The Family You Make by Jill Shalvis

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Title: The Family You Make
Author: Jill Shalvis
Series: Sunrise Cove #1
Published by: HarperAudio
Release Date: January 11, 2022
Format: Audiobook, ebook
Narrator: Erin Mallon
Pages: 383
Length: 9 hours and 33 minutes
Genres: Contemporary, Romance
Potential Triggers: [View post to see spoiler]
Source: Libby, Overdrive
Reading Challenges: Lenoreo's 2023 Audiobook Challenge, Lenoreo's 2023 HoHoHo Readathon
Find it: Goodreads ? Amazon ? B&N ? Google ? Kobo ? iTunes ? Libro.FM ? Chirp
My rating:

Blurb:

Beloved New York Times bestselling author Jill Shalvis begins a new series—Sunrise Cove—set near beautiful Lake Tahoe, with a heartwarming story of found family and love.

During the snowstorm of the century Levi Cutler is stranded on a ski lift with a beautiful stranger named Jane. After strong winds hurl the gondola in front of them into the ground, Levi calls his parents to prepare them for the worst…but can’t bring himself to say goodbye. Instead, wanting to fulfill his mother’s lifelong wish, he impulsively tells her he’s happily settled and Jane is his girlfriend—right before his phone dies.

But Levi and Jane do not.

Now Levi’s family is desperate to meet “The One.” Though Jane agrees to be his pretend girlfriend for just one dinner, she’s nervous. After a traumatic childhood, Jane isn’t sure she knows how to be around a tight-knit family that cherishes one another. She’s terrified, and a little jealous. But an unexpected series of events and a host of new friends soon show Jane that perhaps this is the life she was always meant to have.

As Jane and Levi spend more time together, pretend feelings quickly turn into real ones. Now all Jane has to do is admit to herself she can’t live without the man she’s fallen in love with and the family she has always dreamed of.

My Review:

4.5 stars — I don’t know if it was the contrast with the previous book I read, but I was immediately captured by Jane and Levi’s story.  Part of that is the situation at the start, talk about intense!!  And part of that was just the easy depth and dimension of our characters from the start, and the natural chemistry.

I switched between reading and listening to this one, and I thoroughly enjoyed Ms. Mallon’s narration as I usually do.  Great voices, great emotion, great pacing.  She’s a fave.

Jane was a solid heroine.  She could be frustrating at times with how hard she clung to her walls, but I mostly understood what had caused her to build them.  And I guess it just made it that much more satisfying to watch various people (and animals) squish themselves over the wall.  She was stubborn, but also determined.  And she really did have a soft heart underneath it all.

Levi was a pretty great counterpart to Jane, especially considering he had his own barriers he kept against people getting too close…though in his case, he was trying not to hurt others.  I think them both having things in their past that affected them so deeply made it easier for them to eventually understand one another.  I loved the way he was both exasperated by his family, but still loved them.  And I loved seeing him wake up from the scare and start contemplating changes.

They were really pretty fun together.  I mean, yes, it was not all laughs, but I kind of loved their dynamic — Levi was such a flirt, and I loved how it disarmed Jane.  Definitely felt the connection almost right from the start.

I wasn’t expecting the secondary romance, and the third POV, it definitely had more book time than I was expecting.  At first I thought it was setting up another book and I was annoyed, but when I realized it was just a bonus, I actually really felt like it added…especially given the unique closeness between Jane and Charlotte.

Lots of great secondary characters, from Levi’s meddling family, Charlotte, Mateo, and Grandpa.

The blurb really gives the impression that the fake part with the family would play out differently than it actually did.  I didn’t mind, I just had other expectations for the plot.

All in all, it really fit my mood, even if I thought this was a Christmas book and it was actually a winter book instead (February).