Slick's review posted on Guilty Pleasures Book Reviews 
 Review copy provided for an honest review 
 3.5 STARS 
 Sometimes it's really hard to write reviews and this is one of those times. I'm a huge Jill Shalvis fan and have supported and loved the Lucky Harbor series from the beginning and while I liked Always On My Mind, I didn't love it and that kind of breaks my heart. After reading it the first time I was kind of ambivalent and that threw me. So, I put it aside and a week later I came back and re-read it but I still just didn't feel the love, so now I sit here and try to put into coherent words what worked and what didn't in this book. 
 Leah Sullivan and Jack Harper practically grew up together; they've loved each other as friends for years. But after high school Leah left Lucky Harbor and Jack behind without even saying good-bye. Leah has lusted after Jack but knows he's never felt that way about her so she's never pursued it and honestly while he's noticing her now before it was more curiosity than anything. So when Leah tries to make Jack's mom happy and keep her from worrying by announcing that they are seeing one another things get out of control quickly. Jack isn't happy because he's till harboring a grudge from years ago and he's currently "dating" two women who find out quickly about his new "relationship." Leah feels bad and realizes she doesn't want to throw away their friendship for a quick tumble so she resists her urges and strings Jack along but she eventually gives in and he does too. This is where the main part of this story fell apart for me; I simply didn't feel the heat between these two. Did I feel the love? Absolutely, but it was the love of friendship not of romance. There is no denying these two have a strong bond but never once in this whole book even during their intimate scenes did I feel the chemistry or the passion. To be honest, that has never happened to me in a book by Jill Shalvis and it caught me off guard. 
 Meanwhile the whole town is talking about Leah's stint on a reality cooking show, Sweet Wars, in which she's the odds on favorite and everyone expects her to walk away with the grand prize. Leah is of course mum because of the confidentiality agreement and while it's obvious she's not sharing, she's not acting like a winner either. When news of her and Jack's "relationship" comes out, it's promptly on the town's Facebook page, as well as "the Twitter," and Pinterest courtesy of Lucille and the rest of the senior group. It has Jack pit against the host of the show as well as two of Lucky Harbor's other bachelors on who will win Leah. This is another issue with the book, from the beginning of this series I loved Lucille and the seniors but in the last book and in this one, the interactions felt forced, stilted, and at times just downright idiotic. I no longer feel it is fun or comical, it's become intrusive, mean, and stalkerish. To top it off there is a serial arsonist on the loose and while I understand the reasoning for this plot, it let our hero Jack figure out what he wanted to do with his life, it just seemed like it was overlaid on top of the existing story. 
 What I did love about this book is the friendships which kept it from being a total loss. I loved watching Leah interact with Ali and Aubrey and listening to their girl talk, just as I enjoyed Jack's interaction with his cousin, Ben and their friend Luke. I will also admit that I felt undeniable heat between Ben and Aubrey in the couple of scenes they were together and if that's an indication of what's in store for us next in this series, then I'm sold even though this one didn't quite make the mark. 
 Always On My Mind was one of those books that honestly just had too much going on and because of that, the romance suffered. While I still liked this book, I don't feel it is up to Jill Shalvis' standards. I missed the humor that is always prevalent in her stories, I missed the heat between the characters, and I missed the fun. Will this keep me from reading future books in this series or by this author? Absolutely not, Jill has proved time and time again she offers quality products. This one missed the mark for me and I realize that happens from time to time. While disappointed in this offering, I'm still a huge fan of this author and no doubt I'll be standing in line to read the next one when it releases.