Sweet Little Lies: A Heartbreaker Bay Novel

I have never once been disappointed in one of Jill's books and this one is no different. I loved found family between friends, loved the life of the city, loved everything. Please don't ever stop writing!!

I enjoyed reading this book and getting to know the characters. It is a light, funny and easy read. The secret was worried about a little too much, but didn't take away from learning all the personalities. I have already purchased the next 2 books in the series so I can get to know the other characters more.

I've completely given up on Jill Shalvis' new books.I couldn't even make myself finish this book.I stopped halfway through.I don't know why she thinks that she needs to throw FBombs.Her older books weren't like that.

Set in San Francisco, this first book in Jill Shalvis’s new Heartbreaker Bay series gives us another community that I wish were real. Ms. Shalvis has given us a group of people that have become family to each other, using her sense of humor that I enjoy so much. The characters are so real that I would love to meet them…and can’t wait to read the rest of the stories that are to come from Heartbreaker Bay!

Jill Shalvis sure does know how to give sweet, sappy, and fun. In her new series, Heartbreaker Bay, we are introduce to a new group that are fun. Even though the story takes place in the big city, you still get the small town feel with the group tight-knit camaraderie. Yes, everyone knows what is going.

Anyway, we Pru who is trying to make amends for the wrongs of her parents. Totally selfless. Some might view her as a martyr, but I adored her. I could relate to her on a lot of levels. She's the type of person who will give and give till she doesn't have anything else to give, but would find a way to continue. Then you have Finn, who has worked hard trying to make sure that him and his brother survive. He doesn't seem like he knows how to have fun until Pru enters his life.

I did like Sweet Little Lies; it gave me the feelies as I was reading. I like how Pru was able to bring life back to Finn. Granted I wasn't a big fan of Pru waiting so long to tell Finn who she was and what she was doing, but I understand why she was hesitant. Who likes to tell someone a secret that shake the foundation they stand on? Anyway, a great start for a new series. Not only you get to know Finn and Pru, but you slowly get to know their tight-knit group. Yes, I'm curious on a couple of them and can't wait to see how this series plays out. If you are in the mood for sweet, sappy, and fun, you won't have to look to far, because it awaits you in Sweet Little Lies.

Copy provided by Avon
Rating: 4 1/2 Stars

I love Jill Shalvis, usually. So this was a little disappointing for me. I was excited to win the giveaway and thrilled to get an early chance at this one, but it fell flat for me in a lot of ways.
Pru was shallow to me, not necessarily as a person, but as a character, she was lacking something. I never really believed she was that passionate about anything, her job, helping the victims of an accident her parents caused, nothing.

Finn was a little more accessible, but only barely. He was closed off, and while it was partly understandable, the character seemed unbalanced to me and he was not consistent.

Pru and Finn had chemistry, but at the same time, I didn’t really believe in the chemistry, if that makes sense. It was there for me, and then it wasn’t. Almost like it was missing layers, and this lack of depth made his reaction to her revelation feel false, as I did not feel he was passionate enough about their relationship to react that passionately to her secret.

There were a lot of secondary characters, as this is setting up the beginning of a new series, and I think the characters of Finn and Pru suffered because of the effort made to present the new characters and new world of the stories. It left me feeling like I had a cliff notes version on all of the characters but no real connection with most of them. There were a couple though that I thought were more interesting that Pru and Finn.

The writing was strong as far as construction of the story, the actual words used and the dialog. But the pacing and characters really didn’t work for me in this one. While I will probably read the next books in the series, as I like the author, I am only cautiously able to recommend this one and I do so more as it is the first in the series than for any compelling merits it has on its own.

Set in San Francisco, this first book in Jill Shalvis’s new Heartbreaker Bay series gives us another community that I wish were real. Ms. Shalvis has given us a group of people that have become family to each other, using her sense of humor that I enjoy so much. The characters are so real that I would love to meet them…and can’t wait to read the rest of the stories that are to come from Heartbreaker Bay!

Jill Shalvis sure does know how to give sweet, sappy, and fun. In her new series, Heartbreaker Bay, we are introduce to a new group that are fun. Even though the story takes place in the big city, you still get the small town feel with the group tight-knit camaraderie. Yes, everyone knows what is going.

Anyway, we Pru who is trying to make amends for the wrongs of her parents. Totally selfless. Some might view her as a martyr, but I adored her. I could relate to her on a lot of levels. She's the type of person who will give and give till she doesn't have anything else to give, but would find a way to continue. Then you have Finn, who has worked hard trying to make sure that him and his brother survive. He doesn't seem like he knows how to have fun until Pru enters his life.

I did like Sweet Little Lies; it gave me the feelies as I was reading. I like how Pru was able to bring life back to Finn. Granted I wasn't a big fan of Pru waiting so long to tell Finn who she was and what she was doing, but I understand why she was hesitant. Who likes to tell someone a secret that shake the foundation they stand on? Anyway, a great start for a new series. Not only you get to know Finn and Pru, but you slowly get to know their tight-knit group. Yes, I'm curious on a couple of them and can't wait to see how this series plays out. If you are in the mood for sweet, sappy, and fun, you won't have to look to far, because it awaits you in Sweet Little Lies.

Copy provided by Avon
Rating: 4 1/2 Stars

I love Jill Shalvis, usually. So this was a little disappointing for me. I was excited to win the giveaway and thrilled to get an early chance at this one, but it fell flat for me in a lot of ways.
Pru was shallow to me, not necessarily as a person, but as a character, she was lacking something. I never really believed she was that passionate about anything, her job, helping the victims of an accident her parents caused, nothing.

Finn was a little more accessible, but only barely. He was closed off, and while it was partly understandable, the character seemed unbalanced to me and he was not consistent.

Pru and Finn had chemistry, but at the same time, I didn’t really believe in the chemistry, if that makes sense. It was there for me, and then it wasn’t. Almost like it was missing layers, and this lack of depth made his reaction to her revelation feel false, as I did not feel he was passionate enough about their relationship to react that passionately to her secret.

There were a lot of secondary characters, as this is setting up the beginning of a new series, and I think the characters of Finn and Pru suffered because of the effort made to present the new characters and new world of the stories. It left me feeling like I had a cliff notes version on all of the characters but no real connection with most of them. There were a couple though that I thought were more interesting that Pru and Finn.

The writing was strong as far as construction of the story, the actual words used and the dialog. But the pacing and characters really didn’t work for me in this one. While I will probably read the next books in the series, as I like the author, I am only cautiously able to recommend this one and I do so more as it is the first in the series than for any compelling merits it has on its own.

Oh secret keeping. It's always painful. Such is the case for Pru. She is trying very hard to right the wrongs that were created by an accident when she was eighteen. Everyone who was hurt needs to be happy, except she overlooks herself in that little equation.

The darts. I do think she overreacted here. I wanted to tell her to get a grip but Finn does a good job of handling her. I do love Finn. He's trying to help his brother and run the pub that is his life now. A car accident when he was in college took their father - if you can call him that. Since then, Finn has tried to look out for Sean but his brother hasn't made it easy. Finn has a tight group of friends that are his family. He doesn't let anyone else in - until Pru showed up in his pub. Everyone in the group is surprised at Finn's reaction to her. He doesn't do relationships, not since...well he doesn't do relationships. So the group all wants to help. And let me tell you, this group finds out every little detail of what's going on...including the dumb waiter.

Oh yes, you have to read it for that part alone.

But there is this secret Pru has and it just drove me crazy. I wanted to shake her! Tell her to listen to Jake, who kept telling her to TELL HIM. Of course, she doesn't. Maddening. This is always the part about lies in books that makes me nuts. I'm just not a fan of this. Beside this little trait, I do like Pru. She's trying to help those that were hurt and she forgets herself all the time. I related to that a little too much. She deserves some happy too.

It's a sexy, fun read. Lots of laughs and some great yummy kissing...and more.

If you love those stories where the whole group of friends wants the couple together kinda books, then this is a great choice for you. It has a small town feel despite being in the city and I think the group does that. Everyone knows everyone's business including the embarrassing dumb waiter parts. Ha!

Sweet Little Lies is the start of Jill Shalvis' brand new Heartbreaker Bay series. It may only be the first book, but I already know that I will love all of these books. The group of characters that we're introduced to are all amazing, and I can't wait to get to know more about the others in their own stories.

This book follows Pru as she tries to make amends for something that was never her fault. Moving in to a new apartment she meets hottie bar owner, Finn. She's instantly drawn into his close group of friends and as a result, deeper into his life. Pru tries to keep her attraction at bay, knowing that he's the one man she can never have. Not with the secret she's hiding. That's a lot easier said than done, though.

Pru was such a fun character I couldn't help the big smile that was on my face the majority of this book. She had a quirkiness about her that was really interesting, but also funny. Some of the things she got herself into made me laugh like a loon, so I'm really glad I wasn't in public at the time. And Finn had me swooning all over the place with his quiet intensity. I really liked his character and the fun guy that was hidden behind the responsible, no nonsense, business man.

The thing I love about this author is that she creates these stories and characters that make me forget what's going on around me and brings out many emotions from me. From start to finish I was invested in finding out what was going to happen between Pru and Finn, and I loved the reading experience that went along with their story.

I love books that feature a close group of people and this one definitely satiated my need for that. I don't really know what it is, but having a series that all follows people from a group of friends/family that are all really close is one of my favorite things. Maybe because we get to always see past characters just hanging out in the background of the stories. But no matter the why, getting to meet all the secondary characters was great and has me very excited for the next book.

Bottom line, this book is a must read. Jill Shalvis will have you falling in love with these characters and will make you want more. It was just a fun story to read with sexy moments as an added bonus between all the sweet ones.

Pru Harris is a day tour captain and settling into a new place. She's sweet, sassy, smart, and fun, but hides guilt and sadness regarding events that were really not her fault. She has a limited support system and is used to taking care of things on her own. She is selfless and goes out of her way to help others.

Finn O'Riley is a busy bar owner just trying to keep it going. He is handsome and charismatic, but he works all the time at the expense of a real social life or fun. He does have a brother and a quirky group of friends that support him. It was easy to tell he is one of those closed off hotties that was just waiting for inspiration to show off his passion and heart. He was hot, sweet, thoughtful, and charming.

They develop a mutual attraction and flirty banter. Pru just wants Finn to be happy, but she has a big secret. And that secret could have a negative effect on Finn.

I liked all of the crazy side characters: his friends, Archer, Spencer, Elle, Willa, Haley, and his brother, Sean. I was also drawn to her protective boss, Jake, with his own issues and intense personality. And Thor is her mighty little dog that really came alive in the pages and took over all of his scenes.

I liked Finn and Pru together. They were compatible and had good chemistry. She brings Finn some balance, fun, and gets him to live a little. She finds that she wants to really belong somewhere. But the more attached he gets, the more her secret weighs on her and makes her hold back. She's always been alone and this could be a way to not only lose a man that has come to mean more to her, but also her new group of wacky and supportive friends. She does not hold out much hope that Finn would forgive her lie of omission.

This is the first of the new Heartbreaker Bay series with a whole cast of quirky, fun, and interesting, single characters. It gives the author a lot of chances to continue this series with new couples. It was a bit predictable, and it was not terribly angsty. I thought the premise itself was unique. We knew the secret in the first quarter of the book, but it did not come out til the last part and that frustrated me a bit. But it was an easy, engaging read that was sweet, funny, sexy, and romantic.