Review: Jill Shalvis' BETTER THAN FRIENDS

 

BETTER THAN FRIENDS
Contemporary Romance, Women’s Fiction

 

 

 

AUTHOR:
Jill Shalvis

RELEASE DATE:
January 21, 2025

PUBLISHER:
Avon and Harper Voyager

ISBN/ ASIN NUMBER :
9780063353381

RATING:
4.5

AUTHOR LINK:
https://www.jillshalvis.com/

 

 

Olive Porter owns and runs her own PR firm in the UK. She returns to Sunrise Cove, California to help her childhood best friend. Being home again brings a tumult of memories, especially ones about Noah Turner – her high-school crush. When Olive cannot contact her eccentric parents, she needs to rely on Noah to help locate them. Can Olive let go of the past to start anew with Noah? Or did they both miss their chance to be together?

Noah Turner works as a special investigative agent for the National Park Service. When his brother-in-law is severely injured, he decides to return home and help his sister. Noah never expected to run across Olive there. He cannot forget their past nor his dormant feelings for her. Noah feels he cannot offer Olive what she desires most: stability and security. Will Noah be forced to let Olive go again? Or will he grasp his chance with her?

Both Olive and Noah are haunted by their shared past and regrets. However, they both drop everything to help Katie through her ordeal. Even if it meant being around the other.  I love that about them!

What I like the most about Noah is how he looked after Olive in high school. He may have been the “golden boy”, but he did not behave pretentiously like most do. I adore Olive’s patience with Katie’s neurodivergent tendencies. Other people would not be so understanding or patient. Instead, Olive loved that about her best friend, often teasing her about hugs or sense-of-humor things.

BETTER THAN FRIENDS is the seventh book in Jill Shalvis’ contemporary-romance series, SUNRISE COVE. This story, like its predecessors, can easily stand alone. It is not necessary to read the series in order. The only aspect each book shares is the setting: a charming small town on/near Lake Tahoe in California. Sometimes I do wish the author would allow characters from past books to make a small cameo or honorary mention.

I am not a fan of second-chance romances. They always leave me dissatisfied. However, I adore Shalvis’ approach with Olive and Noah. Certain chapters start with a flashback to their high school day. Those passages satisfied my need to “experience” the start of their feelings.

Shalvis never disappoints me. I love the humor she weaves in each book, especially the dialogue between the characters. And the animals – they always add a great (and sometimes personal) touch to the story.