Amazon.com: Customer reviews: Rainy Day Friends: A Novel (Wildstone)

Top positive review

Great book!!

Reviewed in the United States on June 20, 2018

To me, the mark of a truly great book is one that causes me to "live" in it, to feel all of the emotions the characters are feeling. Rainy Day Friends is a fantastic book. As I read, I was drawn into Lanie's life & feelings. I felt her hurt, anger & despair over the mess her dead husband had made of their life. I "ugly" cried when she finally broke. River - poor River - I felt devastated for her being so young & in her position. Mark had my sympathies for being left as a single parent & my admiration for stepping up & doing what needed done. Lanie, Mark & River had to travel a journey that actually was leading them to acceptance of what had happened to them & opening them up to recognizing & letting live back into their lives. Mark's family is the secondary characters & they are all complicated individuals but you find yourself loving everyone! Cora is the quintessential mother, Uncle Jack is the smart aleck & the sisters witty & hilarious. The plot leads the reader on a path with circles, twists & turns but keeps them deeply enthralled in what is happening. I would recommend making sure you have time to read the book from cover to cover & having a full box of tissues at hand before you sit down & start. This book is not a downer. There are moments I found myself smiling & chuckling too. This is a intense, highly charged emotional book & one of the best I've read in a while.

18 people found this helpful

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Nancy

Ugh

Reviewed in the United States on June 28, 2018

Can't even finish it, don't care how it ends. I rarely leave a book unfinished, I'll power through and find the good. This book is little more than Pinterest jokes and memes strung together to reach the author's page limit. I get that this is supposed to be a rollicking band of heartwarming misfits, and everyone has a tale of woe - I mean seriously, EVERYONE has a tale of woe, but the connections just weren't there for me. I was also creeped out by the fact that mere minutes after meeting our heroine (while she's eating a cupcake) the "hero" asks if those yummy noises she's making are her sex noises. Can you imagine? We've all met THAT guy and he made our skin crawl. Sure, his character is eventually fleshed out as a war hero, single dad, hard body with a soft heart (of course) but that initial ick factor would have sent up a red flag for most women. I picked this up to cleanse the palate between heavier reads, and I've really enjoyed Jill Shalvis in the past, but this one is a bummer.

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From the United States

PamD

Great book!!

Reviewed in the United States on June 20, 2018

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18 people found this helpful

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Nancy

Ugh

Reviewed in the United States on June 28, 2018

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30 people found this helpful

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Jaime Collins

5 Snickers-worthy Stars!!

Reviewed in the United States on June 20, 2018

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*This book can be read as a complete standalone. Interestingly enough this book felt more like a women’s fiction story than the first book in the series but isn’t labeled that way. Don’t get me wrong, the romance element was a very strong centerpiece to this story but there was so much more to this story than just the budding relationship between Lanie and Mark. I feel like the strength of the story lied within Lanie’s journey to move on from the hurt caused by her husband and the relationships that she forged with the Capriotti’s and the most unlikely friendship she forges with River. I was really impressed with the way that Jill Shalvis told the story of Lanie and the betrayals she encounters with a raw honesty that felt thoroughly justified and real. If you’ve read Jill Shalvis before, you know that you can expect the best sort of hero. Mark, a single father two the most amazing 6-year-old twin girls, was extremely easy to fall for. A hardworking, morally fit, single father who has vowed to put his children before anything else and who loves his mother and sisters, you can’t help but fall for him. He was the perfect fit to Lanie’s closed-off, angry but still sweet character who was doing her best to move forward but had trouble letting go. I’d be remiss if I didn’t say that besides the flirty banter with Mark, my favorite parts of Lanie’s story were when she was interacting with Sam and Sea. Having been betrayed and let down by pretty much everyone in her life, they quickly become the first people who Lanie let’s herself be open and unguarded with and it makes for some really sweet and hilarious scenes. This was absolutely the signature fantastic story-telling that I’ve come to expect from Jill Shalvis. Sexy, sweet and just a little emotionally devastating, this is a must read book!  

11 people found this helpful

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A book beyond any other. Perfect.

Reviewed in the United States on June 23, 2018

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OMG. Holy Cow. Jill Shalvis has finally done it. She has written the Best Ever book. I mean Rainy Day Friends is beyond perfect. You actually get several stories in one book. I love how Jill wrote this. The emotion and struggles were beyond what I imagined. Jill Shalvis knows what her audience wants in a great book and always delivers. This time Jill went beyond her usual and put it all into Rainy Day Friends. Just such raw emotion. Pure talent is what Jill Shalvis has. A gift.

In Rainy Day Friends you are introduced to Lanie Jacobs and Mark Capriotti and the entire Capriotti family. You get Lanie and Mark's story yet several small stories. Then you meet River and slowly get her story. Wow. Lanie and Mark both hurt by love and betrayed. Lanie is a widow who learned some harsh truths about her husband and their marriage after he died. Mark having to step up for his twin daughters. The chemistry between Lanie and Mark from the moment they meet is undeniable. The love that the Capriottis feel for one another and even their employees is beyond amazing. Oh and I so love Samantha and Sierra. They are absolutely wonderful. A breath of fresh air.

I'm going to be honest here. I really wanted to hate River she just seemed off in the beginning. However I fell in love with River. I really felt for her. I loved watching River grow. I loved every aspect of Rainy Day Friends. It wasn't just a book about romance it was a book about forgiveness, second chances, friendship, family, finding yourself and most of all about belonging. Truly a fabulous book. Rare and unique in the aspect of more than just one story or a story just about love. I felt so many emotions reading Rainy Day Friends. I cried, got frustrated, had heart swooning moments, laughed and even was like "Wow no way." Just perfect.

I am just gonna say this is by far my favorite book not only by Jill Shalvis but favorite all time. Jill captivated me from page one. She got to my heart and pulled at it throughout the book. I definitely recommend this book. Grab your copy today and fall in love with Rainy Day Friends.

8 people found this helpful

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A cozy and funny character-driven tale

Reviewed in the United States on June 14, 2019

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Second in the Wildstone contemporary romance series and revolving around a sleepy town that continues to reinvent itself. The focus is primarily on Lanie Jacobs and Mark Capriotti with a side introduction to River Green.

I'd considered giving it a "2" for how much I dislike Lanie, but the rest of it is so wonderfully comforting...

My Take
It's about rediscovering trust, embracing it, and leaving behind the grief for a man Lanie realizes she never knew. And Shalvis uses third person global subjective point-of-view primarily from Lanie's and Mark's perspective, but River gets her thoughts in here too — part of Shalvis' set up for River's romance.

The pace was slow, primarily because Lanie was so annoying with her fears and issues. Sure she has good reason for her lack of trust, but she whines on and on about it! Oy. So, yeah, you can probably guess that Rainy Day Friends is character-driven, mostly with great characters you can't help but adore. Everything about the Capriottis and the winery is family-oriented and that includes their employees. And those twins, lol, I think they make the whole story come alive. Mark is the most amazing dad.

Omigod, the food! The food!!
"...the good Lord put alcohol and carbs on this planet for a reason, and I'll be damned if I'm going to let him down."

Everyone has their bad luck story, some more so than others. And it's so heartening to read of everyone's compassion. It's such a contrast with Lanie's own upbringing and the chill of her childhood. And what strikes Lanie the most is how the family argues with each other but doesn't judge. They stick together, no matter what.

The primary conflict is Lanie's issues about trust and her lack of confidence. Mark has a secondary conflict that he appears to deal with much better than Lanie — at least he's not as annoying as Lanie is with her fears and her quick judgments. Shalvis was realistic with it; it just annoyed me. She was also realistic about Lanie's conflict over River and how the Capriottis took River in.

Okay, I'm not as forgiving as Lanie. Her mother ticks me off with her offhand dismissal of Lanie's childhood. It's yet another contrast as Lanie observes River embracing a child who only made her life more difficult whereas Lanie's parents simply froze her out, a lesson Lanie proves she's learned.

I do love the epigrams Shalvis likes to include at the start of the chapters — it sums up Lanie, that's for sure.
"The human body is 90 percent water, so basically we're all just cucumbers with anxiety."

"My anxieties have anxieties."

"I can be spontaneous, but first I must carefully plan everything and imagine all that could go wrong."

Lordy, Rainy Day Friends is packed with funny bits...Uncle Jack's comment on the difficulty of texting back in the day...ROFL, and Lanie's comment on the difference between "girls" and "boys" of steel, lololol.

The Story
She has to get out of here. Get away. Anywhere. Anywhere where no one knows who she is. Knows the truth of her marriage.

It's pure luck that the Capriotti Winery needs a freelance graphic designer. It's a two-month contract and should give Lanie a breather. A chance to decide who she is, what she wants.

It's an opportunity that forces Lanie to confront her fears and come to understand her self, her past, and her future.

The Characters
Lanie Jacobs is a graphic designer who needs a fresh setting since her husband, Kyle Blackwell, died six months ago. Her parents are physicists with no clue about children. Great-aunt Agnes died of a stroke.

Capriotti Winery is...
...a family-run winery that was founded by Leonardo and Adelina Capriotti, Cora's parents, in the 1970s. Cora Capriotti is the CEO of this multimillion-dollar corporation and Lanie's new boss; she's also a collector of lost souls. Cora's children include Mark, a deputy sheriff with an appetite — who's missing his Air Force career — and the six-year-old wild cupcake twins: Samantha "Sam", a.k.a., Wild Hair, and Sierra "Sea", a.k.a., Toothless, who never speaks. Brittney is the wife who ran out on him and their children.

Their daughter Alyssa handles sales and hospitality. She's married to Owen "Bae" Booker, the winemaker, whom she's known since second grade. Elsa is their youngest child. Chase and Tanner are their sons. The fractious Mia is the baby sister who manages the tasting room and is head of tours.

Uncle Jack is Cora's brother suffering from Crohn's disease, and he runs the winery's social media platform. Cecilia is Jack's daughter and one lazy, spoiled girl who is supposed to be working as the winery's receptionist. He has twin teenage granddaughters who are supposed to work as office assistants.

Gracie is their English sheepdog. Anna has a birthday. Holden works as a wrangler and extra ranch hand when he's on leave from the army.

River Green is homeless, hungry and six months pregnant. She had meant to become a licensed vocational nurse. Delaney is the baby.

Boomer, a bartender, and Mick are friends of Mark's. Trevor and Julio are classmates of Sierra and Sam. Sean is an ex-boyfriend of Mia's. Dr Rodriguez becomes River's physician.

Wildstone Summer Festival
They have an annual event to raise money for a women's shelter.

The Cover and Title
The cover is a gorgeous summer day at the beach with a pair of lounge chairs with their red-and-white striped cushions setting under a red-and-white striped umbrella. Pink thongs are behind the chair on the left while a brown backpack sits to the right of the chair on the right. Up against the sand dune on the left sits Gracie in a red kerchief, her tongue lolling, inviting us over. At the very top in black is an info blurb. The author's name is centered below it in purple with a testimonial (in black) underneath it. Below and to the right of Gracie is the title in lowercase and a more red violet purple. Unfortunately, there's nothing about the series, although we are informed that it's the "first time in print". I'd rather have the series info...!

The title is exactly what Lanie needs at this time in her life, Rainy Day Friends.

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CINDY F.

Very emotional, but also funny!

Reviewed in the United States on April 13, 2019

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I loved this story, even though it was very hard to read at times. I can't believe all of the raw emotions this story brought out in me. Poor Lanie. As much as she tried to shield herself, sometimes you've just got to let all go. And boy, did she ever. I felt her hurt, anger & despair over the mess her dead husband had made of not only her life, but the others, like River, also. I was so happy that mark was there for her, even though he had his own walls to scale. And poor River! She was so young, pregnant, broke and all alone in the world. I felt so bad for her, too.

And even though there was so many different emotional things going on with those three, there was also Uncle Jack. He brought me to tears, too, but with laughter at his wild antic's. I think we've all got a Uncle Jack in our families who likes to keep us all on our toes. And even though they can be so embarrassing at times--- at the same time--- you've gotta love them. The twins were also very entertaining. You never knew what kind of mischief they were going to come up with next, especially Sam. I loved the scheming but lovable Cora, too. Actually.... I loved the whole family. Who wouldn't love to apart of that wild but lovable family. I can't wait to read more.

Jill Shalvis never disappoints me with her wild and wacky stories, that are always filled with so much heart and soul.

One person found this helpful

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creative mom

but the fact that Lanie and River were able to overcome such a hard-emotional turmoil and still fall in love, truly broke my heart

Reviewed in the United States on June 20, 2018

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The despicable man, Kyle to have treated Lainie and River the way that he had is unspeakable, but the fact that Lanie and River were able to overcome such a hard-emotional turmoil and still fall in love, truly broke my heart.

This book just pulled me right in. I was relieved that it started the way it did. I was nervous that the book would go right into how Kyle was alive and treating the women badly, but I was presently surprised and I was able to finish this book in one sitting. I fell in love with the Mark and Holden. I think that the book was great and we were able to get a twofer. I have to say that if a man can fall in love with a woman that is expecting another man’s baby, who could not help but fall for that character, Holden is just adorable.

The true story is of Lanie and Mark and how they both need to overcome the heartache of one kind or another. I just love the storyline and the transition of the book. I think that Lanie and Rivers struggle in their life was heartbreaking but beautiful to see the transition in the story. I love the whole Caproiotti family and how they stole my heart along with everyone else’s. Jill Shalvis is one of my favorite authors and I really like the direction of the Wildstone book series.

3 people found this helpful

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Reading in Morgan Hill

Friends...a choice or a destiny

Reviewed in the United States on June 21, 2018

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Your husband is dead. You’re devastated. You then find out you’ve been married to a philanderer who has left behind not only you, his wife…but four other women, also his ‘wives’!! You get the opportunity to ‘tune out’ for a while, taking a temporary position away from your ‘real life’, so you can distance yourself from everyone who knows your deep dark secret, and try to figure out why you weren’t enough. Thus begins, Rainy Day Friends.

Following Lainey’s journey was a fabulous read. She is pulled, figuratively kicking and screaming, into a family totally unlike what she grew up with. They’re in your face and in your business and worm their way into your heart. Lainey is soon embedded within the family. She keeps trying to push back, but she can’t do it, until a devastating reveal throws all her carefully guarded secrets to the wind. Can Lainey overcome her past? Can she forgive? Can she find love, or can she finally allow love to envelop her?

Another wonderful book by Jill Shalvis. Laugh out loud funny in some parts, poignant in others. Definitely a stand alone in the Wildstone series since there are only brief mentions of the location and no mention of other people from the first book or the novella.

2 people found this helpful

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knitplaywithfire

Wine? Check. Love Story? Check. Jill Shalvis? Check. Time to read .....

Reviewed in the United States on June 27, 2018

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Laine’s husband died six months ago and she is trying to deal with mess he left behind. She isn’t missing him since his death lead her to discover his double/triple/dirty life. She has come to realize that she was the only one who cared about her marriage. Her husband had :married” several other women who all thought they were his legal wife. Turns out that Laine is the only one legally married to him which also means that she is the one who is entitled to his insurance money. She has put that money into the bank and left town to try and heal.

Laine’s impulsively accepts a job at a family owned coastal winery for six months. She is looking to heal and learn to trust again. She isn’t too sure how to fit in with the boisterous Capriotti family. They accept everyone and if you work for them, you are a part of their family. You are expected to eat lunch with the family daily during the family meal. Your business is the family’s business. It isn’t something she is sure she can deal with or accept. Laine has never really had a family so the dynamics of a large family are totally foreign to her.

Laine is especially not sure how to deal with her attraction to Mark Capriotti. Mark left his career in the military to take care of his slightly mischievous twins. His ex-wife left the girls and Mark left the service to take care of them and moved back home to start a new career in law enforcement. Mark has chosen to move back into family compound on the winery since his family has offered to help him look after the twins. Mark’s twin girls are both cute and quiet trouble makers. The twins are the real scene stealers in this book since they win you over from the start.

Laine isn’t ready to trust men again and Mark is leery of getting involved with any women given what happened with his ex-wife plus wanting to protect his daughters. But sparks and a strong natural attraction cannot be ignored and Laine and Mark decide to try a relationship and see where it goes.

And than River shows up, lost, afraid and broke. River is a young woman who is very pregnant and in need of help. The Capriotti family takes in River and enfolds her and her unborn baby. Laine has some issues with River and isn’t sure that River is telling truth.

I can honestly say that I have loved every Jill Shalvis book I have ever read. But this one has put itself at the top of the all time list. Why? Simple, it takes place at a winery. Not just any winery but a family owned winery. I have been involved in some way with my state’s growing wineries for almost 10 years now and love working and buying wine from small family owned wineries. So to read a well written novel by one of my favorite authors but to also be set in a family owned small winery? Top of my all time lists!!

I was lucky enough to receive a copy of this novel in advance from the author in exchange for a fair and unbiased review. Not that it is ever an issue with books written by Ms. Shalvis. I loved it so much that I read the ARC twice. I re-read it right before release during a cruise to Cuba where I was totally unplugged from the internet. And not being distracted by normal distractions of daily life and being able to sip a lovely dry rose and a Pinto Grigo while lounging about in the shade made the experience even better.

If you are looking for the perfect escape for a long weekend or just something to read during the week, this novel is for you. And if you are able to enjoy a glass of your favorite wine while reading it, I highly suggest doing so. And if you have yet to visit a local family owned winery, I recommend doing so since you can try a number of new to you wines and find a new favorite. Plus it will give you a chance to experience some of the action described in the novel.

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Book Lover_1015

Back to Wildstone!

Reviewed in the United States on June 20, 2018

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In this return to Wildstone, California, Lanie Jacobs arrives at Capriotti winery for a temporary job and finds so much more. The warm and kind Capriotti family include her immediately and her attraction to single father Mark, the Capriotti's son, is just as immediate, leaving her to decide if she wanted to stay and create a new life for herself or leave the winery in an attempt to protect her bruised heart. I loved watching Lanie grow and learn to love and trust again, even though that trust was sorely tested. I am a huge fan of Jill Shalvis's books and I loved Lanie and Mark's story. But it was the secondary characters that seemed lacking for me. River and Holden's story was a sweet secondary plot but most of it happened off the page. Mia was such an interesting character who's entire story happened off the page, making her feel like a missed opportunity. And the twins seemed eerily reminiscent of the adorable twins in Lucky Harbor. But Lanie and Mark on their own are enough to make Rainy Day Friends worth a read, and to make you hope for another visit to Wildstone!

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