cover image Always on My Mind

Always on My Mind

Jill Shalvis. Grand Central/Forever, $8 mass market (368p) ISBN 978-1-4555-2110-4

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. (Sept.)