Author Addiction is a feature where Kaja at Of Dragons and Hearts and I talk about authors we love who may not have gotten the attention they deserve on our blogs. It is an opportunity to declare our love for them and basically fangirl over how great they are.
Now, we’ve been doing this Author Addiction feature for several months now and I was shocked when I discovered Kaja and I had yet to feature an author we both love a lot. I mean, she crops up a lot and although I was a bit late to the game in obsessively reading her books, and I’m still not caught up (she’s written so many!) on all her series, but she is definitely an author we both love. Who are we raving about this month? Jill Shalvis, of course.
I was excited to feature the lovely Jill Shalvis because she is an author who guarantees giving a good romance read. She is, basically, the queen of the smalltown romance, I have yet to find anyone who writes books in that genre quite as good as hers. Even the books I’ve complained about from Shalvis (her early Wilder series) are not terrible books, they are good books that frustrated me because there was obviously more potential in them that sadly didn’t get explored. I love authors like that, who even the books I didn’t like as much I still enjoyed them, and that takes a certain talent, and some really awesome characters.
My First Steps Into The World of Shalvis
I can’t quite recall where I first stumbled across Shalvis’s books, I think I saw her name mentioned on a few blogs when I was searching for a good romance book and everyone seemed to be saying good things about her Lucky Harbor series. I decided to give her first book a read.
I enjoyed Simply Irresistible, but I was reading and buying on my Kindle and the rest of the series was £4 per book, I just could not justify spending that much to get reading a 12 book series, plus novellas. I am not made of money. It was upsetting because I was intrigued by this smalltown and these three sisters, I was dying to know what happened with Chloe, the youngest sister, and the town sheriff. I just knew that was going to be good, and then there was Tara and her ex, who wouldn’t want to read another second chance romance?
Sadly, as I wasn’t willing to invest Shalvis became an author who was on my radar for when her books dropped in price, but who I wasn’t planning to read anything else from. Then Kaja started reviewing some of Shalvis’s books and once more I was reminded this author wrote a book I loved and I still haven’t read the rest of that series… or anymore of it at all. And that felt wrong.
I don’t know if you know this, but I am both an obsessive and a dedicated reader. Once I decide I like an author I am committed to reading everything I can get my hands on by them, I will also keep reading even when they have written a book I don’t like. Luckily for me, Shalvis is a prolific author so I’m not likely to run out of books to read from her, and even better, she doesn’t write bad books.
Okay, So What About Favourites?
I always find it difficult to select just one book as a favourite from any author, I feel I’m doing them a disservice by saying there is one book I hold above the rest, and with Shalvis it’s even worse because I love all of her books. It’s difficult to say that just one is the best.
I love the few books I’ve read of the Lucky Harbor series. I think the second book, The Sweetest Thing, is one of my favourites that I’ve read because I love a good second chance romance? But, then I loved Head Over Heels as well because I thought Chloe was fun and 
interesting, and who doesn’t love a sexy sheriff (that’s from the blurb, so it’s not even me that came up with that one. Doesn’t it sound like a bad Halloween costume?).
interesting, and who doesn’t love a sexy sheriff (that’s from the blurb, so it’s not even me that came up with that one. Doesn’t it sound like a bad Halloween costume?).
There are other books by Shalvis outside of the Lucky Harbor series, though, that just happens to be the most well known series of hers. I mean, there is her Animal Magnetism series (no, I’ve not read those 
yet, it’s on the list) and her new Cedar Ridge series. I do admit that Second Chance Summer is a favourite of mine, partially because this one I’ve discovered when it’s just beginning and there is nothing more fun than starting a new series from the beginning. My other reason for it being a favourite is that it’s a second chance romance, something I really didn’t realise I was a sucker for until I started thinking about my favourites here.
yet, it’s on the list) and her new Cedar Ridge series. I do admit that Second Chance Summer is a favourite of mine, partially because this one I’ve discovered when it’s just beginning and there is nothing more fun than starting a new series from the beginning. My other reason for it being a favourite is that it’s a second chance romance, something I really didn’t realise I was a sucker for until I started thinking about my favourites here. So Why Should You Be Reading Jill Shalvis’s Books?
I don’t want to tell you to read her books just because I said so (although you should) but she really is a fantastic author. I know I tend to mention an awful lot of romance authors but Jill Shalvis may be one that everyone can appreciate. Are some of her stories quite similar, sure, all romance is, I certainly wouldn’t suggest an all out binge of nothing but her books (unless you’re into that kind of thing) but I would suggest sampling a few of her better known works. She is the perfect cozy night in read. Her stories are very much typical for romance (not in a bad way) but the characters she creates and the places she writes about are so utterly unique and believable that you don’t care about something so mundane as if the story is original. I am a firm believer that a good writer can take an overused storyline or concept and create a fantastic story as long as they have strong characters to keep you interested and Shalvis certainly has some fun characters to keep you wanting to read.
She is an author who will appeal to a lot of people. If you like your smalltown romances, your contemporary romances with an alpha male with substance, and with heroines who know their own minds and are not going to put up with being rescued then she is an author for you. She is a fun author and she writes fun books and that’s why I love her, she guarantees you a good book to curl up with, and some fairly swoon worthy leading men as well, which no one can complain about.
Have I convinced you? I hope so, but if not tell me why and I will attempt to force her books on you some more (I’m only mostly joking on that one). If I have then please find out more about the fabulous Jill Shalvis at her website/Twitter/Instagram etc.
Also, don't forget to check out Kaja’s post over at Of Dragons and Hearts!
Who is your author who you know you are guaranteed an enjoyable read from so you commit to continually buying their books?
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