Jill Shalvis’s Sweet Little Lies is the Perfect Summer Romance

The first book in Jill Shalvis’s Heartbreaker Bay series introduces San Francisco Bay tour boat captain Pru, short for Prudence. Pru has had a hard life, and is in danger of letting the difficult secrets of her past overshadow her future.
Soon after moving to a new neighborhood, Pru establishes a great rapport with handsome local pub owner Finn. Despite her attempts to keep things platonic (for several reasons), before long she has fallen hard for him, and it’s not hard to see why; Shalvis’ hero is sexy, smart, and incredibly kindhearted. Readers will delight in the way Finn looks out for his friends and employees, especially his female ones. (We should all have such an attentive—and attractive—boss!) His struggle to do right by his younger brother, Sean, will also be relatable to anyone who has found themselves thrown into the difficult role of authority figure.
Pru and Finn have beautiful chemistry. Although they are both adults, with responsibilities and complications (not to mention strong urges to act on their more primal instincts), they each still have a youthful innocence and playfulness about them, which makes for a delightful budding romance. Our heroine also has the cutest dog with tons of personality, but we’ll get back to him in a moment.
As Finn and Pru begin to grow closer, they soon find themselves in a relationship that goes way beyond friendship. (And how. One of the best scenes in the book occurs when he nurses her after she gets a bit roughed up after playing softball. I won’t say too much, but trust me: it’s very swoon-worthy.) But Pru still has her secrets, and as she gets closer to Finn, she becomes more and more scared of revealing them.
Now, the people in this book are all pretty terrific, but homage must also be paid to the canine star of this story: Pru’s rescue dog, Thor, who is the kind of canine companion we all want: He’s cute, a bit lazy, and has tons of personality. He’s so lovable that one can’t help but wonder why more romance heroines don’t have dogs. (Granted, many a heroine has been whisked away on some kind of adventure, and we wouldn’t want any puppy abandonment issues, but still.) Anyway, Thor is awesome, and reading about him is a lot of fun. He hates men, but he loves Finn, which of course is another sign that Finn is a guy worthy of Pru’s affection.
Of the many other endearing human characters also populate Pru and Finn’s world, Finn’s crew of work buddies deserve particular mention for giving Pru, who’s been a bit of a loner of late, a very warm welcome. (Luckily readers will get to see more of them in this series when the second book, The Trouble With Mistletoe, comes out on September 27.) And Finn’s 22-year-old brother, a hot and naughty young troublemaker who is just beginning to show signs of maturity, is also a great addition to the cast. Fingers crossed that he’ll get his own installment in the Heartbreaker Bay series; he’s definitely got standalone appeal.
All in all, Sweet Little Lies is a perfect summer read, sure to appeal to long-time Shalvis fans, and to win over readers who are new to her irresistible books. So grab your towel, slather on the sunscreen, and head outside with this one tucked under your arm.
Sweet Little Lies is in stores now.