Joint Review: Forever & A Day by Jill Shalvis

Publisher: Forever
Publish Date: July 31st
How we got this book: NetGalley/Blog tour

LOVE CAN HAPPEN IN A HEARTBEAT.

Grace never thought she’d be starting her life over from scratch. Losing everything has landed her in Lucky Harbor, working as a dog walker for overwhelmed ER doctor Josh Scott. But the day his nanny fails to show up, Grace goes from caring for Josh’s loveable mutt to caring for his rambunctious kids. Soon Grace is playing house with the sexy single dad…

With so many people depending on him, Josh has no time for anything outside of his clinic and family–until Grace arrives in town. Now this brainy blonde is turning his life inside out and giving a whole new meaning to the phrase “good bedside manner.” Josh and Grace don’t know if what they have can last. But in a town like Lucky Harbor, a lifetime of love starts with just one day…

*Blurb from Goodreads*

MinnChica: I have such a big girl crush on Shalvis, and the Lucky Harbor books are some of my favorite small town contemporary romances out right now. I was very anxious to read about Grace and Josh. I’ve loved and wondered about Grace from the moment she first stepped in Lucky Harbor, and I was so glad we got to see her find her place in town. I also wanted to know more about Josh. While we got to see him quite a bit, he was still a big mystery to me going into this book. I absolutely adored these two and their romance. I think that they are high up on my list of favorite Lucky Harbor couples!

Lou: I’m a fan of Jill Shalvis and I love her Animal series, but Forever & A Day has become a strong contender for my favourite Shalvis book. Like MinnChica, I adored Grace’s and Josh’s romance. From the beginning the story captivated me with the adorable and hilarious puppy pug, to a sweet and very sexy romance. Grace was such a likeable heroine and I loved that there was no arguing back and forth with Josh, and nobody being distanced from one another. Josh was a very smexy hero, and I loved that he didn’t need a woman to know how to show love to his toddler son and his older sister. In a lot of romances, it takes the love of the heroine to make the hero a good father and what not. I hate that trope and call bullshit on it. Josh was a caring and loving hero, even though he was maxed out on all front with his job as the town Doctor and working in the ER and saw that Toby and Anna were missing out on his company.

MinnChica: I’m not usually a big fan of children in romance books, as many times I think the author either doesn’t do a good job, neglects the children, or just leaves so much of the story out. But Shalvis did an amazing job with Toby. His relationship with his father, and Josh’s struggles to be a single father, a doctor and a good guardian to his sister as well. Situations weren’t glossed over, I never felt like characters were left out, and I truly enjoyed the relationship between father and son, despite its occasional rocky moments. I especially enjoyed Anna’s character and what she brought to both Josh’s life and Grace’s. Although she was extremely immature and naive at times, I thought she was real and added so much to the overall story. I love Shalvis; ability to create such amazing secondary characters in her stories!

Lou: Yes, it was great seeing Josh recognise that he was in trouble with his work and it was affecting his relationship with Toby. Anna on the other hand…I’m torn about her. I loved her snarkiness, but she was so immature and I didn’t quite understand her character arc. She was disabled without the use of her legs, but I didn’t understand why she had to come off as a sulky 13 year old girl rather than a 21 year old woman. It was disconcerting. And when Anna left Toby in the care of Grace – who at a time was a stranger – I was like, are you bonkers? Grace I really enjoyed; her relationship with Toby and Anna was strong independently away from Josh. Grace called Anna out on her crappy behaviour and didn’t let her get away with her attitude. The romance between Josh and Grace was one of the best, easy and uncomplicated romances Shalvis has done. There were no arguments or massive issues that the hero or heroine had that stunted the growth of their romance. I found it to be natural, though I could without someone interrupting them all the time which is another trope in romance that’s used a lot.

MinnChica: The relationship between Grace and Josh was so uncomplicated and relaxed, which I love to read now and then. And I liked that they were constantly interrupted, it was so real given how hectic both their lives are. Every time something came up and they had to put their relationship on the back burner I just giggled, thinking about how much real life tends to butt in every now and then. 🙂 I loved Grace, she was so laid back and go-with-the-flow. I loved that she did what she needed to in order to make ends meet, that she didn’t wallow in the fact that she used to be a big-time professional. She was real and down-to-earth and the kind of romance heroine that I would love to have as a best friend. And the little epilogue, giving us a sneak peak into the future for Josh and Grace… melted my heart big time!

Lou: It was great seeing a heroine who was used to a very busy and high energy job in the city not rush back because she thought the small town not good enough for her. She was laid back, and she wasn’t fussy about doing jobs that was honest work. I was a little sad to see there wasn’t much of a dynamic between the heroes in this book as their interactions are hilarious, but I think with how busy Josh was it would have been impossible to bring in more extra scenes. With the epilogue, I could have done without it. It was so short that I wanted more, possibly seeing Anna grow. I do wonder if Anna will have a book of her own as I can see her be heroine material once her attitude runs very far away.

MinnChica: All in all I absolutely adored this book. I’ve been waiting for Grace’s story, and loved every second of it. Both Grace and Josh were loveable main characters that pulled me into their individual lives and their romance and had me rooting for them from the very start. The Lucky Harbor books continue to be my favorite small-town contemporary romance books and I can’t wait to see where Shalvis takes this small town next!
I give Forever & A Day an A-

Lou: I enjoyed the last book in the Lucky Harbour series, but this one I enjoyed even more so. It features a lovely romance that’s the main focus of the story, and secondary characters that I enjoyed, though I do think some may find them to be annoying. I hope to see Anna grow up and mature and perhaps see her have a book of her own. I give Forever & A Day an A- also.

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