REVIEW AND INTERNATIONAL GIVEAWAY: Head Over Heels (#3, Lucky Harbor) by Jill Shalvis

INTERNATIONAL GIVEAWAY DETAILS AFTER THE REVIEW

5 + Stars!!!

HEAD OVER HEELS?? HECK, I’M OVER THE MOON!!!

I loved this book so much that I read it twice in a row, since I wasn't ready to let Lucky Harbor go.

I've been thinking about this book a lot... about Chloe "The Wild One", who has trouble saying "I love you", and about Sawyer, the sexy, stoic and badass Sheriff, who is falling... Big. Time. I've also been listening to a lot of Ed Sheeran - Amazing Album! - and this song has become my Chloe and Sawyer song:

In the third Lucky Harbor book, Head Over Heels, Chloe “The Wild One”, the youngest of the three half-sisters and daughters of the free-spirited Phoebe Traeger, and the only one raised by their nomadic mother, has a “Home” for the first time. She’s making a go at helping her sisters run the beachside inn at Lucky Harbor that their mother left them upon her death. But Chloe has never felt truly settled and she is frustrated with her sisters for telling her that she needs to “settle down”.

Chloe "The Wild One" needs to run wild and free and dance
...and wants to have sex without needing an inhaler

 

Chloe rides a Vespa and has a "See ya later, Authorities!"-attitude

‘She understood that, from the outside looking in, it might seem like she had a death wish, but she didn’t. It was just that when she was in the midst of an asthma attack, she often felt so close to death that she, well, dared it. But she just wanted to run or dance or laugh hard, or have sex without needing an inhaler and possibly an ambulance.

Not exactly a common problem, but one that often had her straddling a fine line between socially acceptable behavior and the wild yearnings her mother had always encouraged. Her sisters wanted her to stop pushing those boundaries and settle down a little. And it was that which bothered Chloe more than anything. The message was simple: If she wanted to be accepted, she’d need to change. But dammit, she wanted to be accepted just as she was, imperfections and all.’

I really connected with Chloe, even though I was known to be a “goodie-two-shoes”, not a “wild one”. Because all of us yearn to be loved for who we are, imperfections and all, and Chloe is no different. But Chloe’s thoughts reminded me of a time when I had had a discussion with an ex-boyfriend about his materialistic attitude and snobbery towards certain people, and when I questioned him on it, he said, “Hey, this is just me. People should accept that.” Suffice it to say that he wasn’t “The One”, and I remember saying to him, once, “Yes, we all deserve to be loved for who we are, but we should NEVER use that as an excuse to be rude to people, to not seek to change, and to avoid growing and becoming the best “you” that you can be”.

So while Jill Shalvis’ books have been a great source of sexy fun for me, this book, in particular, was so much more. Through this theme in Chloe’s life, it had me thinking, again:  Do we need to change to be loved? How does one balance being true to one’s self against the expectations of others? On the flipside, when is being “true to self” just really an excuse to not deal… to not grow? When is being “true to self” actually a prison rather than the freedom we think it is?

Hmm…it’s getting a bit too “deep” in here…Let’s move on to some man-candy! LOL

Aaahh…Sheriff Sawyer Thompson, the ruggedly gorgeous, big, badass, brooding and oh-so-serious Sheriff, with the implacable calm, tough exterior, melting chocolate eyes, and who moves with a fluid grace. I BLAME THANK Tammy (Ms Tom Selleck) from Goodreads for putting the image of the delectable Timothy Olyphant, in my head, as my Sawyer, through our discussions yesterday unrelated to this book. This made for EXTRA DELICIOUS reading!! He was the PERFECT image of Sawyer, for me. ^_^

Timothy Olyphant can’t be BIG as well as badass, you say? Hmm…^_^

But he's so gosh-darned HAWT, no? ^_^

Chloe puts this Sheriff through the wringer... LOL

Chloe drives this dedicated Sheriff up the wall… and drives him to some wild thoughts, too. She pushes Sawyer’s buttons, as she brings out his wild side that he’s fought so long to subdue. They shared a passionate kiss…kisses… that both tried to forget, but couldn’t.    

 ‘He looked down into her eyes. “What are you up to?”

“No good.”

He shook his head and ran a finger along her temple and down her jaw. A little startled by the power of his touch, she covered his hand with hers and held it in place against her. Something flashed in his eyes, an aching hunger that held her captive.

Because it matched hers. She was shocked at the strength of it, at how difficult it suddenly was to breathe. But she wasn’t shocked when he nudged her backward until she bumped against the door. His mouth skimmed her jaw, then her throat, his teeth grazing her skin as he pressed a thigh between hers.

Heat skittered along her belly, then directly south.

“Sawyer.”

In answer, he brought his head up and kissed her. Deep, hungry, tasting her in a purposely slow, thorough manner before pulling back to once again look into her eyes.

Oh, God. “Sawyer, what are we doing?” she whispered.

He shook his head. “No fucking clue.”

She let out a low laugh. "Maybe we should do it some more."'

OMG, THAT KISS!!!!
(Thank you to Buggy for reminding me of it! ^_^) 

SAWYER AND CHLOE BURN UP THE PAGES TOGETHER!!!

I LOVE Sawyer! I mean, all the Lucky Harbor heroes are delicious, but Sawyer truly stole my heart. As well as my panties. ^_^  Sawyer is a caring and creative lover, as he and Chloe find ways to deal with her asthma issues during their lovemaking. *SHIVERS*

Sawyer puts a huge smile on Chloe's face...and MINE!!! LOL

I LOVED how Jill Shalvis developed Sawyer and Chloe’s relationship! Yes, they were HOT for each other, despite themselves, but what I loved most about them was how SWEET and CUTE they were together. Sawyer would totally hate me describing him, and them, as “sweet” or "cute" *LOL*... but they were! HE was! I loved their conversations as they got to know each other, loved their cuddling and playing (the paint scene *giggles*), and loved the scenes when they were “there” for each other... Just…AWWW!!!

‘Chloe sat, too, and slipped her arm around him, resting her head on his shoulder. She didn’t speak, she just gave him a moment. Which was another surprise. She was always in such perpetual motion, always working so hard at driving him up the wall. Or hell, maybe it wasn’t hard work at all, maybe it came easy to her.

But now, right this very minute, she was here. For him. Soft and warm and caring. What the hell was she doing here anyway? And why did it feel so damn right?’

 *SIGHS*

I LOVE spending time at Lucky Harbor. Jill Shalvis makes the beautiful, small beachside setting of Lucky Harbor come alive and I loved seeing Maddie and Jax, and Tara and Ford settled into their relationships, and the ever developing relationships between the three sisters. I also loved Lance, Chloe’s best friend, who has Cystic Fibrosis. *sniffles*

THIS WAS SUCH A WONDERFUL READ! JUST AWESOME! I LOVED IT!!! THANK YOU, THANK YOU, JILL SHALVIS!!! NO WONDER IT’S NOW ON THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLERS LIST!!!

Wait… wait up! MORE sexy Sawyer images, you say???ALRIGHT THEN!!! LOL

*GULP*

*SWOONS* Sawyer… I can’t breathe when you look at me that way!

‘“Chloe?”

“Yeah?”

“I’d be worth the inhaler,” he said, then forced himself to walk away into the night.’

VERY EXCITED FOR MORE LUCKY HARBOR BOOKS NEXT YEAR!!!  (See below)

The Lucky Harbor Series:

1.Simply Irresistible – My Review Here
2. The Sweetest Thing - My Review Here
3. Head Over Heels

4. Lucky in Love – Release May 22, 2012
5. At Last - Release July 2012
6. Forever and a Day – Release August 2012

eBooks:
Anthology: “Kissing Santa Claus” in the anthology A Small Town Christmas (Logan, Tara’s ex-husband’s story)
Heating Up the Kitchen: Recipes With Love from Lucky Harbor (Recipes by Tara)

Credits: 
My Chloe - Rachelle Lefevre
My Sawyer - Timothy Olyphant 

 

I’m having another “Season For Giving Giveaway”!

Christmas is a time for giving, and what better gift to give my members than a book by one of my other favourite authors, Jill Shalvis. And Head Over Heels is one my favourite new releases this year! 

If you haven't read Jill Shalvis then I'll also give the Lucky Winner a paperback copy of the first two Lucky Harbor books, Simply Irresistible and The Sweetest Thing. If the Lucky Winner already has these books, then depending on the cost (the "Wilder Brothers" books are more expensive), I'll throw in one/two of Jill Shalvis other books.

Sounds good? Spread the word!

Entries close on 16 December 2011 and randomly drawn Lucky Winner will be announced on 17 December 2011 here at Lady Jayne's Reading Den and will also be advised via email.

HOW TO ENTER:

1. Share about this Giveaway and about Head Over Heels and the Lucky Harbor series by Jill Shalvis on Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads or your Blogs.

2. Leave a comment here to let me know how you shared this (and so I know who has entered), and also please share about your favourite Jill Shalvis book, or if you haven't read her (what are you waiting for?! ^_^), your favourite Contemporary Romance book.

3. If you are not comfortable to share your email details here, please email me those details so that I can let you know when the winner is announced. 

My email is: ladyjaynesreadingden@yahoo.com 

CONDITIONS:

1. Must be a member of Lady Jayne's Reading Den.

2. Must be from one of the ~100 countries that The Book Depository ships free to. See list of eligible countries here:

Eligible Countries

 GOOD LUCK AND HAPPY UPCOMING HOLIDAYS!!!! 

PRIVACY: Your privacy is very important to me. When you enter a giveaway and give your personal information, be assured that this information is not shared with anyone else and will not be used to contact you in any other way than to notify you if you win or to deliver your prize.