It’s love. Trust me.After a lifetime on the move, Ivy Snow is an expert in all things temporary—schools, friends, and way too many Mr. Wrongs. Now that she owns a successful taco truck in San Francisco and an apartment to call home, Ivy’s reinvented life is on solid ground. And she’s guarded against anything that can rock it. Like the realities of a past she’s worked hard to cover up. And … worked hard to cover up. And especially Kel O’Donnell. Too hot not to set off alarms, he screams temporary. If only his whispers weren’t so delightfully naughty and irresistible.
Kel, an Idaho sheriff and ranch owner, is on vacay, but Ivy’s a spicy reason to give his short-term plans a second thought. Best of all, she’s a tonic for his untrusting heart, burned once and still in repair. But when Ivy’s past intrudes on a perfect romance, Kel fears that everything she’s told him has been a perfect lie. Now, if only Ivy’s willing to share, Kel will fight for a true love story.
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As a fan of both Shalvis’ Animal Magnetism and Heartbreaker Bay series, I as xtra excited to have characters from each overlap into one story. While I love Kel and remember him vividly, Ivy was someone who didn’t make quite the same impression. As she didn’t have a big role in the previous books, I had to learn to like her on her own merits, not as a main part of the gang.
I did definitely like this spunky woman, but she didn’t have the humor I thought Kel needed to pull him out from behind his walls. Evidently, I needed the humor and not him! I think family dysfunction was a big common denominator or these two, but Ivy’s walls were even a bigger mountain for Kel to climb than vice versa.
I’ve never read a Jill Shalvis novel that I didn’t like, she’s an auto read for me and has been for years. And while I felt Wrapped Up In You didn’t have as much of her trademark humor, it still was filled with heart, and that’s more than good enough for me!
Wrapped Up in You is a great addition to The Heartbreaker Bay Series by Jill Shalvis. Kel and Ivy both have had hardships in their lives, with the help of their friends they are able to work through the obstacles that stand in the way of their happiness. I loved Kel and Ivy’s story and it is one of my favorites in this series.
4 stars. This was a good book! Wrapped Up in You is Kel and Ivy’s book. Ivy owns and runs a taco truck in Heartbreaker Bay. After a rough childhood, she is finally making something of herself and she is proud of her accomplishments. She is making friends and putting down roots. Kel is a sheriff and small town rancher, but a scandal has forced him to take a break from his job. Now, he is in town visiting and working for his cousin’s security firm when he meets Ivy. Sparks fly between them as they get to know each other, learn to trust and fall for each other along the way.
The Heartbreaker Bay is series is one of my favorites. Consistently fun, sexy and emotional, I have enjoyed every book. Kel and Ivy’s story is no different. This is a good story with excellent writing and interesting, relatable characters. I do think parts of it were similar to other books in the series, making it not terribly original, but I still enjoyed it a lot. Ivy and Kel had great chemistry and I enjoyed seeing their relationship develop.
Overall, Wrapped Up in You is an entertaining, fun, sexy and sweet read. I look forward to more from Ms. Shalvis and the Heartbreaker Bay series in the future!
Kell O’Donnell from the Animal Magnetism series AND the backdrop of San Francisco’s Heartbreaker Bay; Plus, all the fabulous people we’ve come to know and love? Yes, please!
Ivy Snow is slowing making a name for herself as a taco truck entrepreneur! She must let her past go and look forward. If that means leaving out bits of her history, well that’s fine with her.
Kell O’Donnell, rancher and Sheriff, is visiting/helping his cousin in San Francisco while recovering from an injury. His past has made him wary of half-truths and prevarication.
Ivy with secrets she feels she must keep, and Kell wanting an open and honest relationship are drawn to each other. Their pasts make forming a relationship unlikely, but their hearts don’t seem to be able to listen.
I love the Heart Breaker Bay series. Jill Shalvis is able to reach right into her characters and draw out their stories. I can’t wait for the next book!
This is the eight book in the Heartbreaker Bay series. It is a great story about love and family. I really enjoy Jill Shalvis’ books and found this story heartwarming and fun. The characters are well developed and it was great to see some of the characters from previous books. The pace of the story was excellent, I loved it from page one. Overall a great read!
5 star
I was pulled right into this story. The story has pain, secrets, opposites, and heartbreak.
Before reading this story please read the below books first
Sweet Little Lies (Heartbreaker Bay #1)
The Trouble with Mistletoe (Heartbreaker Bay #2)
One Snowy Night (Heartbreaker Bay #2.5)
Accidentally on Purpose (Heartbreaker Bay #3)
Chasing Christmas Eve (Heartbreaker Bay #4)
Holiday Wishes (Heartbreaker Bay #4.5)
About That Kiss (Heartbreaker Bay #5)
Hot Winter Nights (Heartbreaker Bay #6)
Playing for Keeps (Heartbreaker Bay #7)
This is Ivy and Kel’s story. Ivy has lived a difficult life. She does not trust well and does not allow people into her life. She tells stories to keep people from asking questions that are difficult to answer. Kel is a sheriff and ranch owner but is in town helping out his cousin and friend. He was burned on his job and is under investigation. But that does not stop these two from feeling the chemistry between them. The pull is electric. Can Kel teach Ivy that it is okay to trust? Or will her trust in him be shattered when she needs him the most? Her brother needs help but will he come between them and break Ivy just when she was starting to believe in love?
I loved these characters and the side characters. I felt I could connect with the characters and the story was a great read.
I highly recommend this book and can’t wait for the next story from this author.
What a great book with an amazing hero (Kel O’Donnell) and heroine (Ivy Snow). These two have both had hard lives with difficult pasts making it hard to want or be able to trust someone much less want to be in a relationship. Ivy is making a great life for herself but has to deal with her brother coming out of the shadows to cause her grief. I really enjoyed watching Ivy and Kel learn to take a chance again and I always love our friends who are always there whether you need a hand or a hug. The sayings at the beginning of each chapter was another one of my favorite things about this book and I love when Jill Shalvis does this in her books. I was glad that Brandon finally saw the light, so to speak, and did something good for Ivy. The epilogue was incredibly awesome. I really loved this book!
I’m going to start this review by stating that I love every single book in the Animal Magnetism Series by Jill Shalvis (they were the first books that I read by Jill Shalvis). So when I found out that Kel was going to have his own book I was so ecstatic!
But this story isn’t only Kel’s, it is also Ivy’s story. If you’ve read any of the Heartbreaker Bay books then you know that Ivy is the tenant of a food truck and is friends with the core group of characters who the series is centered around. I loved how complex Ivy’s character was. While Kel mainly deals in black and white – he is a cop after all – Ivy’s life is centered in a lot of gray. She’s had a hard past and is trying her hardest to turn a new leaf.
Shalvis always knows how to make me laugh, but she also did a great job with pushing my emotions to the edge with this book. I felt deeply for Ivy and felt her anxiety acutely. Kel has his own demons from his past that he has to face. Both Ivy and Kel bring out the best in each other and I loved watching them find each other.
Another great book by Jill Shalvis! I only wish I could have revisited some of the cast from the Animal Magnetism Series 🙂
**ARC provided by TastyBook PR and Jill Shalvis in exchange for my honest review**
So this book is book 8 in the Heartbreaker Bay series and can absolutely be read as a stand alone. In it we meet Kel and Ivy. Kel is a sheriff on vacation when he meet’s Ivy. Ivy owns a taco truck in CA and has worked hard to overcome her past and leave it just there, in the past. And when these 2 meet, their chemistry makes them think about something together. Even if it’s short term, although both are thinking about more. Until issues from the past come up and make them wonder if it’s all a lie.
This one was an ok read for me. I had a hard time getting into it at first and just connecting with the characters in general. Kel is definitely this stand up man who had a crappy parent and Ivy definitely didn’t have a great childhood either. But I almost felt like they let these things shape their actions as adults instead of choosing to be better and have a better life. Some people are going to love this story-unfortunately I’m just not one of them. As usual, the writing was great. I just couldn’t connect to the story.
You have romance. You have people with a real life carved out in stone. You have people with a past that wants to take everything good that brings light and happiness. You have a group of friends that are the ride-or-die kind that will have you back and your front and even cover you side, if you let them. Ivy came around about a year ago and meet a group of friends and family that would do any and everything for each other. Kel just came to town for a visit and to take his mind of things happening back home but he too is still family. The spark that sizzles between the two when they meet for the first time on a cold morning over tacos was clear and almost as heated as that taco Kel bite in to.
We may have two people that have had or felt abandoned, used, lied to at some point and time in their past. These are heavy bags to carry from place to place throughout ones life. Its also a heavy burden to carry and expect or even just want someone else to help you out,if only to help ease the burden. These are some of the same things that clouds judgement and dilute trust. Kel and Ivy find that the past never stays hidden and when you are not wanting it. It comes back and changes the course of your world once again. Just when you feel as if things are beginning to lookup even just for a little while.
Jill Shalvis had done something that I have not seen from an author before. She opened the book with an apology. For what? I will let you find that out on you own, but I for one appreciate it. Things like what she sad does bug me and take my focus off the story I am working to enjoy. I appreciate her for this. Thank you. And I for one am happy that you made this change.
There are an awesome group of friends and family located in the Heartbreaker Bay series. These friends all find love and family in different ways but there’s no mistaken that these people are that in deed, family.
Another amazing Heartbreaker Bay story! I feel like I’m visiting friends when I sit down with this series and it’s always fun catching up with friends!
Ivy Snow believes in temporary. After all, everything in her life has been that way. Now she’s decided to put down roots so to speak. She has purchased and is successfully running a Taco Truck. Business is booming and she’s been diligently saving money for a down payment on a condo, that Caleb has promised to match her down payment. He’s been there for her and helped her tremendously. He shows up at her Taco Truck with a friend named, Jake that’s her to help with the condo building.
Jake is a Sheriff and a cowboy. When he visits Caleb and they go to a Taco Truck, he meets a woman that will not only challenge him, but gets into his heart.
Jill Shalvis is, by far, my favorite author and one that I know will give me an amazing story.
This is by far my favorite Jill Slavis series. Her characters are always people that you can relate to they are real flaws and all. Kel is first introduced to the reader in the Animal Magnetism series and Ivy has been a member of the Heartbreaker Bay series for a while now. Even though this book is a part of a series this novel can still be read as a stand alone novel.
Ivy has spent her life trying to overcome her family history. She has spent her life on the road moving from town to town and wants to put down roots. Through her hard work and perseverance she makes a life for herself in San Francisco. She has goals and they do not include a hunky law enforcer from out of town or her wayward brother. Ivy wants to make her food truck a success and purchase her own condo. A place that she can call her own.
Kel shows up to help out his friends while he was on a forced leave from his position. He meets Ivy when he is trying to figure out what he needs to do for himself. Kel has no plans to move to San Francisco he is only there temporarily. He is there working through betrayal and abandonment by people close to him. The last thing that he is looking for is love.
From their first meeting there was an obvious shared chemistry. They also had HUGE walls up and tons of baggage. Kel and Ivy start out as friends and then start to fall. They start chipping away at each other’s walls while also working through their family baggage.
It is a wonderful story of the power of forgiveness, letting go of the past while moving on to a new future with endless possibilities.
I always love Jill Shalvis books and this one is one of her better ones. Trust is such a hard thing for anyone who has been burned. When both have been burned it is even harder. Watching Kel and Ivy are a couple who have both been burned and watching them fall can be a bit painful. But oh so worth it!
Wrapped up in You is the eighth book in the Heartbreaker Bay series by the hilarious and talented Jill Shalvis. I’ve been a fan of Jill’s for years and one of the things I love about her is the way she writes her series’. Lucky Harbor is one of my all time favorite series’ because she kept giving us fresh, new sets of characters and you never think you will love them the way you did the previous ones, but you do! Wrapped up in You is Ivy and Kel’s story. Ivy is the resident taco truck chef and Kel is Caleb’s cousin. Ivy has been running from her past her entire life, but she’s putting down roots Cow Hollow San Francisco and even has a few friends. This is all new and different for her, but she’s trying to be better. She finally wants something permanent in her life. Her taco truck is a big hit and she’s become a smart, savvy business woman. She’s too busy working and saving money to buy a condo to even think about men, dating or relationships. Then she meets Kel. She has an instant attraction to him and it’s definitely mutual. She fed him her spiciest taco and he’s hooked. Kel has trouble trusting people after what happened to him back home. He’s a cop and loves his life, but he’s on vacation visiting his cousin and his sister while doing some security work for Caleb. Ivy still doesn’t feel like part of the crowd, but with Kel along it seems more real. More fun. Both of them are smiling more, laughing more and are less broody once they stop fighting their feelings and give in to their attraction. But when Ivy’s past comes back with a vengeance, Kel has trouble trusting everything she’s shared with him. He was thinking about staying in town, working and starting something real with Ivy, but now he doesn’t know what to believe. Ivy isn’t going to force him to believe her. He either does or doesn’t. Period. Can these two let their pasts go and have a future together? I loved this story! I love all of these characters and I’m excited to see who’s up next! Overall, I laughed, got mad, shed a tear or two and swooned. Kel was surprisingly romantic and Ivy is hilarious! I also want tacos.
Have I mentioned before that I’d love to move to San Francisco? I’d do it just to be a part of the Pacific Pier gang- what a fantastic group of friends! And it really does feel like I’m back with old friends when I crack open a new Heartbreaker Bay book.
Kel and Ivy’s story was a great mix of heart, heat, and humor, with a bit of suspense to round it all out. Although neither was looking for a relationship, there was a definite spark when they first met. Thanks to her transient upbringing, Ivy’s hesitant when it comes to Kel- thinking he’s nothing more than temporary and will be heading back to Idaho once his 2 weeks are up. Although Ivy’s not the only one hesitant to put her heart out there, Kel’s starting to rethink his priorities. I enjoyed the back and forth with these two- it never got to the point of frustration, as you realize they both have very valid reasons for guarding their hearts. But it was so great when they finally did open themselves up to each other.
I love how the Heartbreaker Bay series focuses not only on the romantic relationships of the main couple, but on the relationships between friends and family. The ladies really went out of their way to make sure Ivy felt welcome, and even though she didn’t have any familial ties with any of them, that she was part of their circle. Kel did have family there in SF, and part of his journey was realizing how important they truly were to him. Ms. Shalvis has really created a wonderful community in this series, I don’t think I’ll ever tire of visiting!
I am perpetually a sucker for a woman with a secret who gets involve with a lawman. I’ve been waiting FOREVER for Kel’s story. I had my eye on him all the way back to Sunshine. While this wasn’t at all what I was imagining for him, it was a truly satisfying read, with just the right amount of holiday and interfering kookiness from the Heartbreaker Bay crew.
You are gonna fall in love right along with Ivy and Kel! This story made me smile, made me angry, and made me hopeful. Their love sneaks up on them and it’s so fun to witness. I love when a good man goes down hard! What a fabulous addition to the Heartbreaker Bay series.
I was beyond excited to see that Kel was going to be featured in Wrapped Up in You. I remember him from the Animal Magnetism series and was so happy to hear he was going to be the main love interest in Wrapped Up in You.
I absolutely loved Ivy. She’s bit of tough nut, continuously moving from place to place and never settling down, but you can tell that she wants to. The awesome people of Heartbreaker Bay are not letting her go easily. They encourage her to open up, to be a part of their family. Ivy, of course, resists whole lot, but they wear her down.
Ivy keeps a lot of things close to her chest and also has a tendency to lie about her family. On one hand, it’s not cool, but on the other hand I get it. Ivy’s family doesn’t have the most stellar reputation and she doesn’t want people to know about it. However, Ivy does come to the realization that they are true friends and won’t judge her for it.
I loved Kel and Ivy together. Kel worked to push her boundaries and help her to see her true potential. He was a tad frustrating at time (what male isn’t) but had a good heart.
My only issue with Wrapped Up in You is a small one. The plot involving Ivy’s brother added to the story, but I felt like it got wrapped up super quick at the end, I wish there had been a little more there.
As always, Jill Shalvis comes through with a heartfelt book that was impossible to put down. A one sitting read for sure!
Wrapped Up In You is the 8th story in the Heartbreaker Bay Series and it follows the story of Kel and Ivy. Ivy is used to being constantly on the move. She is in an expert in all things and has never stayed in any place for a long time. San Francisco might be the place that changes everything for her. She has a job she loves and has a place to call her own. She’s guarded and insn’t ready to let anyone in. And when Kel O’Donnell comes into her world, he threatens to turn her normal upside down….Kel too is a guarded man. He’s burned too many times to count, but there is just something about Ivy that calls to him. She is everything that he’s been searching for….or so he thinks. When Ivy’s past threatens her new life, Kel will find himself questioning everything he thought he knew…
Overall, I found this book to be a quick and easy read. The characters were easy to connect with and I loved the way that Kel and Ivy balanced one another. I thought they had great chemistry and loved that they weren’t perfect; each of them having their hearts broken before. Kel and Ivy’s story delivers on the swoon and steamy moments without going over the top.
Wrapped Up In You was a great read from beginning to end. I enjoyed getting to know these two characters and of course enjoyed catching up with our old friends. I can’t get enough of this small town setting and can’t help but look forward to see who’s story will come next. If you’re looking for a sweet, small town romance that’s filled with heart, friendships and characters you can’t help but root for, then look no further, Wrapped Up In You is just the book you’ve been waiting for.
I’ve been loving this series so much. Each book gets better and better. You can’t help but want to visit more with these characters.
I had a lot of feelings come at me while reading Wrapped Up in You. So many good ones, then there are the ones that pissed me off and the ones that made me sad. As a whole, the story gives you everything you want in your romance.
So let’s start off with the good. I loved these two together. They just work even though they don’t seem to know it. Both have few trust issues but I understand that. Both their pasts have molded them into who they are today. As a person from the outside, I have to say they are really good people. Yes, their individual issues cause them to have problems. Ivy can’t sit still. She has a hard time staying in one place and when she does outside forces cause her to have pain. You’ll need to read the story to figure out that statement.
Because of Kel’s mom, he has a ton of issues too. And those issues kinda make it hard to become close with him. He holds those around him to a very high standard. Which in itself can be a problem.
I will say that I enjoyed their romance and watching these two fall in love. The road might have been bumpy but they weather it.
Now on to the stuff that pissed me off. This is a bit of a spoiler so you might not want to read to much more. Kel’s family really pissed me off and I don’t get their get over it attitude. What he learned as a kid was awful and I’m sorry he was totally entitled to his feelings. The way he was told to get over it pissed me off. Like I mentioned I don’t want to give to much away so I can’t say more but I didn’t for how the author handled the family stuff.
The sad part is the ending. Some of it is sad sad, and the other is happy-sad. Wish I could say more. I know you want to kill me right now. Ha! Just trust me when I say there is some sadness in this book.
So, even though I had some issues I did enjoy the book. I’d rather a book that caused me to feel something than on that bores the crap out of me. This is a book worth reading and I’d really love to see what you guys think of it. After I write this I’m going to go and check some reviews. I want to see what others think about it. So, if you haven’t yet read this series I have to ask…why the hell not! If you start now you should be ready for this one by the holiday season!