Colbie Albright is tired of having to run her mom and brother's lives.  All three of them are adults but ever since Colbie's father ran out on them, she has been the adult in the family.  Now that she is a best selling author, she needs a break from her life, her family and New York City.  Colbie decides to "runaway" to San Francisco, CA for a break.  Shortly after arriving, Colbie is walking through the district of Cow Hollow wanting to see the crazy famed love legend fountain when a huge dog runs into her causing her to fall into the fountain.  Guess who's walking the dog....Spencer Baldwin, one of San Francisco's top 10 most eligible bachelors!

Spencer lives a quiet, simple life.  He may be super rich from selling his company, but he has sworn off relationships after Clarissa did such a number on him.  He would rather just be alone and invent new things and hang with his best friends.  He never expected to meet a woman who has captured his interest in every way possible.  Spencer realizes that she doesn't know who he is and he finds that refreshing.  What he doesn't realize is that Colbie is actually famous too and since he doesn't know who she is, that is refreshing for her.

These two quirky people find an instant connection and decide that for the three weeks that Colbie will be in town, they will hang out.  Of course this quickly turns into much more, more than either of them ever thought could happen.  Now they must both decide if this connection is worth keeping.

I just adored both of these characters.  Spencer is my perfect type of guy.  Super smart, cute and just down right sweet and Colbie complimented him perfectly.  I loved their happy ending! 

Meet cute...

Run for the hills—temporarily. That’s Colbie Albright’s plan when she flees New York for San Francisco. Wrangling her crazy family by day and writing a bestselling YA fantasy series by night has taken its toll. In short, Colbie’s so over it that she’s under it. She’s also under the waters of a historic San Francisco fountain within an hour of arrival. Fortunately, the guy who fishes Colbie out has her looking forward to Christmas among strangers. But she’s pretty sure Spencer Baldwin won’t be a stranger for long.

Make merry...

Spence’s commitment to hiding from the Ghosts of Relationships Past means he doesn’t have to worry about the powerful—okay, crazy hot—chemistry he’s got with Colbie. Just because she can laugh at anything, especially herself... just because she’s gorgeous and a great listener…just because she “gets” Spence immediately doesn’t mean he won’t be able to let Colbie go. Does it?

…and hope for a miracle.

Now the clock’s ticking for Colbie and Spence: Two weeks to cut loose. Two weeks to fall hard. Two weeks to figure out how to make this Christmas last a lifetime.

I have followed the Heartbreaker Bay series from the beginning.  From that moment I became invested in the lives of the characters featured and was eager for each of them to get their happily ever after. When I discovered this would be Spence’s story I was eager to dive into this one. Having been fascinated by Spence from the previous books and given my experience with the previous books I had high expectations for Chasing Christmas Eve.

What the story is about.

Imagine taking an unplanned trip to a city, you never intended to visit, but because of the weather, it proved to be the safest choice. All this was done to escape the stress of your personal and professional life. In the process the one thing you never expected occurred, you found your soul mate and discovered long-lasting and meaningful friendships. 

Well Colbie Albright could tell you all about such an experience. She ended up in San Francisco, because she was fatigued, overwhelmed with family issues and dealing with writer’s block.   Meeting geeky and sexy Spencer Baldwin and falling in love was not on her agenda, but fate had different plans.

The last thing on Spencer Baldwin’s mind is being involved in a relationship not that he has had any luck in that department. Besides his latest project consumed all his waking moments.  Therefore, when he came face to face with the beautiful and mysterious Colbie Albright he was taken aback by his reaction to her.  Getting involved with her would not be a wise move as she is only in the city for two weeks, but the heart want what the heart wants. 

Will he be able to let her go at the end of the two weeks or will he be able to convince her that what they share is not worth two weeks but a lifetime?

I remember the first time I read a book written by Jill Shalvis. Her writing sucked me in and warmed my heart. She creates relatable characters served up with a side of fun and Chasing Christmas Eve was no different.

This was a fun read, and it had everything I expected. Wonderful characters, humour, heat and friendships. The pacing was perfect and the drama low-keyed.  Never once did I experience a dull moment.  There was surprising and interesting development.  It had to do with Eddie, the homeless guy who Spence is always looking to assist.  It was a shocking but pleasant surprise.

I fell in love with Spence when I met him in the previous instalments.  However, I was disappointed with his portrayal in this installment.  Yes, he is brilliant, sexy, caring, and humble but I did not like how he allowed his friends to dictate his personal life. I understood the need to want to protect a friend, but he is a big man who can make his own decisions.  Elle was the one I had the issue with in this area.  She need to chill.  I enjoyed seeing taking a break from work and having fun.

Colbie cares for her family even though they are the source of her current situation. They are everything to her.   She is delightful and I enjoyed peeling away the layers of her character.  I loved how she blended in with Spencer’s friends.

I loved them as a couple. Their chemistry, which was evident from their initial meeting, was off the charts.  Their initialmeeting took place under unfortunate but funny circumstances. They had so much in common, which made them a perfect pair. They both feared commitment when it came to relationships. She was afraid of opening up her heart, while Spence feared he would break it, as he believed he was no good at relationships. However, where Spence was willing to take a chance, Colbie was more interested in running.  Watching, as they overcome these issues and taking a chance on love was delightful and heart-warming. I enjoyed their interaction with each other, which was fun and filled with heat.  

Conclusion/Recommendation

Chasing Christmas Eve is an entertaining, witty and heart-warming story that had me smiling from ear to ear.  This is a great addition to the series and I am eager to see what next Jill Shalvis has in store for the gang of Heartbreaker Bay.

This review can also be found at Carole's Random Life in Books.

I just loved this story! I have found this series to be consistently good so I was really excited to get my hands on this newest installment. I was even more excited to read this one once I discovered it would be Spence's story since I have really enjoyed his character in the previous books in the series. I had pretty high expectations going into this book and it met or exceeded every one of them. I had such a good time reading this charming romance.

Spence and Colbie are the focus of this story. Spence has had a role in the previous books in this series that revolves around a group of friends and the building that they live and work in. Spence happens to own the building and is the genius of the group. He spends his time inventing and working out complex problems.

Colbie is a big name author and the stress of her life has prompted her to run away from everything for just a bit. Colbie meets Spence during an unfortunate encounter at a rather famous fountain. They are so much fun to see together from that very first meeting. Colbie decides to stay for a while so that she can get the break that she so desperately needs.

Spence and Colbie were just adorable together. They had great chemistry from the very beginning of the story. There were so many moments that brought a huge grin my face and I may have chuckled out loud a time or too. The banter between this pair was really well done and provided a nice balance to the hotter sections of the story.

I would highly recommend this book to fans of contemporary romance. This book is the fourth book in the Heartbreaker Bay but it could easily be read as a stand alone novel. Readers of the series will enjoy seeing all of the characters featured in earlier books in the series. I can't wait to see what happens next in Heartbreaker Bay!

I received an advance reader edition of this book from Avon Books via Edelweiss.

Initial Thoughts
I just loved this story. Spence and Colbie were so great together. It was nice to see the other characters from the series play a role in the story as well.