REVIEW: Animal Attraction (Animal #2) by Jill Shalvis

Author: Jill Shalvis

Series: Animal

Pages: 

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Publisher: Berkley Sensation

Amazon: Animal Attraction

Synopsis. (Goodreads)

Jade Bennett couldn't be happier to escape her past for the quiet ranching town of Sunshine, Idaho. Plus, there's nothing like working for veterinarian Dell Connelly. And though Dell has no intention of settling down, Jade's strength and sass are enticements no red-blooded male can resist.

REVIEW: 4.5 out of 5 stars

I have come to rely on Jill Shalvis to provide me with a satisfying, enjoyable and sweet contemporary romance and thankfully Animal Attraction didn’t fail to deliver.

We first met Veterinarian Dell Connelly in Animal Magnetism, he is part owner of Bell Haven animal shelter and is known as not only an animal whisperer for the way he is able to care for animals but also a woman whisperer because of his womanizing ways. He hired Jade Bennett to take on the role of receptionist with her making it clear it would be short-term but 18 months later she is still there, organizing everything and everyone around her and them both tiptoeing around the underlying feelings they each have for one another.

Jade moved to Sunshine, Idaho to escape a traumatic ordeal, she has been left terrified and feels defenseless but working for Dell had given her an opportunity to leave her past  behind and possibly move on – not to happen though with her family constantly badgering her to return home to Chicago and start afresh in the role she left behind which she has decided to do.

There is a crazy amount of sexual attraction and chemistry between Dell and Jade but both hold back because of their working relationship, Jade doesn’t let anyone in emotionally and Dell is commitment phobic, a love-em, leave-em type of guy but he is able to read Jade perfectly, he knows her strengths and weaknesses and knows there is something she is hiding, he doesn’t push but he offers to train her in self-defense so she wont feel as helpless; I enjoyed their work-out sessions, they certainly got hot and heavy at times and boy oh boy did Adam (Dell’s older brother) have the worst ever timing!

The main characters were wonderful! Dell was an absolute sweetheart, I loved his calm demeanor, the relationship he had with his brothers and his interactions with everyone (animal and human) was wonderful, he was the perfect male lead. Jade had her issues but tried to lead a normal life, I wish she could have opened up a little more to her friends as to what she had endured but it took her time to trust, she was certainly conflicted emotionally over what was the right thing to do. I loved her spreadsheet obsession; it’s something we seem to have in common.

It was great to catch up with Lilah and Brady from Animal Magnetism, they played fantastic secondary characters in this novel, Adam is also a classic and a great support – I also enjoyed the many animals that were present, the Parrot Peanuts had me laughing out loud and I loved the attachment Jade formed with her kitten Beans.

The plot (to me) was very similar to Animal Magnetism but enjoyable in its own right. The romance was sweet and sexy and the characters developed to perfection. Animal Attraction is a real page turner and had me up until all hours, Ms Shalvis tells the sweetest, most romantic, heart-felt and endearing stories and I can’t wait to read spunky older brother Adam’s story – he intrigues me to no end.

Animal Attraction reads well as a stand-alone novel although reading the build-up to Lilah and Brady’s relationship from Animal Magnetism is certainly worth it.

 

Obtained: The Book Depository