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Review: The Forever Girl by Jill Shalvis
The Forever Girl
Jill Shalvis
The Wildstone Series, Book 6
New York Times bestselling author Jill Shalvis does it once again with a heartfelt story of family, forgiveness, and secrets that have the power to change the course of more than one life.
When Maze returns to Wildstone for the wedding of her estranged bff and the sister of her heart, it’s also a reunion of a once ragtag team of teenagers who had only each other until a tragedy tore them apart and scattered them wide.
Now as adults together again in the lake house, there are secrets and resentments mixed up in all the amazing childhood memories. Unexpectedly, they instantly fall back into their roles: Maze their reckless leader, Cat the den mother, Heather the beloved baby sister, and Walker, a man of mystery.
Life has changed all four of them in immeasurable ways. Maze and Cat must decide if they can rebuild their friendship, and Maze discovers her long-held attraction to Walker hasn’t faded with the years but has only grown stronger.
4 Stars
A deep emotional story that will have several characters finding their way into our hearts.
A family with a lot of love to give opens their home to three foster children. With the help of their own children, they show 3 lost souls what a loving family is and that didn’t have to be of their blood. One year together changed their lives. Then a tragedy struck which separated them. A family they were but their strings were getting thin. They have lived life, stayed in touch yet years later when their rock calls them home for her wedding, they come, some reluctantly. Opening old wounds and a new chapter for four somewhat lost and a bit broken people.
Cat- the rock and mother hen is about to get married and wants her family, all of her family with her. Maze- the one with a trail of chaos following behind. Walker- always has and will always be their mystery man. Heather- the youngest and their beloved has a few secrets in tow. Maybe they all have a few or more secrets or self hurting guilt they are carrying. They are bonded in ways few will understand. Yet are at times a mystery to each other.
Jill Shalvis delivers the emotions like a punch in the gut. The Forever Girl is a story of friendship, love and loss. A story of challenging oneself, learning to forgive yourself and learning to trust your heart in love. A family that made themselves a family. Through the course of this complex and emotional story four people found a piece of themselves that was missing. Learned it was ok to break down and asking for help is not a burden. Love is worth fighting for, worth working for. Grab some tissues and your drink of choice, settle in for an amazing, hit you in the heart story within the pages of The Forever Girl.
Review: Almost Just Friends by Jill Shalvis
Almost Just Friends
Jill Shalvis
Wildstone Series, Book 4
New York Times bestselling author Jill Shalvis returns to Wildstone with the touching story of finding your place in the world—and the people who make it home.
Piper Manning’s about as tough as they come, she’s had to be. She raised her siblings and they’ve thankfully flown the coop. All she has to do is finish fixing up the lake house her grandparents left her, sell it, and then she’s free.
When a massive storm hits, she runs into a tall, dark and brooding stranger, Camden Reid. There’s a spark there, one that shocks her. Surprising her further, her sister and brother return, each of them holding their own secrets. The smart move would be for Piper to ignore them all but Cam unleashes emotions deep inside of her that she can’t deny, making her yearn for something she doesn’t understand. And her siblings…well, they need each other.
Only when the secrets come out, it changes everything Piper thinks she knows about her family, herself…and Cam. Can she find a way to outrun the demons? The answer is closer than she thinks—just as the new life she craves may have already begun.
4.5 Stars
Almost Just Friends is almost too real. Heart and home, trust and sacrifice, hurt and healing wrapped in a tale family and love.
Piper thinks she got herself on the right track. She has a game plan, lots of lists and more than enough will to accomplish the goals she sets. Piper is as fierce and tenacious as they come. Growing up fast, caring for her siblings and trying to make the best of what they had, has given Piper a hard edge, but the woman has a heart like no other. She is not a stranger to sacrifice, and she would sacrifice over and over again for those she loves.
In blows a storm that lights a spark with a stranger, carrying her siblings home and a bucket full of secrets to make Piper’s head spin. Just wanting a new life became something altogether different than what she want. But needed more than she knew. With a handsome Cam knocking on her romance door, her siblings and their respective secrets eating at her, Piper’s new life hands already began.
Almost Just Friends is all about family, those born to you and those you choose to bring in. Hot messes and all. Life is not always easy but those around you make it a lot better. Ms. Shalvis twisted wit and humor with emotion and life’s choices that make people people discover who they are and whom they want to be. Piper and Cam captivate reader with the depth at which they will go and of just who they are. A story you truly don’t want to miss.
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