Spotlight & Giveaway: Wrapped Up in You by Jill Shalvis

Posted September 30th, 2019 by in Blog, Spotlight / 67 comments

Today it is my pleasure to Welcome author Jill Shalvis to HJ!
Spotlight&Giveaway

Hi Jill  and welcome to HJ! We’re so excited to chat with you about your new release, Wrapped Up in You!

 

To start off, can you please tell us a little bit about this book?:

Wrapped Up In You has got a bit of a holiday element to it, but it’s also got a love story. And bromance. And a friendship story. And there’s even a bit of a mystery! And did I mention the romance? Because it’s a special one. One of my very favorites in fact. It all starts when very sexy sheriff and rancher Kel ends up in San Francisco on forced leave that he tries to tell himself is vacation. He’s a little bit broken, to be honest.
And then add in feisty Ivy Snow, a young woman who owns and operates a taco truck in the city, who’s raised herself and is incredibly proud of that fact, and is more than a little broken as well.
Yes, that does make it The Cowboy And The Taco Truck Chick.
Anyway, how do two people who see themselves as not quite lovable … fall in love? Answer: not easily. No really. These two tortured themselves and me for a good long time, but I’m happy to say we got there with a lot of wrong turns and adventures and a few sexy times to boot.
 

Please share your favorite lines or quote(s) from this book:

“I’m the law.”

“The law can be dirty,” she said.

“True.” He let a teasing smile come into his voice. “And I can be very dirty, but only off duty, and only if you ask real nice.”

 

What inspired this book?

I’ve been wanting to write Kel for a longtime. I brought him over from my Animal series (a series of sexy veterinarians set in Idaho). So he was a big inspiration. But mostly it was my feisty, kickass heroine Ivy Snow. Loved writing her.

 

How did you ‘get to know’ your main characters? Did they ever surprise you?

Only every single day did they surprise me. And resist my efforts to give them a HEA! It was a lot of trial and error with this one!

 

What was your favorite scene to write?

“I take it we have another problem,” he said, voice calm. Like he hadn’t a damn care in the world.

“No, not at all,” she said in her best PMS voice.

His mouth curved.

And she couldn’t just let it go. “Okay, yes, there’s a problem. It’s you, actually.”

“Me.”

“Yes, you.”

He pulled up to her current job, a gigantic house near the top of Nob Hill, from which one could basically see the entire world in all directions. The mansion had to be 15,000 square feet, which was a whole lot of house to clean and keep warm, but hey, who was she to judge. She started to get out of the truck, but Kel put a hand on her arm to stop her.

“The problem,” he said. “Tell me about it.”

“I already did. It’s you.”

He just looked at her. “Pretend I don’t speak female and translate for me. What exactly have I done.”

She looked at him.

He merely returned the look, his own calm but curious. Patient. And it was that, the patience, that utterly disarmed her. She opened her mouth … and then had to shut it. Because what had he done besides buy her food, help her clean up her truck after the break in, drive her home, make her feel safe, and oh yeah, kiss the thoughts right out of her head… “Why did you really kiss me?”

“Because you wanted me to kiss you.” He gave a slow negative shake of his head. “But that’s not the only reason why I did.”

“Then why?”

He smiled the sort of smile a man gave a woman when he was thinking incredibly dirty thoughts, and certain parts of her body stood up at attention.

“Because I wanted to,” he said. “Very badly, in fact.”

 

What was the most difficult scene to write?

The first scene between Kel and Ivy for sure was the hardest:

Ivy nodded and turned her attention to the third man.
She’d never seen him before, she most certainly would have remembered. Like the others, he was in running gear that fit his leanly muscled bod, which he held in a way that suggested military or cop. And just like that, the always-on-alert scared little kid she’d once been sent an automatic danger warning to her brain.
But she was no longer helpless, she reminded herself. She no longer had to pretend to be tough and brave. She was tough and brave. So she kept her smile in place, forcing herself to relax. She had nothing to hide. Everything she did these days was on the up and up, she’d made sure of it.
And it wasn’t exactly a hardship to look at him. His smile certainly was heart-stopping as he added his charm to both Caleb and Jake’s. And there was considerable charm. He had dark eyes and dark hair cut short, and in spite of his smile, when those eyes met hers, they gave away nothing of his thoughts.
Yep. Cop, she thought, which was a damn shame.

 

Would you say this book showcases your writing style or is it a departure for you?

No, I’d say it was pretty classic Shalvis; warm, funny, sexy…

 

What do you want people to take away from reading this book?

That love always wins.

 

What are you currently working on? What other releases do you have planned?

I’m currently putting the finishing touches on Almost Just Friends, out in January! Oh how I love this book and can’t wait for you all to read it!! It’s a touching story of finding your place in the world – and the people who make it home. 🙂

 

Thanks for blogging at HJ!

 

Giveaway: One signed paperback copy of Wrapped Up in You by Jill Shalvis

 

To enter Giveaway: Please complete the Rafflecopter form and Post a comment to this Q: I’m always so curious to know, are you all loving reading series or stand alones?

 
a Rafflecopter giveaway

 
 

Excerpt from Wrapped Up in You:

“I take it we have another problem,” he said, voice calm. Like he hadn’t a damn care in the world.
“No, not at all,” she said in her best PMS voice.
His mouth curved.
And she couldn’t just let it go. “Okay, yes, there’s a problem. It’s you, actually.”
“Me.”
“Yes, you.”
He pulled up to her current job, a gigantic house near the top of Nob Hill, from which one could basically see the entire world in all directions. The mansion had to be 15,000 square feet, which was a whole lot of house to clean and keep warm, but hey, who was she to judge. She started to get out of the truck, but Kel put a hand on her arm to stop her.
“The problem,” he said. “Tell me about it.”
“I already did. It’s you.”
He just looked at her. “Pretend I don’t speak female and translate for me. What exactly have I done.”
She looked at him.
He merely returned the look, his own calm but curious. Patient. And it was that, the patience, that utterly disarmed her. She opened her mouth … and then had to shut it. Because what had he done besides buy her food, help her clean up her truck after the break in, drive her home, make her feel safe, and oh yeah, kiss the thoughts right out of her head… “Why did you really kiss me?”
“Because you wanted me to kiss you.” He gave a slow negative shake of his head. “But that’s not the only reason why I did.”
“Then why?”
He smiled the sort of smile a man gave a woman when he was thinking incredibly dirty thoughts, and certain parts of her body stood up at attention.
“Because I wanted to,” he said. “Very badly, in fact.”
Suddenly, it was hot in his truck. Way too hot. She shoved open the truck door and got out. Before she could load up her arms with the first of many trips she’d have to make into the house, Kel had come around and with a knowing smile, took twice as much as she could have and was on the move.
“But I’ve got this,” she said to his back.
He didn’t bother to respond. Because they both knew the truth. She didn’t have this. At the moment, she didn’t to have anything. He had her all discombobulated and upside down and inside out.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Book Info:

It’s love. Trust me.
After a lifetime on the move, Ivy Snow is an expert in all things temporary—schools, friends, and way too many Mr. Wrongs. Now that she owns a successful taco truck in San Francisco and an apartment to call home, Ivy’s reinvented life is on solid ground. And she’s guarded against anything that can rock it. Like the realities of a past she’s worked hard to cover up. And especially Kel O’Donnell. Too hot not to set off alarms, he screams temporary. If only his whispers weren’t so delightfully naughty and irresistible.
Kel, an Idaho sheriff and ranch owner, is on vacay, but Ivy’s a spicy reason to give his short-terms plans a second thought. Best of all, she’s a tonic for his untrusting heart, burned once and still in repair. But when Ivy’s past intrudes on a perfect romance, Kel fears that everything she’s told him has been a perfect lie. Now, if only Ivy’s willing to share, Kel will fight for a true love story.

Book Links: Amazon | B&N | iTunes | Kobo | Google |
 
 

Meet the Author:

New York Times and USA Today 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 sexy contemporary and award-winning books wherever romances are sold and click on the blog button above for a complete book list and daily blog detailing her city-girl-living-in-the-mountains adventures.
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | GoodReads |

 

 

 

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67 Responses to “Spotlight & Giveaway: Wrapped Up in You by Jill Shalvis”

  4. Mary Preston

    I love both, but most times with a series I like to have the whole lot in hand.

  6. Karina Angeles

    I love series, but please make them three to four books. Some authors go over the top and make them up to 7 or more-I stay away from those.

  10. Jennifer Shiflett

    I enjoy short series, and stand-alone books. I’m not a fan of cliffhangers.

  11. janinecatmom

    I like both, but with series, I like each book to wrap up the story in the end. Cliff hangers drive me crazy. Also, if the series books are put out every week it’s hard for me to keep up, so I might skip them unless it’s an author that I really like.

  16. Kate Sparks

    Honestly, while I like standalones — I do love series where the characters continue to reappear and grow.

  17. Nina T

    Standalone. I don’t like when there’s a whole series about two same people. I get bored.

  19. Teresa Warner

    I enjoy both, just hate waiting for the next book to come out in a series! Do enjoy seeing what happens next to the characters in a series.

  20. Vicki Clevinger

    I love to read both, because I love how you get to hear about favorite characters and stand alones are great too

  23. Rita Wray

    I like both but I do enjoy a series when I like the characters a lot.

  24. Amy R

    It’s hard to find a stand alone that sound good to me so I mainly read series.

  25. Laurajj J

    I have to say that I do love both! But the series are my favorites as I can get to know the characters better!

  28. eawells

    I do enjoy series where I get to revisit the community but I like for them to be stand alone within the series.

  30. Kathleen Bylsma

    I tend to read such talented authors that their secondary characters make me want to know more about them….but I do read stand alones, too

  36. Caro

    Both, tbh. I love to read a series, where I can see what happens with the other characters. But standalones are great too, since with some books, one book is enough, everything just wrappes up.

  45. Kay Garrett

    I enjoy both standalones and series – as long as the books aren’t too far apart. Each has it’s advantages and disadvantages. It’s fun to learn folks and then see how they grow and their character develops, but it’s also good to be able to read the whole story in one book.
    2clowns at arkansas dot net

  48. Pamela Conway

    Like both but prefer series that focuses on new couples but you keep up with the other characters.

  50. Margaret M Herman

    I am waiting to receive my copy of Wrapped Up In You by Jill Shalvis on October 1 2019. I pre-ordered my copy from Amazon in February 2019.

  51. Ellen C.

    I like both. I prefer series when they have 4 or 5 titles, instead of 10 or 12.

  58. Anita H.

    I don’t mind standalones but I much prefer series, love visiting couples from previous books in a series and seeing how their relationships how evolved. It’s like visiting with old friends!

  60. Erica M

    I prefer series, introduces more characters, more stories to be involved in.

  62. Rachael

    I like both but I have found sometimes with series books (where your waiting a year or so for the next book to release) that it’s sometimes hard to get into the next book. If there is large gap between reading each book (as I don’t always read them as soon as they are released), I tend to find that I have forgotten storylines, characters etc which makes the book less enjoyable. I could reread the previous book but I have ALOT of books on my to be read pile (cough multiple storage boxes).
    Series that can be read as standalone books are good.

  66. Terrill R.

    I enjoy both, but since I’m a neurotic reader, I have to read in order. So, it can become daunting if the series is really long and I’m new to it.