C2’s review of Animal Magnetism by Jill Shalvis
Contemporary Romance published by Berkley 1 Feb 11
You know those times you are in the mood for a good, straight-up contemporary romance? No paranormal creatures lurking around, no crazy spies doing stealthy stuff, no serial killers, ax in hand – just a good story between two regular folks. Books like that can be hard to find, but Animal Magnetism more than fills the bill.
Our hero is Brady Miller, a former military pilot who now flies for a company that handles all kinds of dangerous stuff. Brady has returned to his hometown for a month-long visit to help out his foster brothers. They have an ancient helicopter that needs some TLC. And if someone were interested in signing on as its full-time pilot (hint, hint Brady), that would be just fine with them too. Brady isn’t interested in being tied down to a place or to any relationships.
Our heroine is Lilah Young. Lilah runs the local animal rescue/boarding service and is finishing her degree in her not-so-spare time. Everybody loves Lilah – she grew up in the area and is always there to help out whenever needed. Lilah is used to patching up creatures, taking extra special care of them, finding them good homes and letting them go…and if she loses pieces of her heart along the way, she doesn’t get dramatic about it.
Lilah and Brady meet when she rear-ends his parked truck. Not an auspicious beginning, but the chemistry is there from the start. We watch them get together – both knowing Brady is only in town for a month, both knowing they each have too much going on in their lives to do anything serious. And they manage to keep things light, at first. Sometimes things get out of control, though. The pull of attraction is too hard to resist and then things get serious.
Animal Magnetism is that rare find I mentioned – an excellent, straight-up contemporary romance. From the small town setting to the fun (and intriguing) supporting cast to a fabulous hero and heroine – everything works. This book is an entertaining and romantic story you won’t want to put down…and when you get to the last page, you keep turning because you want to read more but the pages are blank! Sequel, please? Soon?
Grade: A
Summary:
This alpha male is going to bring out her wild side…
Sunshine, Idaho, is a small and sunny town—the perfect home for man and beast. Well, maybe not for man, as pilot-for-hire Brady Miller discovers when his truck is rear-ended by what appears to be Noah’s Ark.
The co-owner of the town’s only kennel, Lilah Young has good reason to be distracted behind the wheel—there are puppies, a piglet, and a duck in her Jeep. But, she doesn’t find it hard to focus on the angry, gorgeous stranger she’s collided with.
Lilah has lived in Sunshine all her life, and though Brady is just passing through, he has her abandoning her instincts and giving in to a primal desire. It’s Brady’s nature to resist being tied down, but there’s something about Lilah and her menagerie—both animal and human—that keeps him coming back for more…
Read an excerpt.
Enjoyed your review. Loved this book. The characters, the humor, the guy hotness 6 the banter between them and of course, the animals.
Thanks for a great review! And yep, sequel coming soon. Dell’s story is next. Animal Attraction comes out in October. I’ll be posting the cover on my blog sometime this week. 🙂
Wonderful review! This was such a fun, sexy story. Yeah for Dell’s story coming next. Of course I would have been happy with Adam’s being next too. 🙂 Love those brothers!
Mary and Leslie – Thanks, ladies! 🙂
Jill – You’re welcome! And thank you for such a fun book. And yay for Dell’s book! 🙂
It’s funny that you posted this. I had just finished reading all of Karen Marie Moning’s Fever books. I enjoyed them but I wanted to read just a plain love story without all of the supernatural. This fit the bill. I loved it.
Dayna – After the Fever series a palate cleanser is needed – all those creatures and mayhem. LOL
Loved this book! can anyone recommend anything they’ve read in a similar vein? ie normal people, no angst or drama…
Claire – maybe check into Jennifer Crusie, Rachel Gibson, Shannon Stacey (Exclusively Yours is fab!), Erin Mccarthy’s NASCAR series, Julie James, Lori Foster, Susan Mallery, Leeann Banks, and maybe Cherry Adair, Marie Force, HelenKay Dimon, Lucy Monroe, Marie Force (some are kinda suspense-y) and Nora Roberts, of course, although there might be angst. 🙂
And a few more suggestions from the fine folks on Twitter (as several of the above were): Susan Andersen, Leslie Kelly, Kasey Michaels, Christy Ridgeway, Carly Phillips and Brenda Novak.
thank you so much! sorry for delay in replying- notification got trapped in spam folder!
huge fan already of Ms Crusie and Ms Gibson and many others on that list- was looking more for specific titles- will definitely take a look at the Exclusively Yours.