Mallory Quinn has had enough of playing it safe. As a nurse and devoted daughter, she takes care of everyone but herself. And as the local good girl, she's expected to date Mr. Right. But for once, she'd like to take a risk on Mr. Wrong. And who could be more wrong than Ty Garrison? The mysterious new guy in town has made it clear that he's only passing through, which suits Mallory just fine. Besides, his lean, hard body and sexy smile will give her plenty to remember once he's gone . . .
For the first time in his life, Ty can't bear to leave. Helping this sexy seductress-in-training walk on the wild side is making him desire things he shouldn't, including leaving the military for good. As their just-for-fun fling becomes something more, Mallory and Ty wonder if they could really be this lucky in love. After all . . . anything can happen in a town called Lucky Harbor.
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I'm going to try not to gush about how much I love Jill Shalvis, but yeah, in case you were wondering, I do. This book is a great example of why, as both Ty and Mallory are flawed people trying to figure out the next step in their lives. Neither of them were looking for a relationship but circumstance and sparks came together and it just happened - maybe in not the most drama free way as usual, but it still happened.
Mallory has always been the good girl, fixing the lives of her friends, patients, and families to keep them all as 'ok' as possible - even when it's to her own detriment. By the time this book opens she's feeling so stifled that any 'bad' thing is looking mighty 'good'; which is of course the perfect time for military man Ty to appear. The element that worked best for me between them was how honest their communication was. They both admitted to the initial attraction as well the desire for it not to turn into anything serious. The fact that it did was just something that happened - neither of them tried to have hurt feelings or hold on too tight to the other. Instead I got to read a very enjoyable journey as these two hurt souls healed each other (corny I know, but trust me - it's GREAT in the book).
The supporting small town characters might have been a bit much for me this time around (Mal's crazy sister and the curmudgeonly Mrs. Burland tended to annoy me more than entertain) but I'm still excited to pick up the next books in this series and discover the HEA's in store for the rest of the Chocoholics :).
Overall Feeling - B+/A-
Series - 1) Simply Irresistible 2) The Sweetest Thing 3) Head Over Heels 4) Lucky in Love 5) At Last 6) Forever and a Day (7/31/12)
**Title requested from NetGalley**
