Icon Tag: Family

Better Than Friends: Jill Shalvis

Better Than Friends

Posted on January 27, 2025 by Nadene @ Totally Addicted to Reading in Reviews / 6 Comments

In Better Than Friends, Shalvis returns her readers to the small town of Sunrise Cove. This time around, she delves into the themes of second chances, forced proximity, and the transition from friends to enemies to lovers. As expected from Shalvis’s work, the novel also explores the themes of family and friendships.

 

Better Than Friends: Jill ShalvisTitle: Better Than Friends
Author(s): Jill Shalvis
Series: Sunrise Cove #7
Also in this series: The Family You Make , The Friendship Pact , The Backup Plan , The Sweetheart List , The Bright Spot , The Summer Escape
Published by Avon on January 21, 2025
Pages: 332
Genre(s): Contemporary Romance, Women's Fiction
Source: Author
Format: eArc
Goodreads
Purchase: Amazon|Audible
Rating: One StarOne StarOne StarOne Star
Series Rating: One StarOne StarOne StarOne Star
Heat Level: One FlameOne Flame

Old flames reignite in Sunrise Cove in this charming enemies-to-lovers, second-chance, small-town, forced-proximity love story about family, friendships, and true love from New York Times bestselling author Jill Shalvis.
When Olive Porter’s off-the-grid parents go missing, she reluctantly seeks out Noah Turner, her ex and the only person she both trusts implicitly and not at all.
As a special investigative agent for the National Park Service, Noah’s used to living under intense pressure. Or he was until he got injured on the job. Now unhappily recuperating at home while being smothered by his loving but nosy family, he’d love nothing more than a good distraction.
So when Olive shows up looking like a million bucks, he has to do a gut and heart check. Because nope, no matter what, he can’t fall for her again, the woman who once blew up his entire life and never looked back. How ironic then that his own personal hell (Olive) is also his ticket out of town. The question is, will the risk be worth the reward?

I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

This post contains affiliate links you can use to purchase the book. If you buy the book using that link, I will receive a small commission from the sale.

 

I enjoyed all the books in the Sunrise Cove series and looked forward to reading Better Than Friends. It certainly did not disappoint. Each book in the series is a standalone, with no connections between the characters, allowing readers to jump in at any point in the series.

Better Than Friends introduces Olive Porter and Noah Turner. They first met at the age of fourteen when Olive moved to Sunrise Cove to live with her grandmother. She became best friends with his twin sister Katie, and by extension, he became her protector. Circumstances led to her departure after graduation without saying goodbye. After many years away from Sunrise Cove, Olive returns home to assist her best friend Katie, whose husband is in a coma. She had no reservations about returning to help her friend, even if it meant facing the only man she ever loved.

Better Than Friends proved to be a difficult book to put down. It is captivating and heartwarming. Shalvis provides glimpses into the past, giving readers insight into the reasons Olive left Sunrise Cove without saying goodbye. It is clear that Olive never forgave herself for the incident she believes altered the trajectory of Noah’s life. Noah himself harbored guilt related to a recent event as well as incidents from his past.

Anyone who encountered Olive and Noah could clearly see the intense attraction between them. Now that they were back in each other’s presence, they realized that their feelings for each other had never died and were stronger than ever. However, guilt and fears would lead them to struggle against their emotions. I appreciated how their love for each other endured distance and time. These two were undoubtedly meant for each other.

The secondary characters contributed their unique flavor to the story. The emphasis on friendship and family introduced an additional dimension to the story, resulting in engaging, heartwarming, and entertaining moments.

I had a wonderful time reading Better than Friends. I would not only recommend it to long-time fans of the author but also to readers seeking a heartwarming story with a small-town flavor.

 

Story Evaluation
Plot
4
Characters
5
World Building
4
Writing Style
4.5
Pacing
4
Cover
4
Enjoyment
4.5
Ending
5
Overall: One StarOne StarOne StarOne Star

About Jill Shalvis

New York Times 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 bestselling, award-winning books wherever romances are sold and visit her website for a complete booklist daily blog detailing her city-girl-living-in-the-mountains adventures.
 

Reading this book contributed to these challenges:

Nadene @ Totally Addicted to Reading

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