Tag Archives: Sunrise Cove

The Summer Escape by Jill Shalvis – a Review

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The Summer Escape by Jill Shalvis – a Review

 

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Description:
Anna Moore didn’t just wake up one day and decide to go on a wild quest — especially since her life no longer lends itself to wild anything — so how in the world does she end up racing against the clock with Owen Harris, a sexy, enigmatic adventurist, to prove her beloved dad innocent of stealing a million-dollar necklace? 

It’s all Wendy’s fault. Her older, bossy sister, who’s seven months pregnant and on bed rest in their small Lake Tahoe hometown, is desperate to clear their dad’s name. Owen though is convinced he’s guilty as hell and wants to return the jewelry back to its rightful owner—his elderly great aunt. Together they go on a scavenger hunt for clues to the past (with Wendy remotely along for the ride via an ear bud, supplying a running wry commentary to boot).  

On opposing sides and suspicious of each other as they are, Anna and Owen still can’t deny the inexplicable and explosive chemistry between them on this heart-stopping adventure, the outcome of which will prove the necklace isn’t the only thing stolen — their hearts have been as well.

 

 

Review:

The Summer Escape by Jill Shalvis is the 6th book in her wonderful Sunrise Cove series. Anna Moore, our heroine, is a private investigator, who is very good at her job. Her sister, Wendy, is pregnant, carrying triplets, and Anna, aside from her work, is always bringing food or rushing to help Wendy. One day, when looking at their deceased father’s belongings, they discover a rare coin; which turns out to be part of a missing million-dollar necklace.

We meet Owen Harris, who visits Anna to look at the coin, and he explains that the missing necklace was stolen years ago from his aunt Ruby. Owen suspects that maybe Anna’s dad might have stolen the necklace, with Anna determined to prove her dad’s innocence.  Owen owns an adventure guide business, and they begin an adventure looking for clues in this mystery.  Wendy is bedridden, and she connects remotely to an ear bud, during Anna and Owen’s escapades; which actually turned into fun and hysterical highlights, throughout the book.  

Owen and Anna fight off the strong and hot chemistry between them. They both feel they are not right for each other, but the more time they spend together, they know that they are falling hard.  Anna fears commitment, as well as previous abandonment from past relationships, and Owen is the first to show his feelings to Anna. Of course, Wendy constantly pushes them to open their hearts; she was a riot, especially when she eavesdropped on their phones. 

I loved the camaraderie between Anna and Wendy, and how devoted they were to each other. Anna was always running around, on the case, her work, and always watching over Wendy.   So much fun. Another wonderful part of the story was when Wendy, Hayden and Anna, would pick crazy names for the triplets; for example Buffy,Willow,Cordelia; Phoebe,Monica,Rachel, just to name a few.  Lots of laughter. As they get closer to the end, the danger escalates, with lives on the line. The epilogue was very good.

The Summer Escape was a heartwarming story about family, love, humor, mystery, intrigue, danger, and so much laughter.  I loved Anna and Owen, as they were great together.  I also loved Wendy and her husband Hayden, as well as the secondary characters.  The Summer Escape was so very well written by Jill Shalvis. If you have not read Jill Shalvis, you are missing a gem; as she is one of the best at wonderful sweet fun romances.

Reviewed by Barb

Copy provided by Publisher

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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The Bright Spot by Jill Shalvis – a Review

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The Bright Spot by Jill Shalvis – a Review

 

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Description:
Luna Wright is a lot of things, but sweet and trusting aren’t on the list. However, she’s a sucker for the underdog and a hard-luck story. Adopted at birth, with scant knowledge of her biological family, she’s created her own inner circle, a motley crew which includes her bestie Willow, to help her run the struggling but charming Apple Ridge Farm.

With a farm-to-table café as well as a menagerie of rescued animals (complete with a baby goat who keeps escaping to the pantry to eat the secret stash of decidedly not organic potato chips), it’s the best home she’s ever known. But when Silas, the owner who they secretly call The Grinch, passes away, Luna discovers the farm is now under the control of both his investment manager, the enigmatic Jameson Hayes….and her. And that Silas had many, many secrets.

Now Luna’s carefully controlled corner of the world is threatened and she—along with some of her friends—has to dig deep to find true strength and the real meaning of love and family.

 

 

Review:

The Bright Spot by Jill Shalvis is the 5th book in her wonderful Sunrise Cove series.  We meet, Luna Wright, at the start, as she runs the Apple Ridge Farm, with a group of friends and animals; who each have their own areas on the farm to be in charge of; with a farm to café atmosphere. All of the secondary characters were great, and always loyal to Luna; Willow, Stella, Chef, Milo, etc; as all of her employee’s have become her family.

 When the owner (Silas) of the farm, passes away suddenly, Luna is shocked to learn that she inherits 50% of the farm; as well as learning that Silas was secretly her grandfather (she never knew). Now she needs to meet the man who owns the other 50%. 

Jameson Hayes, our hero, arrives the following morning to meet Luna; as he is a financial advisor, who will try to salvage any debts on the farm, reviewing all the books.  Jameson is immediately attracted to Luna, but knows that the farm is in a dire financial situation, with Luna thinking she can fix things.  Jamesson tries to find ways to cut things, but Luna is adamant to leave things as they are. Together they must learn to trust each other and find a way to save the farm.

I got a kick out of the cute animals, on the farm that Luna rescues, especially Dammit Ziggy, a baby goat, who in a short time loves Jameson. There are so many other cute animals, that made the story fun. I loved how Luna not only took care of the animals, but she made sure that all her employees were part of her found family, as she was totally loyal to all of them.

Both Luna and Jameson knew they needed to come up with various idea to save the farm. Jameson was smart and resourceful, always willing to listen to some ideas from Luna. They both learned to trust each other, not to mention their sexy romance escalating.  I really loved Luna and Jameson together, as they had such great chemistry between them.

The Bright Spot was a sweet wonderful romance, with some angst, drama, family, fun banter, and laughter.  The ending was great, as the whole family joined in to win the battle.  The Bright Spot was so very well written by Jill Shalvis. If you love romance, look no further then Jill Shalvis.

Reviewed by Barb

Copy provided by Publisher

 

 

 

 

 

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The Sweetheart List by Jill Shalvis – a Review

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The Sweetheart List by Jill Shalvis – a Review

 

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Description:
What makes life sweet?
When Harper Shaw’s life falls apart, she knows it’s time for a change. She removes everything that doesn’t spark joy—from her soul-sucking job to eating kale to making lists—and sets off for the last place she was happy, Lake Tahoe (who wouldn’t feel good there, right?) to fulfill her dream of opening her own bakery. With her Sugar Pine Bakery in between a tavern, owned by sexy, grumpy Bodie Campbell, and a bookstore, run by her new BFF, she feels a peace she’s never experienced since…well, forever.. Then she meets Ivy, a teenage runaway, who barrels into her heart. She sees a lot of herself in Ivy and takes her under her wing, but the teenager has secrets… When those secrets explode, it changes Harper’s new world, and she’ll learn, it’s never too late to start over, it’s never too late to figure out your life, and best of all, it’s never too late to let yourself believe in love.

 

 

Review:

The Sweetheart List by Jill Shalvis is the 4th book in her wonderful Sunrise Cove series. Though this is a continuation of the Sunrise Cove series, all four of these books read as standalones. I have noted many times that I love reading any book by Jill Shalvis, as they are always wonderful pure romances

We meet Harper Shaw, our heroine, who wants to start a new life, driving to Sunshine Cove (near Lake Tahoe), where she remembers how much she loved the town when she was a young girl. She plans to open her own bakery, Sugar Pine Bakery, which she is renting, in between a tavern and a book store. Harper is travelling to Sunrise Cove with her 125 lb Bermese dog, Hambone (Ham), and when she loses control of her car, a man shows up to help her; she is defensive, not trusting a stranger, and says she will take care of it herself; her dog is no help, falling all over the handsome stranger.  When Harper arrives, she needs to get the keys for her new place, which has an apartment above the bakery; and to her shock, she goes to the tavern and the man who tried to help her, is the owner of the tavern. 

Bodie Campbell, our hero, returned home to Sunrise Cove, 6 months ago, slowly recovering from wounds at his last job, ATF. Bodie, who runs the bar, gets a kick out of Harper, and finds himself attracted to her, especially her upbeat wonderful personality.  Bodie and his brothers try to help paint and fix up her place, since she came a bit early.  The first night she spends in her apartment, she hears a noise and finds Ivy, a teenage runaway, before the girl could run away, Harper convinces Ivy to stay overnight. The next day, Harper takes Ivy under her wing, to stay in her second room, and also get her to help fix up the place, and teach her how to bake.

Bodie’s family was amazing, and lots of fun and banter along the way; his mother and brothers, including their significant others, bring so much humor. The Campbell family meetings and texts were fun, they were all close and loyal to each other.  Great family.

A slow build romance between Bodie and Harper begins, with wonderful chemistry that sizzles.  I also loved Harper’s dog, Hambone, who loved everyone. Ivy was another great character, who was keeping a secret. It was wonderful meeting all the great characters, finding love, family and second chances.

What follows is an excellent, heartwarming story revolving around family, friends, secrets, love and surprises from the past. The Sweetheart List was so very well written by Jill Shalvis. It had a bit of everything, including wonderful characters, emotional, romance and banter.  I recommend you read The Sweetheart List, as you can never go wrong reading anything by Jill Shalvis.

Reviewed by Barb

Copy provided  by Publisher

 

 

 

 

 

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The Backup Plan by Jill Shalvis – a Review

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The Backup Plan by Jill Shalvis – a Review

 

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Description:
When Alice receives a call about an unexpected windfall, she’s stunned to learn the gift is a falling-apart-at-the-seams old Wild West B&B she once considered home–and she’s inherited it along with two strangers. Except they weren’t always strangers. Once upon a time, they were friends. One is her ex-BFF Lauren. The other is Knox, the only guy to ever break her heart, all while never even knowing she existed.

It turns out their lives are unknowingly entangled because they once separately helped the same woman without expecting anything in return. Years later, Alice, Lauren, and Knox are broken in their own way, with their own history–and secrets– causing them to start out on the wrong foot with each other. But according to the will, they must renovate and be partners in the inn for one year or else lose their inheritance.

Stuck together, they make a list of rules to keep the peace–rules that end up doing the opposite, but by some miracle they find what they didn’t even know they were looking for–acceptance, true friendship, and in a case (or two!), true love.

 

 

Review:

The Backup Plan by Jill Shalvis is the 3rd book in her Sunrise Cove series. Though this is a continuation of the Sunrise Cove series, all three of these books read as standalones. The main characters in The Backup Plan are Alice, Lauren and Knox. All three of them are thrown together, when they learn that each of them inherited 1/3 share of the Wild West Inn from Eleanor, who recently passed away.    The three of them had ties to Eleanor, with Lauren and Alice having been best friends in their teenage years, but a tragedy broke up their friendship.  Knox, as a teen, had helped his mother working at the Inn.  They agree to spend a month together to fix up the inn, and decide to either sell or have a firm run the inn for them. 

Memories of the past, continues to keep Lauren and Alice at a distance, though each still very much care about each other. When tragedy struck, with the loss of Alice’s brother, she ran away, leaving Lauren in Sunrise Cove, never coming back. Alice knew Knox in high school, and had a secret crush on him.  Their complicated pasts make things difficult at first, especially when they read the letters written by Eleanor that helps them deal with the issues, and hopefully allowing them to grieve and forgive. 

A slow build romance between Alice and Knox begins, with wonderful chemistry that sizzles.   Slowly, Alice and Lauren find a way to open up old wounds, and realize their friendship was worth saving.  I really loved all three of them, as they were great characters, with lots of banter between them.  I also loved Knox’s dog, Pickle; who was a wonderful addition. It was also fun to watch Lauren slowly open up to a possible relationship with Ben.

What follows is an excellent, heartwarming story revolving around friendship, family, secrets, love and forgiveness. The Backup Plan was so very well written by Jill Shalvis. It had a bit of everything, including three wonderful characters, emotional, romance, banter, and all three moving forward with friendship and true love.  I recommend you read The Backup Plan, as you can never go wrong reading anything by Jill Shalvis.

Reviewed by Barb

Copy provided by Publisher

 

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The Friendship Pact by Jill Shalvis – a Review

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The Friendship Pact by Jill Shalvis – a Review

 

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Description:
Alone in the world, Tae Holmes and her mother April pretty much raised each other, but as Tae starts asking questions about the father she’s never met, April, for the first time in her life, goes silent. To make matters worse, Tae is dangerously close to broke and just manages to avoid financial meltdown when she lands a shiny new contract with an adventure company for athletes with disabilities and wounded warriors.

Her first big fundraiser event falls flat, but what starts out as a terrible, horrible, no-good night turns into something else entirely when Tae finds herself face-to-face with Riggs Copeland. She hasn’t seen the former Marine since their brief fling in high school, and while still intensely drawn to him, she likes her past burned and buried, thank you very much. Hence their friendship pact.

But when April oddly refuses to help Tae track down her father, it’s Riggs who unexpectedly comes to her aid. On a hunt to unlock the past, the two of them find themselves on a wild ride and learn a shocking truth, while also reluctantly bonding in a way neither had seen coming. Now Tae must decide whether she’s going to choose love … or walk away from her own happiness.

 

 

Review:

The Friendship Pact by Jill Shalvis is the 2nd book in her Sunrise Cove series.  We meet Tae Homes, our heroine, at the start, when she is in charge of a fundraiser that has turned flat, mainly due to terrible weather.  Tae has her own event planning business, and the fundraiser was to help Jake Copeland with one of his events (military, kid, disabled, etc.); Jake tells Tae she did well, and she should go home, as his AHQ (Adrenaline HQ) team will clean up.  While waiting for Uber to show up, Tae is shocked to run into an old friend, who offers her a ride home.

Riggs Copeland, our hero and Jake’s brother, as return home to help his brother for the summer. Tae and Riggs have not seen each other since high school, with Riggs now out of the military, planning to move at summer’s end to accept a job in DC. Though both were a bit uncomfortable, neither of them ever forgot about their relationship back then.  Tae doesn’t plan getting close to Riggs, as he hurt her; and Riggs doesn’t plan to stay too long, as his memories of his deceased abusive father were still buried in his mind.

Tae is very close to her mom, April, and together they have managed to make ends meet. April loved to take beautiful photos, and has not tried to promote that, until someone sees the pictures and pushes her to show them. April, has focused her life solely on Tae, having raised her daughter, being a single teen mother; as she was her world, but April did have a secret.  One day, looking through some papers, Tae notices her birth certificate that has a blank under father; she begins to investigate, since her mother told her that her father died overseas when she was a baby.

Though Tae and Riggs ended up constantly running into each other, they agree that neither will be anything other then friends.  A slow build romance will change their friendship pact, and I loved watching them fall in love.   Riggs was strong and protective, of Tae, as well as his brother, Jake.  The brothers shared ownership of AHQ, which was helping out Veterans, kids, and those with disabilities, and Riggs felt Jake did not need him past the summer.   Will Jake be able to convince Riggs he is needed here?  Will Riggs, who has fallen hard for Tae, hurt her again, and leave?

The Friendship Pact is an excellent, heartwarming story revolving around friendship, family, love and forgiveness. As Tae learns more about her father, will she be able to forgive both her mother and Riggs, who was protecting her, for not telling her the truth. The Friendship Pact was very well written by Jill Shalvis. 

Reviewed by Barb

Copy provided by Publisher

 

 

 

 

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The Family You Make by Jill Shalvis – a Review

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The Family You Make by Jill Shalvis – a Review

 

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Description:
During the snowstorm of the century Levi Cutler is stranded on a ski lift with a beautiful stranger named Jane. After strong winds hurl the gondola in front of them into the ground, Levi calls his parents to prepare them for the worst…but can’t bring himself to say goodbye. Instead, wanting to fulfill his mother’s lifelong wish, he impulsively tells her he’s happily settled and Jane is his girlfriend–right before his phone dies.

But Levi and Jane do not.

Now Levi’s family is desperate to meet “The One.” Though Jane agrees to be his pretend girlfriend for just one dinner, she’s nervous. After a traumatic childhood, Jane isn’t sure she knows how to be around a tight-knit family that cherishes one another. She’s terrified, and a little jealous. But an unexpected series of events and a host of new friends soon show Jane that perhaps this is the life she was always meant to have.

As Jane and Levi spend more time together, pretend feelings quickly turn into real ones. Now all Jane has to do is admit to herself she can’t live without the man she’s fallen in love with and the family she has always dreamed of.

 

Review:

The Family You Make by Jill Shalvis is the 1st book in her new Sunrise Cove series.  The story starts off with our hero, Levi Cutler, on a gondola as the weather turns disastrous with a major snowstorm, worried that is his time to die. Turns out there is another person stranded, Jane, our heroine, who is just as scared, as the ski lift before theirs, was broken off due to the heavy winds. Even though Levi tries to calm Jane down, telling her that they have never lost a ski lift, but despite that, he makes a call to his mother to say goodbye; but he decides against panicking his mother, and tells her that he is with his girlfriend.  Levi gets injured when something falls on him, and protected Jane.  They do get rescued, and Levi is in the hospital recovering, and his family only wants to know who and where is Jane, since he has not dated in three years.  When Levi is discharged, he tries to find Jane, to ask her if she would do him a favor and pretend to be his fake girlfriend, especially for his parents 40th anniversary dinner.  After a bit, Jane will reluctantly agree. After he’s discharged, Levi seeks Jane out and asks for a favor – pretend to be his girlfriend just until his parents 40t wedding anniversary dinner is over. Reluctantly, Jane agrees.

Both Levi and Jane do not plan to stay in Lake Tahoe, as have their own personal jobs and personal issues, with Levi not home for many years, due to the loss of his girlfriend, and Jane, having been abandoned by her family when she was very young, keeping to herself.  There was a wonderful second romance between Jane’s best friend, Charlotte and Mateo (both Jane and Levi’s friend), as both worked at the hospital. Charlotte had bad experiences, and refused to allow herself to get involved, though Mateo, who is a hottie, was very patient with her.  

What follows is a wonderful slow burn romance between two couples, and an amazing family (Levi’s) that did everything they could to find out more about Jane.  It was a lot of fun, as they took it upon themselves to meet her, and when Jane did go to meet the family, she found herself caught up in their wonderful and loving acceptance of her.

The Family You Make is a fun and delightful story, so very well written by Jill Shalvis. It had a little bit of everything, including two great couples, cute banter, emotional, romantic and a fantastic loving family.  I recommend you read The Family You Make, as you can never go wrong reading anything by Jill Shalvis.

Reviewed by Barb

Copy provided by Publisher

 

 

 

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