At Last by Jill Shalvis

Right from the first moment that we saw Amy and Matt together in the pages of the last Lucky Harbor book it was clear that there was a story there! This book is where we get to explore that story to greater depth. To be fair, there hadn't been much action. Matt had tried to let Amy know that he was interested and Amy tried to stay well away.
Amy had come to Lucky Harbor to try to work out the clues in her grandmother's journals about finding peace, and she is hoping to find a peace of her own. She is a talented artist who spends her days working at the diner in Lucky Harbor and drawing the local area.

One day Amy gets lost whilst out hiking in the mountains and who should come to her rescue but Ranger 'Hot Buns' Bower. Amy just wants to get out of there but it seems that Mother Nature has other plans and she is stuck up the mountain overnight with Matt which leads to a scorching kiss.

Whilst Matt is making his interest in Amy known, she continues to put up an icy facade of indifference, which is actually a long way away from what she really thinks about Matt.

Amy had a tough childhood, and was a difficult teen who made bad choices. It has taken her time to get herself together but now she is getting there, and she doesn't want to take the risk that her fragile stability might disappear at the hands of a man, no matter how he makes her feel and she also has a sense of guilt about some of those decisions she made.

When Amy is given the chance to help a troubled teen, she recognises echoes of her own struggle, but like Amy, Riley is damaged, scared and independent and definitely is untrusting of those around her.  Watching the dynamics between both Amy and Riley and Amy and Matt made this a very touching read.

Matt, though, has secrets of his own. He is a former cop who left a big city force and an unhappy marriage behind. He likes Amy a lot, but as far as he knows he isn't really looking for forever. He is a man who likes to take care of those around him, even if Amy makes it difficult for him to do that.

One of the things I really enjoyed in this book is the camaraderie between Matt and Josh and Ty (the heroes of the other two books) - the competitiveness, the jokes, the play fighting all helped to give the guys a more solid sense of friendship that was hinted at in the last book, but wasn't really there as tangibly as it was this time.

The spark between Matt and Amy was strong and intense and all the secondary characters that the reader has met in the previous Lucky Harbor books are back to bring light and colour to the pages once again.

I have already read the next Lucky Harbor book which is the last in this second trilogy. Whilst I know there are more Jill Shalvis books coming, I will be waiting in anticipation of the next Lucky Harbor books to come out!

Rating 4/5

HER LOVE HAS COME ALONG . . .

Amy Michaels loves her new life in Lucky Harbor. A waitress in the local diner, she's looking forward to her first weekend hike through the mountains. But when a wrong turn takes her off the trail, she finds herself up close and personal with forest ranger Matt Bowers. And even though she's tempted to kiss that sexy smile right off his face, she won't make the mistake of getting involved with the town heartthrob.

A former cop whose life went south, Matt doesn't let anyone get too close. But something about the feisty beauty caught his eye the moment he first saw her in the diner. After a hot night under a starry sky, Matt can't deny their attraction-or the fact that for the first time in a long time, he feels the stirrings of something more. Now it's up to Matt to help Amy see that, no matter what is in their past, together they can build a future in Lucky Harbor.

I will finish with a thought about this title. Every time I think about this book or see it's cover, I can't help but think of the Etta James classic song of the same name, so I just had to share it even though this is the only connection between the book and the song.