Book Description:
“Young women needed for the Fortune Springs Town Improvement Initiative. One year’s room and board provided.” I should have known it was too good to be true when I first saw the ad. It turns out that Fortune Springs, Colorado isn’t just a one-horse town, it’s a two-woman one, and this is their attempt to keep the community alive. I want to say the scheme is ridiculous, totally outdated, but I’m carrying everything I own in my canvas backpack and the greyhound I stepped off this morning is long gone. If this is my chance at a fresh start, I’d better grab it with both hands. I know I should feel guilty about pretending to be a lonely heart willing to help repopulate this rural logging town, but all I feel is relief at having escaped the apartment in Savannah. And after all, what’s one more secret to add to the pile? I only hope I’ve hidden my tracks well enough, and that the kind Fortune Springs locals who’ve opened their doors to me will never find out what made me run away in the first place… An emotional, gripping story full of family drama. Fans of Carolyn Brown, Robyn Carr and Debbie Macomber will be hooked.
BLOG TOUR REVIEW
Review for 'Small Town Secrets' by Alys Murray.
Read and reviewed via NetGalley for Bookouture publishers and Bookouture anonymous
Publication date 24th March 2021.
This is the third book I have read by this author. I have previously read 'The Perfect Hideaway' and 'Home At Summer's End' which I would also highly recommend.
I was originally drawn to this book by its gorgeous eye catching cover and its intriguing synopsis. I have also previously read 'The Perfect Hideaway' and 'Home At Summer's End' written by Alys Murray and LOVED them so I'm hoping this will be just as good. The synopsis stated that fans of Debbie Macomber and others will be hooked. I am a fan of Debbie's books so am interested to see if it will live up to this statement. I must admit I was also biased due to the publisher being Bookouture. I have yet to read a book published by Bookouture that I haven't enjoyed. Hopefully this won't be the first... Watch this space! (Written before I started reading the book).
This novel consists of a prologue, 27 chapters and an epilogue. The chapters are short to medium to long in length so possible to read 'just one more chapter' before bed...OK, I know yeah right, but still just in case!
This book is based in Colorado, USA 🇺🇸.
This book is written in first person perspective with the main protagonist being Virginia Bessel. The benefits of books written in first person perspective are as long as they are well written it makes you feel that you are being spoken to by the protagonist and it can create more of a bond between yourselves and them. If there are several protagonists you also get to see more of what is going on.
This novel is very smoothly written and flowed lovely. The way it was written made me feel like I was right next to Virginia and going through all the emotional turmoil with her. It had me hooked from the first page to the very last. It's a very light hearted and a heartwarming story of finding hope and strength in the most unlikely of places. There was drama, tears, laughter, love, secrets and lies all around, everything that makes the perfect romance.
The characters were all strong and well defined. I loved all their personalities, flaws and quirks and I feel that they all worked together perfectly in this book. It did take me a while to take to Virginia as she blew hot and cold but with her past that is to be expected. I'm very glad her story ended the way it did. I loved Owen and thought he was really sweet, being a dog lover definitely helped his cause!!! Calla is also a fantastic character and reminds me of a somewhat eccentric grandmother type!!! I would love to read more about them all!!!
The descriptions were excellent and the locations beautiful. They made me feel that I was really in the storyline. The ending was perfect and I would love to read more of their story and lives. I am also looking forward to reading more books by Alys Murray.
This book is full of lovely characters, witty dialogue and beautiful surroundings , the kind of place where you’d love to live this story will stay with you long after you've turned the last page and will hopefully give hope to any readers living with abuse and encourage them to get the help and support they need.
Although the story overall is beautiful it definitely highlights the effects of domestic abuse and all the forms that it comes in. I love that Alys encourages readers to donate to a domestic abuse charity at the end.
Overall a perfect light hearted, beautiful summer romance read which highlights that light can come from darkness.
Genres covered in this novel include Fiction, Romance Novel and Contemporary Romance amongst others.
I would recommend this book to the fans of the above as well as fans of Alys Murray's previous books as well as fans of Debbie Macomber.
254 pages.
This book is just 99p to purchase on kindle via Amazon which I think is an absolute bargain for this book!!!
Rated 5/5 (I LOVED it ) on Goodreads, Instagram, Amazon UK and Amazon US and on over 30 Facebook pages plus my blog on Facebook.
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@AlysMurray @Bookouture @Bookworm1986 @bookworm86
Author Bio:
Alys Murray is an author who writes for the romantic in all of us. Though she graduated with a degree in Drama from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts and a Master’s in Film Studies from King’s College London, her irrepressible love of romance led her to a career as an author, and she couldn’t be happier to write these stories! Currently splitting time between her home state of Louisiana and London, she enjoys kissing books, Star Wars, and creating original pie recipes for all of her books. Tobey Maguire is her Spider-Man.
Buy Links:
Amazon: https://bit.ly/3tnosxm
Apple: https://apple.co/3pZxy2f
Kobo: https://bit.ly/3jqNckJ
Google: https://bit.ly/3tzQXJ3
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