Review: Instant Attraction

Title: Instant Attraction
Author: Jill Shalvis
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Wilder Brothers/Book 1
Published: February 2009

From back cover ~

Accountant Katie Kramer is a quintessential good girl - working hard, recycling diligently, all the while trying to ignore the feeling that she doesn't fit in anywhere. That's all she wants. Well, that - and amazing sex, and the kind of daredevil escapade she can look back on when she's crunching numbers in a dusty cubicle. Which explains why she just took a job in Wishful, California, working for Wilder Adventures and Expeditions. Waking up to find a magnificently built stranger towering over her bed - that part defies explanation...

After wandering the planet for months following a life-changing accident, Cameron Wilder has come back to the only home he knows. Under other circumstances, he might be thrilled to find a gorgeous woman sleeping in his cabin, but now, while he'll risk his body taking clients on adrenaline-drenched excursions, his heart is off limits. Still, Katie's killer smile triggers something deep in his gut...among other places. Showing her how exhilarating it can be to stop balancing her life as if it was a check book is the biggest rush he's ever felt - and an adventure Katie's wishing would never end...

Finally, a review. RL has intruded to the point where it's been hard to concentrate on writing reviews. I've been spending my online time blog hopping with the attention span of a two year old instead of writing. But I'm hopefully back on track with my first Jill Shalvis book. At least I think it is my first. She has a huge back list so I suppose it's possible that I read one of her earlier books but I don't think so. I would have remembered this author. I'm starting to wonder about this rumor about the contemporary being a dying breed. Looking back on my recent reads I've read quite a few very well written contemporaries. Sure the PNR genre is flooded with new series every month but the contemporary is still alive and kicking. Instant Attraction is a perfect example of what a really good romance is.


Katie Kramer got a wake up call one day. It was in the form of a car accident that nearly killed her. After she recovers she feels the need for change but what she not sure of. So she packs up and heads out to the unknown and ends up in the town of Wishful. Katie takes a temporary job as the office manager for the Wilders at their mountain lodge. She's gotten out of the city and into what she feels is a refuge, at least for now. Katie is at the point in her life where she's not sure what she wants or where she wants to end up, both physically and emotionally. The one thing she does know is that she wants to take risks, to do things she never would have done before. Kind of like the bucket list but instead of dying she almost died and now gets a second chance at life. She doesn't want to waste that chance.

What can I say about Katie? I liked her. I understood her motives for wanting to get away from her old life and the pain she went through. She was a well developed character that Shalvis really let the reader get into by seeing Katie's actions and reactions to the situations she finds herself in. She scared of taking chances and trying new things but she's more scared of not trying and losing out on what could be an amazing experience. These emotions come through so well in Shalvis' writing.

Cameron Wilder is so damn tired. When we first meet him he can barely stay awake. He's been moving here, there. Never staying in one place too long. Not knowing where he'll go next only that he can't go back to what and who he was. That old life is lost to him and he can never get it back. And that really sucks for Cam. He doesn't know what else to do. His abilities on the slopes defined him. Made him who he was. Without that he's lost. And where do the lost, if their smart, finally go? Home. Unfortunately for Cameron his home is occupied by a woman. And she's not just any woman but a woman who wants to live life to the fullest when all Cam wants to do is retreat from life.

Katie was exactly what Cam needed. The kick in the ass to get him to realize that his life wasn't over. That he was more than just this famous world champion snowboarder. That there can be life after a tragedy. These two worked so well together. They complimented each other. Push and pull. Katie giving Cam the push he needed to get back into the business of living. Cam giving Katie the pull she needed to go for those adventures she's so certain will complete her life.

And the Instant Attraction is certainly there. They have a hard time keeping their eyes (and hands) off each other. The scenes where the clothes start coming off are sexy, funny and so very hot. You know how readers blog about the various words authors used when describing a man's anatomy? Specifically what's between his legs. Shalvis used a word to describe those man parts that I don't remember hearing before.

No slouch, she got his pants to his thighs, freeing his essentials.

And, oh God, his essentials... He was big and hard and hot, and her being so naked while he was still relatively clothed was a shocking turn-on. page 177

I like it. It has class. Essentials. It even sounds a bit erotic if you draw it out and say it in a sultry voice. Go ahead, say it. You gotta admit it's way better than "man-root".

Katie and Cam weren't the only ones whose essentials were getting some action. The characters of Annie, Cam's aunt, and her soon to be ex-husband, Nick, had an interesting secondary story going on. Poor Nick trying to figure out what Annie really wants from him. With Stone and Cam trying to help him out (the blind leading the blind). Those conversations between the guys had some great male dialogue.

I enjoyed Instant Attraction and will add more Jill Shalvis books to my TBR pile. Can't have enough good books. And with that in mind there are two other Wilder men, Stone mentioned above and TJ the oldest brother who was absent for most of the book. So more Wilder Adventures to look forward to. In fact Stone's book is next, Instant Gratification, due out June 30. Here's an excerpt from Stone's book. And for that extensive back list you should check out Ms. Shalvis' website and blog.

Rating: A-