Hometown Girl by Courtney Walsh

• Paperback: 380 pages
• Publisher: Waterfall Press (September 19, 2017)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1542045630
• ISBN-13: 978-1542045636

About the Book:

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Courtney Walsh returns with a hopeful and emotional new book about seizing second chances, finding yourself, and forging your own path.

Beth Whitaker isn’t supposed to be a small-town girl. She’s always dreamed of leaving Willow Grove, Illinois, for the big city, but she feels trapped, struggling to make up for a mistake that’s haunted her for years. Just when Beth is finally ready to break free, her sister impulsively buys a beloved but run-down farm on the outskirts of town, and she begs Beth to help with the restoration. Reluctantly, Beth agrees to help—and puts her own dreams on hold once again.

Drew Barlow hasn’t been back to Fairwind Farm since he was a boy, and he’s spent all these years trying to outrun the pain of a past he thought he buried long ago. When he learns that the owner has passed away, his heart knows it’s finally time to do the right thing. Returning to Willow Grove, Drew revisits the old farm, where he attempts to piece together his memories and the puzzle of the crime he witnessed so long ago.

Both on a journey to find peace, Beth and Drew are surprised when they begin to experience a restoration of their own. But when long-buried secrets break through the soil and the truth unfurls, will it threaten their budding relationship—and the very future of the farm?

My Thoughts:

Another excellent story from Courtney Walsh!  Hometown Girl is multi-layered. First, just look at that cover!  And the setting centers around a farm, complete with apple orchard!  Perfect for fall!

But it's also a story about forgiving yourself for past mistakes and failures. It's about that itch to leave home for bigger and better things, only to realize that home might just be where we belong.

Hometown Girl is about giving the ones we love the space to dream along with the space to fail. About giving ourselves permission to dream and to chase those dreams, even when they make no sense on paper.

It's a story about secrets kept and how toxic the hidden becomes.  And it's about losing the need to prove ones worth at the expense of realizing our intrinsic worth as image bearers of the King.

Hometown Girl is about community, celebration, and triumph in the midst of tragedy. And about families and their complicated relationships.

Most of all, Hometown Girl is a fun, heartwarming, and at times heartbreaking novel, with a little bit of romance, a few tears, and a lot of love. You'll really enjoy this one!

I'm giving "Hometown Girl" my "Oh, the Feels!" stamp of approval. My thanks to the publisher for an advance copy via NetGalley, with no services promised in return.

Until the next page turns,

Deena