Review: Nobody But You

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After an overseas mission goes wrong, Army Special Forces officer Jacob Kincaid knows where he must go to make things right: back home to the tiny town of Cedar Ridge, Colorado. All he needs to scrub away his dark past is fresh mountain air, a lakeside cabin, and quiet solitude. But what he discovers is a gorgeous woman living on a boat at his dock.

Sophie Marren has nowhere else to go. She's broke, intermittently seasick, and fighting a serious attraction to the dark, dishy, I'm-too-sexy-for-myself guy who's now claiming her dock. Something about Jacob's dark intensity makes her want to tease - and tempt - him beyond measure. Neither one wants to give any ground...until they realize the only true home they have is with each other.

Genre: contemporary romance

Publishing date: March 2016

Mature content: yes

Review: Nobody But You is book three in Jill Shalvis' Cedar Ridge Series. And, as far as the romance goes, it is my favorite of the three (read my reviews of Second Chance Summer and My Kind of Wonderful here and here). I waited almost a year doe Jacob's story, and it was totally worth it. 

There was something I sorely missed in this book, though: follow up on the couples from the previous books. Bailey (from book 2 is mentioned here and there) but of Lily (from book one)? No mention. Even though all the Kincaid siblings are there, reference to their wives/girlfriends is absent, or nearly absent. So it kind of killed the strong family spirit I felt in the other two books. 

Also, the fact that Jacob called and visited his mother while in the military seemed strange. His brothers had been searching for him for the past ten years, following leads that never amounted to anything. And all the time he was coming in and out of Cedar Ridge under their noses? And calling his mother on her cell phone? In a small town? I would not expect Jacob to be able to keep his visits and calls a secret for ten years. Again, this does not seem odd if you haven't read the other books, but if you have, it's hard for the puzzle pieces to fit.

Still, this means that Nobody But You can perfectly be read as a stand alone novel, which I like in most series. And as I said before, the romance between Jacob and Sophie couldn't be more perfect. 

In  some places, the book (and especially Sophie) had me laughing out loud, so it's a totally worthy read. But as far as bringing closure to the series, if fell a bit short of my expectations, and for that I can't bing myself to rate it with 5 stars, though I still recommend it!

Happy readings!