All I Want
Animal Magnetism series, Book #7
By Jill Shalvis
ISBN: 9780425270196
Author’s Website: http://jillshalvis.com/
Brought to you by OBS reviewer Andra
Synopsis:
Pilot-for-hire Zoe Stone is happy to call Sunshine, Idaho, her home base. But her quiet life is thrown for a loop when her brother’s friend Parker comes to stay with her for a week. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife special agent is a handsome flirt with a gift for getting under her skin. And the situation only escalates when Parker hires her to fly him around the area while he collects evidence on a suspected smuggler.
Now she has to live and work with the guy. But when they’re in the air, she sees another side of him. He’s driven, focused, and sharp. And while he enjoys giving commentary on her blind dates, she quickly realizes with a shock that it’s Parker who gets her engines going…
Review:
Each time I read a new book by Jill Shalvis, I am totally amazed, engrossed and thoroughly happy to be in the world she has created with her written word!
Zoe mistakes Parker for her blind date…and the first thing she does is kiss him…even before the date…or introductions have been complete. Talk about an interesting way of beginning a date. Zoe felt that getting that pesky end-of-date kiss over with would lessen the whole first date jitters. Good in theory, IF she had actually kissed her blind date. Turns out she kissed her brother’s good friend, who has come to rent a room in Zoe’s home while he is on leave from work (well that is the official story, though he unofficially continues to work – much to the chagrin of his boss!!!). As usual with the men that Ms. Shalvis creates, Parker is no slouch. He is a handsome, in shape, SEXY man (okay…this is how I visualize Parker) who immediately is intrigued by a woman who kisses him right off the bat…..and she has a great dog named Oreo.
The story line regarding Parker’s continued unofficial work is interesting and tied in very well with Zoe’s work. At times though, I wanted to shake Parker as he just did not want to listen to his boss with respect to the whole situation. I shuddered when he kept putting himself within harm’s way. Especially as feelings began to develop between Parker and Zoe. Zoe – I like a woman in an unusual occupation (small plane pilot), though in this day and age it may not be so unusual. She had her own challenges and insecurities in the dating arena and that certainly provided a bit of comic relief (though that was most certainly not Zoe’s intent…).
My favorite visual of the book – from a shower scene of course:
“She could still see him as he’d been in her shower earlier, the room steamy and humid, his long, lean, hard boy slick with water and soap running in rivulets down his body.”
The chemistry between Zoe and Parker is undeniable. The banter between them is also undeniably cute and peppered with innuendo:
“Zoe dropped her things and crouched down to give Oreo a doggie treat from her purse. ‘Who’s a good boy?’ she murmured. ‘Well, I don’t like to brag, but I’ve been pretty good,’ Parker said. She lifted her gaze to where he’d stopped in the doorway between the kitchen and the living room, leaning against the jamb. ‘Do you want a cookie, too?’ she asked.”
The journey for Zoe and Parker is filled with angst and frustrations but separately and together, with perseverance, they come together (eventually) and isn’t that what we all want in life…love of a good man or woman and our animals.
I must say…the moment the two kittens entered Zoe’s house (Parker could not resist the next door neighbor kid!)….I just knew they would not be surrendered for adoption. Their fate was sealed when Zoe actually named them. And the relationship between Oreo (Zoe’s Bernese mountain dog) and the kittens is priceless, especially given Oreo’s comfort (read…discomfort) with cats!
I thoroughly enjoyed the ride I was taken on by this novel. Thank you, Jill Shalvis. I shall continue my quest to read the other books in this series which I have not read!
