The Sweetheart List is a book about new start and all kinds of love. It’s written in three points of view: Harper is a baker who decides to move to at town by Lake Tahoe. Bodie is a man wounded and jaded. And Ivy is an underage runaway. The book connects them all to each other.

If I had to describe this book in one word, it would be cheesy. From everyone laughing way too hard at everything and the situations where five different characters all of a sudden appear to give quirky insights…it was too much for me at times. The story itself would have been great without the extra cheese. And this author can write.

All three points of view read exactly the same. I didn’t get any sense that I was in a teenager’s head or a grown woman’s head or a grown man’s head at any point. Bodie was tugging on all sorts of hair strands that made me want to slap his hand away. And the face cupping. So much face cupping. I can’t be the only one who doesn’t like my face touched, but why the excess in this book?

I don’t know anything about ATF or any of the other acronyms related, and I would have appreciated some laymen’s terms there. I love Bodie’s background though. My favorite part of him would definitely be his family. Both brothers and his mom added so much to this book. I can honestly say I loved these characters.

The ending was too abrupt for me though. Harper was written as a perfect person surrounded by imperfect people. She was put in an impossible situation in the end that she still wasn’t wrong in. But she ended up feeling guilty for it. I didn’t like that. The whole mess tied itself up way too fast.

I also didn’t see any character development for Bodie. He was grumpy then had calm, warm eyes for 93 percent of the book. Ivy, though, had an amazing story in terms of her character development.

Would I recommend this book? I would, mostly for people who are tired of overly dramatic romcoms like I’ve been lately. It was cheesy, but it also made me feel—especially for Harper. I would have loved for a resolution with her dad, but the last fourth of the book was mostly about Ivy. The author has a gift for characters, and I look forward to seeing more of her work.

I received this ARC from Netgalley for my honest review.

The Sweetheart List by Jill Shalvis is the fourth book in the Sunrise Cove series. Harper starts over in a town that she remembers from her childhood with her mother. She rents a retail space to open her own bakery – she and her big dog, Hambone move to Lake Tahoe. She meets Ivy, a young runaway who she takes in. She meets one of her landlords, Brodie – there is an instant attraction.
The dialog and story are good but not deep. The story flows but has a few holes in the background story. It may be because I have not read the first three.
I did enjoy the book and just started the first one in the series. If you like light romance and a little bit of mystery this is for you.

Jill Shalvis always writes heartwarming stories of family (by blood and found), love, and finding yourself. The Sweetheart List is a prime example of the best of Shalvis - a scenic setting, delightful characters who love to rib one another but it is all done in love.

Harper is starting over in the last place she was happy, before her mother passed - a small town off Lake Tahoe. Knowing no one, she rents a small shop to open her own bakery. As her baked goods sweeten the store, she sweetens her way into the hearts around her, including a runaway teen, Ivy, that she takes in and the grumpy ex military hunk who owns the bar next door.

Highly recommend The Sweetheart List if you’re looking for a light and fluffy romance with heart, humor and learning to trust.

I received an ARC from Netgalley and Avon. My opinions are my own.

The Sweetheart List is on shelves June 13, 2023!

This was my first time reading Jill Shalvis and I have to say that I loved this book. The relationship between Harper and Bodie, Ivy and Harper and Ivy and Ham (the lovable pup) were beautifully developed. The way Ms. Shalvis described the dog and how everyone loved him was so heartwarming that she won me as an instant fan. You can tell this is an author who truly loves dogs.

This story has so much humor, romance, sweetness and just the right amount of heat. The emotionally charged past of each of the characters really flushes them out and gives you the chance to know them and get involved in their stories. You are rooting for them all in different ways.

I don't want to spoil the story for others but the surprise reveal was just such a great turn for this story. It just made you love the characters that much more.

I highly recommend this book and will be adding more of this author's books to my to be read list after this. Really well crafted story. I love the author's writing style.

I have been stuck in a series of "meh, it was good enough but not wow" books, and apparently The Sweetheart List was all I needed to break out of that situation. I picked this up and finished it within 24 hours - I love Harper and Ivy as kind of kindred lost souls. The whole thing is sweet, familial perfection that pulled me in, distracted me from life, and made me smile. Just what I needed right now - Shalvis always delivers!

I really like Jill Shalvis’ books. I know I’m gonna get more than just a love story but a a new family to love and enjoy and this book is no different. Harper and Bodie are both trying new beginnings. Their lives are complicated, they don’t need more drama, but they just can’t help it and they find more than they even thought possible.

This book is an easy read that had me grinning, shocked and feeling love for the characters.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for the review.

My first book by the very prolific Jill Shalvis is a solid but unmemorable story about two lost people who find each other. Harper has left an unsatisfying relationship and a stressful job to open a small bakery in Lake Tahoe, where she had spent some happy childhood summers. Bodie has returned to his family after his job with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms led to serious injuries and the death of his best friend. Bodie manages a small bar next door to Harper's bakery, and the two have an instant attraction, though neither is looking for a serious involvement.

Although I felt that the two protagonists lack the interesting details that usually draw me into a story, I was fond of Bodie's brothers and mother, of a young woman who works in a bookshop with her grandmother, and of Harper's giant puppy. The most intriguing part of the story for me involves a teenaged runaway who is taken in by Harper and who is looking for her biological father, but I felt that her search was too easily resolved. The plot is heartfelt and will undoubtedly satisfy longtime Jill Shalvis fans, but it was a bit too familiar for me.

My thanks to NetGalley and Avon for the opportunity to read and provide an honest review of this book.

THE SWEETHEART LIST (SUNRISE COVE #4)
BY: JILL SHALVIS

I didn't realize that this sweet, and charming romance-family feel good book by the very talented writer Jill Shalvis novel was part #4 in a series, until I started typing my review. Sometimes reading experiences that are intense need a much lighter book directly afterwards. This one was exactly what I needed in between reading a historical novel featuring survival. I was grateful to have this one to read by a new to me author, because it was lighter and restored my equilibrium getting me back on track. This can absolutely be read as a standalone without having to worry about missing anything about the characters backstories.

Most people would classify this as a beach read, and it probably is if I'm completely honest. It was a novel that I read quickly with short chapters that takes place in a quaint community called Sunrise Cove. With cobblestone streets with shops in Lake Tahoe. Harper has just made a daring move from San Diego to Sunrise Cove to start her life over after a bad break up. She has leased a building that she has dreamed of with an updated kitchen to open her own bakery featuring family recipes that are like heirlooms to her.

I liked this novel a lot because it was an entertaining reading experience where it also had snappy dialogue, had all likable characters, and enough to the plot that kept me turning the pages. I will definitely be watching what this bestselling author writes in the future. I'm also happy to see that she has written many books already, since I plan on seeking out from her back list when I feel in the mood. I've recently been dealing with a medical issue that came on out of the blue, and feel exhausted from trying to get a diagnosis. So this was perfect.

It mostly revolves around a big family being supportive with one another with a romance. Also the main character Harper takes in a young girl who appears to have run away traveling from Chicago. The characters have minor flaws, and they are figuring things out. I'm surprised that I have never come across this author before, considering how much I loved this one novel. It is upbeat, and I really enjoyed it.

Publication Date: June 13, 2023

Thank you to Net Galley, Jill Shalvis, and Avon and Harper Voyager for providing me with my ARC, in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are entirely my own.

#TheSweetheartList #JillShalvis #AvonandHarperVoyager #NetGalley

The Sweetheart List (Sunrise Cove #4) by Jill Shalvis is as always another winner!! I loved this book as it goes through Harper and Bodie’s meeting, circling, friendship, and eventually more with several twists and turns for each of them. Ms Shalvis never leaves you wanting, she writes the perfect story to keep you highly interested and completely entertained.

I expected a bit more from this book, which is, at the core, a family drama. There's a bit of romance, and, thankfully, it wasn't overpowering. There did seem to be some plot holes, and I wondered on occasion if I'd missed something. I never really felt connected to any of the characters, so I had a hard time staying engaged.

Harper’s life needs a reboot. She’s not happy with the way things are so she packs up everything including her giant fluff ball dog and moves back to the last place that she remembers feeling joy-the place she used to go as a kid with her mom, Lake Tahoe. She plans to open a bakery which happens to be located next to a tavern owned by her landlord Boddie Campbell, who is rough around the edges but a gentle giant underneath. On the other side is a bookstore owned by Shay, who soon becomes her new bestie and Harper feels like maybe she will finally find the happiness she’s been seeking.
On the night of her arrival k she meets Ivy, a teenage runaway, and Harper takes her in not knowing what brought her to Tahoe in the first place. Secrets intermingle between Harper, Ivy and Bodie and it changes all their lives in ways none of them expected.
This was at heart a family drama but makes a great beach read. There’s romance, some light moments and lots of various relationships to keep you engaged. While I would have expected the romance to play more of a front line story than it did, it is still a major part of the story and will keep you turning the pages.
Thanks to Avon Books and NetGalley for this eArc in exchange for my review.

Oh, my goodness, what a great story! I love the story line. So believable and so heart-breaking at times. Then, Bodie and his brothers would have me laughing. What a great relationship the brothers have with each other. How fun to watch Ivy’s growth. She is full of spunk and courage and it was wonderful to watch her learn what love really is. I love Harper. It was interesting to watch her grow and become the woman she wanted to be. She’s got this! Shay and Abuela cracked me up. I think I hit on all the emotions reading this book. I would love to go back for another visit to Sunset Cove. I received this book from NetGalley, but my opinion is my own.

I really want to first thank Jill and Avon Books & Net Galley for the chance to be able to review this book this is the fourth book in the sunrise cove series it was an absolutely awesome read, I can’t wait to read more books by Jill, she is one of my favorite authors. This story was the absolute sweetest I’d love to visit sunrise cove if it was a real place!

Quick read. I really enjoy Jill Shalvis books. It’s like a movie playing in my head. Always a good rom com. Highly recommend anything she has written.

What an absolutely sweet book with wonderful characters! This was my first Jill Shalvis book and will not be my last. The settings were amazing! I felt like I was in the book right along the characters. I received an advanced readers copy and all opinions are my own.

This was such a great book, perfect for an easy and light summer read. I didn't realize until after the fact that this was book 4 of a series and apparently I read book 1 over a year ago and forgot it. So needless to say, you can easily read this book as a standalone.

I loved the characters, loved the interactions, loved that the author threw in some humor and even included a goofy dog. I even liked Ivy, the runaway teenager looking for her 'sperm donor' - her words, not mine.

Harper was determined to do everything on her own without help from anyone. She didn't need no stinkin' man lol. But then she learned that Bodie, the sexy but standoffish guy she met first in town, was her landlord. They both break down each other's walls and I loved seeing them open up to something more.

I really don't have many complaints about the book. I couldn't put it down and was excited to get back to the book at the end of the workday. The only thing I wish the book had done was explain what happened with Ivy between the last chapter and the epilogue. How did things go with her mom? Where did she live? So much was unanswered after the author brought up the 'what ifs' and that was a bit disappointing. But not enough to change this from a 5 star review for me :)

THE SWEETHEART LIST begins with our meet-cute, our heroine has fled her requisite overburdened life and driven to Sunrise Cove where she runs her car into a bush during a freak summer snow storm and refuses help from a handsome stranger. Because she’s a big city girl from San Diego and knows to never accept help even when her car is stuck in the middle of a storm. Luckily, she will meet this handsome stranger an hour or so later, as he is both the bartender of the bar she enters and the brother of her landlord. Doesn’t it always work out that way in small town pre-destined romances? I wish this book had more surprises and fewer tropes but it is an easy and enjoyable addition to the series. I received my copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

The Sweetheart List is an enjoyable, relatively predictable romance with some interesting twists thrown in. Harper is looking for a new beginning in the last place she felt truly happy and ends up in a small town near Lake Tahoe. She meets Bodie, the hunky next door bartender and Ivy, the runaway teenager. Their lives intertwine in interesting ways and it makes for an entertaining read. Jill Shalvis is a great author choice for those of us who love to be captured by a fun page turner. Thank you Net Galley for allowing me to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this! It was a mostly clean romance that had great campy, small town, found family vibes. The storyline about Ivy finding her family was so well written and I so enjoyed watching all of the characters evolve and change throughout the story. This made me want to pack up and visit Tahoe and have a cupcake, a drink at the bar, AND browse the local bookshop. Such a fun story! I didn't realize it was part of a series, so I'm adding the others to my TBR as well!

Thank to Netgalley, Jill Shalvis, and the publisher for an advanced copy.

I love a good shalvis novel this time of year. they bring the summer vibes and great stories. I really liked the main character and the setting.