Customer Reviews

Simply Irresistible (A Lucky Harbor Novel)

5 star:		(27)
4 star:		(23)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

How is it I can love an author this much? I generally don't like books like this - romantic stories with a lot of humour. The characters almost always come off as juvenile and embarrassing. Jill Shalvis has a special talent - she knows how to give her humour depth, and her characters depth. I feel like I've been waiting for this new series forever - and it's going to be quite a wait before book two comes out. But don't worry about it fitting into a series; Jill Shalvis always makes sure her stories can hold up on their own.

In almost anybody else's hands, this book would not have been remotely fun. The heroine - Maddie - has run away to rescue an inn on the Washington coast - an inn the mother she barely knew left to her and the two sisters she barely knows upon her death. Not only that, but the poor woman has been fired from her fancy Hollywood job for dumping her abusive boyfriend - even though she still literally has the wounds to show the abuse was real. She's known as `The Mouse'. She's in a really bad place, and when she first kisses the hero - Jax - he lifts his hand and she's so convinced he's going to hit her she flinches away from him. It really doesn't sound like there can be any fun in this story, but it's the humour that makes this so special. That's not to say Maddie's problems aren't handled well; there were many times where I felt really sad for Maddie, and fell a bit in love with Jax for `getting' her straight away and knowing what he had to do to get through to her.



"She's drunk dialling contractors," Chloe said to Tara. "Someone should stop her."


She shifted against him, then sucked in a breath when his hammer jabbed into her hip.
"Sorry," he said. "Let me drop the belt-"
"No." She held on when he would have pulled away. "Don't. I like it."
Again, he lifted her face, and he smiled. "The tool belt turns you on."
"No." She closed her eyes and thunked her forehead to his chest. "Little bit."


Where there was only one bed.
At least it was a queen-sized, and it'd been cold enough that they hadn't minded being packed in like a litter of kittens. Well, they minded Chloe talking in her sleep, because it was usually things like "harder, Zach, harder," which both Tara and Maddie could do without hearing.



Shalvis knows how to hook her readers and reel them in by releasing information on a `need to know' basis. She never has information dumps; we learn about people's appearances when we need to know about them, and we get the characters' backgrounds as the story unfolds. I really liked that we didn't learn everything about the motivations for Maddie's move until forty or fifty pages in. We'd had time to get to know her before jumping into her emotional issues.



"If I looked like him," Tara said. "I'd want to have sex with myself. All the time."



Jill Shalvis understands people. All of her characters are real people. That's exactly why I like her writing. They all have stupid little quirks - Jax needs reading glasses, but he's too embarrassed to get them; Maddie makes a GIGANTIC fool of herself the first few times she encounters the hero.
Take for example, how they meet. Maddie nearly hits him with her car, and then nearly destroys his motorbike a few hours later. But Jax recognises there's a lot more going on with her, and his response is to drag her into the pub for a drink, where's he's very badly embarrassed by his best friend.
Maddie starts knitting compulsively to deal with the stress of her sisters' constant fighting, and Jax is nice enough to wear his ugly, crooked scarf all around town.



With a sigh, she picked up her knitting instead of inhaling any more food and continued where she'd left off last night. "In, wrap around," she said to herself. "Pull out."
"You know." Chloe said, licking some batter off her thumb. "The way you knit always sounds a little dirty. I bet if you knitted in earshot of a guy, you'd get laid for sure."



If a book can make you sit there grinning while you read it, you know it's good. You also know it's good if you're someone who never cries, and yet you're just about doing that while you read. I'm still yet to find a Jill Shalvis story I didn't love, and I can't wait for the next book.

USA Today bestselling author, Jill Shalvis launches an utterly delightful new Lucky Harbor contemporary romance series for Grand Central Forever with SIMPLY IRRESISTIBLE featuring three half sisters, who inherit a rundown seaside resort from their mother. Maddie Moore has left the hectic pace of Los Angeles, her ex-job in the movie industry and a bad relationship behind her for what she hopes is a "New beginning done right" in Lucky Harbor, Washington - home to 2,100 lucky people and 10,100 shellfish. She's recently inherited the Lucky Harbor Resort from her deceased free-spirit mother, Phoebe Traeger with her two half sisters, Tara and Chloe, whom she hasn't seen in five years. While driving the winding roads into Lucky Harbor, Maddie almost hits a hunky guy on a motorcycle and stops to see if he's okay. The hot biker is more than okay, in fact he's really fine with his rugged good looks but since Maddie has sworn off men she goes on her way. When Maddie arrives at the resort her sisters are already waiting for her and she's disappointed to find that the resort which includes a bed and breakfast inn, marina and owner's cottage is in such sad shape that it will take a lot of money and renovation to reopen. Maddie was desperately hoping to run the inn for her new job but first she'll have to convince her "Steel Magnolia" oldest sister, Tara and "Wild Child" youngest sister, Chloe. It's harder than expected since the three sisters, who all had different fathers, were not raised together by their mother and hardly know each other. They give Maddie a month to get the inn running again before they decide to sell it. Maddie ends up at the local bar that night and meets her hunky biker again, who introduces himself as Jax Cullen. Although sparks instantly ignite between them and Jax walks her home and kisses her goodnight, Maddie is determined to stay away from him. When she returns to the inn, she calls a local carpenter and leaves a message about renovating the resort and the next day Jax shows up as her carpenter! Although it appears Jax could be the ideal man for Maddie, their pasts could prove too difficult in the rocky road to love. SIMPLY IRRESTIBLE certainly lives up to its name with three terrific sisters finally getting to know each other in the quaint town of Lucky Harbor, WA. Add to that their mother, Phoebe's life lessons she's left on recipe cards for her daughters that proceed every chapter and you get a charming contemporary series that will endear itself to romance reader's hearts

When Maddie Moore loses her production company job in L.A., she decides to follow up on the invite to the Washington coast resort inn she has inherited with her two step-sisters. Maddie, who was raised by her father, wasn't especially close to her late mother and her sisters are more or less strangers to her. Her efforts at a new beginning get off to a rough start when she nearly runs over a fabulous looking biker on her way into town. She makes sure he's okay and then tries not to pay him much mind because although he is gorgeous with a capital "G" she has sworn off men. Seriously. No. More. Men.
Maddie and her sisters couldn't possibly be more different from one another if they tried. Each had a different father and were raised by those fathers, while their mother sowed her oats and lived free. The inn Maddie and her sisters, Tara and Chloe, have inherited is a little on the rough side, needing major repairs and even more major tender loving care, no easy task when they are all seriously light in the wallet. Maddie wants to connect with her now gone mother, and is desperate to make Lucky Harbor her home. She hopes with all her heart that she can convince her sisters to work with her to give running the inn a try but they're both proving to be a hard sell.
Jackson "Jax" Cullen, Maddie's near miss on the motorcycle, is intrigued by Maddie and wants to get to know her, charmed by her insistence that she's not interested in a relationship. Charmed isn't exactly the world that comes to his mind at the sparks that fly when they're together. When Jax discovers the secret behind Maddie's escape from her previous relationship, and considers the secret that he has neglected to tell her, he knows he's treading seriously rough water. He's hopeful he can change her mind into giving them a chance but fears that both of their hearts may end up broken.
I've told Jill at least twice that I seriously think readers will fall in love with her "Simply" series and the charm of the characters and the town. Lucky Harbor is one of those places where everyone knows you (and your business) and will do anything to help you out. Maddie puts heart and soul into everything she does and that is just one of the things about her that Jax finds irresistible. While Maddie is reluctant to enter into a relationship with Jax, his good-natured charm and kind, easygoing spirit are contagious. If only both weren't holding onto secrets from their past that threaten their future.
I highly recommend SIMPLY IRRESISTIBLE to anyone who loved Jill's previous books and to anyone who is looking for a new romance author!

Always looking for new authors, I thought I'd give this one a try, and downloaded it to my kindle. I couldn't call myself a writer by any means. And I'm certain, would I attempt to write a book, it wouldn't be half as good. That being said, I do read a lot, and I prefer facts and pieces of information to be more subtly inserted into the text. It felt very text-book "creative writing 101" in the way the story and characters developed throughout the pages. And while there was a definite interest level in the plot, I found it a bit predictable in places. The character development was alright, if a bit too idealized, or perhaps, not dealt with enough seriousness. For example, I struggled with the 'recovery' of Maddy from her bad relationship. Contrast Maddy with Klepas' Haven Travis in "Blue Eyed Devil" and one can see the difference in handling the subject matter. I found both Maddy's past and her present-self (reconciling with the past) completely unbelievable.

Either create characters with less base pasts so that the book can stay lighter and more fluffy or give me a good solid read with complex characters who are struggling to find themselves, and the story is more realistic. I like a good fluffy book where I can pretend everything is roses, we all wear size 4 clothes, and have hunky men waiting for us where ever we turn as much as the next gal. However, combining the sordid with the sweet was not a good decision in this particular story.

That said, there were decent moments. The dialogue was well-done, and definitely this author's strength. Had more pieces of information been revealed through the dialogue, I might have enjoyed this book more. There were a few moments that made me chuckle. The chemistry between the sisters was very well done, and completely believable. I found the story line to have promise enough I did finish the book, even during the moments I felt like abandoning it.

What can I say, that hasn't already been said!!!! Downloaded it to my Kindle....and didn't stop til I finished it......I loved this book.....Jill Shalvis writes, so that as a reader....you can feel each character and know what makes them tick. I can't wait til...."The Sweetest Thing" comes out in April....Jill, you're AMAZING!!!!! Keep Writing!!!!

I'd rate it 4.5, and I'll be reading the next for sure. I didn't fully buy the relationship conflict that came near the end, but the rest of it was funny, hot, and had such likable characters. I'm a sucker for small town romances too. Jax was serious hero candy, and I liked Maddie quite a bit!

The series is based on three half sisters inheriting a run down inn on the coast of Washington. They don't really know each other well, so we see some fun bonding moments. When Jax and Maddie meet it sizzles from the start. This is a light-hearted story with some really funny and hot scenes makes this a great beach read kind of book, but there is a nice Christmas theme so a relaxing winter read works too.

Overall, it was a sexy hoot, and just pure romance candy. When your in the mood for something light and funny with some hot romance, this will do nicely. Enjoy.

Just WOW WOW WOW!!! One of the best contemporary romances ever . . . a real feel good read!!! Jill Shalvis has written a perfect start to her new Lucky Harbor series. An emotionally tender-hearted story that kept me grinning even while wiping tears from my eyes. Looking anxiously towards book two in the series, "The Sweetest Thing" in April 2011.

Our family relationships are the past that creates us, dictates the present which all leads us into the future. We all form individual personalities and traits but the family as a unit regardless of its origin often times brings out the best and worst in us and seems to always exasperate our assumed failings.

Maddie Moore is the middle sister who shared the same sweet, hippie, and eclectic mother with Tara and Chloe. Each had been raised away from the other making it so they really do not know one another in depth at all. After Maddie's mother dies and her own life falls apart she decides a trip to Lucky Harbor to see the Lucky Harbor Inn she inherited from her mother along with her sisters is a fabulous idea. Maddie thinks restoring the Inn is a project worth taking on and she will figure out a way to convince her sister's that the place can be fixed up and bring it back to its glory because that is what their mother would have wanted. Her sister's can give her some time but really don't agree with any of these strategies and absolutely do not want to stay in this one-inn town but they would like to figure out the mystery of where the rest of their mother's money went - that would certainly help fix the Inn up and then release them from the ties that are binding them to each other right now. But is that what they all want or just the talk of three women who don't know what role they play in the other's life?

Lucky for Maddie she is able to find the hottest contractor in town, Jackson "Jax" Cullen to work on the project. The mild attraction she had for Jax at first becomes an out of control passion before the first day has ended and Jax is not helping by encouraging her with those wonderful, sweet kisses. Maddie may have sworn off men and been a magnet for the worst of the species but this man is anything if not versatile and creative with his hands because after all he is a contractor. But Jax and Maddie are a mixed bag of problems since both of them are holding secrets and neither really wants to come clean about the past. They work well together at the Inn and heat up the night with their lust but is it enough to get them past the ghosts of the past that keep coming back and getting in the way of a future? Maddie wants to work through the problems because she may have finally found the one man who can give her the completion she truly needs if only she can find the financing to keep the Inn running.

This book takes you a ride of family dynamics, getting past the designated role you play in a family and working through to become the person you have all the potential to achieve. When you let the past control you it eats you up and Ms. Shalvis shows how each of us is strong enough through both Jax and Maddie's characters to be a lion not a mouse when you want to be. Maddie and Jax are the lead in this book but the secondary characters shine as well and when their stories are told I know they will also be this wonderful to read.

Maddie meets Jax when she almost runs him over on his motorcycle. She is fleeing LA where she has been fired from her job and dumped her abusive ex-boyfriend.

Maddie is a quiet doormat people pleaser. Everyone in Lucky Harbor knows her and her sisters by the personality nicknames their late mother Phoebe gave them. The Steel Magnolia, The Mouse, and The Wild Child. Of course Maddie is The Mouse, but she is trying to develop some of her sister's steel.

Her relationship with Jax is sugary sweet but she still has some baggage from her previous relationship that makes her not able to truly open up to him. She's a tad fearful and flinches away from him a lot when he tries to touch her. With her ex being a lawyer, she hates all lawyers, so Jax keeps the fact that he used to be a lawyer from her.

Plus he's also keeping another secret from her and she is upset when she finds out. What really bothered me about that was the fact that the other person involved in this secret, she was not upset with.

Even though this book was just okay, I am still interested in seeing if my suspicions about who the other sisters will end up with will prove true.

Well the main reason I liked this novel was the hero Jax. He wasnt like most contemporary romance heroes. Where the hero cant stand the herorine and is rude to her up to the end of the novel when he realizes that he loves the heroine and cant live without her. I also liked how Jax encouraged Maddie to take what she wants/be strong. What I didnt like was how Jax and Maddies relationship was 90% physical. He just couldnt keep his hands off of her. I also didnt like how Maddie was so weak. I know that she was trying not to be weak, but I dont know I Maddie kind of annoyed of me. I think its so annoying how so many contemporary romances have heroes/heroines where their relationship is so physical. Sure physical stuff is part of a relationship, but there are so many other things the relationship should also have. I think this book could have had a lot of potential and if kind of fell flat. I guess I will have to try another Jill Shalvis book.