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A review by nicolemhewitt
Accidentally on Purpose by Jill Shalvis
This review and many more can be found on my blog: Feed Your Fiction Addiction
Once again, Jill Shalvis gives us memorable friendships, a steamy romance, witty banter and slightly broken protagonists who are just doing their best to keep it all together—sometimes successfully. The result is a romance that’s easy to connect to and a lot of fun.
What Fed My Addiction:
A past connection.
Just like in the last two books in the series (or, at least, the book and novella—I still need to get my hands on the first book and read it), the two main characters have a connection that stems from the distant past. In this case, we learn right away that Archer saved Elle in some way when she was sixteen, but the details of what happened unfold throughout the book (so I won’t spoil them!)—all we know for sure is that Elle and Archer have a complicated past and their feelings about that past hold them back from jumping into a romance because of feelings of guilt and what Archer fears might be a misplaced sense of obligation on Elle’s part. I enjoyed learning the mystery of what exactly went on that fateful night slowly but surely (Shalvis doles out just enough information to keep us satisfied but holds back enough to keep us interested).
Archer.
Archer is the kind of tough guy you kind of can’t help but love. He’s been holding himself back from moving in on Elle for a year (or, really, MUCH longer) because he doesn’t want to be a reminder of Elle’s worst moment or allow her to be with him because she feels she owes him. But the idea of her with someone else … kind of kills him. I loved that even though it took him a little while to jump into a romance with Elle, once he was in, he was in—there was no wishy-washiness on his part!
Elle.
Elle is strong and independent, but definitely vulnerable where Archer’s concerned. She has a hard time letting people in because of her past, yet she’s managed to form a strong web of friends and people who love her to make up for the lack of family connection.
Friendships!
This series features such a fantastic group of friends. I want to be part of their group!
What Left Me Hungry for More:
A little stalkerish.
Okay, so Archer works in security and he has the means to keep tabs on Elle—and he has. You don’t know the entire extent of it until later in the book, so I won’t spoil it, but he’s kind of kept Elle on his radar for the past eleven years. I mean, you understand why—he has the very best of intentions—but if you look at it from a real-world perspective it does border on being possibly creepy. I almost felt like Elle let him off the hook for that a little too easily. (But, then again, by that time in the romance, I don’t know if I could have stood more waffling on Elle’s part, so …)
If you’re a fan of Shalvis, I think you’ll find this book is everything you’re looking for. These are definitely standalones, so if you haven’t picked up the series yet, feel free to dive right in with this book. I give this one 4/5 stars!
***Disclosure: I received this book from the publisher via Edelweiss and Inkslinger Blog Tours in exchange for an honest review. No other compensation was given and all opinions are my own.***
Once again, Jill Shalvis gives us memorable friendships, a steamy romance, witty banter and slightly broken protagonists who are just doing their best to keep it all together—sometimes successfully. The result is a romance that’s easy to connect to and a lot of fun.
What Fed My Addiction:
A past connection.
Just like in the last two books in the series (or, at least, the book and novella—I still need to get my hands on the first book and read it), the two main characters have a connection that stems from the distant past. In this case, we learn right away that Archer saved Elle in some way when she was sixteen, but the details of what happened unfold throughout the book (so I won’t spoil them!)—all we know for sure is that Elle and Archer have a complicated past and their feelings about that past hold them back from jumping into a romance because of feelings of guilt and what Archer fears might be a misplaced sense of obligation on Elle’s part. I enjoyed learning the mystery of what exactly went on that fateful night slowly but surely (Shalvis doles out just enough information to keep us satisfied but holds back enough to keep us interested).
Archer.
Archer is the kind of tough guy you kind of can’t help but love. He’s been holding himself back from moving in on Elle for a year (or, really, MUCH longer) because he doesn’t want to be a reminder of Elle’s worst moment or allow her to be with him because she feels she owes him. But the idea of her with someone else … kind of kills him. I loved that even though it took him a little while to jump into a romance with Elle, once he was in, he was in—there was no wishy-washiness on his part!
Elle.
Elle is strong and independent, but definitely vulnerable where Archer’s concerned. She has a hard time letting people in because of her past, yet she’s managed to form a strong web of friends and people who love her to make up for the lack of family connection.
Friendships!
This series features such a fantastic group of friends. I want to be part of their group!
What Left Me Hungry for More:
A little stalkerish.
Okay, so Archer works in security and he has the means to keep tabs on Elle—and he has. You don’t know the entire extent of it until later in the book, so I won’t spoil it, but he’s kind of kept Elle on his radar for the past eleven years. I mean, you understand why—he has the very best of intentions—but if you look at it from a real-world perspective it does border on being possibly creepy. I almost felt like Elle let him off the hook for that a little too easily. (But, then again, by that time in the romance, I don’t know if I could have stood more waffling on Elle’s part, so …)
If you’re a fan of Shalvis, I think you’ll find this book is everything you’re looking for. These are definitely standalones, so if you haven’t picked up the series yet, feel free to dive right in with this book. I give this one 4/5 stars!
***Disclosure: I received this book from the publisher via Edelweiss and Inkslinger Blog Tours in exchange for an honest review. No other compensation was given and all opinions are my own.***