Review: ‘The Family You Make’ by Jill Shalvis
The Family You Make
by Jill ShalvisSeries: Sunrise Cove #1
Published by Avon on January 11, 2022
SubGenres: Contemporary Romance
Format: eBook
Pages: 356
Source: Library - Libby
Audience: 18+/Adult
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Beloved New York Times bestselling author Jill Shalvis begins a new series--Sunrise Cove--set near beautiful Lake Tahoe, with a heartwarming story of found family and love.
During the snowstorm of the century Levi Cutler is stranded on a ski lift with a beautiful stranger named Jane. After strong winds hurl the gondola in front of them into the ground, Levi calls his parents to prepare them for the worst...but can't bring himself to say goodbye. Instead, wanting to fulfill his mother's lifelong wish, he impulsively tells her he's happily settled and Jane is his girlfriend--right before his phone dies.
But Levi and Jane do not.
Now Levi's family is desperate to meet "The One." Though Jane agrees to be his pretend girlfriend for just one dinner, she's nervous. After a traumatic childhood, Jane isn't sure she knows how to be around a tight-knit family that cherishes one another. She's terrified, and a little jealous. But an unexpected series of events and a host of new friends soon show Jane that perhaps this is the life she was always meant to have.
As Jane and Levi spend more time together, pretend feelings quickly turn into real ones. Now all Jane has to do is admit to herself she can't live without the man she's fallen in love with and the family she has always dreamed of.
I haven’t read a Jill Shalvis book in a while, so I’m fixing that by borrowing The Family You Make from my local library through Libby. One thing I’ve always loved about Jill Shalvis’s books is how she writes emotionally driven plots and creates well-developed characters that are hard not to fall for and root for when it comes to their HEA.
She manages to make me feel for four characters in The Family You Make, especially when they all have things they are dealing with that need to be addressed in order to find their HEA. I won’t go too much into the storyline due to the risk of spoiling it but just know that this book will have some tough topics in it, including the first chapter, where two of the characters are in danger and end up making a connection with one another during that time. I was on the edge of my seat the whole time they were stuck in that ski lift and may have found a new fear unlocked thanks to that scene.
I loved the chemistry between Levi and Jane and how Levi fell madly in love with Jane, but Jane was hesitant at first due to her past. Then there is Mateo and Charlotte who I loved dearly. Mateo had been in love with Charlotte for so long, but she always gave him a hard time and wouldn’t open up to him until it was revealed what happened to her years ago.
I loved the family dynamics in this book and how Levi’s family played a role with him and Jane, even though it technically was a fake relationship between them at first. They were curious about Jane and how Levi couldn’t stop talking about her.
I loved Charlotte and Jane’s friendship and how much these two supported each other. Then, there is the fact that Levi and Mateo are friends, too, so there are a lot of friendship dynamics in this book, and everyone is connected in some way.
This was a great start to a new series from Jill Shalvis, and it definitely made me realize I need to catch up on this series, plus check out other books Jill has written that I’ve missed out on in the last few years. I give this book four stars and look forward to reading more in the Sunrise Cove series.
Standalone or Part of Series: It’s an interconnected standalone in the Sunrise Cove series.
Would I recommend this book? Yes. If you are looking for an emotional Contemporary Romance/Women’s Fiction story that reminds you of a Hallmark movie, then check out The Family You Make.
What to Expect:
✓Small Town Romance
✓Fake Relationship
✓Found Family
✓Slow Burn
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About Jill Shalvis
Multiple New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Jill Shalvis lives in a small town in the Sierras full of quirky characters. Any resemblance to the quirky characters in her books is … mostly coincidental. Look for Jill’s bestselling, award-winning heartwarming and full of humor novels wherever books are sold and visit her website for a complete book list and daily blog detailing her city-girl-living-in-the-mountains adventures. Her most recent book, Almost Just Friends, was just published last month and her next book, The Summer Deal, comes out in June.
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My obsession with reading started over 30+ years ago when I went to my first Scholastic Book Fair and found R.L. Stine's Fear Street series. Later, I came across Anne Rice's novels at my public library when I was fourteen when my obsession with vampires started. I was the girl who preferred to be a vampire over a princess any day. My husband says I would leave him a heartbeat for a vampire that looked like Spike or Angel (from Buffy the Vampire Slayer) or Damon Salvatore from The Vampire Diaries. (It's true, though, and he's accepted it.)
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