Always on My Mind

July 1, 2013
In the charming and engaging eighth Lucky Harbor contemporary (after It Had to Be You), Leah Sullivan, full of secrets and longing for love, returns to the Pacific Northwest town to help her aging grandmother run her pastry shop. Leah is easing back into normal life after a stressful run on a popular baking reality show. Her best friend, Jack Harper, a well-liked local firefighter dealing with suspicious fires around town, has mixed emotions about seeing Leah again. When Dee, Jack’s ill mother, voices her concern over Jack’s future, Leah recklessly claims that she and Jack are an item. As the fib makes its way around town, Leah and Jack begin to act the part and wonder how life might be if it were real. Shalvis’s fans will devour the two friends’ introspective and passionate journey to love. Agent: Robin Rue, Writers House.

Leah returns to Lucky Harbor and finds herself entangled with her old school friend, Jack Harper, who is now a firefighter. Narrator Annie Greene brings out Leah's alternating spunk and self-doubt as she and Jack renew their friendship and explore new possibilities. Greene portrays the female characters and their dialogue with ease and credibility. However, at times, her awkward timing and excessive modulation disrupt the flow of the narrative, making it difficult to engage with the kindling romance, even during the steamy sex scenes. However, her pace does capture the tension in Jack's search for an arsonist and in the story's ending, a teaser for a sequel. M.F. (c) AudioFile 2013, Portland, Maine