Thursday, May 7, 2015

Review: Still the One

STILL THE ONE
Animal Magnetism #6
Jill Shalvis
Contemporary Romance
320 pages
Berkley
Available Now
Source: Finished copy from publisher for review

THE STORY (from Goodreads)
Darcy Stone is game for anything — except sexy Navy veteran and physical therapist A.J. Colten, the guy who'd rejected her when she'd needed him most. Now the shoe is on the other foot and he needs her to play nice and help him secure grants for his patients. Unfortunately, Darcy can't refuse. She needs the money to fund her passion project: rescuing S&R dogs and placing them with emotionally wounded soldiers.

A.J. admits it — Darcy is irresistible. But he's already been battle-scarred by a strong-willed, vivacious, adventurous woman like Darcy, and he's not making the same mistake twice—until he and Darcy are forced to fake a relationship. Growing closer than they'd ever imagined possible, Darcy and AJ have to ask themselves: how much between them is pretend? What's the real thing? And where does it go from here?


MY THOUGHTS
Still the One returns us to the crazy but lovable crew whose various romances drive the Animal Magnetism series, and while Darcy and AJ are perhaps not the strongest of the couples we’ve met thus far, Ms. Shalvis never fails to bring a smile to our faces. Darcy is still smarting from the flat-out rejection AJ handed her a few months back, creating a mountain of delicious tension between them whenever she finds herself in his presence, and what follows is a romantic roller coaster with an equal number of ups and downs as the two of them attempt to navigate the minefield their relationship has become.

It’s easy to instantly relate to Darcy despite her instinctual response to push everyone away, the mortification she still feels over AJ’s rejection something that draws us in as we recall any number of our own similar embarrassments. While she’s not altogether pleased with AJ for most of the book, she doesn’t hold his past actions over him to such a degree that we want to scream at her to move past it, but she does pull him close and then push him away (though to be fair, he does much the same) with frustrating frequency. Some push and pull is to be expected given both their individual and shared pasts, but the number of times the two of them allow the other close just to turn on their heel and flee moments later is enough to give us whiplash.

It’s clear early on as to why AJ turned Darcy down when she made her move, and though his reasons were admirable, we can’t help but wish he’d opened his mouth and explained those reasons to Darcy at any point during their tumultuous courtship. There are of course highlights to the two of them together though, and a review for this series simply wouldn’t be complete without mentioning Peanut the foul-mouthed Parrot who steals the show despite a single brief appearance, but overall Still the One didn’t sail quite as smoothly as its predecessors.

Rating: 3.5/5
 

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This book was sent to me by the publisher free of charge for the purpose of a review
I received no other compensation and the above is my honest opinion.

27 comments:

  1. Sounds cute, but then all her books are cute :)

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  2. Oh I do hate it when there's always a push-pull between characters and characters take ages explaining their reasons why. But this does still sound like a cute read overall, so I may still end up giving it a go! Lovely review Jenny!

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    1. If he had just said something initially so much could have been avoided, but then of course we'd have had less of a story ;-)

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  3. I know I need to give a book (or two) from this series a try, because of the animals involved and mostl Peanut, so maybe not this one but one of this I ought to give a try to soon! ;)

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    1. PEANUT!!!!! I need more of him in my life. He's hilarious:)

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  4. aw! Too bad you didn't like it as much as the previous books. I haven't read any book from this series yet but will definitely check it out.

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    1. As a couple they just weren't as strong for me, but still an entertaining read for sure:)

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  5. I've heard some really great things about Peanut in this series. Haha! :D He sounds like a lot of fun.
    I'm already mad at A.J for not being upfront about why he rejected her. It sounds like a lot could have been avoided. These darn book boys are so bull-headed sometimes!
    It still sounds like it was an enjoyable read and I want to give it a shot.
    Wonderful review, Jenny!

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    1. Peanut is my absolute favorite Nick! Any parrot that yells "boner" at the worst possible moment thoroughly endears itself to me ;-)

      And yes, silly AJ, failing to use his words. It's not THAT hard!

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  6. I adore Shalvis' books. I pick up her books when I need to escape for a while and they have all been really fun reads. I haven't read this series by her, but I love the Lucky Harbor series. I should really check this one out when I'm all caught up on LH!

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    1. Yes! Her books always bring a smile to my face. I think you'd enjoy this series as well if you like LH:)

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  7. Even though this wasn't the strongest book in the series is still sound fantastic. Great review Jenny. I need to try this series. So many series out there! It really is hard to pick and choose what to read. We need more hours in the day, all dedicated to just being able to read. ;)

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    1. It was still a fun read even if I wanted to throttle AJ and Darcy a time or two:) I will always rush to read a Jill Shalvis book Ali!

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  8. Oh I remember hearing of this series! I have been wanting to try her and this might be a series that would work for me.

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    1. I hope you give it a try Candace! Jill writes really great characters:)

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  9. I keep hearing great things about this author and I know that I really should try one day! I definitely will!! So curious.

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  10. I am meaning to try this author, but haven't gotten around to it. Sounds like this romance did the all to familiar stumbles, and it sounds like it needs more of the parrot.

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    1. When I pick up one of her books I know I'm going to be satisfied, and I love that about her. Even when romances like this one aren't quite as standout as some of her others, I still close the back cover with a smile:)

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  11. I love her Lucky Harbor series, but I haven't checked out this one. It sound like a signature Shalvis for sure. :D

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  12. I have to agree that this one just wasn't as good as the previous installments were, Jenny. Something about the relationship progression or the chemistry wasn't nearly as strong in this as I'd have liked so hopefully the next novel is far better!

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  13. Push and pull like that is frustrating, but I did enjoy a couple of the installments of this series. I listened to book 1 a couple of weeks ago. I'll have to check some more of the audio out from the library soon. Wonderful review, Jenny! :)

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  14. Nice. The plot seems strong, even if the characters could be stronger. The push-and-pull can make for a great way to move the story forward and secure the reader's interest to know more. Lovely thoughts, Jenny.

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  15. Oh the parrot sounds hilarious. I have book one and two of this series in my tbr pile..I am sure you understand when I say I hope to get to them soon.

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  16. Shalvis's books are usually solid 3, 3 1/2 star stories for me -- very dependable and enjoyable.

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