Jill Shalvis
Publisher: Forever
Publication Date: July 31, 2012
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Source: NetgalleyLOVE CAN HAPPEN IN A HEARTBEAT.
Grace never thought she’d be starting her life over from scratch. Losing everything has landed her in Lucky Harbor, working as a dog walker for overwhelmed ER doctor Josh Scott. But the day his nanny fails to show up, Grace goes from caring for Josh’s loveable mutt to caring for his rambunctious kids. Soon Grace is playing house with the sexy single dad…
With so many people depending on him, Josh has no time for anything outside of his clinic and family–until Grace arrives in town. Now this brainy blonde is turning his life inside out and giving a whole new meaning to the phrase “good bedside manner.” Josh and Grace don’t know if what they have can last. But in a town like Lucky Harbor, a lifetime of love starts with just one day…
Goodreads Summary
I know you’re probably thinking to yourself, “Holy COW, not another Lucky Harbor review… enough already!” But I’m going to keep reviewing the series for a couple of reasons:
- I have too. That’s part of the package when you request books through Netgalley. It’s not my fault that the publisher chose to publish the books back to back. I know it makes it nice for fans of the series (no wait time!), but those that haven’t read it probably get tired of all the reviews.
- This is my one last chance to convince you to read the series. I’m hoping I’ve already done so. For all the new readers to the blog that have yet to hear me wax on and on about how much I love the little town of Lucky Harbor and it’s quirky citizens, this is for you. This is me on my soap box at it’s best.
Forever and a Day is absolutely, positively, without a doubt, hands down, my FAVORITE book of the series. I’ve loved all the couples in this series, of course, but there’s something about Josh and Grace that pushed them into the #1 spot. Josh is stressed to the max handling the family practice he inherited from his dad, his shift hours as an ER doctor at the local county hospital, a five year old son and his handicapped younger sister, Anna, who was paralyzed at 16. His only hope of keeping all the balls in the air is to hire a nanny, but Anna (who’s now 20) somehow sabotages each one and Josh is desperate.
Grace arrived in Lucky Harbor on her last dime. She drove cross country for an interview in Seattle and when that didn’t pan out she got in her car and drove until her tank ran empty. Lucky for her, she stopped at the local diner, ‘Eat Me’ in Lucky Harbor and met two fascinating women who convinced her to stay in town until she got back on her feet. Grace picked up every odd job she could find, and when Josh mistakenly calls her thinking she was a professional dog walker, she fudges the truth a bit and convinces him she’s perfect for the job. Josh quickly realizes that what his crazy household needs is Grace herself, and he offers her the job along with his pool house apartment free of charge. Grace would be insane to pass up that opportunity. Though her decision has nothing to do with the fact that she’d be living ten feet away from the most gorgeous man she’s ever met. Of course.
Josh is incredibly hunky, not only in physical appearance, but because he’s a real man. He has responsibilities and he takes care of them. He suddenly found himself as a single dad at a young age, and then shortly after that his parents died leaving him in charge of his teenage sister. A sister who has a major chip on her shoulder because of the accident that left her forever wheelchair bound. While I find many heroes to be attractive, I respect Josh for stepping up and taking care of the people in his life that need him. Maybe he didn’t do it all well, but he tried his best and really, what more could you ask? That’s why Grace was so perfect for him. She stepped in and helped ease his burdens, while finding her place at the same time. She’s adopted and her parents are very brilliant and successful and she’s always felt this pressure to be just like them, when all she wanted was to just be herself. Josh, along with her two friends, help her realize that she belongs in Lucky Harbor, that she can be happy with Josh and the meaningful, if small, career she’s stumbled into.
My Summary: Forever and a Day was incredibly moving, and Josh and Grace were the perfect couple. The tension and chemistry was sizzling and the best I’ve seen Shalvis do so far. The great thing about this series is that even though it’s fun to read them in order, I believe they can be read as stand alone’s as well. So if you’ve been dithering about giving this series a chance, I suggest starting with this book. You’ll be hooked from the first page!
My Rating: A+
I also have this book to review from net galley as I liked the sound of it and thought it would be a cute read. Then I realised it was a series and put it off but now you have said that it could be read as a stand alone I think I will give it a go. If I like it I could start from the beginning maybe and read the whole series
thanks for sharing 
xx
You can definitely read it as a stand alone! The only thing you’d miss would be references to the other couples, but it’s not so much that you’d be lost. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!
Wow! Looks really interesting, indeed. To be honest, I don’t have an account with NetGalley yet but I think I will give it a try in the near future. I still have 17 books on queue (aside from the overflowing TBR). After that (the queue), I think I’ll give this one a try.
Great review, by the way. “You’ll be hooked from the first page!” – I’ll look forward to that.
Lol.. the never ending TBR pile, right? I’ve tried to keep mine organized and in list format, but I’m too much of a mood reader to do that. So I admire your ability to decide what you have to read and when and then do it. Good on ya’! Definitely add this book (or series, probably) to your to-read-soon pile. It’s awesome!