them all the way they were. Sam's dad was an interesting guy, and though I didn't like him much at the beginning, by the end I could see that he really was trying to change. Becca's family members were harder to like. Her brother Jase was selfish and immature and made me very glad that Becca had gotten away from his life. It said a lot about her that she didn't give up on him, but she also developed the strength to stand up to him, thanks to Sam. I didn't like her parents at all. Their appearance at the end, all contrite about the way they had treated her, didn't feel real. I had the feeling that they were just playing her a different way. Her new friend and neighbor Olivia seems really nice, and I liked seeing the friendship that developed between them, something that Becca hadn't ever had before. I'm looking forward to seeing more of her in the next book.

Once in a Lifetime - Jill Shalvis (Grand Central - Feb 2014)

Series: Lucky Harbor (Book 9)

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?

Very good book. Ben is back in Lucky Harbor after years away, trying to outrun his grief. He had lost his wife and losing himself in work seemed the best way to go. When he runs into Aubrey he can't believe he's attracted to her. He remembers her from high school as the girl with the wild reputation. Aubrey is trying to live down that reputation. She's opening a bookstore that she'd like to have become a local gathering place. She's also trying to make amends to various people she feels she has wronged in the past.

I really liked Aubrey. First, I loved her plans for the bookstore. She loves books, but she also wants to use those books and her store to give a place for other people to connect with each other. She's also trying to repair her own reputation. While she was in high school she was rather wild and not a very nice person. Having recently stumbled into an AA meeting by accident, she is intrigued by the idea of making amends to people you have hurt in the past. She makes a list and begins going through it. 

Ben has been asked by a friend to help Aubrey with the renovations to her bookstore. As he spends time with her, he realizes that her reputation may have been somewhat exaggerated. He likes spending time with her, but when he stumbles on her list he wonders why he is on it. I loved watching him help her with her list and seeing him getting closer to her. The attraction is strong, but she is definitely not his type, being nothing like his late wife. Even various people around town tell him that she's not the woman for him. 

The romance that develops between them is pretty sweet. Aubrey knows she's falling for Ben, but the guilt of what she did to him tells her that there is no future for her with him. She knows she needs to tell him, especially once they start acting on their attraction, but she knows she'll lose him when she does. Being with Aubrey eases Ben's pain, but he's not ready to think of a relationship with anyone. I got a bit frustrated with Ben and the way he had put his wife and their marriage up on a pedestal, looking at it as the perfect life. It made it harder for him to move on with his life. I did like seeing the way that he got to know Aubrey and see that she wasn't as bad as people said. His resistance to his feelings made him a great target for his friends Jack and Luke to point out when he was being an idiot. Considering they had had their own moments of stupidity in their romances, I loved seeing them try to share their experiences.

I thought Aubrey had done a terrific job of getting her life back together. She had been involved in a scandal that wasn't her fault, but people are still down on her because of it. Her reputation in high school had come about because of the way she dealt with her family life. Her parents' divorce and splitting up of she and her sister had had a terrible effect on her. I thought she was pretty brave to be facing people she had hurt in the past, not knowing how they were going to react to her apologies. It was interesting to see some of those reactions. Her biggest fear was falling for Ben, knowing that he would probably not react well to what she had to tell him. I couldn't blame her for putting it off as long as she could. She also had another secret from her past that reared its ugly head, putting her new life at risk of failing before it even got started.

When the big reveal came, Aubrey's fears were realized. I felt so bad for her when Ben was so horrible. I wanted to shake him, or hit him with something, when he walked away from her. I liked seeing Lucille take him to task and point out some things he didn't know and that made a difference to what he thought he knew. His appearance at her grand opening and his "go big" moment was really sweet. Loved watching him grovel.

*copy received in exchange for honest review.