Title: Still the One Series: Animal Magnetism #6
Author: Jill Shalvis
Published: April 7, 2015
Genre(s): Romance: Contemporary
Page Count: 311
Rating:
Summary from Goodreads:Darcy Stone is game for anything—except sexy Navy vet and physical therapist AJ Colten, the guy who’d rejected her when she’d needed him most. Now the shoe is on the other foot and he needs her to play nice and help him secure grants for his patients. Unfortunately Darcy can’t refuse. She needs the money to fund her passion project: rescuing S&R dogs and placing them with emotionally wounded soldiers.
AJ admits it—Darcy is irresistible. But he’s already been battle-scarred by a strong-willed, vivacious, adventurous woman like Darcy, and he’s not making the same mistake twice—until he and Darcy are forced to fake a relationship. Growing closer than they’d ever imagined possible, Darcy and AJ have to ask themselves: how much between them is pretend? What’s the real thing? And where does it go from here?
Jill Shalvis’s Still the One is neither the best nor the worst of her ongoing Animal Magnetism series thus far, rather ending up quite nicely in the center of the pack. The romance between Darcy and AJ wasn’t my absolute favorite—especially in the first half—but I warmed up to it over time and, in the end, found this to be a satisfying romance novel altogether.
What I really liked about this book, though, was how Shalvis approached disability head-on. After a car accident, Darcy is permanently scarred and, though not expected to be able to walk again, is out of the wheelchair. In Still the One, Darcy isn’t some sad victim whose tragic past becomes her only defining characteristic, but neither does the author attempt to negate how much her life has been affected by the accident. I think Shalvis found a very nice, realistic approach to Darcy’s disability that didn’t ring false or seem in poor taste.
AJ himself, on the other hand, had some moments where I didn’t like him quite as much, but overall I found him to be a really great guy. In this romance, it’s AJ who admits to love first, who holds back on declaring his feelings for fear that he’ll be made fun of. Traditionally in genre romance, that role is left to the woman, and I was happy that Still the One plays with those traditional roles a bit and allows the male protagonist to be emotionally vulnerable more quickly in the storyline. Which is not to say that Darcy herself wasn’t vulnerable—she most certainly was, very much so. After an absolutely crappy childhood where her own parents practically neglected her and left her behind, she’s terrified of rejection, and so attempts to stay emotionally distant whenever possible, even from her siblings. In most ways, Darcy is really the weaker, more disadvantaged party in the relationship, and that did make me uncomfortable (especially because Shalvis very unsubtly describes AJ as an “alpha”, which makes me testy). I think, however, that Still the One still manages to give Darcy enough independence and strength so that she’s not completely swallowed by AJ’s dominant personality. Which is nice. Though I really have no great liking of pushing, aggressive men and would love a book without one.
The plot of the book revolves around one of my least favorite tropes: The Faked Relationship. It just really does nothing for me as a general rule, though I don’t outright dislike it or discount a book that uses that trope. And I think that Still the One did a good job with it, also. I felt that Darcy and AJ’s relationship was growing and had depth, even though in some ways it was forced on them due to their lies.
To sum up, Still the One was a nice, if not spectacular, small-town romance. I liked the unfolding dynamic between the two protagonists, and believed in their relationship. Plus: there were dogs. Always a strong point in any book’s favor.
