Tracy’s review of Animal Attraction (Animal #2) by Jill Shalvis.
Jade Bennett couldn’t be happier to escape her past for the quiet ranching town of Sunshine, Idaho. Plus, there’s nothing like working for veterinarian Dell Connelly. And though Dell has no intention of settling down, Jade’s strength and sass are enticements no red-blooded male can resist.
It’s been 18 months since Jade Bennett work for Dell at Belle Haven his animal clinic in Sunshine, Idaho. She loves it there and has really found that she loves animals. But the reason that she showed up in Idaho in the first place is not all that happy. She was attacked when she was in Chicago and she left to try and get her head on straight. But has that happened in Sunshine? She has friends but she hasn’t truly let them into her life completely.
Dell has quietly had a thing for Jade since she first came to work for him. He finally decides that he needs to get to know her better but Jade’s just not letting him in. They are such great friends but she’s holding back. Dell finally figures out that Jade was attacked in some way and tells Jade that he will help her learn some self defense moves so that she will never feel helpless. This is the key that Dell needed to helping Jade come out of her self-induced shell and finally live. But Jade has promised her family that she will come back to Chicago and she must keep her promise no matter her feelings on the subject.
The Characters:
Jade – She was one big control freak and a bit OCD (to say the least) but she was just so darned lovable. She liked to be in control (and that’s what threw her into a tailspin when she was attacked) and didn’t quite know how to handle things when she wasn’t. Her family had “groomed” her to be that way and when things went awry she just fumbled. Now when I say she needs to be in control I mean that she has to be in control of her world. She didn’t try to control other people’s lives and I loved that about her. Example: She wanted to help Dell out and organize his office but though it drove her crazy she wouldn’t do anything without his go-ahead.
Dell – Oh the lovable and gorgeous Dell. He had such issues of abandonment from his childhood and had just decided as an adult to just leave first. He had serious commitment issues and these flowed over to Jade as well. Did that stop him from seeking her out time and again because he wanted to be with her or just hang out with her? No. He even stopped dating and became a one-woman man. He had some emotional issues really need to work through and I think that being with Jade finally made him focus on them and work through them.
The Story:
The story is wonderful. It bring Dell and his brothers, Adam and Brady, together and shows us the strength of their relationship. We even get a view of Adam and Dell’s mother. We got a peek at Lilah and Brady’s relationship from book 1 and that was great – they were going strong as before.
I loved seeing Jade and Dell together as their relationship had started as friends first. They knew so much about each other already that we got to see the ease of that relationship mixed in with the sexual tension which was pretty darned hot.
Overall it was a great book and a fun read.
Rating: 4 out of 5
You can read more from Tracy at Tracy’s Place
This book is available from Berkley. You can buy it here or here in e-format.
I love Jill Shalvis and I really liked the first half of this book and then it kind of fizzled for me. I plan on reading it again later on just in case it was outside factors that influenced my feelings. I’m still eagerly looking forward to the next one and of course Head Over Heels.