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Release Day Review! THE BRIGHT SPOT by Jill Shalvis (Sunrise Cove #5)

The Bright Spot cover

New York Times bestselling author Jill Shalvis returns to Sunrise Cove with a heartwarming story about the choices we make and the love we let into our lives…

Luna Wright is a lot of things, but sweet and trusting aren’t on the list. However, she’s a sucker for the underdog and a hard-luck story. Adopted at birth, with scant knowledge of her biological family, she’s created her own inner circle, a motley crew which includes her bestie Willow, to help her run the struggling but charming Apple Ridge Farm.

With a farm-to-table café as well as a menagerie of rescued animals (complete with a baby goat who keeps escaping to the pantry to eat the secret stash of decidedly not organic potato chips), it’s the best home she’s ever known. But when Silas, the owner who they secretly call The Grinch, passes away, Luna discovers the farm is now under the control of both his investment manager, the enigmatic Jameson Hayes….and her. And that Silas had many, many secrets.

Now Luna’s carefully controlled corner of the world is threatened and she—along with some of her friends—has to dig deep to find true strength and the real meaning of love and family.

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Review:

Another delightful visit to Sunrise Cove!

The Bright Spot continues the Jill Shalvis tradition of giving us relatable (and lovable, despite their many flaws) characters, sweet and sexy romances, quirky as heck side characters, and found families like nobody’s business. Take all 4 of those ingredients and add in a farm full of rescue animals–two words, BABY GOATS–and you have 300+ pages of yes, please on your hands.

I loved Luna and Jameson’s (and Willow and Shayne’s) story. Luna’s ability to charm almost anybody (human, because every single animal in this book has a mind of its own) to do whatever she wants them to is impressive, even as it hides some deep emotional wounds. Jameson has his own difficult past, and comes to Apple Ridge Farm believing he is the only one who will be able to fix things. His ability to adapt to his situation–going from the guy who shows up in a suit to a man working in a closet with a baby goat on his lap, wearing jeans that that same goat just used for a naptime snack–is just as impressive. But of course they both have a lot to learn–about each other and themselves–if they’re going to figure out how to save the farm from the very deep hole it is in.

Spoiler alert: they’re also going to fall in love while they attempt it. Further spoiler: it is glorious.

All of the books in this series are standalones, so you can start with whichever one strikes your fancy. Trust me, though–no matter what order you read them in, you won’t want to miss a single one. They all will make you laugh and swoon and occasionally wipe away a tear–sometimes simultaneously!

Rating: 4 stars / A-

I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book.

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