Rumor Has It (Animal Magnetism, #4)

by Jill Shalvis

An injured soldier returns home and finds a surprising connection with a woman from his past in this Animal Magnetism romance.
 
Special Ops soldier Griffin Reid doesn’t exactly have happy memories of growing up in Sunshine, Idaho. He’s only come back to recover from a war injury, and while he refuses to admit he’s in a weakened state, he finds comfort in the last person he’d expect.
 
Kate Evans teaches second grade science in Sunshine, the place she’s always called home. Dreaming of graduate school and a happily-ever-after, she’s desperate to break out of the monotony of Sunshine. Luckily, a certain sexy man has just come back into her life.
 
To Griffin, Kate as always been his little sister’s friend, but now he’s finding her to be so much more. As both attempt to forge their paths, they must decide if their passionate connection can turn into something lasting...

• ISBN10: 0425255824
• ISBN13: 9780425255827
• Publish Date: 5 November 2013
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: Penguin Putnam Inc
• Imprint: Berkley Publishing Corporation,U.S.
• Format: Paperback (US Mass Market)
• Pages: 304
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9780425255827

Reviews

[Sam@WLABB]

After discovering Lucky Harbor, I wanted to read ALL Shalvis' books. Animal Magnetism, like Shalvis' other series, is set in a lovely location (Sunshine, Idaho) with many fun and interesting inhabitants. Once again, Shalvis gave me a new destination I want to live in .

I have grown to depend on this author for fun and sweet romances, with just he right amount of heat and drama to keep it interesting. She always creates these characters whom I would love to befriend, and constructs a story that is interesting and entertaining.

This book focuses on Grif, who has returned from the military to Sunshine for his sister's wedding, and Kate, who is a self-sacrificing teacher with lots of family responsibilities. Kate has always had a little crush on her best friend's brother (Grif), and finally, Grif has noticed that Katie has grown up and become Kate.

"The first contraceptive was crocodile dung," she whispered. "The Egyptians used it in 2000 BC."

Kate is so wonderful. She cares for EVERYONE - her brother, her sister, her father, her students, her ex-boyfriend, the bum in the park, everyone. She is smart and witty and know to spout random science facts when nervous (BTW - I loved all those facts).

I think you do everything for everyone except yourself.

Grif is a man of few words, who let's his actions speak for him instead. He is returning to civilian life, and a little lost. He is also trying to build a bridge between him and his father, and attempting to establish a home base for himself. His pain and confusion is well illustrated in this book, but so is his big heart. The banter between Grif and Kate was so much fun, and the chemistry was extreme.

"What?"
"It's still here. Our chemistry problem."

I swooned and laughed and fanned myself as their relationship unfolded. The way the two of them needed each other and completed each other. It was beautiful, and I loved every second of it.

She'd picked him, and then she'd added color to the black and white that was his world. She'd added dimension. She'd added...life.

"And second, I don't necessarily dream of children and a white picket fence." She paused, waiting for him to look at her. "But I dream of you, Griffin."

As with any Shalvis book, we get to know quite a bit about the secondary characters that fill the town. Tommy was just the cutest little brother ever! I loved how he was quirky, just like his big sis, and how his heart was so HUGE.

Shalvis has solidified her place as one of my go-to authors when I was a fun romance. She writes the perfect books to read after something sad or just if you need a little pick-me-up.

[leelu92]

LOVED IT. I loved Griffin and Kate. Really great addition to this series.

Straight Shootin' Book Reviews

[EBookObsessed]

I am a sucker for a good friends to lovers story. I really enjoyed Kate’s awkward attempts to seduce Griffin, almost as much as Griffin does. Griffin makes Kate so nervous, she constantly spouts odd science facts at him and although she is embarrassed, he finds her charming.

I liked that although Griffin received a serious injury and we see him suffer a few times from the migraines, his injury isn’t the complete focus of his return to Sunshine. He isn’t there hiding or healing. He realizes that he misses his family and the Town, and maybe what he ran away from really wasn’t as bad as his teenage mind made it out to be. Although he has a strained relationship with his father, who doesn’t exact run up to him and spin him around with joy at his return, they try to work through their anger at each other.

I also enjoyed how grown-up Griffin finally takes notice of Kate (although he tries not to since his sister warned him away with bodily harm) and he begins to realize that that it is not only returning home that is healing his head, but the time he spends with Kate that is bringing him such a feeling of peace.

I thought book #3 of the series (which was technically a friends to lovers story also) was only just so-so. This was a much more enjoyable story and I found myself racing through it.

Received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

See more at EBookObsessed.com

[Rowena]

After almost getting blown to pieces overseas, Griffin Reid is back home in the small town of Sunshine, Idaho. Sunshine doesn’t hold a lot of happy memories for him since he grew up, going head to head with his father over every little thing. They didn’t get along then and for as long as he can remember, getting out was all that he wanted. It’s funny how enlisting in the military took him away from Sunshine but is also what brought him back. He doesn’t have a plan for what comes next so he’s in town, trying to reconnect with his family (mostly his sister Holly) and find himself. Figure out what comes next.

Kate Evans takes care of everyone in her world. From her father to her siblings to her ex-boyfriend, turned good friend. She’s a great friend to her best friend Holly and she’s always available to take care of everyone but when it comes to taking time to herself, she doesn’t do much of it. She’s been accepted into a great program in San Diego that will do wonders for her career as a teacher but it will also bring in some much needed money for the Science program for the school that she works at and she really wants to go. Only thing keeping her from accepting is her need to take care of everyone around her.

Griff’s back in town and Kate has had a crush on him since she was a little girl. Wanting to loosen up and have some fun, at Holly and Adam’s engagement party, she tries to seduce Griff and the way that goes down had me cracking up. Seeing Griff and Kate tumble head first into love was a fun ride and I’m glad that I read all about it.

What I like most about Jill Shalvis’ books is that it’s very easy to connect with the hero and the heroine. They’re normal, every day people who have problems and own dildo’s, oh I’m sorry, I mean vibrators. They embarrass themselves and they keep embarrassing themselves until they get it right. And they always get it right.

When Kate gets nervous, she babbles. She spouts off random scientific facts and each fact always cracked me up. I loved that Griff loved her facts. I love that he embraced her nerdiness and I loved that her nerdiness ran in the family. I really, really loved Kate’s little brother Tommy and the bond that blossomed between him and Griff. This book is full of awesome and I know that fans of contemporary romances and of Jill Shalvis will enjoy this book.

[Cocktails and Books]

4.5 Cocktails

Rumor Has It, by Jill Shalvis tells the tale of Spec ops warrior Griffin Reid and his sister’s friend, fourth grade teacher Kate Evans. Griffin comes back to his hometown of Sunshine, Idaho to regroup following his last tour of duty to try and figure out what he wants to do next. While he is unsurprised that his relationship with his father remains strained, he is surprised at the level of attraction he feels for his sister’s friend Kate. Griffin has known Kate for most of his life, but her relationship with his sister has always made her off limits. The attraction is there, but so is the healthy threat from his sister telling him she will kill him if she touches her friend. Kate is desperate to break away from the chains she feels in Sunshine, but doesn’t know quite how to do so. She does however, set her sights on Griffin, and no amount of finagling on his part will get him out of her crosshairs. As there attraction explodes into a flaming hot affair, the two are left wondering whether they should just part ways when they hit a few snags on their road to happiness.

Coming home both emotionally and physically scared from his time in the service, Griffin works hard to try to prove himself worthy of both his father as well as the girl he has always seen as a little sister. Katie is a woman on a mission to help everyone but herself. A natural nurturer and self-proclaimed science geek, Katie is her family’s go to person following her mom’s death at the expense of her own dreams. Katie has to try to learn to live for herself, something Griffin is more than happy to help her with, while she tries to show him he is worthy of having a great life. Katie was a really likable person, although sometimes you just wanted to shake her for putting everyone above herself. And despite his previous career successes, Griffin is still that little boy who is desperately seeking his father’s approval. All you will want to do is to see them both achieve their dreams, as they seem to have put everyone but themselves at the top of their lists. This book will make you laugh, cry, and have you rooting on the couple until the very last chapter.

Reviewed by Lucy for Cocktails and Books