The Good Luck Sister by Jill Shalvis – Review, Excerpt & Giveaway

 

 

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Description:
This summer, romance blooms again in Wildstone!

After a difficult few years, Tilly Adams is ready for life to start going right. Though she has a case of first day nerves teaching art at the local community college, she knows it isn’t anything a few snuggles from her rescue puppy won’t cure. Until she sees Dylan Scott again, her one-time BFF and first love sitting in the front row.

Dylan knows he should’ve left well enough alone, but when he sees Tilly living her dream, he can’t help but make contact. Ten years ago, he left Wildstone and everything in it behind, including Tilly. He had his reasons, but now he wants her back in his life, anyway he can get her.

When Tilly agrees to design the logo for Dylan’s new helicopter touring company, it’s business only…until she finds herself falling into his arms once again. Can she possibly open her heart back up to the only man who’s ever broken it? But soon they’re both realizing the truth – love always deserves a second chance.

Review:

The Good Luck Sister by Jill Shalvis is a novella in her wonderful Wildstone series.  I have said this before, no one does pure sweet romances, with characters we always fall in love with, better then Jill Shalvis. I always can count on enjoying her stories, and being happy when it ends. 

Tilly Adams, our heroine, is now all grown up, 10 years after the last book ended.   She is starting to teach art at the local college, and is very close to Quinn, Mick, their daughter Natalie.  It was great to see Quinn and Mick again, and nice to see Quinn is very much pregnant.   On her first day at the college, Tilly decides to bring her little puppy, Leo with her.   When the class begins, she sees a familiar face that she has not seen in years, Dylan Scott, the boy who broke her heart and left her.

Dylan has returned home to Wildstone with his two friends, as they start a new helicopter business.   Dylan wanted to see Tilly again, but knew she would not talk to him, so he decided to join up for the art class.  Tilly tries to ignore him, though Dylan will try to break through with an offer for her to create a logo for their new business.   When she decides to visit, she meets his two partners, Penn and Ric, and overhears them talking about why he left all those years ago.  His friend hints at the reason, and Tilly will push and insist he tell her the truth.  Slowly, as they both try to be honest with each other, their romance will rekindle.

In between the start of their second chance romance, there are flashbacks to years before, when Dylan was abused by his father, and Tilly was always there for him.  Dylan’s love for Tilly was strong, but he felt like a failure, and knew Tilly had a promising future.  Though things were difficult, he was able to come to terms with his life, spending time in the military and creating their helicopter business.  Now all he wants is to convince Tilly he still loves her.  Will he succeed in getting her to forgive him?

What follows is a sweet slow built second chance romance, with a wonderful couple that we were praying for.  Leo, the sweet little puppy, was a riot; as every time Dylan would get close too Tilly, he would bark at him.  I loved little Leo, her fierce defender. So cute.   I loved every time when Quinn was around, and especially when she was ready to have the baby.  So happy to see how much closer Tilly and Quinn have become.

Since this is a novella, I do not want to tell too much more. The Good Luck Sister was a sweet, emotional, and fun story.  Tilly and Dylan were great together, and I’m glad Shalvis took the time to give us their story, knowing after Lost and Found Sisters left us wanting more of them.   As the norm with Jill Shalvis, every book is a fun and happy read, and you can never go wrong reading her books.  This a a series you should be reading, if you have not started, I suggest you start with Lost and Found Sisters, The Good Luck Sister and the soon to be released Rainy Day Friends, coming in June.

Reviewed by Barb

Copy provided by Publisher

 

Chapter 1

“I’ve finished my free trial of adulthood and am no longer interested, so please cancel my subscription.” From The Mixed Up Files of Tilly’s journal.

Tilly Adams sat in the vet’s office staring at the doctor in shock. “Say that again?”
Dr. Janet Lyons smiled. “I think Leo faked being sick. Probably so you’d stay home from work today.”
Tilly looked down at Leo. “You do know he’s a dog, right?”
All six pounds of him smiled up at her. About a month ago, she found him on a street corner hiding beneath a bus bench; wet, dirty, cold, hungry and matted. He’d been Dobby meets Gremlin meets neglected, abused Care Bear. Tilly had looked around for an adult, and then had to remind herself that at twenty-five years old, she was legal herself. So then she’d searched for an adultier adult, but she’d been the only one in sight.
So she’d scooped the little guy up and had brought him to the SPCA, who’d said he was about five weeks old, a possible Maltipoo, which meant he came by his care bear look naturally. He was malnutritioned and suffering from mange. They’d said they’d do what they could, and Tilly had turned to go. That had been when she’d seen all the eyes on her from an endless row of cages … and she’d realized her care bear would soon be sitting in one too. Then she’d heard herself offer to foster him until they found him a forever home.
They’d found him one too. Tilly had signed the adoption papers last weekend in spite of the fact that just that morning he’d escaped his crate, eaten her favorite sneakers, destroyed her favorite pillow, and then yakked up the stuffing from the pillow.
He was a destructo of the highest magnitude, and something else too. He had no idea how small he was. He went after her sister Quinn’s twenty-plus pound cat and her neighbor’s hundred pound black lab with the same fierce, fearless gusto. Turned out, the little guy had a bad case of small-man syndrome, which was how he’d earned his name.
Leo, short for Napoleon.
And now on top of Leo’s impressive chewing skills, his escape artist skills, and his ability to get up on her bed and yet still not understand why stepping in his own poop was annoying, he had a new skill.
He’d faked being sick.
Proud of himself, Leo smiled up at her. Smiled. An hour ago he’d been coughing and limping and acting all sorts of odd. Now he just kept smiling up at her while sending her meaningful glances at the open dog biscuit bin between her and the doctor.
Dr. Lyons laughed and gave him one.
“Dogs can’t fake sick,” Tilly said while Leo inhaled the biscuit whole before licking the floor to make sure he got all the crumbs. “Can they?”
Dr. Lyons scooped him up and gave him a kiss on his adorable snout. “Yours did.”
Tilly sighed. It was too early for this. She’d had a crazy late night. Not hanging at Whiskey River, the local bar and grill. Not at a club with friends. Not working on her designs for he upcoming graphic art showing.
Nope, she’d been on a serious stress bender — a marathon of Game Of Thrones. She hadn’t fallen asleep until after two and her alarm had interrupted her in the middle of a really great dream starring Jon Snow.
Dr. Lyons handed Leo over. He immediately snuggled into the crook of Tilly’s neck and dammit, her cold heart melted on the spot and she hugged him close. “You’re sure he’s okay? He was coughing. And then he limped funny. And then he wouldn’t eat.”
“But he hasn’t coughed once that I’ve seen. And he’s not limping either. And you said all his food vanished while you took a quick shower.”
“Yes,” Tilly said.
Dr. Lyons waited for her to catch up.
Tilly sighed. “He really did fake me out.”

 

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.

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Jill’s publisher is offering an e-copy of THE GOOD LUCK SISTER to ONE (1) lucky commenter at The Reading Cafe.

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