Second Chance Summer by Jill Shalvis

Disclaimer: I received an ARC of Second Chance Summer from NetGalley. As always all opinions here are my own.

Book Blurb

Cedar Ridge, Colorado, is famous for crisp mountain air, clear blue skies, and pine-scented breezes. And it’s the last place Lily Danville wants to be. But she needs a job, and there’s an opening at the hottest resort in her hometown. What has her concerned is the other hot property in Cedar Ridge: Aidan Kincaid-firefighter, rescue worker, and heartbreaker. She never could resist that devastating smile…

The Kincaid brothers are as rough and rugged as the Rocky Mountains they call home. Aidan has always done things his own way, by his own rules. And never has he regretted anything more than letting Lily walk out of his life ten years ago. If anyone has ever been in need of rescuing, she has. What she needs more than anything are long hikes, slow dances, and sizzling kisses. But that can only happen if he can get her to give Cedar Ridge-and this bad boy-a second chance . . .

Book Review

One of the things Jill Shalvis does incredibly well, is creating characters that are wonderful and unique in their own way, but all feel endearingly familiar...like old friends you've just reconnected with. And that's one of the true joys of reading her Lucky Harbour and Animal Magnetism series, they're filled with friends that you get to catch up with and delicious, sweet, erotic love stories that you feel like you're a part of. But this time, with Second Chance Summer, I felt out of place and the first time I read it I really struggled to get into it. In fact, for the first time ever, I found myself putting the book down repeatedly and watching Warehouse 13 re-runs instead. But then I shook it off, grabbed some cookies and dove in again...and I fell in love.

Second Chance Summer, at times, feels slow and bulky because it's a brand new series and we got to meet almost all of the main characters, a ton of incredible supporting characters, a whole lot of backstory and a whole heap of intrigue. It's a lot to cover in a standard-length novel while also investigating an achingly sweet, teasingly delicious romance. But once you realise that you're getting nifty little tidbits of an intriguing backstory laid out before you, you kind of just roll with it and realise that Second Chance Summer is just the day-to-day life of Lily and Aidan as they fall in love. And while it did feel a little bit disjointed, it also feels incredibly real and I absolutely loved meeting the characters of Cedar Ridge and by the end of the story, I was completely in love with Lily and Aidan.

Aidan is a badass. But he's a teasing, funny and kind of adorable badass. He's sweet and loving and so very protective. His relationship with his mum, brothers and sister were incredibly well written, the dynamic is so realistic and all kinds of hilarious. Also, I'm pretty sure I want to be his mum when I grow up. There's a lot of intrigue and heartbreak surrounding this family and the more you find out, the more you fall in love with them, and the more you'll admire Aidan and want to do very naughty things with the man.

Lily is a hard nut to crack. She's so tough but also so vulnerable. She's suffered such great losses and her pain reaches out and grabs you from the page. She returns to Cedar Ridge

after a betrayal and huge, public embarrassment and watching her struggle as she fell in love with her old town was deeply moving. I adored her determination and her strength but I loved her sass and snarkiness more. Lily is the kind of chick I want to hang out with. She's funny, full of sass, determined, and complicated.

The characters, as always, reach out and grab you. You'll want to spend time in Cedar Creek, you'll want to meet the neighbours, and watch all the craziness, you'll want to hear the gossip and the scandals and you'll want to see all the drama. The sex scenes are a delicious mix of teasingly sweet, deeply erotic and ridiculously hot. The plot is engaging, intriguing and I honestly can't wait to learn more.

Second Chance Summer is not without it's problems. But overall, it's an incredible book and once you take a trip to Cedar Creek, you're not going to want to leave. And I grantee, you're going to fall deeply in love (and lust) with Aidan and Lily.

Second Chance Summer is available now in all formats from wherever you buy books. There are plenty of ways you can keep up with Jill Shalvis and her upcoming works:

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One In A Million by Jill Shalvis

Disclaimer: I received an ARC of One in a Million from NetGalley under the condition that I give a completely honest review of the book on my blog and Amazon. I received no compensation for my review.  All opinions and recommendations here are my own.

Book Blurb:
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?

A Comment on the Last Trio
I’ve never been one to play favourites with books, it feels like picking a favourite child…or cookie, and that’s just plain wrong! But I have to admit, this last trio of books from the Lucky Harbour series are quite possibly some of my favourite books of all time. This is in part due to the incredibly sexy, loveable, complex alpha males that grace the pages of these books. But in this case, I think it has to do with the women. This last trio of heroines are incredible. They’re real, they’re relatable, they’re passionate, they’re scared and a little bit damaged but in ways that make you want them to win in all the best ways possible. They’re strong, endearing, and hilarious and they’ve fought for their little piece of Lucky Harbour heaven. They’re the kind of women I want to know, and they’re the most captivating part of each of these stories. Though, the delicious sex scenes are pretty damn captivating too. 

Book Review:
One In A Million had a lot to live up to. It’s the last book in the beloved Lucky Harbour Series by Jill Shalvis and it followed 11 phenomenally terrific books. And I can tell you now, Tanner and Callie are one amazingly adorable, smokin’ hot, goofy couple that will make you want to go awww. 

I fell in love with Tanner in It’s In His Kiss. You don’t see him much, but what you do see of him is a little dark and a little teasing. He’s drop dead sexy, he’s funny, he’s a guy who does everything he can for the people he loves and his relationship with his mother made my heart swell. But it was the care he took with Callie, the fact that he always had her back, the way he teased her and obviously found her completely adorable even when she showed up to a busy bakery in yoga pants and fake uggs (who hasn’t been there before?!) and the sheer love he had for his son, the fact that he was willing to put up with all that irritating teenage angst and attitude and the copious amounts of muttering that really won me over. 

But Callie…she stole the show. She’s the kind of woman every woman can relate to. She trips over her own feet, she chokes on donuts when confronted with the sheer sexy that is Tanner, she forgets to wear real pants while seeking out fortification that only caffeine can provide, and  in the wake of something awful and heart breaking that happened to her, she picked herself up and made a real, solid life for herself. She embraced her inner nerd, she moved back to a town that held bad memories for her just so she could help her Gramma, and she handles ridiculous bridal demands with calm, sassy efficiency while wearing her slippers. She was so incredibly real, so funny and so many kinds of adorable it’s hard to count them all. She’s strong, and while the past still impacts her, she’s risen above it to make a wonderful life for herself. She’s warm, kind and the kind of person you want to be friends with. 

The dialogue, as always, is spot on. Each character has a unique voice and even the background characters are well developed and rich. Lucky Harbour is a world you could sink into and never want to leave. Callie is spunky and hilarious and Tanner is teasing and a little sarcastic. 

The sex scenes are both sweet and sexy, with a whole lot of sizzle. The plot is fantastic and develops so naturally that you just sort of sink into it and it’s so delightful it was impossible to put down! 

One in a Million was a little heart breaking, what with being the last of the Lucky Harbour books, but it’s endearing, it’s funny, it’s heart warming, it’s ridiculously sexy and I was rooting for them the whole time. I frequently wanted to smack them both upside the head (though, that happened more with Tanner because the man could be so damn obtuse!) but they’re so freaking perfect together. Watching the relationship between Tanner and his son blossom and grow was a beautiful thing, but watching Callie grow strong on every page was just as heart warming. Reading along as two people who had given up on love found happiness was glorious and rewarding and wonderful. One in a Million is an absolutely terrific end to the Lucky Harbour Series and it will melt your heart (and possibly other parts of you too!)