A sassy, steamy and swoon worthy romance with heart. Reading a Jill Shalvis is like coming home to delicious chocolate with its perfect accompanying glass of wine while relaxing with a feel good book.
“Come on, make my day and say it,” he teased.
She covered her face. “Bit me.”
“I’d love to… Right on your client, minus the ‘e’ and the ‘n’”
Hudson Kincaid is back home after leaving his family for almost a decade to join the Army. Having survived his team member and best friend’s death and facing his own mortality he decides to go back to Cedar Ridge to repair the rift between his twin brother Hudson, and the rest of the Kincaid clan. Knowing he left under bad terms, he’s not completely sure how to go about it so he starts by renting a cabin at the edge of the lake to be close to his family but still have peace, quiet and space. What he gets though, is shared dock with a “mysterious, temperamental”and beautiful redhead spitfire.
When Sophie Marren divorced her cheating husband she only took his beloved boat with her. She didn’t count on having to live penniless, with nausea on the boat she’s been secretly “parking” on Jacob’s dock. The sexy but surly man she can’t help but rile up. The attraction between them is off the charts, but given that their pasts have stunted their hearts, both think they can’t give more than fun times for now. Can they overcome their histories in order to appreciate that they could have a wonderful future together?
I just love getting to read books from authors who I know will bring a smile to my face and cause a warm fuzzy feeling all over. Jill Shalvis is one of them. Her characters feel real and easy to relate with. The heroes are tough on the outside alpha males with a wonderful melt-your-heart inside and her heroines are strong and feisty that make the heroes work for it. With these great elements, a good plot and Jill’s skill we get a read that has everything from fun and excitement, moving tenderness, and blazing hot yumminess.
“What are you,” she asked, “one-hundred-proof testosterone and pheromones? You’ve had your fun, now move.” So he moved. Inside her.
“Like that?” the bastard asked sinfully.
Jacob was so easy to fall for. Of course he’s tough, besides his profession demanding it, having to grow up without a dad and take care of their mother was no easy feat. But he also has his vulnerabilities and he’s also such a good man who’ll gladly give the shirt of his back to help a stranger, errrr… or a sexy, mouthy woman who constantly keeps him on his toes. He’s also realized he made a young, immature mistake, is flagellating himself for it while trying to fix it.
Even though she feels she completely lost herself during her failed marriage and was definitely in shambles after it, she’s a hoot. She’s snarky, strong and vivacious and I really liked her paired up with Jacob.
“Shut up,” she said. Jacob pulled back, a brow raise.
“Not you! … My inner voice … Ignore her. She’s a b!tch.”
Of course they both have insecurities they have to overcome but the back and forth between them was amusing and flirty, and the chemistry was addictively explosive. I loved how Jacob saw all her qualities and how they were both open and honest. I was happily surprised that it was Jacob who first opened up to Sophie about his feelings towards her.
“You keep forgetting to hurry,” she complained.
“I’m not really into hurrying.”
“What are you into?”
“Slow. Long. Hard. Hot. Dirty…”
Being this a series, I loved having the characters from past books back. Yes the entire Kincaid family was there to welcome Jacob home. I especially liked the reconciliation with Jacob. Although I did miss the underwear shenanigans.
Nobody But You is the third book in the Cedar Ridge series by Jill Shalvis. It is a standalone, full-length, contemporary romance full of fun banter, super sexy bits and sweet touching moments that will bring a smile to your face. Told from both points of view, with an awesome happy ending epilogue.