Review: He’s so Fine (Lucky Harbor #11) by Jill Shalvis

I received a copy of this title from NetGalley. It does not impact my review.

He’s So Fine will be available on September 30, 2014

Synopsis from Good Reads:

For Olivia Bentley, Lucky Harbor is more than the town where she runs her new vintage shop. It’s the place where folks are friendly to strangers-and nobody knows her real name. Olivia does a good job of keeping her past buried, not getting too cozy with anyone . . . until she sees a man drowning. Suddenly she’s rushing into the surf, getting up close and personal with the hottest guy she’s ever laid hands on.

Charter boat captain Cole Donovan has no problem with a gorgeous woman throwing her arms around his neck in an effort to “save” him. In fact, he’d like to spend a lot more time skin-to-skin with Olivia. He’s just not expecting that real trouble is about to come her way. Will it bring her deeper into Cole’s heart, or will it be the end of Olivia’s days in little Lucky Harbor?

I requested this book from NetGalley not realizing it was part of a series. However, it’s more of an anthology series about different characters in the town of Lucky Harbor than a series that focuses on the same set of characters with one overall arc. Usually these types of series annoy me, but coming in at book 11, I appreciated it.

He’s so Fine is a pretty typical romance read. The main couple, Cole and Olivia, meet in a cutely absurd way. They’ve both been burned before and are hesitant to start a relationship, but not that hesitant. There are some “steamy” scenes that contain a little more details than I want to read. There is a big misunderstanding, followed by lots of self reflection and the hopes of a Happily Ever After.

In addition to the main romance, we get to see the close relationships Cole has with two best friends and his family. Though I have the feeling there was more of them in the past books (and some of them will be in future books), I would’ve liked to see them more developed here. However, I still really liked Cole’s sisters. I didn’t care for Cole’s friends, Tanner and Sam, as much and I felt like they got off too easy when they had their own Big Misunderstanding with Cole.

If you’re a fan of the romance genre, you’ll probably enjoy this read. You read a romance book because you want a fun, light, romantic story that will leave you happy. You know exactly what you’re going in for and you get it. In that regard, He’s so Fine will not disappoint. However, I wanted to read a Shalvis book because my favorite romance writer, Kristan Higgins, speaks so highly of her on social media. I was expecting a similar style and was a little disappointed that this lacked some heart for me, compared to Higgins books. Despite that, I’ll still probably give Shalvis another a try.

Rating (out of 5):
Plot: 2.5
Characters: 3.5
Readability: 3.5
Enjoyability: 3
Overall Rating: 3.125 Stars