5 Smooches!
Synopsis
From the “awesomely, incredibly talented”* New York Times bestselling author of Still the One, comes a sexy new Animal Magnetism novel set in Sunshine, Idaho, where the sky is the limit when it comes to love.
Pilot-for-hire Zoe Stone is happy to call Sunshine, Idaho, her home base. But her quiet life is thrown for a loop when her brother’s friend Parker comes to stay with her for a week. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife special agent is a handsome flirt with a gift for getting under her skin. And the situation only escalates when Parker hires her to fly him around the area while he collects evidence on a suspected smuggler.
Now she has to live and work with the guy. But when they’re in the air, she sees another side of him. He’s driven, focused, and sharp. And while he enjoys giving commentary on her blind dates, she quickly realizes with a shock that it’s Parker who gets her engines going…
Review
There are times that you just need to read a perfectly sweet, swoony and sexy romance. For me, nothing fits that bill better than a novel by Jill Shalvis. She has perfected the sweet, sexy, swoon-worthy alpha male with incredible success. When I pick up one of her books, I know for certain that I’ll be getting something special. I know that within it’s pages, a strong and sassy heroine, a sexy swoon-worthy alpha male who’s just the right bit of sweet, an interesting story line, a well developed romance, a little bit of angst, and plenty of sexy steamy goodness is awaits me. Contemporary romance magic, that’s what Jill Shalvis means to me. So when my Blogger Boss Lady, Miranda, told me I was getting this ARC, I had to read her message twice to make sure I understood it correctly. I mean, really, me? Getting a Shalvis ARC? ME?!
“He came to Sunshine for a boatload of complicated reasons that had absolutely nothing to do with a real vacation or enjoying himself, but he was doing just that.”
Parker James, a college buddy of Zoe’s brother, Wyatt, is on a “vacation” (READ: a strongly encouraged, semi-forced leave by his boss). He’s supposed to be on a beach somewhere resting and recuperating from a mission gone bad. A mission where he was injured and a fellow agent was killed while in pursuit of a notorious poacher. He is not supposed to be in Idaho. He definitely should not be even thinking about the case. And it goes without saying that he absolutely has no business whatsoever following up on the last lead he got that the elusive poacher was in Idaho, not all that far from his old buddy Wyatt’s hometown of Sunshine.
“She was ready. She wanted this. She totally almost did.”
Zoe Stone, a female in the male dominated private pilot business, is a force to be reckoned with. She’s a tough cookie, an adventurous spirit, and after being the responsible one her siblings always leaned on while growing up, she’s suddenly alone in her big, dilapidated old house. The child of globe-trotting diplomat parents, they traveled the world relocating often. While her parents were adept politicians, they were less than stellar parents, and it was Zoe, who grew up fast, that was mainly responsible for her younger siblings, Wyatt and Darcy. That support continued into adulthood, but now, with both siblings moved out and in solid, loving relationships, she’s on her own for the first time, and she’s lonely. She has finally opened herself up for dating, and word is spreading fast amongst the single men of Sunshine that Zoe is available.
“No wondering, wishing or worrying.”
Having been badly burned by an ex in the past, Zoe isn’t quick or easy to trust. But, the thing is, she realizes that she’s going to have to if she’s going to find for herself what Darcy and Wyatt have found. So, while the attraction between her and Parker is palpable, crackling and exciting, she’s unsure of it, and, besides, he’s only here temporarily. Parker is inexplicably drawn to Zoe in a way he hasn’t been drawn to a woman ever. But he’s here for dubious reasons, he’s here temporarily, and despite the undeniable, white-hot attraction he feels for her, he knows she deserves better than what he can offer her.
“Maybe you should keep some distance until you go. A foot seems about right.”
“You think a foot of space is enough?”
She smiled. “I think anything over about nine inches should do it.”
Zoe and Parker give in to their attraction, but both is trying – and failing – to hold back. Parker finds himself thinking about things he’s never thought about before, like a job that allows him to balance having a challenging career and a satisfying personal life, like having a permanent home and a woman – specifically, Zoe – in it to come back to every night. His time in Sunshine with Zoe has made him long for more out of life, and he’s not quite sure what to do about it.
“…I realized that without you in it, my life means squat.”
A Shalvis novel is a surefire, no fail smile-through-it, joy-to-read. For me, when I think of the perfect contemporary romance, without fail, she comes to mind. She pens stories with heart, with soul, with humor; sexy stories that you can’t help but be swept up in. They’re sweet and sexy and full of terrific banter and laugh-out-loud moments. All I Want was a terrific example of this type of perfectly sweet, swoony and sexy contemporary romance, and it was an absolute pleasure to read.
Five heated, humorous and heartfelt smooches for Shalvis’ All I Want from me!
~ Danielle Palumbo
