Lost and Found Sisters + Good Luck Sister - Review

Lost and Found Sisters (Wildstone #1) by Jill Shalvis
Rating:  Loved it!
Source:  Library

Description:  After losing her sister in a devastating car accident, chef Quinn Weller is finally getting her life back on track. She appears to have it all: a loving family, a dream job in one of L.A.'s hottest eateries, and a gorgeous boyfriend dying to slip an engagement ring on her finger. So why does she feel so empty, like she's looking for a missing piece she can't find?

The answer comes when a lawyer tracks down Quinn and reveals a bombshell secret and a mysterious inheritance that only she can claim. This shocking revelation washes over Quinn like a tidal wave. Her whole life has been a lie.

On impulse, Quinn gives up her job, home, and boyfriend. She heads up the coast to the small hometown of Wildstone, California, which is just a few hours north, but feels worlds apart from Los Angeles. Though she doesn't quite fit in right away, she can't help but be drawn to the town’s simple pleasures…and the handsome, dark-haired stranger who offers friendship with no questions asked.

As Quinn settles into Wildstone, she discovers there's another surprise in store for her. The inheritance isn't a house or money, but rather something earthshattering, something that will make her question everything she thought she knew about herself, about her family. Now with a world of possibilities opening up to Quinn, she must decide if this new life is the one she was always meant to have—and the one that could finally give her the fulfillment she's searched so long for.

My Thoughts:  I'd been not exactly in a slump but struggling to really get into books but this one sucked me in and was a joy to read from beginning to end.

I love books when people find the place where they belong and begin living the life they really want and this book completely delivered.  I loved Quinn.  She's so nice but not annoyingly so and she's stubborn and loyal and the kind of person anyone would want as a friend.  The people of Wildstone really add to the book.  I loved the atmosphere of the café as well as the slow build of her relationship with Mitch and her growing understanding of just who her birth mother was and what it meant to her.  I loved her parents as well.  They're still reeling from the death of their younger daughter but they never fail to show Quinn how important she is to them and how much they care about her even if they come off as a bit overbearing at times.  

I really enjoyed this book and it was like a breath of fresh air on my lack luster reading mood.  I'm so excited that this is a series so that this book won't be my last visit to Wildstone.

The Good Luck Sister (Wildstone #1.5) by Jill Shalvis
Rating: Very Good
Source: Edelweiss

Description:  After a difficult few years, Tilly Adams is ready for life to start going right. Though she has a case of first day nerves teaching art at the local community college, she knows it isn't anything a few snuggles from her rescue puppy won't cure. Until she sees Dylan Scott again, her one-time BFF and first love sitting in the front row.

Dylan knows he should've left well enough alone, but when he sees Tilly living her dream, he can't help but make contact. Ten years ago, he left Wildstone and everything in it behind, including Tilly. He had his reasons, but now he wants her back in his life, anyway he can get her.

When Tilly agrees to design the logo for Dylan's new helicopter touring company, it's business only...until she finds herself falling into his arms once again. Can she possibly open her heart back up to the only man who's ever broken it? But soon they're both realizing the truth - love always deserves a second chance.

My Thoughts:  This book occurs ten years after the previous book.  Tilly and Dylan are all grown up and reunited after years apart.  However, neither the parting nor the reunion are going all that smoothly.  Tilly's annoyance and conflicting emotions felt very real and were appropriate to the situation.  I also completely understood Dylan's reasons for making the original break.  They had been through so much together as teenagers that the separation was needed.

I loved getting the peek into the future of Quinn and Mitch though I would have liked to see a little more of the town of Wildstone.  However, since this was a novella it did make sense for most of the focus to be on Tilly and Dylan.  I loved their relationship and how it developed.  Part of the story is told in flashbacks and while I did appreciate the need to really illustrate their past bond I would have liked for a little more page time on their present day relationship.  However, this was a super quick read that I gobbled down in a day.  I loved this visit to Wildstone and was excited to meet the adult version of Tilly.