Always On My Mind by Jill Shalvis

Always On My Mind (Lucky Harbor, #8)

by Jill Shalvis

The eighth enchanting novel in the Lucky Harbor series from New York Times bestselling author Jill Shalvis, laced with her trademark gift for humour, warmth and romance. Fans of Susan Andersen, Bella Andre, Rachel Gibson, Carly Phillips, and Susan Mallery will fall head over heels for the Lucky Harbor series.

There's nothing like the real thing. After dropping out of pastry school and messing up her big break on a reality cooking show, Leah Sullivan needs to accomplish something in her life. But when she returns home to Lucky Harbor, she finds herself distracted by her best friend, Jack Harper. In an effort to cheer up Jack's ailing mother, Dee, Leah tells a little fib - that she and Jack are more than just friends. Soon pretending to be hot and heavy with this hunky firefighter feels too real to handle.

No-strings attachments suit Jack just fine; they are perfect for keeping the risk of heartbreak away. But as Jack and Leah break every one of their just-friends rules, he longs to turn their pretend relationship into something permanent. Do best friends know too much about each other to risk falling in love, or will Jack and Leah discover something new about each other in a little town called Lucky Harbor?

Want more sexy, fun romance? Return to spellbinding Lucky Harbor, visit Sunshine, Idaho for some Animal Magnetism, or take a trip to Cedar Ridge's unforgettable Colorado Mountains in Jill's other bestselling series.

Reviewed by Rowena on

4 of 5 stars

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Jack and Leah have known each other since they were kids and even though Jack is two years older than Leah, they’re still pretty close. He’s had a thing for her for so long but knows that nothing will come of it because he’s not a relationship type of guy and she ran off on him a long time ago. Now that she’s back and around, it’s hard not to notice just how smoking hot she is but she’s his friend…and that’s where she’s going to stay. At least that was the plan until Leah tells his Mom that they’re a couple and grudgingly, he agrees to the shenanigans.

Jill Shalvis did a great job of bringing these two together. Of course there were times when I wanted to smack them both upside their heads but for the most part, I adored seeing them fumble their way to that happy ending. It was Leah, more than Jack that made me want to smack her because there were times when I just couldn’t understand where she was coming from with the things that she thought and the insecurities she had. But everything works out the way that they’re supposed to and I enjoyed being along for the ride.

Jack was one smoking hot stud. You could see what the ladies saw in him and his hero complex was swoonworthy. I adored the way that he was with Leah, the way that he was with Leah’s grandmother and with his own mother. He was such an all around sexy good guy that I wanted to hold him close and never let go. Toward the end when he’s got the bad guy up against the wall, choking him out? I nearly swooned with delight. He was everything that I love in a man and everything that I love reading about in my books.

I’m really looking forward to reading Ben and Aubrey’s book. I adored the way that Ben and Jack were in this book and I’m looking forward to seeing more of the same in the next book. I really like that Aubrey is going to open up the bookstore and that she’s become such good friends with both Leah and Ali. I’m really looking forward to seeing what fireworks spark up between Ben and Aubrey. I just know that it’s going to be good.

This was another great contemporary read by Shalvis and if you’ve read and loved her other books then I have every faith that you’ll love this one too.

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 21 October, 2013: Finished reading
  • 21 October, 2013: Reviewed