Forever and a Day (Lucky Harbor, #6) by Jill Shalvis

Forever and a Day (Lucky Harbor, #6) by Jill Shalvis
Published: July 31, 2012 by Grand Central
Source: Purchased ebook from B&N

LOVE CAN HAPPEN IN A HEARTBEAT.

Grace never thought she’d be starting her life over from scratch. Losing everything has landed her in Lucky Harbor, working as a dog walker for overwhelmed ER doctor Josh Scott. But the day his nanny fails to show up, Grace goes from caring for Josh’s loveable mutt to caring for his rambunctious kids. Soon Grace is playing house with the sexy single dad…

With so many people depending on him, Josh has no time for anything outside of his clinic and family–until Grace arrives in town. Now this brainy blonde is turning his life inside out and giving a whole new meaning to the phrase “good bedside manner.” Josh and Grace don’t know if what they have can last. But in a town like Lucky Harbor, a lifetime of love starts with just one day… [goodreads]

WELCOME BACK TO LUCKY HARBOR! This is what I kept telling myself over and over again as I dove into this sixth installment of Jill Shalvis' Lucky Harbor series.  I discovered these amazing adult contemporary novels last year and went on a book binge, reading one through five back to back.  Then something happened (life maybe? other books?) and I set this book, number six, aside.  It felt like the PERFECT time to revisit Lucky Harbor and fall in love with this town all over again.

This story is my new favorite in the series, for multiple reasons -- but at the top of that list? The romance between Grace and Josh.  It felt so REAL.  I identified with their struggles; Grace not finding her own "path" in life until much further down the road, and Josh having to grow up and take on responsibilities much too soon.  What appears to be two people at polar opposites, being forced together by something out of their control, results in some HOT steamy tension that definitely delivers in the end.

Grace is in Lucky Harbor temporarily, while she finds a job -- the job she was suppose to be doing according to her parents -- but in the meantime helps around town, doing anything to pay the bills.  Josh is a single dad, working the double shift in the ER and at his father's local practice.  These two meet and realize they both have something they can offer the other.  What begins as just a business arrangement, quickly turns into some hot, heavy, steamy FUN!  But how long can the fun last? Feelings begin to grow, and that's when things can get messy.

What should have just been a temporary employment turns into a home for Grace, and a family for Josh.  I loved witnessing as their relationship made that shift.  One minute they're attempting to keep it purely physical, and then these softer, more emotional moments, move in that really tug at your heart.  Jill Shalvis is a master at crafting this even balance between the two and it's why I keep coming back to Lucky Harbor time and time again.

If I haven't convinced you in the past to pick up this series, I hope my review for FOREVER AND A DAY will make that happen!  If you're a new-comer to the series and don't have the time to invest in her previous five novels, but want to read this one -- that's OK! You totally can. It won't spoil anything. Each story is their own; however, there are reoccurring characters who make appearances, so it's fun to see what they've been up to.  Oh Lucky Harbor, how I wish you were a town I could visit... for FOREVER AND A DAY.