Chasing Christmas Eve: The festive, feel-good book for any season! (Heartbreaker Bay, #4)

by Jill Shalvis

Chasing Christmas Eve is the fourth in New York Times bestselling author Jill Shalvis's Heartbreaker Bay series, featuring her trademark gift for humour, warmth and romance. Perfect for fans of Jill Mansell, Debbie Macomber, Nora Roberts and Marie Force.

Run for the hills temporarily. That's Colbie Albright's plan when she flees New York for San Francisco. Wrangling her crazy family by day and writing a bestselling YA fantasy series by night has taken its toll. In short, Colbie's so over it that she's under it. She's also under the waters of a historic San Francisco fountain within an hour of arrival. Fortunately, the guy who fishes Colbie out has her looking forward to Christmas among strangers. But she's pretty sure Spencer Baldwin won't be a stranger for long.

Spence's commitment to hiding from the Ghosts of Relationships Past means he doesn't have to worry about the powerful - OK, crazy hot - chemistry he's got with Colbie. Just because she can laugh at anything, especially herself...just because she's gorgeous and a great listener...just because she gets Spence immediately doesn't mean he won't be able to let Colbie go. Does it?

Now the clock's ticking for Colbie and Spence: Two weeks to cut loose. Two weeks to fall hard. Two weeks to figure out how to make this Christmas last a lifetime.

Want more warm, funny romance? Check out the other Heartbreaker Bay novels starting with Sweet Little Lies, visit gorgeous Cedar Ridge, spellbinding Lucky Harbor or experience some Animal Magnetism in Sunshine, Idaho in Jill's other unforgettable series.

• ISBN10: 147224768X
• ISBN13: 9781472247681
• Publish Date: 26 September 2017
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: GB
• Publisher: Headline Publishing Group
• Imprint: Headline Eternal
• Format: Paperback (B-Format (198x129 mm))
• Pages: 384
• Language: English

Reviews

[FranJessca @ A Book Lovin' Mama's Blog]

I finally got a chance to finish reading Chasing Christmas Eveby Jill Shalvis, which happens to be the fourth book in the Heartbreaker Bay series. I wanted to finish reading it before 2018, but a family was in town, so it was left on my nightstand until I could finish it. I’m thankful for my family letting me finish it the first weekend of 2018 without any interruptions. Maybe there was one interruption, but all I had to do was the evil stare, and they left me be to finish enjoying Spence’s and Colbie’s book.

I was happy that Spence got his HEA in Chasing Christmas Eve and I also was glad he found a girl with similarities like him. Colbie and Spence know how not to have a love life when they work all the time or take others more than themselves.

Colbie has to get away from her family that is dependent on her, so she can finally get back to enjoying her job as a writer. She has a book to write, so she decides to run away from New York and head somewhere else. Her original destination doesn’t happen, so she ends up in San Francisco. Her first day there, she ends up in the fountain soaking wet by a dog that put her in there. She ends up also meeting Spence who happens to be dreamy and is the one walking the dog. She’s supposed to be there to get away from it all but ends up meeting the one guy that brings out a spark in her that she didn’t know she had.

Spence is the rich inventor guy of his group of crazy lovable friends. He’s unfortunately in the spotlight thanks to the so-called friend putting him out there in the press, and now all the ladies want to be with him. He’s a rich, good-looking, very successful guy, so girls want to be with him, but he’s not trying to be with them. He never thought he would meet the girl that changed his view of life until he meets Colbie. He also starts realizing it acts like someone his family.

Jill Shalvis wrote an exciting story with these two. Spence who happens to be a workaholic ends up becoming different in the story due to Colbie. Let’s not forget Spence’s friends are very protective, especially Elle. If you didn’t read the previous book of this series, then it’s a must because you’ll understand why Elle is protective of her friends. One thing I enjoyed about Colbie is how quirky she was and how she didn’t curse at all. She always had something cute and funny to say, instead of swearing.

I enjoyed Spence and Colbie, but I was upset with how these two handled certain situations with each other. There were times I wanted to knock some sense in both of them. I did enjoy the ending with these two, and as I said before, I’m so glad Spence got his HEA. I also loved Colbie’s character because she fit well with Spence and his friends.

I give this book 4 stars and recommend it to Contemporary Romance readers out there. The Heartbreaker Bay series has become a favorite of mine, and I’m diving into the next book soon.

[Amanda]

Love me some Jill Shalvis, and the Heartbreaker Bay crew.

[nitzan_schwarz]

This one was honestly so much fun!!!

I was a bit apprehensive when starting this one because I didn't really like the last book I read in the series, but I shouldn't have worried because I was maybe two chapters in when I KNEW I'm going to love it.

Like, this story is so soft and quiet and I love it! If you're looking for angst and drama, please look elsewhere because this book won't deliver. Instead, what you WILL find is two people meeting and falling in love with each other's quirks, humor, strength and passion. It's just honestly so lovely to read of.

And it really helps that I LOVED Colbie and Spencer. I've love Spence for a while now, and him being all like "I can't balance work and love" while he is DOING IT was really amusing to me. And Colbie is just cute and funny and sometimes I just go so sad for her, and then so happy because she gets a happy ending!!!

tbh, the only thing I am not a major fan of is the epilogue. (show spoiler)[like, why does he need to propose after 4 weeks of knowing her? Why can't they just be together for a while without some grand gesture? Why couldn't that gesture happen six months after they met instead one? Also, it's highly unrealistic that the movie adaptation was really that good. Like, seriously, I've seen maybe two great series adaptation to the seven hundred awful and mediocre ones...] (hide spoiler)

[Nadz@Totally Addicted to Reading]

I have followed the Heartbreaker Bay series from the beginning. From that moment I became invested in the lives of the characters featured and was eager for each of them to get their happily ever after. When I discovered this would be Spence’s story I was eager to dive into this one. Having been fascinated by Spence from the previous books and given my experience with the previous books I had high expectations for Chasing Christmas Eve.

What the story is about.
Imagine taking an unplanned trip to a city, you never intended to visit, but because of the weather, it proved to be the safest choice. All this was done to escape the stress of your personal and professional life. In the process the one thing you never expected occurred, you found your soul mate and discovered long-lasting and meaningful friendships.
Well Colbie Albright could tell you all about such an experience. She ended up in San Francisco, because she was fatigued, overwhelmed with family issues and dealing with writer’s block. Meeting geeky and sexy Spencer Baldwin and falling in love was not on her agenda, but fate had different plans.

The last thing on Spencer Baldwin’s mind is being involved in a relationship not that he has had any luck in that department. Besides his latest project consumed all his waking moments. Therefore, when he came face to face with the beautiful and mysterious Colbie Albright he was taken aback by his reaction to her. Getting involved with her would not be a wise move as she is only in the city for two weeks, but the heart want what the heart wants.

Will he be able to let her go at the end of the two weeks or will he be able to convince her that what they share is not worth two weeks but a lifetime?


I remember the first time I read a book written by Jill Shalvis. Her writing sucked me in and warmed my heart. She creates relatable characters served up with a side of fun and Chasing Christmas Eve was no different.
This was a fun read, and it had everything I expected. Wonderful characters, humour, heat and friendships. The pacing was perfect and the drama low-keyed. Never once did I experience a dull moment. There was surprising and interesting development. It had to do with Eddie, the homeless guy who Spence is always looking to assist. It was a shocking but pleasant surprise.

I fell in love with Spence when I met him in the previous instalments. However, I was disappointed with his portrayal in this installment. Yes, he is brilliant, sexy, caring, and humble but I did not like how he allowed his friends to dictate his personal life. I understood the need to want to protect a friend, but he is a big man who can make his own decisions. Elle was the one I had the issue with in this area. She need to chill. I enjoyed seeing taking a break from work and having fun.

Colbie cares for her family even though they are the source of her current situation. They are everything to her. She is delightful and I enjoyed peeling away the layers of her character. I loved how she blended in with Spencer’s friends.

I loved them as a couple. Their chemistry, which was evident from their initial meeting, was off the charts. Their initialmeeting took place under unfortunate but funny circumstances. They had so much in common, which made them a perfect pair. They both feared commitment when it came to relationships. She was afraid of opening up her heart, while Spence feared he would break it, as he believed he was no good at relationships. However, where Spence was willing to take a chance, Colbie was more interested in running. Watching, as they overcome these issues and taking a chance on love was delightful and heart-warming. I enjoyed their interaction with each other, which was fun and filled with heat.

Conclusion/Recommendation
Chasing Christmas Eve is an entertaining, witty and heart-warming story that had me smiling from ear to ear. This is a great addition to the series and I am eager to see what next Jill Shalvis has in store for the gang of Heartbreaker Bay.

[Kait ✨]

Spence is not my favourite Shalvis hero but I looooooooved Colbie so much that this has become my favourite Jill Shalvis book ever. I really felt like their relationship trajectory felt realistic too. This book felt like all the best things from Jill Shalvis.

[Sam@WLABB]

With each book, my love for the fine folks of Cow Hollow grows. Each book brings the promise of an HEA romance along with lots of fun hijinks with the "family" and many heartfelt moments as well.

This book is built around Spence and Colbie, whose romance starts with a splash, literally. I knew from their meet-cute that this was going to be a fun pairing. Colbie was a successful writer, who had forgotten to live her life. She had spent such a huge chunk of her time caring for everyone else, she forgot about herself. Spence was a genius, who was still reeling from the demise of his last relationship as well as the betrayal of a sort of friend. He was so married to his job, that he was unable to maintain any romantic relationships, but a dog and a fountain may have changed his luck in the love department.

These two were fabulous together. My heart melted with the things Spence did for Colbie and the things she did for him. I really liked Colbie and I wanted people to appreciate her and show her the love and affection that she deserved. She finally found that in Spence, but she kept letting things get in the way. There were times when I just wanted to reach through the page and give her a little shake to bring her to her senses. It was frustrating at times, but the payoff was worth it.

It was fun going on excursions with Spence and Colbie as they attempted to complete all the items on her San Francisco list. I have never visited San Fran, so it was a nice touch getting to hit some of the major sights in that city via Spence and Colbie. Spence really went all out with each list item, and I was really proud of him for not jumping straight to number ten.

As expected, the other residents of Cow Hollow were there to give Spence their two cents with respect to Colbie. Some were skeptical, some were encouraging, but all had Spence's best interest in heart, and that is why I love this group so much. Everyone needs a tribe, who will be there for them. To pick them up when they are down, to help them see what is right in front of them, to support them in their time of need, and that is what they have in each other in the Cow Hollow.

Let's review:
A heroine you want to root for.
A hero who will melt your heart
Fun antics with the Cow Hollow crew
Characters who grow and change and surprise themselves and others
Moving backstories.
A light and breezy romance with an HEA ending
Christmas magic as an added touch

Overall: Another great addition to a series I am so in love with. I may have to sell my house in Lucky Harbor to rent an apartment in Cow Hollow.

[Rowena]

Chasing Christmas Eve is the fourth book in the Heartbreaker Bay series by Jill Shalvis and it’s Spence’s book. I’ve enjoyed getting to know Spence in the other books so I was thrilled that we were finally getting his story. I was also pretty stoked to find out who he ends up with because he’s a genius, a really rich one and I was curious to see what kind of woman he would fall in love with.

Spence Baldwin is still smarting over being dicked over by his old college roommate who wrote an article about him that put him on the map. Everyone wants a piece of him now because he’s rich, he’s a genius and Spence hates the attention. Now that same friend wants another interview and Spence isn’t having it. He’s constantly fielding calls from reporters who want to know everything there is to him and he’s struggling to keep his personal life..personal. When he meets Colbie Albright, she provides the distraction that he needs to figure some work-related things out.

Colbie Albright is running away from her problems for a little bit. She needs to take a step back from her life to take in a breath and hopefully unblock her writing. She’s the glue in her family and they’re crowding her with things that they should be taking care of themselves but lean on her for and then her agent, editor, and publicist all need things from her that she just does not have to give them. So she runs away from them all to get back to herself. To untangle the mess that her personal and professional life has become. Her books are Harry Potter popular and she’s got a movie coming out and she just wants some anonymity to get some zen in her life. When she meets Spence, her trip starts looking up.

This is the Shalvis that I remember. The fun, light-hearted romances that made me laugh and fall in love. I loved Spence in the other books but man did I love him all the more in his own. I loved the romance that blossomed between him and Colbie. I loved that he wouldn’t let Elle kick her out of his life. I just loved him.

Colbie was a great heroine, perfect for Spence. I loved that her relationship with Spence was all about companionship and not about anything else. I’m not one for secrets that lag on and on but Colbie’s secret was okay. When she comes clean to Spence, I was madder at the way that he handled it then her confession. I also liked that she didn’t wait until the very end of the story to tell him who she really was.

I’m pumped for the next book in this series. I want Joe and Kylie’s story and I’m really anxious for Sean’s book too. So much goodness to look forward to and I’m so here for it. I definitely recommend this one.

Grade: 4 out of 5

[Linda]

This review was originally posted on (un)Conventional Bookviews
Chasing Christmas Eve was a nice story, back with the gang in Heartbreaker Bay. Colbie and Spence were fun, even if they both thought they sucked at love!

Story:

Chasing Christmas Eve includes a main character who's an author, and  I love those kinds of stories. Possibly because I love reading. And getting a peek into how an author might feel when the pressure is high just makes me feel very strongly for all of them. Shalvis managed to bring all her characters to life, and I really had a good time with them all.

Colbie and Spence's first meeting was humorous, because Spence had gone out to have a break from work. And he did so by walking one of the dogs in Willa's shop. What he didn't count on was the dog running away from him and pushing a stranger into the infamous love fountain in the courtyard. Because Spence is a good guy, he wanted to help Colbie, and ended up renting her one of the empty apartments in his building. This made Elle go on the defensive, until she and the girls took Colbie out for a girl's night. It was also funny when it became apparent all the ladies knew Colbie's author pseudonym.

The romance was hot in Chasing Christmas Eve, but not because Colbie or Spence were looking for love. Shalvis brought me a great story with characters I wanted to spend more time with.

Characters:

Colbie was so fed-up with everyone in her family counting on her for every little thing. Not only that, but her agent did never let up the pressure for her next book, and she just truly needed a break. She got more than a break, though, and I loved getting to know her.

Spence has intrigued me since the beginning of the Heartbreaker's Bay series started, and he shone so bright in his own story. Understanding why he held most people at arm's length was bitter-sweet, and I clapped my hands with glee when he opened up a bit to Colbie.

The rest of the Hearbreaker's Bay gang was present, and as always, it was like a visit with old friends I hadn't seen in a while - catching up is always fun.

Writing style :

Chasing Christmas Eve is written in third person point of view, past tense. The numerous dialogues as well as some very descriptive scenes made it feel like I was in the middle of the story with the characters.

Feels :

My feelings were mostly mushy with Chasing Christmas Eve, there was a lot of sweetness. And I just love hanging out with this gang, as the characters have become like real life friends.



Clearly she'd gone too long without a social orgasm.

Wow, she was such an idiot. A socially inept idiot, which was yet another reason on her long list of reasons for running away form the month. She had no skills for navigating these kinds of waters, none. She needed a GPS for her life. Was there an app for that? Someone needed to invent that and pronto.

[kimbacaffeinate]

loving this series. RTC

[stacey_is_sassy]

***IT'S ALIVE!!***

Sometimes you don’t need to chase love

I really do believe that finding your perfect match doesn’t just involve love, lust and attraction. I think that tolerance is one of the biggest components of a successful relationship. You can be seriously attracted to someone but the smell of their feet will turn you off. Sexual attraction can be rampant but their constant humming could send you over the edge. Loving someone who is good and kind could mean absolutely nothing if they pick their toe nails then flick the contents at your coffee cup (GROSS!!). Tolerance plays a huge part because if you love someone you put up with the gross stuff. Or, you share your disgust with the gross stuff and work together to fix/avoid the smelly feet, humming and picking toe nails. If they love you, they will willingly work towards not grossing you out.

Now, tolerance with family…that’s a different story. You’re kind of obliged to be tolerant when it comes to family members. The thing is though, with family, your tolerance could falter, and that’s OK. It’s different because you won’t hesitate to tell your sister that her feet stink, and she won’t hesitate to tell you to bugger off. If your brother hums constantly, threatening his life if he does it again will not have them running for the hills scared that you might actually mean it. More than likely he’ll tell you to bugger off AND hum louder. If your Dad picks his toes…ummm…I'd tell him it's gross and then probably tell my Mum on him.

I think we put up with a lot more from family members than we do from our partners, especially in the beginning stages of a relationship. If you love someone, family or partner, you will have an unlimited amount of tolerance. I would also be trying my hardest that they don’t need to use it if the situation was reversed.

Sometimes your perfect match is the person who doesn’t need tolerance to put up with the things you do that drive others crazy. The right person gets you, works with you and finds a way to make your issues work for them. Besides the toe picking, that's just gross.

I’ve rambled BIG TIME!! How bloody unusual.

I absolutely loved Chasing Christmas Eve. Colbie and Spence were the perfect matches for each other. In previous relationships, Spence forgot to make his partner a priority and instead focused on his work. Colbie didn’t have a lot of experience with previous relationships because her family and her job as a writer were her main focus. Neither Spence nor Colbie was happy and realised they were missing something important in their life. Turns out that they just needed each other.

This story made me laugh, cry and squirm. The Heartbreaker Bay gang are back and I loved catching up with them. I was a little sad for Colbie at times as she seemed to have lived a pretty lonely life up till meeting Spence. His good intentions led to Colbie feeling like a loser and all I wanted to do is climb into the book to give her a hug…and give Elle a kick up the butt. The sexy times for Colbie and Spence were steamy and sweet and I definitely felt the connection between them.

There’s just something magical about Jill Shalvis’s writing that leaves me satisfied. I always finish with a smile on my face and believe that the couple was meant to be. Chasing Christmas Eve was amazing and I think this is her best book…since the last one. 😉

Stacey is Sassy, received a complimentary copy of this story. The copy provided is not the final copy and may be subject to edits and changes.