Review & Excerpt: Holiday Wishes by Jill Shalvis

Series: Heartbreaker Bay #4.5
Publisher: Avon Impulse 
Source: the publisher in exchange for an honest review
Release Date: November 7th, 2017 
Buying Links: Amazon* | Avon | Book Depository* | Google Play | iTunes* | Barnes & Noble
* affiliate links; the blog receives a small commission from purchases made through these links.

Blurb from goodreads:

It’s Christmastime again in Heartbreaker Bay!

When Sean O’Riley shows up at the Hartford Bed & Breakfast for his older brother’s bachelor weekend, he’s just hoping to make it through the weekend. What he’s not expecting is to come face to face with the woman he lost his virginity to a decade ago—a woman he’s never really forgotten.

The last time Lotti Hartford saw Sean, she told him she loved him while he said nothing. Now, ten years later, she’s just looking for a good time. For once, she wants to be the wild and free one, and Sean – the good time guy – is the perfect candidate.

But as the weekend continues, Sean realizes that after a lifetime of being the hook-up king, he’s ready to find happily-ever-after, and he wants it with Lotti. But will she open her heart to him again? As Christmas sweeps through the little B&B, he can only hope love and magic are in the air.

My Thoughts:

This is such a fun series and I love the relationships and friendships in this circle of friends. Sometimes I like them as much as I do the romance. "Holiday Wishes" is a short story and the romance is front and center.

Sean, his brother Finn, Pru, Finn's fiance, and their circle of friends go away for the weekend before Christmas for the bachelor and bachelorette parties. But when they walk in, Sean is stunned to see his high school love, Lotti. He's delighted; she is not. :P Sean was going through a rough patch; add in the fact that, like many teens, he was thoughtless, and it's no surprise that he hurt Lotti when they were together. But the spark is still there, all these years later, and Sean decides to see just how far he can fan it. He's more responsible now, and determined to show Lotti that, even though he has trouble believing it sometimes. Lotti is fresh from being dumped by her fiance and feeling vulnerable. Can they rekindle the spark? Can they rebuild trust? Can they survive the cliche of being trapped together (with half dozen of Sean's closest friends and family) without power in a flooded out inn? Will Finn and Pru pull off their wedding despite last minute glitches?

Shalvis pulls it all together with humor and passion, making me swipe the ereader screen rapidly to see what will happen. Sean and Lotti came together as a couple a little too quickly but ending was a sweet Happy For Now instead of an HEA and that worked perfectly. They had believable chemistry and I was hoping they would fins happiness together.

Some favorite quotes:

"Well, I've been thinking." "Which explains the smoke coming out of your ears." She let out a low laugh. "Yeah. I do tend to overthinking things. I like to obsess over every decision until it's nearly impossible to make. Which is why I'm changing things up."

"Are you...cuddling me?" she asked. "Trying," he said, sounding amused.

My reviews of the previous books:

#1, Sweet Little Lies
#2, The Trouble with Mistletoe
#2.5, One Snowy Night
#3, Accidentally on Purpose
#4, Chasing Christmas Eve

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, www.jillshalvis.com, for a complete book list and daily blog detailing her city-girl-living-in-the-mountains adventures.

Find Jill Online ~

Website http://jillshalvis.com/
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/JillShalvis/
Twitter http://www.twitter.com/JillShalvis
Goodreads https://goo.gl/SFW5gB
Amazon http://amzn.to/2yHU2MU

At the empathetic tone in Sean’s voice, Lotti’s heart and stomach and head all clenched in unison. “What do you mean you can’t give me what I want?” she asked. “All you have to do is walk away.”

“Tried that already,” he said. “And it was the biggest mistake of my life.” He brought her hand up to his mouth and met her gaze over their entwined hands.

He was looking at her like . . . well, she wasn’t sure what was going on in his head, but her thoughts were racing along with her pulse.

“You’re incredible, Lotti. I hope you know that.” Very slowly, clearly giving her time to object, he pulled her into him.

Her breath caught at the connection and his eyes heated in response as he slid a hand up her spine and then back down again, pressing her in tight to him from chest to thighs and everywhere in between. His nose was cold at the crook of her neck, but his breath was warm against her skin. She felt his lips press against the sensitive spot just behind her ear and she shivered. “You’re trembling,” he said, his voice low. “Are you cold?”

“No,” she whispered. Try the opposite of cold . . .

“Nervous?”

“No.” Not even close. The way his mouth moved across her skin was making her warm all over. Not that she could articulate that with his body pressed to hers and his fingers dancing over her skin. She was literally quivering as the memories of what it felt like to be touched by him washed over her, as if no time at all had gone by.

Yes, she’d let him think that their time together had sucked for her. But it hadn’t. Not even close. That long-ago night he’d evoked feelings and a hunger in her that she’d never forgotten. “I’ve just had a long day,” she said.

“I know. I’m going to make it better.” He pressed a kiss at the juncture of her jaw and ear before he made his way to her lips for a slow, hot kiss, his mouth both familiar and yet somehow brand-new. She was so far gone that when he pulled back she protested with a moan, but he held her tight, staring down at her with heated eyes. “Just checking,” he murmured.

“Checking what?”

“That you want this as badly as I do.”

Have you read "Holiday Wishes"? What did you think? Are you a fan of second chance romances?