The Forever Girl
The Wildstone Series Book 6
Jill Shalvis
January 12, 2021
William Morrow Paperbacks
Blurb: 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.
Purchase Links:
Shop your local indie bookstore | Amazon
As a long-time fan of Jill Shalvis, I have come to expect certain things from her: that I will fall quickly into her writing; I will love her characters; and she will make me laugh. However, in The Forever Girl she went so far beyond my expectations that I may have a whole new list of anticipations for her next novel.
Maze, Walker, and Heather were foster kids who spent one amazing year with the Walsh family until a tragedy occurred that sent them to other foster homes. Caitlin, the Walsh’s daughter, has struggled to keep tabs on them and to keep them together as family. But three years prior, after a minor blow-up, they part ways, although for some, not entirely.
The dynamics at work in The Forever Girl were special. These friends/family come together to celebrate Caitlin’s marriage and its her intention that they should never drift away from each other again. There are hurts as truths come out with each character–mostly just Maze, Walker and Caitlin–finding themselves along the way.
In all of these years, Shalvis has made me laugh and sometimes grow teary-eyed, but she’s never made me cry. She did in The Forever Girl. She wrote so touchingly of their experiences, of trying to be tough when inside one is crying, when sometimes it’s just so tough. But, she also made me laugh. Smile as these characters danced together and remembered a time before. And, as always, Shalvis provided me with an escape, where I could fall into an author’s writing and just forget everything except for this wonderful story of once wounded people finding love and happiness.
While The Forever Girl is part of The Wildstone series, it is a standalone. If you’re a fan of women’s fiction, I highly recommend The Forever Girl.
I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
rating:
5 out of 5 butterflies