Finally, a review: Forever and a Day by Jill Shalvis

I was both thrilled and wary when I found out that I was going to get a copy of Forever and a Day for review.  I was thrilled because I love this author, and I was wary because the third book of a trilogy (and I consider this the third book of a trilogy within a larger series) is always a bit of a foregone conclusion.  The characters are set and everyone knows who is going to end up together.  The trick for the author is making the journey worth the reader’s while. 

The relationship in this book developed at a perfect pace.  Grace and Josh actually got to know each other on a personal level as well as a physical level.  They each had personal issues to work through, as do all of Shalvis’ characters, but they dealt with them rather than just wringing their hands and saying, “Woe is me.”  These were adults dealing with adult issues, and they handled them as such.  It was quite refreshing.  Apparently I have been reading too many YA books lately.  ;-)

The best part of reading a series or trilogy is getting to revisit the characters you got to know in previous books.  There was a great balance of that in this book. The reader got to catch up with Ty, Mallory, Matt and Amy without it overshadowing the story that was currently happening.  I loved the interaction of the male characters.  So many times, the males are just there as a foil to the female characters.  Relationships aren’t that way, and books shouldn’t be that way either.  It was refreshing to see that the males were treated as fully functioning humans with their own thoughts, feelings and relationships throughout this series. 

All in all, this is another winner for Jill Shalvis.  It is a great summer read full of witty dialogue, touching moments, and great romance.  I highly recommend it.