Hi there!
Welcome back to Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers.
Today, we're diving back into Jill Shalvis' Heartbreaker Bay series with her latest holiday tinged addition via Avon Books. That's right. We're hauling out the mistletoe to celebrate this release, despite the fact that Halloween is nearly upon us, and the turkey isn't even contemplating what the end of next month might mean for him...*gulp*. Hey, some things are worth the wait, and others...well, you end up feeling like Alvin from the Chipmunks, hurry Christmas, don't be late! This series is both for certain, and the story itself proves that sometimes you CAN in fact have your cake and eat it too. Ready or not, here comes your next MUST READ this reading season...
Heartbreaker Bay series, Book 4
by
Jill Shalvis
9780062448095
Avon Books
About the book...
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.
AMAZON | INDIEBOUND | B&N | BAM | iBOOKS | GOOGLEPLAY
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~~~ 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 . . .
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Should old acquaintance be forgot?
When it's the Heartbreaker Bay series, heck to the NO!
I was just thinking about how long it's been since I read my FIRST Jill Shalvis novel, which happened to be the SECOND book in this very series and realized...wow, it was ONLY a year ago? It feels like I've known her work for ages (a tribute to how they really stick with you) and yet, I'm a total newbie and fangirling nonetheless. I stumbled upon this series with The Trouble with Mistletoe and I haven't looked back, nor will I start now with this geek-in-shining-armor story starring our dear, residential genius, and super hotty de jour, Spence. *sigh* Hang on...give me a moment...
Spence has a past he's overcome and a future that is only limited by...himself. I know, it sounds cliche, but I'm not talking about the power of his mind (because it's pretty darn powerful), or the power of his bank account (because let's face it, he's loaded...now), but rather the strength of his heart. Don't freak out...he's not sick...but he is a GUY and they don't always have the whole relationship thing down pat. In his case, it's in endearing as his pitfalls are mainly assuming history will repeat itself, and yeah, pretty much that. It's hard to watch a guy with as much heart as he has struggle with this inner demon, but THANK GOODNESS for his circle of friends, and one Colbie Albright.
Colbie has secrets of her own, as well as a past that she's (mostly) overcome, and a future that looks like she might just want shades for, but that doesn't mean that's exactly what she needs. Sudden fame can be hard for anyone to digest, something these two have in common even if they don't realize it at first, but when the reigns of your life are guided by everyone but you, that can make a fork in the road look like a cliff edge, and our dear Colbie is hitting that edge fast. With her mind wheeling and her feet flying, there was no telling where she'd end up or for how long, but fate has a way of stepping in and taking those seemingly random ingredients of our life and turning them into something WONDERFUL, AMAZING, EARTH SHATTERING...wait, where was I? Oh, right...Colbie is a great gal just looking to find herself again and while she's a formidable force on her own, and perfectly capable, it never hurts to have another on your side, fighting the good fight in such a great package....*ahem*
In the end, it was a FANTASTIC addition to the series with another character's story fleshed out (pun sorta intended...*giggle*) for readers to enjoy and collect in their virtual family albums. After all, Heartbreaker Bay families aren't simply about blood relations, but the family and friends we CHOOSE to surround ourselves with. A great escape this reading season or any season for that matter, filled with geeky hotness, sweet interludes, and enough snark to keep you laughing. Recommended for adult readers (heat factor!) of the author's current fandom as well as those who love a great Contemporary Romance that'll have you in a merry mood in no time flat.
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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-
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Special thanks to Julie at HarperCollins Publishers for the copy for review as well as the chance to participate in this blogosphere celebration! (THANKS!) For more information on this title, the author, the series, or the publisher, feel free to click through the links provided above. This title just celebrated its book birthday last month via Avon Books, an imprint of HarperCollinsn Publishers, so be on the lookout for it on a bookstore shelf or virtual retailer of your choosing.
Until next time, remember...if it looks good, READ IT!
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