Hometown Girl by Courtney Walsh (Review)

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?

Amazon / Goodreads

Welcome to Willow Grove. A town that doesn’t change much and where everyone knows your business. A town Beth Whitaker never dreamed she’d still call home.

When heartbreak and circumstances strand her in the small Illinois community she grew up in she’s…stuck. In her job at her family’s company and living at home with her mother once again. Then Beth’s sister, who is opposite of her in about every way possible, Beth knows she’s going to have to bail Molly out of her scheme. Again.

What Beth doesn’t count on is the support the community throws behind the re-opening of Fairwind Farm and Orchard. The place which one drew everyone together in celebration.

Beth’s family and friends are a fun group that I’d love to hand out with. From Molly’s carefree, can-do attitude about life to Callie’s (Beth’s best friend’s) teasing, these people are endearing in their caring and love for each other.

Hometown Girl is a delightful story of finding your purpose—even if that purpose isn’t the one you started out with. Throughout the book, Courtney Walsh’s love of small-town America shines through.

Add to the mix, a ruggedly handsome cowboy-turned-employee who works to run to hide from memories, a twenty-year-old unsolved mystery, plenty of tension and chemistry, and this book is one you’d best give yourself enough time to read in one sitting.

A perfect read for a crisp fall day with a cup of something warm to drink (apple cider perhaps?) as the leaves change color and the days grow shorter, Hometown Girl is another winner from Courtney Walsh.

***I receive complimentary books for review from publishers, publicists, and/or authors, including NetGalley. I am not required to write positive reviews. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.