Almost Just Friends by Jill Shalvis
Release Date: January 21, 2020
Almost Just Friends, an all-new standalone contemporary romance by New York Times bestselling author Jill Shalvis.
Piper Manning’s about as tough as they come, she’s had to be. She raised her siblings and they’ve thankfully flown the coop. All she has to do is finish fixing up the lake house her grandparents left her, sell it, and then she’s free.
When a massive storm hits, she runs into a tall, dark and brooding stranger, Camden Reid. There’s a spark there, one that shocks her. Surprising her further, her sister and brother return, each of them holding their own secrets. The smart move would be for Piper to ignore them all but Cam unleashes emotions deep inside of her that she can’t deny, making her yearn for something she doesn’t understand. And her siblings…well, they need each other.
Only when the secrets come out, it changes everything Piper thinks she knows about her family, herself…and Cam. Can she find a way to outrun the demons? The answer is closer than she thinks—just as the new life she craves may have already begun.
Piper Manning’s about as tough as they come, she’s had to be. She raised her siblings and they’ve thankfully flown the coop. All she has to do is finish fixing up the lake house her grandparents left her, sell it, and then she’s free.
When a massive storm hits, she runs into a tall, dark and brooding stranger, Camden Reid. There’s a spark there, one that shocks her. Surprising her further, her sister and brother return, each of them holding their own secrets. The smart move would be for Piper to ignore them all but Cam unleashes emotions deep inside of her that she can’t deny, making her yearn for something she doesn’t understand. And her siblings…well, they need each other.
Only when the secrets come out, it changes everything Piper thinks she knows about her family, herself…and Cam. Can she find a way to outrun the demons? The answer is closer than she thinks—just as the new life she craves may have already begun.
Excerpt:
“Well?” he asked.
She grinned. “That was possibly the most thrilling ride of my life.”
He pulled off her helmet, the look in his eyes saying that he knew he could give her an even more thrilling ride.
She had no doubt. But she hadn’t managed to raise her siblings and get them all a relatively decent life by following a whim, sexy as that whim might be. She’d been afraid of commitment with Ry because … well, she still wasn’t one hundred percent sure. But she thought it had something to do with the knowledge that committing to him would mean becoming something she wasn’t – a person capable of further dividing her heart, handing another chunk of it off to someone, and in turn giving them power to hurt her.
But looking into Cam’s gaze, she couldn’t see him ever trying to make her into something she wasn’t. Life with him would only get better.
But they weren’t going to go there. And if that caused a little teeny tiny spark of sadness, she shoved it aside. This wasn’t the time to dwell. She needed to live in the moment. And that needed to go into her journal. She had it in her purse in the truck. “Do you have the keys?”
“Sure. What do you need, I’ll get it for you.”
Okay, so she could admit her crazy here, or she could keep it to herself. But maybe to prove that this wouldn’t – couldn’t -- last, she gave him the truth. “I need to write something in my journal.”
“Okay,” he said without blinking an eye and turned toward the stairs to get to the parking lot.
Just the fact that he’d do it made it okay to stop him. “I can wait.’ Then she stepped into him and pressed her face in the crook of his neck to just breathe him in for a moment, willing herself to remember. Live in the moment. There was no sense in thinking about the future, because as she knew all too well, not everyone got one. So there was no use in spoiling the here and now by running ahead of herself. Besides, she thought as his arms came around her, the here and now was pretty damn amazing. “Thank you,” she whispered against his skin, and then, unable to resist, kissed his throat.
Piper Manning is now 30 years old and after putting her life and dreams on hold to bring up her younger siblings after losing their parents it’s now her time. Her dream is to finish fixing up their lake house, sell it give her siblings their inheritance and take herself off to school but that’s about to change when she bumps into Camden Reid while visiting elderly neighbor. Camden is home visiting his father but just as a Piper has missed out on her dreams he has regrets from his past that he is dealing with but just as they start getting to know each both of Piper’s siblings arrive home and they are not leaving any time soon...... Will this couple find the time they need for themselves or will their pasts and family get in the way......
This author really brings her characters to life and with all of her books you feel like you are home visiting family and friends and this emotional read was no different. This is a beautifully written contemporary romance that will captivate and draw you in, the characters are easy to relate to and I’m sure like me you will end up loving them. Looking forward to what’s next from Wildstone.
Whilst this is book 4 in the Wildstone series it can most certainly be read as a stand alone and is Piper Manning and Camden Reid’s story.
Jill Shalvis writes characters that are human, that have flaws, vulnerabilities and are easy to relate too. There is always a lot of depth to her characters and Almost Just Friends is a good example of that.
This was at times an emotional read and I freely admit tears were shed. Piper has always been a “mother” to her siblings, but now it’s time for her to shine and follow her dreams. Most of us love our families but we all know that sometimes we don’t always like them and after being cooped up on a boat with them for 10 days, Piper needs her alone time.
Camden has his own demons and regrets to deal with. The chemistry and banter between Piper and Camden got to me and I found myself smiling frequently throughout this story.
The family dynamics were easy to relate to and I was invested in the romance of the story. There is drama, a little angst, spice and humour; I also loved Piper’s list making, a trait we share.
Meeting Camden just as a wild storm hits, Piper decides to take a chance. She has big dreams and feels it’s finally her time.
Can the feelings that are developing between them withstand the pressures of their families?
A beautifully written story with strong writing and characters that you cannot help but fall for.
About Jill:
New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Jill Shalvis lives in a small town in the Sierras full of quirky characters. Any resemblance to the quirky characters in her books is, um, mostly coincidental. Look for Jill’s sexy contemporary and award-winning books wherever romances are sold and click on the blog button above for a complete book list and daily blog detailing her city-girl-living-in-the-mountains adventures.
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