Simply Irresistible (Lucky Harbor, #1) in Around the World in 80 Books

Feb 07, 2011 Juliana Philippa rated it liked it

Shelves: 0-reviewed, romance-contemporary, 3-half-stars, 2011-reads, set-in-usa, cr-heroine-not-confident, cr-hero-reformed-bad-turned-good, 2011-feb-reads, cr-sizzling-chemistry, cr-family-issues

(3.5 stars) I learned about this book from my beloved goodreads friends ;-). It's my first Jill Shalvis novel and one I would definitely recommend, though I'm glad I got it from the library. I will say that Jax is such a delicious and wonderful hero, that I might end up caving and ordering it from PBS for that reason alone ... no self-control, it's ridiculous.

The story is a cute one, with no real heavy issues. There were some that could have been further developed or explored, like Jax's relatio (3.5 stars) I learned about this book from my beloved goodreads friends ;-). It's my first Jill Shalvis novel and one I would definitely recommend, though I'm glad I got it from the library. I will say that Jax is such a delicious and wonderful hero, that I might end up caving and ordering it from PBS for that reason alone ... no self-control, it's ridiculous.

The story is a cute one, with no real heavy issues. There were some that could have been further developed or explored, like Jax's relationship with his father and his old way of life, though it seems like he resolved things enough internally before the book started that you don't feel like it being unexplored left something missing - just think it could have added more depth.

I have to agree with willaful that I didn't like the sisters very much either, which definitely drew from my enjoyment of the book. Maddie's relationships with her sister is an integral part of the story, so to have both of them get on my nerves in almost every scene they're in did not really work out well.

Maddie is cute and sweet; she's insecure and carries a lot of shame from having previously been in an abusive relationship. This rounds out her character and the author does a good job of incorporating it into her character and then showing how she's trying to change and be "stronger" and not The Mouse. Maybe I wasn't in an easily satisfiable mood when I read this book, because again I felt like even more could have been done with this. What was there felt authentic, but could have gone deeper.

Finally, Maddie and Jax's relationship begins instantaneously, and I'm really not a huge fan of that. It was fun to read and often humorous, but started out so strong a little too early in the book for me and seemed mostly physical. Maddie's family and insecurity issues gave their relationship more emotional depth, but looking back it seemed pretty hormonally driven.

Bottom Line
Check it out from the library - if nothing else, Jax alone makes it worth reading this book. ... Where can I get one of him??

Recommendations
As I said, the sisters did not endear themselves to me, so while they will be having their own romances (Tara with Ford, Chloe with Sawyer one can assume), I'll probably skip them. For a contemporary romance sister-trilogy where all three books were fabulous, pick up Kathy Love's Stepp Sisters Trilogy:
Book 1 --- Getting What You Want (4.5 stars)
Book 2 --- Wanting What You Get (5 stars, one of my all-time favorite CRs)
Book 3 --- Wanting Something More (4 stars) ...more

10 likes · Like · see review

Oct 30, 2010 Lauren⁷ 💜 rated it really liked it

Shelves: library-has-a-copy, romance

This was such a fun and cute romance! I thought Jax and Maddie made a great pair! And I love the setting! I want to visit Lucky Harbor!

3 likes · Like · see review

Jun 18, 2013 Nancy H rated it really liked it

This was my first Lucky Harbor novel, and it will not be my last. It was very enjoyable, and the characters were well-developed. (view spoiler) ...more

Like · see review

Jan 12, 2020 Joseph rated it really liked it

Shelves: romance, read-in-2020-01-january, read-in-2020-05-may

Even though Jill Shalvis has been writing for a long time, I only recently discovered her books and I am loving each and every one of them. This is the first in one of her series and I most definitely have to read the rest. Her romances are true love stories, set in cozy settings with characters you really can have feelings of your own for.

Like · see review