Book Description Review “Tender … Believable, realistic characters are at the heart of this novel. Shalvis will immediately grab the reader’s attention with a strong heroine and caring connection between two wounded souls.” (Publishers Weekly)“Fans of the TV drama series This Is Us as well as love stories ripe with secrets waiting to be spilled will devour Shalvis’s latest in the series.” (Library Journal)“Readers will be very satisfied with the ending of Shalvis’ latest enjoyable Wildstone story.” (Booklist)“Shalvis’ latest retains her spark and sizzle.” (Kirkus Reviews)Praise for The Lemon Sisters: “Sisterhood takes center stage in this utterly absorbing novel. Jill Shalvis balances her trademark sunny optimism and humor with unforgettable real-life drama. A book to savor–and share.” (Susan Wiggs, New York Times Bestselling Author)“Jill Shalvis’s books are funny, warm, charming and unforgettable.” (RaeAnne Thayne, New York Times bestselling author)“I love everything about this book, the family dynamics, the humor and the amazing romance. Just amazing!” (Lori Foster, New York Times Bestselling Author) Read more About the Author New York Times Bestselling Author Jill Shalvis lives in a small town in the Sierras full of quirky characters. Any resemblance to the quirky characters in her books is, um, mostly coincidental. Look for Jill’s bestselling, award-winning books wherever romances are sold, and visit her website, ww.jillshalvis.com, for a complete book list and daily blog detailing her city-girl-living-in-the-mountains adventures. Read more Customers Review: I’m not one to give reviews because I’m not that great in putting my thoughts into words. Probably explains why I will never become an author. I do understand and appreciate someone who does have that talent. This author has been an automatic buy for me so I hesitated in even writing a review on this book. The book started pretty good for me but when the brother and sister entered it started going downhill. There was so much family drama going on that I struggled to finish it. I was exhausted. I am NOT a fan of MM romance and if I had known that so many pages were devoted to the brother’s story that I would not have purchased the book. That type of story should strictly be confined to that genre. I fast forwarded through those. The other thing that I didn’t care for was the open discussion within the siblings, Emmitt, Cam about their sex lives. Some things should be private, just IMO. I understand that I am in the minority here and that’s ok. I just know what I like to read and disappointingly, this wasn’t it.
This is a powerful story of family dynamics, misunderstandings and laughter. I’m running out of words to describe Ms. Shalvis’s talent for story telling and ringing every emotion from her readers.Piper Manning is an EMT in Wildstone, California where she spent her growing up years. She and her brother Gavin and sister Winnie landed at their Grandma’s after their parents died, and she pretty much raised them. Now she’s working to fix up the house to sell and get on with her life. Her siblings are settled, or so she thought.Cam Hayes works for the DEA and is a Coast Guard Reservist. His parents separated and he grew up with his Mom, his brother Rowan with his Dad Emmitt in Wildestone. Cam is back visiting with his Dad trying to get past the death of his brother. Cam met Piper in a bar with her friends celebrating her birthday….something she did not want to do. He was random Hot Guy to Piper. She visits her next door neighbor every day to check on him, he was recently diagnosed as a new diabetic, and doesn’t like to follow her rules. There she meets Hot Guy, who she finds out is Cam. Despite neither of them wanting to complicate their lives, Cam and Piper have an immediate attraction. Their banter is hilarious, and and soon they can’t deny their romance. Add the return of her siblings, each with their own issues, wondering just how long Cam will stay, and her wanting to control everything this story totally entertained me. It can be read as a stand-alone, no cliffhanger and of course a HEA.I highly recommend this and all Ms. Shalvis’s series.
Emotional, heartwarming and real! With book four in her ever enjoyable Wildstone series, Jill Shalvis brings us another winner with ALMOST JUST FRIENDS. With her typical humorous twist, Shalvis delights the reader with fun loving characters, emotional revelations and happily ever afters galore … I adored this story!Piper Manning had me at hello … okay, so more like at the part on page one where she admits to hating being the center of attention to the core of her being. She’s had a hard life, and raising her siblings was a daunting task. Now that they’ve finally gotten out into the world on their own, she’s ready to get the property inherited from the grandparents fixed up and sold and finally get started on achieving her own dreams. Yeah, that was the plan … but now she has a man she can’t seem to pull her attention off of hanging around and a full house of siblings refusing to leave again. Secrets are rearing their ugly heads left and right … and it’s all about to get way too real.I highly recommend this book to anyone enjoying a complex emotional story filled with laughter, love and a whole lot of heart. This entire series has been top notch and I’d encourage you to go back and catch them all. I love Wildstone!
It’s Piper Manning’s birthday, and though she isn’t into celebrating birthdays, her friends entice her to a local bar to celebrate, where she promises to hook up with a man—any man—just to mark it off the list she keeps of “things to do.” Piper encounters a stranger to town, who is amused by her list. She stalks away, angry at him and herself for finding herself attracted to him. Later that night, during a storm, she heads over to her neighbor’s house to check on him—and runs into the stranger. He’s Cam Reid, the son of her neighbor. The sparks that flew between them in the bar are soon intensified. Cam is only visiting, but will Piper find a way to fulfill one of her to-do lists wishes, which is to have great sex with a man? Meanwhile, Piper’s siblings, Gavin and Winnie, show up unexpectedly. Suddenly, Piper’s life is in an upheaval, and she’s also lusting after her neighbor’s son!Cam is visiting his father for a month while dealing with the guilt of losing his only brother, Rowan. Cam was there when his brother died, and it was then that he learned Winnie was pregnant with Rowan’s baby. Cam plans to check in with Winnie to make sure she’s okay. She informs him that Piper doesn’t yet know she’s pregnant. How will Piper react? Meanwhile, Gavin recently got out of drug rehab. He’s hoping to stay away from the drugs, but he will need his family’s support. But how can he when he doesn’t even tell his oldest sister about his problem?Piper hasn’t had the heart to tell her brother and sister that she is planning to sell the home they’re living in to move to Colorado to take a medic course. The siblings were orphaned at a young age and grew up in the home with their grandparents, both now deceased. What she doesn’t know is that Winnie and Gavin want to turn the property into a Bed & Breakfast. As Piper grapples how to tell them, she turns to Cam, who has become a friend and confidant to her. Yes, she is still attracted to him, but it’s become more than wanting a fling with him. Cam is a listener, and Piper needs someone to talk to. But there is still that spark of attraction between them, and it’s only a matter of time before the sparks burst into something more.ALMOST JUST FRIENDS is labeled a “women’s fiction” novel, but at the heart of it is the growing romance between Piper and Cam. Both have had to rely on no one except themselves. But they have others who need them. Piper and Cam spend time talking to each other about their worries and their dreams, yet one thing that hovers over them is that he knows about Winnie’s baby—and Piper doesn’t—for a good part of this tale. Piper thinks Rowan was a wayward young man, and if she discovers he and Winnie made a child together, how will it affect her perception of a man gone too soon?Filled with emotion and heartfelt love, ALMOST JUST FRIENDS is that feelgood read you won’t want to put down once you open the book. This is why I’m awarding it a Perfect 10. It’s a tale of hope and happiness just when you think there can never be any. Don’t miss this beautiful and endearing story. |
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