Title: Animal Attraction Series: Animal Magnetism #2
Author: Jill Shalvis
Published: August 6, 2013
Genre(s): Romance: Contemporary
Page Count: 293
Rating:
Summary from Goodreads:Sunshine, Idaho, is a quiet ranching town, a perfect place to give injured animals a refuge…or to find one yourself. Veterinarian Dell Connelly suspects there’s a reason his clinic’s uber-efficient receptionist has taken shelter here.
Jade Bennett couldn’t be happier to escape the big-city jungle to work with hurt animals, and have a forlorn stray kitten make its home under her desk…or enjoy the gorgeous views of her ruggedly sexy boss.
Jade is used to planning everything in her life, but Dell’s seductive, alluring ways have sparked an uncontrollable desire. And though Dell has never had time for love, Jade’s strength and sass is the kind of call no red-blooded male can resist…
I liked this book for sure, but I have some mixed feelings all the same. Animal Attraction is my second novel by Shalvis, and at this point, I’m definitely going to consider myself a fan. At the same time, there were some aspects about this romance that I found to be infinitely frustrating, though not in a way that was entirely detrimental to my enjoyment overall.
The romantic couple here is Jade and Dell, who I really enjoyed together (except when I didn’t). Dell was a kind, caring guy with a soft spot for animals, and Jade is organized and self-reliant, if not self-confident, for reasons that soon become obvious. I definitely thought that the chemistry and tension between them was believable and realistic (except when it wasn’t).
Firstly, you have Dell. Former foster kid with extreme abandonment issues. He’s the love-em-and-leave-em type, since he’s terrified of falling in love and getting dumped. Nice guy, but doesn’t have a good track record with women. However, he’s very loyal and protective to the people who he’s allowed close enough to him. His two older brothers, future sister-in-law, and now Jade. When I step back and look at Animal Attraction, I’m actually not a huge fan of Dell, but in the moment, I really thought he was sweet and caring with her, which won me over to his relationship with Jade.
Secondly, there is Jade. She grew up as a privileged white kid in Chicago, and she’s working in Dell’s small-town animal hospital for reasons unknown. She’s definitely running away from a past trauma, and she has some fear and feelings of guilt to go alongside. Obviously, with Dell’s help, she manages to overcome those feelings and become a more self-actualized woman. I enjoyed the journey Shalvis took us on with Jade’s character, because even though she didn’t start out in a good place, I could admire the strength she did find, eventually.
But as I’ve hinted, Animal Attraction wasn’t a 100% success, and my issues were with the way the HEA came about. We get to a point in the story where Dell and Jade are in a relationship. She’s being pressured by her family to go back to Chicago, so she tells Dell she’s leaving town. Dell doesn’t want her to leave; Jade doesn’t want to leave. This would be a great time for them to use their grown up words and communicate. But no. Jade leaves, immediately realizes it was a mistake. Cue dramatic finale.
The way I see it, the only purpose Dell and Jade’s complete communication failure serves is allowing Shalvis to give Animal Attraction a sweeping, grand-gesture finish. And for that, I want to strangle her. I would have been just as happy (maybe even more happy) with Dell and Jade’s HEA had they just been honest and not acted like middle-schoolers with their heads shoved up their butts. The entire situation was just so very frustrating, and kind of put a damper on things, since they came at the very end.
Even with a failtastic end, I really enjoyed Animal Attraction. It was a cute romance that featured many fuzzy canine companions, as well as flawed characters who (sort of) worked through their issues together. Shalvis definitely writes readable, engrossing romances, and that’s a huge point in her favor.
