The Trouble with Mistletoe (Heartbreaker Bay Series #2)

by Jill Shalvis

Overview

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Jill Shalvis continues her fun, sexy new contemporary romance series with a tale of friends-to-lovers...just in time for Christmas.

If she has her way . . .

Willa Davis is wrangling puppies when Keane Winters stalks into her pet shop with frustration in his chocolate-brown eyes and a pink bedazzled cat carrier in his hand. He needs a kitty sitter, stat. But the last thing Willa needs is to rescue a guy who doesn’t even remember her . . .

He’ll get nothing but coal in his stocking.

Saddled with his great-aunt’s Feline from Hell, Keane is desperate to leave her in someone else’s capable hands. But in spite of the fact that he’s sure he’s never seen the drop-dead-gorgeous pet shop owner before, she seems to be mad at him . . .

Unless he tempers “naughty” with a special kind of nice . . .

Willa can’t deny that Keane’s changed since high school: he’s less arrogant, for one thing—but can she trust him not to break her heart again? It’s time to throw a coin in the fountain, make a Christmas wish—and let the mistletoe do its work . . .

(A standalone Heartbreaker Bay novel)

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062448057
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	09/27/2016
Series:	Heartbreaker Bay Series , #2
Sold by:	HARPERCOLLINS
Format:	eBook
Pages:	384
Sales rank:	64,810
File size:	1 MB

About the Author

New York Times bestselling author Jill Shalvis lives in a small town in the Sierras full of quirky characters. Any resemblance to the quirky characters in her books is, um, mostly coincidental. Look for Jill’s bestselling, award-winning novels wherever books are sold and visit her website, jillshalvis.com, for a complete book list and daily blog detailing her city-girl-living-in-the-mountains adventures.

Editorial Reviews

09/05/2016
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. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

Fall in love with Jill Shalvis! She’s my go-to read for humor and heart.” — —Susan Mallery, New York Times bestselling author

“Hot, sweet, fun, and romantic! Pure pleasure!” — – Robyn Carr, New York Times bestselling author

“Jill Shalvis will make you laugh and fall in love.” — Rachel Gibson, New York Times bestselling author

“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 [...] A sexy Shalvis read that fans will love.” — Kirkus Reviews

“Ms. Shalvis characters leap off the page.” — Romantic Times BOOKclub

“Heartwarming and sexy . . . an abundance of chemistry, smoldering romance, and hilarious antics.” — Publishers Weekly

“Healthy doses of humor, lust, and love work their magic as Shalvis tells a story . . . Wit, smoking-hot passion, and endearing tenderness . . . a big winner.” — Publishers Weekly

“Engaging writing, characters that walk straight into your heart, touching, hilarious…” — Library Journal

“Witty, fun, and the characters are fabulous.” — Fresh Fiction

From the Publisher

Hot, sweet, fun, and romantic! Pure pleasure!

Robyn Carr

Jill Shalvis will make you laugh and fall in love.

Rachel Gibson

Ms. Shalvis characters leap off the page.

Romantic Times BOOKclub

Fall in love with Jill Shalvis! She’s my go-to read for humor and heart.

Susan Mallery

Witty, fun, and the characters are fabulous.

Fresh Fiction

10/15/2016
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.

Library Journal

Narrator Karen White pulls the listener into the romantic entanglements of Keane Winters and Willa Davis. Keane has been left to care for his aunt’s cat and is desperate for help when he arrives at Willa’s pet shop. Little does he know that they share a past. White smoothly navigates their changing relationship. Willa has multiple friends as does Keane. White creates a distinctive voice for each of them, perfectly matching their personalities. Not only does White voice the human characters, she brings Petunia, the cat, to life, even matching the cat’s moods with appropriate meows. White has the listener chuckling over the situations Keane finds himself in with Petunia. Listeners can look forward to more romantic adventures from this series. S.B. © AudioFile 2016, Portland, Maine

NOVEMBER 2016 - AudioFile

2016-06-30
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.

Kirkus Reviews