Jill Shalvis

Bodie is an ex-ATF agent who has come home to heal. Harper found her fiancé cheating on her so decided to start over in the last place she was truly happy, Lake Tahoe, where she is going to open her own bakery. Ivy steals into Harper's bakery on the first night Harper is the bakery owner. Ivy, Bodie, and Harper have some secrets they never shared. Will the three open up? Will their secrets help or hurt them?

I enjoyed this story. I felt so good reading it. There is conflict as the secrets are learned but there is also healing and growing and maturing. Harper and Ivy are a lot alike. Harper is compassionate because of her past. Ivy learns to trust as Harper opens up. Bodie had a lot of demons to work through but he does, not always graciously though. He learns.

I liked Bodie's family. His mother is a hoot. His brothers are like siblings everywhere--they know what buttons to push but always have your back. I was glad the three of them--Harper, Bodie, and Ivy meet in Lake Tahoe. Hope is there for them all.… (more)

Hot Winter Nights was a romantic heist full of Christmas cheer.

To start off, I didn't enjoy this book was much as I wanted to and I solely blame it on exam season. Unfortunately, I still need to read my worries away during exam time and typically those books don't cheer me up as much as they normally do. Jill Shalvis is an excellent writer and the thought behind this book is amazing!

This book is in the Heartbreaker Bay series. I have dabbled in Jill's other novels, but not Heartbreaker Bay yet (it's on my list, don't you worry). I saw this book at a local used book store (in perfect condition) and figured I might as well pick it up. I loved the last books I read by Jill so this would be a natural choice for me.

I found this book to be way more suspenseful than the average romance novel. It was super intriguing though. I really enjoyed following along with a story that I wasn't quite sure how it would end (the suspense part, not the romance. The romance was super predictable, as romance normally is). If you are going to read this as a standalone, go right on ahead! I found this book easy to jump into and I didn't need to know about the previous characters. I'm sure I would have liked this book more and understood it more if I had read the previous books, but don't you worry about it! You'll be just fine.

Molly and Lucas are cute and hilarious at times. They may or may not have slept together right before the book starts, and that causes a fair bit of chaos between the two of them. The duo also work together, which makes things more interesting. When a Santa Clause may be stealing money from his elves, they go on a little mission to figure out what the mystery is behind the missing money.

The plot was definitely Hallmark-esque and my gosh, I loved it. It was awesome! I did think the book was a little longer than it needed to be, but it was still fun. To top it all off, this book is definitely an R rated, sexy book with hella chemistry. Totally worth it if you love sexy romance and want a dash of Christmas cheer. It's more sexy than Christmas-y though (not Hallmark in that sense...).

I loved that this book was a HEA romance. That's the type of reader I am so I totally adored the little epilogue that made sure I knew my new character friends had a great time in the book.

For my final statement, I will say that the titles of each chapter were hilarious and full of Christmas puns. I think that added a pinch of awesomeness to this story.

Three out of five stars.… (more)