Second Chance Summer

Cedar Ridge, Book #1

By Jill Shalvis

ISBN13: 9781455586738

Author’s Website: http://jillshalvis.com

Brought to you by OBS reviewer Andra

Synopsis:

RESCUE ME

Cedar Ridge, Colorado, is famous for crisp mountain air, clear blue skies, and pine-scented breezes. And it’s the last place Lily Danville wants to be. But she needs a job, and there’s an opening at the hottest resort in her hometown. What has her concerned is the other hot property in Cedar Ridge: Aidan Kincaid-firefighter, rescue worker, and heart breaker. She never could resist that devastating smile . . .

The Kincaid brothers are as rough and rugged as the Rocky Mountains they call home. Aidan has always done things his own way, by his own rules. And never has he regretted anything more than letting Lily walk out of his life ten years ago. If anyone has ever been in need of rescuing, she has. What she needs more than anything are long hikes, slow dances, and sizzling kisses. But that can only happen if he can get her to give Cedar Ridge-and this bad boy-a second chance . . .

Review:

One thing I have come to expect, even from my limited exposure to the writing of Jill Shalvis is HOT men and exciting love stories! And I can say with no trepidation…she has delivered with this first book in the new Cedar Ridge series. The characters are engaging with a depth that kept this reader engaged until the last word was read.

Lily Danville used to live in Cedar Ridge, Colorado. But an unfortunate accident brought untold lose and sorry to Lily, so she ran away. Until recently, she had been living in San Diego as a hairdresser. As a result of a betrayal, she is now out of a job (as a result of THE INCIDENT) with NO prospects in the L.A. / San Diego area of California. So Lily retreats to her home town for a short while to take a temporary position while awaiting a job offer (hopefully) from the job applications she has out. Lily of course hopes that she won’t see her ex-boyfriend, Aidan Kincaid. My first thought was…in a small Colorado town…not very likely. And true to my thoughts, almost first thing, Lily runs into Aidan while filling up on junk food at a local gas station, with TOTALLY disheveled (of course – hair askew and frizzy).

Lily settles into her new job as hairdresser at the local resort, of course housed within the premises which are owned by the Kincaid family. So not only does she run into Aidan first thing, she is constantly within his reach during the day should he visit his family’s resort. And to compound matters worse, she is living in the resort’s employee housing. A scene I found particularly funny was one morning, Lily was fetching firewood…in her p.j.’s and a small snake frightens her while she is picking up the firewood. Her yelp is heard by Aiden, who just happens to be passing by. He laughs and then asks:

“Need some help? He asked.

Need? NO. Want? YES. But she’d never been good at admitting that.

……

“You forget how to survive out here?” he asked.

 She glanced at him over her shoulder. “What are you talking about?”

 “Loading wood in…” He looked her over again, and his lips quirked.

 “PJ’s and no gloves. Not the Lily I remember.”

Aiden, a true hunk and all around good guy. Not only is he a local firefighter but also involved in the family business, of running the resort AND part of Search and Rescue. So you got to know he is one in shape guy…. 🙂 Needless to say, since Lily moved away, he has not truly moved on. Setting the stage for???

I got the most chuckles out of the matriarch of the Kincaid family, Char.   Char is moving on with her life by dating Marcus. Her boys are uncomfortable with this and Aidan is pushed by his brother Gray to go over to Char’s date (while she is in the washroom) to talk to Marcus about dating his mom. This scene was particularly funny, especially when Char returned from the washroom! Marcus states:

“And I’ll pay you to still be sitting right here when she comes back from the restroom, because we both know she’s going to be pissed as hell at you.”

Then Char returns and Marcus makes up some story that Aidan is there to wish them well:

“Aw”, his mom said, softening, enveloping Aidan in a warm hug. “That’s sweet of you, baby.” Then she put her mouth to his ear. “Now I know that you and your brother are so full of poo your eyes are brown, so you listen up good. If you screw this night up for me, I’m going to put an ad in the paper saying you’re ready to get married and have kids and that ALL singles should apply. Especially the criers, the stage-five clingers, and poetry lovers.”

Gotta love Char!!!!! She certainly knows how to give it to her boys 🙂

This trip home for Lily is not solely about her unemployed situation. Lily is also home to work though the tragedy that occurred in the past…the death of her sister. Lily hikes to the spot where Ashley had left the trail and tried to climb the face of Dead Man’s cliff, where she had fallen to her death. As there was constant rivalry between Lily and Ashley, Lily feels like it is her fault that Ashley died. I found the process by which she finally resolved her issue with this very engaging and emotionally charged.

I totally loved the interactions between all of the Kincaid children (from the first, second or whatever marriage the kids were from). The camaraderie of the family was heartwarming. The sense of family showed that one could be different, but still accepted within the family unit.

Their journey was filled with the usual ups and downs that go along with romantic novels. However, the storytelling was such a joy to read. I cannot wait for the continuation of this series. Thank you Jill Shalvis for penning such an engaging, romantic, funny book!

*OBS would like to thank the publisher for supplying a free copy of this title in exchange for an honest review*