Review: The Sweetest Thing

Two Men Are One Too Many . . .

Tara has a thousand good reasons not to return to the little coastal town of Lucky Harbor, Washington. Yet with her life doing a major crash-and-burn, anywhere away from her unfulfilled dreams and sexy ex-husband will do. As Tara helps her two sisters get their newly renovated inn up and running, she finally has a chance to get things under control and come up with a new plan for her life.

But a certain tanned, green-eyed sailor has his own ideas, such as keeping Tara hot, bothered . . . and in his bed. And when her ex wants Tara back, three is a crowd she can't control-especially when her deepest secret reappears out of the blue. Now Tara must confront her past and discover what she really wants. If she's lucky, she might just find that everything her heart desires is right here in Lucky Harbor.

Making the Grade: B+

For My Thoughts

The Sweetest Thing by Jill Shalvis takes place about 6 months after Simple Irresistible and while the sisters are still getting to know each other and work together to make their inherited Inn turned B&B into a success they still have a ways to go. I loved the dynamics between the sisters and it‘s one of my favorite parts of the series. Their relationship is a work in progress and although sisters Maddie, Tara and Chloe barely know each other, there’s no doubt they are 100% committed to working on their sister act.

Middle sister and control freak Tara Daniels aka The Southern Belle aka The Steel Magnolia gets center stage in The Sweetest Thing. She never planned on staying in Lucky Harbor yet can’t seem to leave her sisters and the oh so delicious Ford - even if she has been giving him the cold shoulder the last six months.

And well if Ford isn’t just The Sweetest Thang than I don’t know what is!

At six-feet-three-inches, Ford was pure testosterone and sinew. He wore low-slung, button-fly Levi‘s and a white button-down shoved up to his elbows. His brown hair was sun-kissed, his green eyes sharp, his smile ready. Everything about him said ready, from his tough build to the air of confidence he wore like other men wore cologne.!

Tara and Ford have a lot of history, teenage lovers who had no chance of making a go of it when they were 17 years old, an unplanned pregnancy and a daughter they put up for adoption and now 17 years later - they both get a second chance at love between themselves and their daughter who suddenly shows up to spend the summer in Lucky Harbor in the hopes of getting to know her biological parents.

The town of Lucky Harbor is quaint and filled with quirky characters including the feisty, town gossip and loveable busybody Lucille who uses Twitter and Facebook to conduct a poll to get the townsfolk to vote on who Tara should chose between the loveable hometown hero Ford or the Ex-hubby and NASCAR racer Logan who’s made an unexpected pit stop in Lucky Harbor in the hopes of winning Tara back. The antics between Ford and Logan to outdo one another to impress Tara are pretty hilarious.

Shalvis continues with the quips at the start of each chapter which I thoroughly enjoyed in Simply Irresistible and continued to find delightful in The Sweetest Thing. Here are just a couple of gems.

“There is no snooze button on life.”
“A conclusion is the place you get to when your tired of thinking.:
“If it’s going to be two against one, make sure you aren’t the one.“

And thanks to The Sweetest Thing I now have a new favorite saying: “Well butter my butt and call me a biscuit” said in my best Paula Dean southern twang voice”. I foresee me using this...a lot. It makes me giggle even now just thinking about saying it.

The Sweetest Thing is chock full of love, laughs, touching family moments and is a great second instalment to the series. I can’t wait for wild-child Chloe’s story paired with the staid and responsible Cop Sawyer. I have a feeling it may be the best one in the series yet.