About That Kiss Series: Heartbreaker Bay #5 on January 23, 2018
Pages: 384
Purchase: Amazon | Bookshop | Barnes & Noble
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Also in this series: One Snowy Night, Chasing Chrismas Eve, Holiday Wishes, Hot Winter Nights, Playing for Keeps
When love drives you crazy . . .
When sexy Joe Malone never calls after their explosive kiss, Kylie shoves him out of her mind. Until she needs a favor, and it’s a doozy. Something precious to her has been stolen and there’s only one person with unique finder-and-fixer skills that can help—Joe. It means swallowing her pride and somehow trying to avoid the temptation to throttle him—or seduce him.
the best thing to do . . .
No, Joe didn’t call after the kiss. He’s the fun time guy, not the forever guy. And Kylie, after all she’s been through, deserves a good man who will stay. But everything about Kylie makes it damned hard to focus, and though his brain knows what he has to do, his heart isn’t getting the memo.
… is enjoy the ride.
As Kylie and Joe go on the scavenger hunt of their lives, they discover surprising things about each other. Now, the best way for them to get over “that kiss” might just be to replace it with a hundred more.
I received a review copy of this book from the publisher.
Review
I’m taking part in the About That Kiss blog tour!
I really enjoyed Kylie and Joe’s story. I didn’t have much of a sense of them from previous books before I started reading About That Kiss, but I soon got to know and appreciate both of them. Equally stubborn but with different objectives, they fought their attraction for a while, but it was a lost cause from the start. Joe’s protectiveness made his feelings clear well before he was ready to admit to them, and Kylie is obviously attracted to him despite her long-time crush on her boss, which quickly dissipates as she spends more time with Joe. She’s also not about to let him do all the investigating while she stays safely at home. Her penchant for disguise is endearing as well as funny.
I don’t want to give anything away, but neither of them come from stable family backgrounds, and both have parents they love but find challenging — which unexpectedly gives them something in common, as well as insights into each other’s personality. Kylie’s interactions with Joe’s dad made me chuckle. Heck, a lot of moments made me chuckle; Shalvis is always good at finding the humor in a situation, and most of her characters love to banter. The scene where Kylie & Joe are trapped in a closet on a stakeout had me laughing out loud. At the same time, there’s a bit of suspense to keep the plot rolling, as they try to locate Kylie’s missing keepsake.
One of the things I like about this series is the way Shalvis makes it feel a little like a small town without sacrificing the San Francisco setting. By linking her recurring characters through friendship, work, and the building where most of them either work or live, she creates a small, caring community within the city. Those recurring characters and the bonds between them are a lot of what keeps me reading the series. Well, that and the humor!
I’m not sure what comes next, but there are hints it might be a romance between Joe’s sister and one of his coworkers. There’s clearly something brewing there. I’m eager to find out what!
Giveaway
Avon is giving away a paperback copy of ALL ABOUT THAT KISS to one lucky reader of this blog! To enter, just use the Rafflecopter below. Make sure your Rafflecopter email address is correct, because that’s how I’ll contact the winner!
About Jill Shalvis
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.
Katherine @ I Wish I Lived in a Library
I’m really looking forward to this one! I have zero memory of just who Kylie and Joe are but then I’ve only read a book and a novella from this series. I really love the sound of how the characters deal with each other and Shalvis very rarely leads me astray!
Katherine @ I Wish I Lived in a Library recently posted…Sisters Like Us – Contemoporary Romance Review
Karen Gagnon
Thanks for you thoughts, I enjoyed reading them! I also love her quirky characters, great banter, and humor. I have been excited for Joe’s story! 🙂
Sally Schmidt
Looking forward to this, and love your blog.
holdenj
Looking forward to the new Heartbreaker Bay book! Thanks!
Lark_Bookwyrm
Sure thing!
Nora-Adrienne Deret
Jill Shalvis is one of my favorite authors and I’ve read a lot of her books.
Lark_Bookwyrm
I really started reading her with this series, and I’ve read the Cedar Ridge trilogy. I’ve heard a lot about the Lucky Harbor series, though.
Aleen @ Lampshade Reader
Don’t you love lost causes? Hehe. I’m glad you enjoyed this one as much as I did. I’m totally looking forward to Joe’s sister’s story. (Not entering, since I’m participating in this review tour too. 🙂 )
Aleen @ Lampshade Reader recently posted…Misadventures in Bullet Journaling #1
Lark_Bookwyrm
I did enjoy it! And looking forward to the next one, also.
Michelle @Because Reading
Ahhh! I need to read her books. I have heard nothing but awesome things about them. Great Review!!!
Michelle @Because Reading recently posted…#24in48 I will be joining in…What I #amreading!
Lark_Bookwyrm
She’s got a talent for telling entertaining contemporary romance stories with engaging characters!
Lara Maynard
I’d like to visit SAN Francisco in person one day. Meanwhile, books set there will do.
Lark_Bookwyrm
It does sound like a great city to visit. (Maybe not to live in, given earthquakes and the cost of living, but of course neither of those show up in this series!)