Review--SIMPLY IRRESISTIBLE

Review For:
Simply Irresistible, by Jill Shalvis
ISBN: 9780446571616
Publisher: Grand Central (Hachette Book Group)

USA Today bestselling author Jill Shalvis has penned more than three dozen romance novels. She is a three-time RITA nominee and three-time Readers Choice winner. Other titles include: The Trouble With Paradise, Smart and Sexy, Kissing Santa Claus, Instant Temptation, Slow Heat, Storm Watch, Jinxed, Out of This World, Just Try Me, and Get a Clue. She resides in Lake Tahoe.

Maddie Traeger knows starting over won't be easy. But really, there was no choice. After breaking up with her boyfriend and losing her job, she leaves L.A. for Lucky Harbor, Washington, to claim the inheritance left by her free-spirited mother. The ramshackle inn on the coast, though, is falling apart at its seams. Worse, her plan at starting over is now left in the hands of her two half-sisters, Tara and Chloe, who want nothing more than to offer a quick patch job, sell the place, and get back to their lives. Plus, the contractor they hire, a sexy, tall, dark-haired Jax Cullen, is making it oh so hard for Maddie to follow her "no men" rule. Harder still is her attempts to overcome the past, though she's quickly learning that there's no better place to call home than Lucky Harbor.

This is book one in the Lucky Harbor series, with The Sweetest Thing coming in April 2011, and the third, not yet titled book, shortly after as Tara and Chloe's story.

There is a great amount of respect that needs to be given to an author who can write with candid humor and wit, while also tugging at your heartstrings. Jill Shalvis is the master. With both the hero, Jax, and heroine, Maddie, having somewhat painful back-stories, these two were written as relatable, three-dimensional characters. I love that Maddie "the Mouse" was a bumbling, babbling woman when nervous, not to mention how Jax responds to her, calling her out. I laughed out loud several times. The secondary characters, from Ford to Sawyer, Tara to Chloe, and dear Lucille, made for a delightful addition and set up the other books with anticipation. I cannot wait. The setting, in a small town on the coast of Washington, was well-crafted and perfect. This is an ideal escape book. A highly recommended read from an author who most definitely knows what she's doing.

Kelly Moran,
Author and Reviewer
for Bookpleasures