Book Review: Almost Just Friends by Jill Shalvis

Return to Wildstone as three siblings find that life as they know it is a work in progress and will deliver more than they anticipate if they can just trust themselves to grab it with both hands.

My Rating for Almost Just Friends: 4 Stars and a Series Recommendations

Find Almost Just Friends at Amazon

Piper Manning is ready to move onto her next chapter of her life. Her two younger siblings are grown and on their own. She is as tough as she can be but with freedom looming on the horizon, she is determined to finish fixing up the lake house she inherited from her grandparents and move onto the next chapter of her life. What she didn’t anticipate is both siblings coming back to Wildstone and complications arise when tall, dark and handsome smacks into Piper when a big storm approaches Wildstone. Now Piper must deal with siblings, secrets and more as she tries to deal with emotions, she doesn’t want to feel but can’t help. But as the secrets everyone is keeping from Piper come out, Piper finds herself adrift and angry at the ones she loves as she tries to navigate the way her life has become. Can she find a way to make peace with her siblings, find it in her heart to let herself love Camden Hayes and see her dreams come true?

ALMOST JUST FRIENDS is the next installment in the wonderful heartfelt Wildstone series by Jill Shalvis. The books in the series can be read as a stand alone as each book involves different characters set in Wildstone. I highly enjoyed ALMOST JUST FRIENDS and fell in love with Piper, Winnie and Gavin a lot. Siblings who are fractured and two who have secrets that will rock Piper’s world more than she ever imagined. The characters are what gives the stories in the Wildstone series such depth. They are intriguing, wonderfully well written and totally relatable in all ways. I especially enjoyed Winnie as she insisted, she can be a handywoman at the lake house and watches youtube videos to figure out things. Gavin was fun as well as he learned to make amends for past hurts when he spies a first love that he hurt deeply. All three siblings are as different as pie but together are equally compelling. I loved every one of them immensely. Add in some quirky and wonderful secondary characters and man, you got a wild ride from start to finish.

ALMOST JUST FRIENDS is a fun and enjoyable story set in the Wildstone series, and I love how smoothly this book went as I was reading it. It was full of entertaining characters, relatable items from everyday life such as addiction, pregnancy and more that happen each day to everyone in some shape and form. Ms. Shalvis does a remarkable job in keeping the story flowing smoothly and I couldn’t keep this book down. It’s a perfect winter read that will keep the reader entertained till the very end. I highly recommend this book as well as the series in general if you are looking for a series set in a small town filled with quirky and entertaining people and a setting that will take your breath away. I can’t wait to see where the author goes next for the Wildstone series in general and hope we won’t have to wait long for the next installment.

This is an objective review and not an endorsement