The Trouble with Mistletoe

September 5, 2016
Fans of Shalvis’s Sweet Little Lies will surely want to pick up her second Heartbreaker Bay contemporary, which is also very accessible to new readers. The series’s cuddliness factor is amped up to 11 with redheaded Willa Davis and her San Francisco pet store, South Bark Mutt Shop. Willa’s single and happy that way; she gets her daily dose of love from half a dozen eight-week-old golden retriever pups and the other lost animal souls she tends. Then handsome Keane Winters, a man from her past, shows up with Petunia, a Siamese cat he’s nicknamed Pita because she’s a pain in the ass. Pita is his great-aunt’s pet, and he needs all the cat counseling he can get, but Willa, Christmas spirit notwithstanding, would just as soon he seek it elsewhere. Willa’s a gem, Keane’s a hunk—tool belt and all—and the two spar as only Shalvis’s characters can, fighting a losing battle against the powers of mutual attraction and the holiday season. Agent: Robin Rue, Writers House.

July 15, 2016
When a contractor needs someone to care for his inherited cat, he turns to the neighborhood pet-store owner, not realizing that the two have an unfortunate shared past or that she just may be the future he's never admitted he's looking for.Both Keane Winters and Willa Davis had difficult childhoods: Keane was the son of older, impatient parents who punished him for his energy and curiosity, and Willa was the daughter of an alcoholic mother whose neglect landed her in and out of foster care. When Keane's great-aunt goes into the hospital, he promises to take care of her cat, a promise that becomes long-term when she goes into a rehab center. Feeling guilty for leaving the cat alone all day, Keane attempts to board her at the neighborhood pet store. Owner Willa agrees to take the cat but is oddly antagonistic despite the fiery attraction they share and doesn't soften for days even while she cares for the cat. Finally she lets him know that he was responsible for a devastating experience she had in high school that he doesn't even remember, but he apologizes, does her a huge set of favors, and then asks her out, an invitation she accepts. The two spend time together and finally give in to their attraction, both adamant that it's just physical and they don't want anything else. But as the sex gets more impassioned and their lives more entwined, they still have to learn how to trust themselves and each other before they can form a real relationship, which they each resist in their own ways. Shalvis' second Heartbreaker Bay novel hits all the notes the author is celebrated for: realistic characters enveloped in a tight, dependable community; emotionally intense back story and angst-y internal turmoil; rapid-fire dialogue and wordplay; and scorching sexual tension, all of which almost completely camouflages the lack of deep conflict between the characters beyond I'm emotionally unavailable when they patently aren't. A sexy Shalvis read that fans will love.

COPYRIGHT(2016) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

October 15, 2016

There's no way pet shop owner Willa Davis is getting involved with real estate developer Keane Winters, the arrogant jock who once crushed her teenage heart by standing her up for the high school Sadie Hawkins dance--and now he doesn't even remember her. However, she can't resist an animal (or a person) in need, so helping him out with his great-aunt's gorgeous Siamese cat is another matter entirely. Willa is magnetic and Keane is persistent, and despite her plan to swear off men, Willa is drawn into a relationship far more serious than either had wanted. A quirky cast filled with familiar characters, a fountain with legendary powers, and a bevy of heart-stealing animals are pluses in this well-written tale. VERDICT Lighthearted, sexy, and fully entertaining, this second-chance romance blends holiday cheer with long-buried emotional issues and plenty of passion. This delectable story adds another cheeky charmer to Shalvis's San Francisco-set series. Shalvis (Sweet Little Lies) lives in the Sierras near Lake Tahoe.

Copyright 2016 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.