I received this book for free from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Always on My Mind by Jill Shalvis Series: Lucky Harbor #8
Published by Grand Central Publishing Source: Netgalley
THERE'S NOTHING LIKE THE REAL THING
After dropping out of pastry school and messing up her big break on a reality cooking show, Leah Sullivan needs to accomplish something in her life. But when she returns home to Lucky Harbor, she finds herself distracted by her best friend, Jack Harper. In an effort to cheer up Jack's ailing mother, Dee, Leah tells a little fib - that she and Jack are more than just friends. Soon pretending to be hot-and-heavy with this hunky firefighter feels too real to handle . . .
No-strings attachments suit Jack just fine - perfect for keeping the risk of heartbreak away. But as Jack and Leah break every one of their "just friends" rules, he longs to turn their pretend relationship into something permanent. Do best friends know too much about each other to risk falling in love? Or will Jack and Leah discover something new about each other in a little town called Lucky Harbor?
My thoughts…
I’ve been waiting a long time for this one. I love both Leah and Jack. They’ve been in previous books and I couldn’t wait to read their story.
Leah is a pastry chef who doesn’t ever complete anything. It stems from her youth when her father would constantly berate her and tell her things like “You’ll never amount to nothing” or “You never finish anything you start.” At the beginning of this book she has just walked away from culinary school where she only had three weeks left to graduate.
Jack. He’s one of the town’s most eligible bachelors. He’s a hot fireman. *sigh* He’s also a bit of a ladies man. He has commitment issues. He tends to break things off before things progress to far. A relationship guy he is not.
Jack and Leah have been friends for years. They lived next door to each other when they were younger. When Leah’s dad would mistreat her she would sneak into Jack’s bedroom where he would comfort and protect her.
When Leah comes back to Lucky Harbor to help her ill grandmother run her bakery things start to get interesting. There’s an attraction between Jack and Leah, but neither is willing to take the first step. They sort of dance around each other which made for an interesting read. I was like come on guys, get with the program. 🙂
When Leah’s gets a bright idea on how to perk Jack’s ill mother up things get a little crazy. She tells his mother than she and Jack are actually dating. This takes Jack completely off guard when he’s informed of it. His reaction is really quite comical.
See that’s the thing with Ms Shalvis’ writing style. She is really good at writing sweet contemporary romance novels that are light and funny. This element makes her books that much more enjoyable.
I really enjoyed how things progressed in Jack & Leah’s fake relationship. Even though their relationship was suppose to be fake, their feelings for each other got stronger.
Ms Shalvis added an element of suspense to this one. I was able to figure out the person who “did it” before all was revealed towards the end though. I’m just good like that lol
Overall, this one was really enjoyable. I’m such a big fan of this of the books that make up the Lucky Harbor series. If you are a fan of sweet and funny contemporary romance I highly suggest giving this series a try.
