Review: The Sweetest Thing by Jill Shalvis

Holly‘s review of The Sweetest Thing (Lucky Harbor, Book 2) by Jill Shalvis

Tara has a thousand good reasons not to return to the little coastal town of Lucky Harbor, Washington. Yet with her life doing a major crash-and-burn, anywhere away from her unfulfilled dreams and sexy ex-husband will do. As Tara helps her two sisters get their newly renovated inn up and running, she finally has a chance to get things under control and come up with a new plan for her life.

But a certain tanned, green-eyed sailor has his own ideas, such as keeping Tara hot, bothered . . . and in his bed. And when her ex wants Tara back, three is a crowd she can’t control-especially when her deepest secret reappears out of the blue. Now Tara must confront her past and discover what she really wants. If she’s lucky, she might just find that everything her heart desires is right here in Lucky Harbor.

The Sweetest Thing is the 2nd book in Shalvis’ Lucky Harbor series. I was a little hesitant going into this book because I didn’t love Tara in the first book. Although she grew on me more than Chloe did, I still wasn’t totally sold on her. I should have had more faith in Jill, because I truly enjoyed this book. I think even more than the first.

Tara and Ford have history. Tara likes to pretend it’s ancient history, but it’s hard to deny their past when just the site of him heats her up. But a relationship, especially one with Ford, is the last thing on her mind. She needs to figure out what to do with her life. For now she’s in a holding pattern, working at a local diner and helping her sisters get the seaside inn they inherited from their mother up and running. She also has a lot of emotional baggage to deal with, leftover from a failed marriage and some other things in her past. When her ex-husband shows back up determined to win her back, Tara doesn’t know what to think. Especially since Ford decides to make his move at the same time…

Ford doesn’t necessarily want to get involved with Tara..again. But he can’t deny he’s crazy attracted to her. So why not indulge in a little fling? They can scratch and itch and then walk away when they’re done. Only..he knows they can’t. Tara is the one woman he’s never been able to get over. They have too much between them. So he decides to back off. Until her ex comes crawling back, then he can’t stay away any longer.

But when the past comes back to haunt them, both Tara and Ford realize there’s more at stake than just an old flame. Can they set their past issues aside and find true love?

Tara was kind of prickly in the last book. It wasn’t that she was bitchy so much as uptight. I kept waiting for her to unravel a little and she did (at the end of the last book). Because we learned her secret in the last book, I knew it would come back to haunt her here. Even though I was expecting it, it was pretty emotionally compelling. I think because of the way Tara had to deal with it. The awkwardness she felt really came through and was so realistic.

Ford was a strong man, who was always willing to let Tara lean on him. I loved that about him. Yet for all his strength, he really need her to lean on as well. I loved that even more. There’s something so sexy about a man who is vulnerable to his woman, who isn’t afraid to admit he needs support too. Plus, he cooks. I love a man who cooks. So hot.

Tara’s resistance eventually came to bother me. While I understood her reasons, the longer it went on the more I wanted to shake her. She needed to wake up and see what was right in front of her. Not that Ford was completely blameless here – he wasn’t. But he gave in to the inevitable long before Tara did.

Tara’s relationship with her sisters continues to develop. I found the scenes with them to be sweet and real, much like my relationship with my sister. Things are complicated because they haven’t known each other long, but they’re working on it. (I’m still not sold on Chloe, though)

Overall I found this to be a sweet, emotionally charged read. There was a surprising amount of depth between the pages, and I found I couldn’t stop turning them. I’m just sad that it ended.

4.25 out of 5

The series:

This book is available from Forever. You can buy it here or here in e-format.

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