Playing for Keeps by Jill Shalvis
Release Date: January 22nd
Playing for Keeps, a stand-alone Heartbreaker Bay romance, by New York Times and USA Today best selling author Jill Shalvis.
If you’re planning on falling in love…
When it comes to the confident, charismatic Caleb Parker, Sadie Lane feels the spark—the kind that comes from rubbing each other the wrong way. She’s yoga pants, he’s a suit. She’s a tattoo artist, he’s a straight-laced mogul. But after they accidentally co-rescue an abandoned dog from a storm, Sadie sees a vulnerable side to the seemingly invincible hottie.
Caleb doesn’t do emotions. Growing up the underdog, he’s learned the hard way to build up an impenetrable wall. Perfect for business. Disastrous for relationships. He’s never worried about it before—not until he finally gets behind Sadie’s armor and begins to fall.
… someone is there to catch you.
Both guarded and vulnerable, Sadie and Caleb are complete opposites. Or are they? Shocked at their undeniable connection, can they ever admit to wanting more? That all depends on what they’re each willing to risk.
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“Don’t run off,” he said.
“I don’t like it when people tell me what to do.”
“I get that,” he said. “And same. Also, I try very hard to never tell anyone what to do. But I think we need to finish this.”
Another quiver from deep inside her. “I keep telling you, there’s no this.”
“Are you sure?” Very slowly and carefully, clearly giving her plenty of time to get away if she really wanted, he stepped into her, making her extremely aware that she now stood hemmed in between the alley wall and his body, neither quite touching her.
But she wanted him too. She actually ached to close that last inch between them. She didn’t do it. Instead, she lifted her chin. “I could make you an eunuch right now if I wanted.” The threat was minimalized by the fact that she whispered the threat, but suddenly holding onto her temper was difficult. So was talking. “Don’t think I can’t.”
“I have no doubt,” he said, still holding one of her hands. He took the other as well and squeezed gently. “I think you could probably do anything you set your mind to.”
No one had ever said those words to her, not ever, and when she felt the back of her eyes sting unexpectedly, she closed them in self defense.
“Sadie.”
She shook her head.
“Look at me. Please?”
It was the damn please that had her opening her eyes. Caleb had closed the gap so that if she so much as took a breath, they’d be touching.
So she did just that. She took a deep breath, and then their bodies were up against each other, his warm and hard. Everywhere. “What’s happening?” she whispered.
“I believe you’re deciding between kicking me in the nuts and kissing me.” One side of his mouth curved very slightly as he lifted their still joined hands above her head, against the wall. “But that last part might just be in my dreams.”
“Yes,” she whispered.
“Yes, it’s just in my dreams?”
She meant to say yes again, she really did. She even opened her mouth to say it, because this was insane, this incredible … craving she had for him. It made no sense. Less than no sense, and yet …
She went up on tiptoe and touched her mouth to his.
New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Jill Shalvis writes warm, funny, sexy contemporary romances and women’s fiction. An Amazon, BN & iBooks bestseller, she’s also a two-time RITA winner and has more than 10 million copies of her books sold worldwide.
Jill lives with her family in a small town in the Sierras full of quirky characters (Any resemblance to the quirky characters in her books is mostly coincidental). She does most of her writing on her deck surrounded by more animals than humans. Which is quite astonishing considering she’s a city girl who was plucked from the wilds of L.A. to the wilds of the Sierra’s. Most of her books come from a combination of hard work, cookies, and hot guy pics, and not necessarily in that order.
Jill often travels to reader weekends & conventions where she LOVES getting to meet and hang-out with readers. The only problem being she tends to get lost in her hotels. So if you ever see NYTimes Bestselling author Jill Shalvis roaming the halls, someone please return her immediately.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JillShalvis/
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Mailing List:: http://jillshalvis.com/faq/newsletter/
Liza's Review:
Playing for Keeps is the newest release from Jill Shalvis in her popular Heartbreaker Bay series. I have to say I was over the moon to get Caleb Parker's book and was a bit surprised to see his heroine was Sadie Lane as they seem like polar opposites.
I've always loved Caleb and couldn't wait to get his story. While I did end up enjoying Playing for Keeps overall, it did seem to take me longer to get into this book than other books in the series. I loved the aspect of Caleb and Sadie co-parenting the dog they rescue and those parts of the book brought so much laughter to the story. However, I continuously felt brought down by the secrets from Sadie's past. It ended up really distracting me a good bit of the time I was reading. I really felt like the secret was much bigger in her mind than in actuality. I guess it bugged me so much as I'm not big on secrets between a committed couple.
Of course neither Caleb nor Sadie would admit to being in a relationship or even having feelings for one another for the longest time. It made me laugh a good bit in the beginning, as they couldn't stay away from each other. I especially laughed out loud when Sadie said the only relationship she was in was with Caleb's shower. They had so many funny, tender and sexy moments together; I was able to get past my few issues with this story.
I will say the fact that Caleb and Sadie both had super interfering families drove me a bit nuts. I thought Caleb's sisters went way too far in trying to protect him. I honestly felt like Sadie's mother was just the biggest witch on earth. I did love seeing her sister step up and finally show Sadie some support at a time when she truly needed it the most.
Overall, Playing for Keeps was a good story, but definitely not my favorite from Jill Shalvis. It took longer for me to connect with the couple than those in prior books. However, once I felt the connection, I ended up really liking Caleb and Sadie together. I did feel like the struggle was worth the payoff at the end, and the additional time with favorite character from the series only made it more enjoyable.
Rating: 4 Stars (B)
Review copy provided by publisher
