When love drives you crazy . . . When sexy Joe Malone never calls after their explosive kiss, Kylie shoves him out of her mind. Until she needs a favor, and it’s a doozy. Something precious to her has been stolen and there’s only one person with unique finder-and-fixer skills that can help—Joe. It means swallowing her pride and somehow trying to avoid the temptation to throttle him—or seduce him. avoid the temptation to throttle him—or seduce him.
the best thing to do . . .
No, Joe didn’t call after the kiss. He’s the fun time guy, not the forever guy. And Kylie, after all she’s been through, deserves a good man who will stay. But everything about Kylie makes it damned hard to focus, and though his brain knows what he has to do, his heart isn’t getting the memo.
… is enjoy the ride.
As Kylie and Joe go on the scavenger hunt of their lives, they discover surprising things about each other. Now, the best way for them to get over “that kiss” might just be to replace it with a hundred more.
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I adore Jill Shalvis! I hope you love this one as much as I did!
A funny, sexy, adventurous must read with a happily ever after! Don’t miss About That Kiss!
Jill Shalvis always delivers a “feel good” book!
Jill Shalvis is my go to author for funny and sweet romances. As with the Lucky Harbor series, Heartbreaker Bay revolves around a group of friends who work within the same complex of buildings circling a magical fountain. In each of the previous books, a wish for true love was made and that wish was granted. In About That Kiss, neither Kylie nor Joe actually makes that wish. It is made for them by someone else. Thank goodness, because these two both have a ton of baggage. It seemed to take that mystical push to get them to admit to any feelings for each other, and a ton of chemistry that they couldn’t keep ignoring.
Joe seemed like a good guy to have around in a crisis and Kylie has a crisis that needs handling. Joe is the last person she wants to ask for help because, well, after that one kiss they shared he never called her back! However, this crisis is emotionally daunting and Kylie overlooks her own feelings in favor of getting something back that has been stolen from her.
I enjoyed this book because like I said above, Jill Shalvis writes great light hearted romances. I think the heart part of light hearted was a little lacking because both of these characters had walls a mile high! It took chemistry and being forced together by Kylie’s problem to make either of them act on it. About that Kiss doesn’t land in my top 5 Jill Shalvis novels, but it was a quick read and in the end I got the Happily Ever After I was looking for. Oh! I also got to look in on the rest of the gang in Heartbreaker Bay and see how they were doing. I do love the friendships in these books.
Definitely my new favorite in the Heartbreaker Bay series, Kylie and Joe’s romance will have you laughing and sighing and swooning all at the same time. These two are definitely a very unique couple and you can’t help cheering them on.
I’ve been a fan of the Heartbreaker Bay series since the beginning and I have a couple of favorites but my new one is definitely About That Kiss. I mean Joe and Kylie coming together as a couple was something I didn’t really foresee but can definitely appreciate the talents of Ms. Shalvis in showing me how these two meld completely as a romantic couple. I love how humor is blended in so well with how both characters childhood is explained and how it definitely affects their decisions in their romantic relationships. Kylie, I love how she rescues herself and only needs Joe for the professional stuff. I love how Joe’s protectiveness is shown as often times hindering the person he loves rather than helping her and he realizes this not so late that he loses Kylie completely. About That Kiss is a relationship in progress romance and gives my heart a little hug that they learn to compromise and listen to each other. And yes the sexy times don’t hurt one bit in the reading!
I really like this series and this book was no exception. Joe and Kylie are a great pair. Hot chemistry and steamy bedroom scenes.
I love revisiting all the other characters in the series and can’t wait for each to get their HEA.
And Vinnie was adorable!
Favorite Quotes:
Do me a favor and don’t compare me to the women you date… Or whatever you do with them. We all know the only reason you even remember their names is that you take them to the coffee shop in the morning and then read what gets written on their cup.
She told me not to mistake her silence for weakness, that no one plans a murder out loud.
I actually like being single. I get to be selfish with my time and personal space. I can leave the top off the toothpaste and sleep like a starfish.
“Don’t worry honey,” someone said from behind her in line. Eighty-something Mrs. Winslow, who lived on the third floor of the building. The older woman smiled knowingly. “He’ll appreciate your toys. But remember, it’s all fun and games until someone loses the key to the handcuffs.”
I know diamonds are supposed to be a girl’s best friend… but then leggings happened. Leggings are the new diamonds.
My Review:
This was my first Jill Shalvis experience, silly me, I have been missing out. I adored her clever wry humor, breezy storytelling, and endearingly flawed and quirky characters. About That Kiss was a delightfully entertaining and engaging read that was easy to follow and never failed to hold my interest. Despite being the fifth book in a series, the story stood alone and on solid terra firma. And I while I never felt lost or confused without previous knowledge, I am sure I would enjoy going backward and acquainting myself with the earlier stories of this lively and alluring group. Each chapter was titled with a popular line from a movie that never failed to bring a smirk to my face if one wasn’t already in place. More, please.
The blurb made me want to read this book and I was not disappointed. Another great story in this series.
It’s been a while since I read a book by Jill Shalvis, and I’m kicking myself for waiting so long! The interesting back-stories, detailed character development, and well-placed humor are superb. What do you do when you aren’t good at relationships, or even short-term hook-ups, but find you have amazing chemistry with a grouch who also doesn’t do relationships? Well, you hire him.
I really enjoyed this book the case of the missing penguin, and Vinnie. I can’t wait for the next one!
Shalvis is getting to be one of my favorite authors. This book had great characters, Romance and some good twists and turns that kept me wanting to read.
“Do you realize that every time I’ve tried to protect you, you’ve managed to hold your own? And damn if that’s not sexy as hell, Kylie.”
After kissing Joe Malone and then having him never call her, Kylie’s ready to be done with the smoldering solider-turned-private investigator. Until she discovers she needs his professional services. As a woodworker, Kylie has a lot of carved pieces, but none as important to her as the tiny penguin her grandfather gave her before he died. So when her penguin goes missing and she starts getting ransom notes for it, it’s time to ask the most infuriating man on the planet for some help. Yeah, Joe didn’t call Kylie after that kiss. But that’s not because he wasn’t into it. It’s just because he’s not a long term kind of guy and doesn’t want her to get hurt. But the more Kylie shoves her way into his investigating and the more he sees her strength and courage, even through her ridiculousness, the more he’s finding himself unable to stop himself from loving her.
There’s so many things I loved about this book and so many reasons I’ve recently fallen so in love with Jill Shalvis as an author. She knows how to perfectly balance romance with plot and About That Kiss is no exception. I was so hooked on the plot and the intrigue of the missing penguin that the romance aspect and the development of feelings between Joe and Kylie just felt like perfect icing on an already delicious cake. There was enough romance to keep the plot from getting too heavy, but also just enough mystery to keep things exciting even between the scenes with Joe and Kylie.
Because there was more to the plot than just the romance and because Joe and Kylie each had their own issues they were dealing with, I found both of them to be so much more interesting. Shalvis knows how to write complex characters, especially when it comes to her heroines, and I found this especially true when it came to Kylie. Her career and the way that played into her appearance and attitude was really interesting. Former military turned private investigator/security/professional badass isn’t an uncommon career for a romance novel hero, but Shalvis did an amazing job of making it fresh and exciting. Joe wasn’t just out there protecting and being a hero for Kylie- she absolutely held her own in situations and wasn’t just the damsel in distress. Instead Joe’s skills were used in conjunction with Kylie’s brain and together they made a great and equal team.
The one thing I was less than thrilled with was a sort of love triangle where Kylie couldn’t seem to settle on Joe or her long time boss/friend, Gib. I felt like we were told rather than shown that Kylie was interested in both of them, so I had a lot of moments where I just wanted to shout “pick one already!” at Kylie. But as the friendship and working relationship between Kylie and Joe grew, the plot developed, and Gib sort of fell away to the background, I found it all working so much more for me.
I also loved the side characters and that they were introduced in a way that if you’d read the other books in the series, it was nice to come back and visit them, but if you were new to them, you didn’t feel utterly lost and confused. They filled out the story, but I never felt overwhelmed by the number of them or felt like I’d clearly made a mistake by jumping into a series with the most recent book rather than the first. But now that I’ve discovered how fabulous this series is, I have a feeling I’ll be picking up the books from the very beginning of it…
I’ve enjoyed this whole series by Shalvis; the female characters are as strong as the male (former military) characters. Humor in their relationships and in the area of San Francisco where they work and live.
Can I move to Heartbreaker Bay? With every book I read in this series, I fall deeper and deeper in love with the characters and the storylines, basically EVERYTHING! This story had me pulling for Joe and Kylie to be the next couple in the Bay – I was not feeling Gib one bit. A wonderful beach read for your next getaway!
As always Jill works her magic. Her books are always a good witty romantic read. Makes you want to be in the story.
I listened to this Audiobook and Karen White did a great job narrating. The story itself is so good and I loved following the mystery of Kylie’s missing treasure and Her amusing attempts to disguise herself and even Vinny her little dog once. So cute! Kylie hires Joe to help her find the item and thus begins an “interesting”investigation and new direction for Kylie and Joe’s friendship. They had shared an intense kiss previously but then returned to the status quo. I don’t think either one of them has forgotten what it felt like though. Joe and Kylie’s relationship is anything but easy but it is obvious as time goes on that they are perfect for each other. Joe has to overcome his past in order to move into a future that includes Kylie and I think she is just the person to get him there. They are both wonderful well developed characters as I feel all the characters from this series have been. And bonus we get to spend a little time with some of them in this book.
I loved everything about this book!!
About That Kiss by Jill Shalvis
Series: Heartbreaker Bay #5
5 Stars – I truly love this series! The characters are all wonderful and with every book I read, I just end up looking forward to which character’s story could come next! I was happy to see that Joe got his own book. He was a great lead and while I think Kylie was a bit careless with having to tag along on the job all the time, I thought she was a good match for him. They had great chemistry and made me laugh more than once. I loved the banter between all the characters, loved the hashtags at the beginning of each chapter, and overall the book was well written and thoroughly enjoyable. Can’t wait for the next one!
~Paragraphs and Petticoats~
Since Joe Malone kept popping up in the last book, it was obvious that this one would be about him. Ex-Special Ops and one of Archer’s men, he has been carrying around guilt about something that happened to his younger sister Molly, when they were young. Molly now works as Archer’s receptionist.
Kylie works at Reclaimed Woods, using the skills she learned from her beloved grandfather, who had raised her. She also is laden with unwarranted guilt regarding the death of her grandfather. Her boss, Gib, apprenticed to her grandfather and she has had a crush on him for years. With all their friends started to pair up, Joe and Kylie shared a sizzling kiss, but then Joe backs off and Kylie realizes that she deserves a forever guy. However, someone steals something very precious to her- a wooden penguin that her beloved grandfather had made for her. She doesn’t believe that the police will care, so she hires him to help her get her penguin back. But then the thief starts taking polaroids of the penguin in precarious position, slipping them under her apartment door in an envelope with threats that unless she authenticates a piece of furniture that she knows her grandfather did NOT make. As Joe and Kylie work together to track down the penguin, sizzling kisses are not the only thing that they share.
Jill Shalvis is one of my favorite authors and I love this series, with wonderfully developed characters, witty dialogue and an endearing relationship between all the friends. However, I found the plot weak here. Once Kylie received the extortion letter urging her to commit fraud, she could have taken it all to the police. Also, there were editing issues, at least in the hardback edition, which I have never seen in the author’s books before. Boots that were removed in one sentence and magically back on in the next and at least one misspelled word. Nevertheless, the book is definitely worth reading.
I loved the dog in this book. He kept me laughing.
I thought to was an enjoyable book.
She never dissappoints.