REVIEW: Chasing Christmas Eve by Jill Shalvis

In Chasing Christmas Eve (Heartbreaker Bay #4) by Jill Shalvis, Author Colbie Albright has finally hit her breaking point. Between her needy family who can’t seem to do anything without her to the pressure mounting to write her next novel, she’s done. So she drops everything and for the first time ever goes on a vacation. Once she gets to California all Colbie wants to do is relax, tick some items off her bucket list, and break her writer’s block. But what she does is fall head over heels for Spencer Baldwin. No, really. She gets knocked you-know-what over teakettle into a supposedly magical water fountain and is rescued by the handsome guy. Colbie’s vacation takes a turn for the better when she realizes that not only has she got her writing mojo back, but that meeting Spence was one of the best things to ever happen to her.

“I’m really not in trouble. I’m…” She sighed. “Well, what the H-E-double-hockey-sticks. I’m a writer,” she admitted.
His mouth twitched. “H-E-double-hockey-sticks?”
She shook her head. “Don’t ask. It involves a swear jar and me going broke.”
He laughed. “Creative swearing. I like it.”

Pacific Pier building’s resident tech geek Spencer was minding his own business, walking a dog for a friend when his whole life got upended. He might not believe in the legend of the water fountain but he knows when attraction knocks him over the head. And Colbie is everything he didn’t know he was looking for. She’s funny, intelligent, has the best outlook on life. And is only in town for two weeks. But boy can he think of a LOT to do to her, ahem, with her in that time. Spence has a blast showing her around San Francisco, helping her with her bucket list. Especially naughty #10. But he knows there’s something Colbie isn’t telling him. Secretive in his own right, he’s pretty sure she’ll tell him when she’s ready. But when he realizes how much he truly cares for her and how amazing a woman she is, Spence puts his analytical mind into overdrive to figure out how to hang on to Colbie for good.

“There’re things about me that I still haven’t told you,” she whispered. “Things I’m not ready to talk about, at least not yet. Are you okay with that?”
He met her gaze and held it. “I want only what you’re willing to give me, Colbie. No more.”

What a wonderful addition to the Heartbreaker Bay series! Chasing Christmas Eve had everything I long for in a Jill Shalvis romance: offbeat characters, comical bantering, smokin’ hot sexy-time scenes, and terrific friendships. And on top of all that it was a holiday book. Sounds crazy good, right?

“I want to see if this is how it’s going to be.”
“How what’s going to be?” she whispered.
“This.” His kiss started out just as slow and thoughtful as the first, all careful control. But when his tongue touched hers, control flew straight out the window.

Jill Shalvis is one of my go-to authors for a reason. She never fails to make me laugh, make me swoon over her heroes and want to befriend everyone in the story. And I absolutely adore the crew she created for this particular series. While they each had their own unique personality which added something special to the mix, my eye has been on sexy Spence since the beginning. There’s just something about a geek-chic guy who takes care of everyone around him and who has hidden depths. In this installment we finally got a few answers as to just what Spence has been doing for work, what happened in his past, and we had a big secret dropped on us and then explained. *happy sigh*

Colbie and Spence were the sweetest couple. They started off with instant attraction but with neither of them wanting to give in to it as they were definitely not looking for a relationship. I had to admire how Colbie could laugh at herself–and her creative swearing was a riot!–and that she remained fairly levelheaded even with a deadline looming and her family bugging her on her vacation. She was good for Spence, getting him out of his own head for a while, having fun and giving him some time away from his marathon work sessions. And I’m happy to say that I loved Spence as much as I was hoping I would. It was nice to see more about him, see how loyal and brilliant he was, and to watch the funny-as-hell interactions between him and his group of friends. Thankfully we got to see a lot of them this time, especially Elle, Caleb, Joe and Old Man Eddie.

From its meet cute beginning to the sigh-worthy ending, Chasing Christmas Eve had me smiling nonstop. This is another Jill Shalvis book that will be on my keeper shelf, ready to be read again whenever I need a bit of holiday spirit and a good dose of entertainment.

Book Info:

Publication: Published September 26th 2017 | Avon | Heartbreaker Bay #4

Meet cute…

Run for the hills—temporarily. That’s Colbie Albright’s plan when she flees New York for San Francisco. Wrangling her crazy family by day and writing a bestselling YA fantasy series by night has taken its toll. In short, Colbie’s so over it that she’s under it. She’s also under the waters of a historic San Francisco fountain within an hour of arrival. Fortunately, the guy who fishes Colbie out has her looking forward to Christmas among strangers. But she’s pretty sure Spencer Baldwin won’t be a stranger for long.

Make merry…

Spence’s commitment to hiding from the Ghosts of Relationships Past means he doesn’t have to worry about the powerful—okay, crazy hot chemistry—he’s got with Colbie. Just because she can laugh at anything, especially herself… just because she’s gorgeous and a great listener just because she gets Spence immediately doesn’t mean he won’t be able to let Colbie go. Does it?

and hope for a miracle.

Now the clock’s ticking for Colbie and Spence: Two weeks to cut loose. Two weeks to fall hard. Two weeks to figure out how to make this Christmas last a lifetime.