I don’t know about anyone else, but I really enjoy humor in my romance. Like, a lot! If you’re like me and you enjoy love and laughs all in one book, Jill Shalvis’s Lucky Harbor series is a must. If you haven’t read anything by Jill, you should really give her a try. I don’t think I’ve met anyone who didn’t like her stuff. And if you have read her, you’re going to love her next book, It Had to Be You! I was lucky enough to get a giveaway copy of this book at the RT Booklovers Convention; I loved it and wanted to share anything I could about it with you all!
Series: Lucky Harbor, Book 7 Publisher: Grand Central Publishing Official Summary Ali Winters is not having a good day. Her boyfriend left her, everyone in town thinks she’s a thief, and now she’s about to be kicked out of her home. Her only shot at keeping a roof over her head and clearing her name is to beg for help from a police detective who’s as sexy as he is stern… After a high-profile case goes wrong, Luke Hanover returns to his hometown for some peace and quiet. Instead he finds a bombshell brunette in a heap of trouble. As he helps Ali put her world back together, the pieces of Luke’s own life finally seem to fall into place. Is this the start of a sizzling fling? Or are Luke and Ali on the brink of something big in a little town called Lucky Harbor?
Whether you love Jill Shalvis or you’ve never read her, you’re going to love what we have in store for you today!
Before we get to the good stuff, let me give you a little background. I LOVE sneak peeks and behind-the-scenes stuff. I eat ‘em up like Milk Duds at the movies! Whether it’s on a DVD or for a book, I just cannot get enough! Hopefully you like to look behind the curtain to see how the magic happens too. With that in mind, Jill has been kind enough to allow us to share with you, our loyal readers, this list of five fun facts on writing It Had to Be You…
Five Fun Facts on
IT HAD TO BE YOU
By Jill Shalvis
- The idea for hot, tired, and grumpy detective Luke Hanover to walk into his house and find a half-naked woman talking to herself might be very slightly autobiographical. I don’t want to talk about it…
- I consumed twelve boxes of Mother Double Fudge cookies in the writing of this book and gained five pounds. I don’t want to talk about that either…
- Ali’s name was originally going to be Samantha. Her nickname would have been Sam, but I couldn’t talk editorial into letting me use it because it sounded too male.
- Every morning when I would wake up the muse and go to write on this book, all my characters wanted to do was jump into the sack. Naughty characters.
Ali and Luke
- I’ve never had so much fun with a hero as I did putting Luke in those sexy board shorts and on a paddleboard…
Now that you have an idea of how funny Jill can be, she’s given us something even better: a sexy sneak-peek excerpt!
Excerpt from It Had To Be You
Just to set it up for you, Ali and Luke are in his truck after he has met her on what is probably the worst day of her life…
Her throat tightened further, and she shook her head. Nope. Not okay. Not even close. “Don’t,” she said.
“Don’t what?”
“Don’t be nice to me right now. I’ll lose it.”
With surprising gentleness, he pushed the hair from her face, then clicked open her seatbelt.
It was all the invitation she was going to get, and all the invitation she needed. Turning to him, she burrowed in as steady, strong arms closed around her. He stroked a hand down her back, and she pressed her face into the crook of his neck, soaking in the warm comfort he offered.
It was the safest and most secure she’d felt in far too long, and she wasn’t sure she was going to be able to let go.
“Ali.”
Afraid he was going to pull away before she was done soaking him in, she squirmed a little closer. “Please, not yet.”
A rough sound escaped him, and he tightened his grip. “It’s okay. I’ve got you.”
Thank God. For just this one second, someone had her. She didn’t have to be strong all on her own. She exhaled a long, shaky breath and concentrated on dragging more air in. After a few beats, she realized he smelled amazing, guy amazing, and that her lips were pressed against his throat. Suddenly it wasn’t just comfort she was feeling, but a whole boatload of other things too, with arousal leading the pack. Extremely aware of the big, warm hand moving up and down on her back she wondered—did he feel it too?
And then she had a bigger problem. Her face was still pressed up against his warm skin and—look at that—every time she moved, her mouth slid over him.
He hadn’t shaved that morning, probably not yesterday either, and his skin was rough with stubble. Deliciously rough. And then there was his scent . . . Yum. She could no more have stopped herself from doing it again as she could have stopped breathing.
In reaction, Luke let out a low, very male sound that called to the most female part of her.
Which answered her question. Yeah, he felt it too.
He said her name again, his hand coming up to cup her jaw, his fingers weaving their way into her hair, tightening as if to draw her away from him.
But he didn’t.
Shaken, she inhaled a deep, uneven breath. Her breasts brushed his chest. The first time was accidental. The second time was all her. So was the third, and her entire body got all warm and tightened. What would it be like to have such a man belong to her? To belong to him? To kiss that mouth, feel it open under hers, feel it on her?
The temptation was too much, and her lips slid over his throat yet again. It still wasn’t enough. She needed to taste him.
Don’t do it . . .
But her day had been complete shit, her brain was full—too full—and there was no room in it for logic. None. So she did it. She ran her tongue along the column of his throat, and then because that was so good, she let her teeth sink into him a little bit as well.
A rough groan escaped him. Pulling her back, he searched her gaze for something, though she had no idea what. Probably her sanity.
Too late, she could have told him. She’d lost it.
Whatever he saw, he shook his head.
He was going to pull back. She could feel it in the sudden tautness of his muscles. She gave him her best sex kitten look, but the truth was she wasn’t exactly a sex kitten on the best of days, and this was definitely not one of those. But something in his eyes warmed. Still half expecting him to push her back into the seat, she was surprised when he instead pulled her up against him.
“Playing with fire,” he murmured. “And one of us is going to get burned.”
Awesome, right? Yeah, well, it just keeps getting better! You can read another excerpt from It Had to Be You we posted in February on K&W right HERE.
And, if that’s not enough to tide you over until your copy is delivered next week, here is a link to my A- review of It Had to Be You.
You HAVE ordered it, haven’t you? I’m sure you have. But just in case we have any stragglers, here are some links:
Preorder Digital:* Kindle | Nook Preorder Print: Amazon | B&N *Special Bonus Edition, which includes a digital copy of Jill’s full-length novel Blue Flame (originally published in 2004)
Lucky Harbor Giveaway
To help you get ready for Ali and Luke’s story (or to fill that “hole” in your Lucky Harbor collection), Jill is generously offering a copy of any one of the first six books in the Lucky Harbor series to ONE lucky Kindles & Wine reader.
To enter for your chance to win, you must:
- Be a follower of our blog (click HERE to subscribe), AND
- Jill confessed to eating 12 boxes of Mother Double Fudge cookies while writing It Had to Be You. Hit the comments and tell us about your guiltiest pleasure snack/treat.
Please note: This contest will close on Monday, May 27 at 11:59 PM (CDT) and the winner will be notified via email on Tuesday, May 28.
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 for a complete book list and daily blog detailing her city-girl-living-in-the-mountains adventures. You can also follow Jill on Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter. The woman is EVERYWHERE!