REVIEW: He’s So Fine by Jill Shalvis

In He’s So Fine (Lucky Harbor #11) by Jill Shalvis, In Olivia Bentley’s attempt to forget her past, she’s made a cozy new life for herself in Lucky Harbor, Washington. No one knows the truth about her childhood or the abandonment she felt then, and that’s the way she intends to keep it. So when sparks fly as she attempts to rescue the cute local charter boat captain, Cole Donovan, Olivia tries to steer clear of getting to know him better. But Cole is persistent. And charming. And even helpful, coming in to her antiques shop, fixing small electrical issues, and looking mighty fine doing so. Olivia grows increasingly anxious as their relationship gets more passionate, and she finds herself wondering if she might be able to finally let her guard down with trustworthy Cole.

“So on top of a screwdriver and some duct tape, you also carry a flashlight. What else do you keep in your pants?”
He grinned, and she blushed. “You know what I mean!” she said, clapping a hand to her cheeks.

Cole Donovan has spent the last couple of years focusing on growing his charter business he co-owns with his two best friends. What he hasn’t made time for is a social life. That tends to happen when you are betrayed by the person you’ve given your heart to. Then Cole has a chance to get up close and personal with Olivia after he accidentally falls into the water. For the first time in a couple of years, he’s interested in sharing his time with someone other than his family and friends. Cole loves Olivia’s fun personality and she certainly is beautiful. But he’s pretty sure she’s keeping something from him. And that may turn out to be a deal breaker for him.

“You only need to tell me when you need space.”
“What if I want you in my space?”
He smiled. “I like the sound of that. A whole hell of a lot. My world doesn’t work without you in it, Olivia.”

He’s So Fine is a contemporary romance that had me chuckling (of course…it’s Jill Shalvis!) and hoping our lovebirds Cole and Olivia would find their way to a happy future in Lucky Harbor.

I somehow always feel like a broken record when I review a book by Ms. Shalvis. But not in a bad way. I rave about the fun and witty dialogue. I gush about the delicious alpha men we meet. And how I would love to be a fly on the wall when the strong and feisty women take those alphas down a peg or two. I have to tell you, those statements describe He’s So Fine perfectly. So in other words, we have another terrific romance here as we visit Lucky Harbor and check out the happenings.

When we met Cole in the previous book, I thought he seemed like a solid, stand up guy. And we find out he certainly is as genuine as he seems, although he is hiding a lot of emotions since a betrayal a few years ago. I loved that Cole was a sexy Mr. Fix It and was quite MacGyver-ish, always helping everyone out with all the tools and goodies hidden in his cargo pants pockets. (Get your mind out of the gutter!) He was an alpha who wasn’t intense all the time, but rather laid back. Until things got hot & heavy. Then look out. And of course Olivia didn’t mind that one bit. To me, it made him completely swoon-worthy. *sigh*

Olivia was a fairly complex character who I really connected with easily. She was basically abandoned in her mid-teens and had put up a lot of walls so she wouldn’t get hurt again. But I loved that it didn’t stop her from being a caring, giving woman. Olivia proved that in the very first scene where she tries to “rescue” Cole when she thinks he’s drowning. (It didn’t turn out the way she planned, but she got to see him very much naked. So it wasn’t all bad. lol) I also understood Olivia’s need to keep her past quiet, even though it probably wasn’t a good idea to do so as it caused friction between herself and Cole.

Whether or not you’ve read anything in the Lucky Harbor series yet, feel free to jump in here. You can enjoy these independently or in order. Either way, I think you’ll fall for these two lovely characters just like I did.

Book Info:

Publication: September 30th 2014 by Grand Central Publishing |  (Lucky Harbor #11)

For Olivia Bentley, Lucky Harbor is more than the town where she runs her new vintage shop. It’s the place where folks are friendly to strangers-and nobody knows her real name. Olivia does a good job of keeping her past buried, not getting too cozy with anyone . . . until she sees a man drowning. Suddenly she’s rushing into the surf, getting up close and personal with the hottest guy she’s ever laid hands on.

Charter boat captain Cole Donovan has no problem with a gorgeous woman throwing her arms around his neck in an effort to “save” him. In fact, he’d like to spend a lot more time skin-to-skin with Olivia. He’s just not expecting that real trouble is about to come her way. Will it bring her deeper into Cole’s heart, or will it be the end of Olivia’s days in little Lucky Harbor?