Hometown Girl Forever (Hometown Series Book 3)

Full review posted at Reader’s Edyn on 03/08/20

Lizzy has been suffocated by her parents her entire life. Maybe not quite so much from her father, but definitely her mother. Desperate for the social circles she’s never quite been accepted into, her mother has groomed her to obtain everything she never had but always wanted. Years later, Lizzy is tired of it. All she longs for is a simple small-town life away from the stress and hustle of the city. To do this, she must make dramatic changes to follow her heart. Problematic, her mother continues to plague her conscious thoughts and she never truly breaks free. Intent on doing the opposite of whatever her mother would approve of, she ends up confining herself in a new type of box. While she seems to be living the way she wants to, she still hesitates to make certain decisions because they would line up with her mother’s vision. Most recently those decision involve Elliott, designer of the spa she’s now managing. He throws her for a loop. Nothing like what she expected, he still represents what she left behind and saying yes to him would betray her vow never to return to that constricting existence. Or would it? When her parents unexpectedly crash her new life, shocking revelations eventually come to light, leaving Lizzy reeling from their implications. More confused than ever, she teeters continually where Elliott is concerned.

Elliott is a city boy through and through. Completely taken aback by the direction of the spa he designed, he quickly finds himself enchanted by Lizzy and the small town of Smithville. He’s used to catering to the sleek and sexy crowd of city socialites. He’s originally come for a short visit to check the progress of the spa and visit with his good friend Justin and his new bride. But in the blink of an eye, he starts to make plans with Justin for future business ventures. After a while he realizes this is a positive move which would also allow him to be close to Lizzy. He’s been going through the motions of working in his father’s architecture firm, and he’s good what he does, but he’s never had a passion for the business. With Lizzy’s inspiring influence and Justin’s cutting-edge ideas for the future, Elliott finally finds a spark of passion that’s been missing from his life. The trick is getting his father on board and eventually he will have to return to deal with his newly discovered hunger. The other desire ignited is far more than a spark and had everything to do with Lizzy. Elliott sees their potential and wants to move forward, but Lizzy is stuck in her own head. Luckily, Elliott is up for the challenge.

I didn’t originally intend on reading this book, but I recently participated in a blitz for this book on my blog and ended up with a copy. The premise was cute, so I decided to give it a read. Ultimately the book is cute and quirky, but there were several things that irritated me. Let’s get the annoying attributes out of the way first. For one, the word “clod” appears several times in close proximity. I do not have an issue with this word, but when it is used several times within a few paragraphs, it gets unnecessarily repetitive. Just something I picked up on that I didn’t care for. Additionally, there were several minor editing errors, so this book could definitely use another run through. I was always able to decipher what was meant, but the delay in reading due to the errors was unappreciated. There is also a glaring problem with how Lizzy makes the dramatic metamorphosis from big city socialite to country bumpkin. In the space of a year at night school she picks up certificates as a nail tech and masseuse. Sure, it’s possible. However, she also has a huge interest in several other subjects including looming alpaca wool and making homemade soaps; just to name a few. The likelihood that she would have accomplished so much in such a short amount of time is next to nil. So maybe she’s actually a genius in disguise? I don’t know. But all of her accomplishments occurring so quickly didn’t work. One of the characters ends up pregnant in the story. Generally, I do not have objections to pregnancy additions in a book. In this case, the news could have been a welcomed surprise. However, by the time the words were spoken, I was irritated. The signs were drawn out overlong and absolutely no one had a clue as to what was going on. Seriously? I figured it out after the first symptom. Not to mention there are a ton of hen-pecking women running about all throughout the days and not one of them picked up on things quicker? I don’t think so. This is a close-knit community and with the symptoms occurring, this revelation coming so late in the book seemed implausible.

My biggest annoyance was Lizzy’s mother, Beatrice. Good frickin grief! The woman is like a dog with a bone. She never gives Lizzy a break. But Lizzy just sits there taking the verbal punches; her friends trying to defend her without seeming rude; Elliott turning on the charm and winning Beatrice over. At one point I estimated that nearly half of the text was concerning both Beatrice and Lizzy’s adamant refusal to say yes to anything that remotely smelled like something her mother would approve of. I recently read a book akin to this one. The female lead was so caught up by a nickname she was given in grade school that she created a life in which she became someone she was – yet wasn’t. She followed her dreams and did what made her happy, but she never truly had achieved freedom from the clutches of the epithet because she was so busy trying to dodge anything that even slightly reminded her of that horrific name. She even almost lost the perfect guy for her because of the parallels between him and the moniker. This book was identical in this respect. Lizzy refuses to give in to her heart because Elliott is everything Beatrice would have approved of. Here’s the kicker though – she should have realized that although he may have encompassed much of what her mother sought out in the perfect guy, Elliott was also very much the opposite of that cookie cutter form. The things he participated in and supported were what drew Lizzy to him in the first place and instead of following her heart and the part of Elliott that drew her in, she just kept focusing on Beatrice’s overbearing wishes for her life. It got old after a while. In fact, at one point I began rolling my eyes each time Mommy was mentioned.

Now for the redeeming qualities. Lizzy’s father and then Beatrice. *gasp* Did I just write that? Why, yes. I did. The very being that annoyed me to no end ends up being an amazing character that I came to enjoy quite a lot once the claws were shed. I won’t go into details as I dislike writing in spoilers but suffice to say that when it’s all said and done, I nearly enjoyed Beatrice more than I did Lizzy. I know. It sounds ridiculous even to me. But I swear it’s the truth. Harold, her father, even ends up being a pretty cool guy. The revelations regarding their past and the motivations for why they were so caught up in maintaining a standing within society kind of makes sense. Not that I agreed with such drastic and dramatic actions, but at least an adequate excuse was provided. Just to throw an example to the dramatic change I give you the last line of the book … “You’re obviously going to need some help with this place.” Spoken by Beatrice … What the actual????? This is so not anything Beatrice would have said. And what does it mean? But this is the magic authors possess. A reader can be set on how they feel about a book and with the addition of one single line, everything shifts. It’s happened several times to me before. One line makes or breaks a book because I was hovering precariously on the tip of the fence post. And now I find myself needing to find out what the next book will bring. Ugh. I must sound like a lunatic.

Elliott’s cuss words were a hilarious addition! “Mother of Pearl” and “Holy sheepskin” just to mention a couple of them. I enjoy when an author can keep things lighthearted and avoid a bunch of F-bombs. It wasn’t necessary and Ms. Fullmer recognized this. Thank you for that. As far as the sensual scenes, they were present, but sweet and glossed over. No descriptions except to elude to what occurred without saying overmuch. True, I tend to read books that are more frequently erotic and beyond, but it is also nice to have a break at times from the smut. Not much, mind you, but a tiny break. Overall, this is a pretty cute story with some characters who are a bit odd. And I say “odd” with affection. This book is the third in a series and having not read the previous books, I assume these characters are recurring within the town of Smithville. The message is clear even though it took quite a bit of a journey to get there … Trust your heart and above all follow your heart. Do not allow others to force their wishes and ideals on you. Live for what makes you happy and fills you up. No one can hold power over you and rule your life if you don’t allow them to. Despite the vexing qualities within these pages, I still successfully gleaned the silver lining. And much to my own astonishment, I actually want to read the next book to find out what Lizzy’s parents do.

Kindle version provided by Expresso Book Tours/Author in exchange for an honest review.

The first book is way better. This one was average. Her mother reminded me of no one. Not one harridan comes to mind and I’ve known lots of bad mothers. She was too overblown like Neville Longbottom’s Gran. Most hissing cats are either sweet and put upon as they issue their “you’re worthless” insults, issue them matter of factly in a normal tone of voice, or shout and hit. They don’t carry on because they know that doesn’t get results. Now as for the rest of the problems with the story. Lizzie is a part that she is playing. Her clothing, lifestyle, and decor are a form of rebellion. You don’t know if she truly is a hippy or if it’s just a phase to tick off her mother. So the alpacas, the bus, the loom, and the clothing may disappear as she grows up. You get the distinct feel that she is living in a fantasy and has yet to understand the reality of the lifestyle she has chosen. Elliot is great but, he’s calling in love with a creation. Whether she actually grows up to be an eccentric hippy or if everything that makes her unique and different is just an affectation will never be determined. I’d like to say that their relationship has enough ground to weather any abrupt change, but unlike the first one where Tara proved to Justin she was more than eye candy, and made him respect her–this one had very little smart moments. There are hints in the car ride and after the bus accident but they are just hints never fully fleshed out. A crisis where she clearly takes charge or showing she actually has plans for the spa would have helped show her maturity and competence. Giving something for Justin to actually admire that is character not trappings.