My Kind of Wonderful is the second book in the Cedar Ridge series from Jill Shalvis. Each book is a standalone, though the characters are interconnected. I have been a Jill Shalvis fan for years, and I think if you are a contemporary romance fan she is a must read author!
Being a cancer survivor, Bailey Moore has a second chance at life and she intends to live it to the fullest. When she meets Hudson Kincaid, she fully intends to enjoy him as well as Cedar Ridge. But Hudson isn't the type to love and let go, and Bailey isn't willing to stick around. But with the attraction and chemistry between them, Hudson finds himself drawn to Bailey in a way that he hasn't felt before. Can Hudson convince Bailey to take a chance on a future with him and stick around in Cedar Ridge?
As much as I enjoy a strong heroine, I had a bit of trouble relating to Bailey here. I liked her attitude towards her second chance, but I did think that she went too far at times. I just found her hard to relate to, and I didn't like some of the things she did even though I understood where she was coming from. Hud was strong, sexy, and charming and I liked him a lot. I don't think that I have come across a single hero from Shalvis yet that I didn't like, and Hud was no exception. I thought that these two had really great chemistry and they also had connection that just grew stronger as the book progressed. As much as I had some problems with Bailey herself, I did like her and Hudson together.
The other thing that kept me from rating this one higher though was that while I liked the story, it felt so similar to what I have seen from Shalvis before. After having read several of her stories at this point, things have become predictable for me. While this book was good, it just felt a bit too cookie-cutter to me. I had a tough time really getting into this book and I kept wanting to put it down. I think part of that was because of Bailey. While I am a huge Shalvis fan, this series hasn't been my favorite. I know I will continue to read more from Shalvis in the future, and I hope that the next book in the Cedar Ridge series, Nobody But You, will be more of what I love from Shalvis than this book was. Jacob is a character that I find really interesting and I can't wait to get his story.
**ARC Provided by Publisher**
Sounds really good.
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