Book Review: The Forever Girl by Jill Shalvis

Posted January 13, 2021 by Asheley in review / 0 Comments

The Forever Girl by Jill Shalvis
Book Review: The Forever Girl by Jill ShalvisThe Forever Girl by Jill Shalvis
Series: Wildstone #6
Published by William Morrow on January 12, 2021
Source: the publisher
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four-stars

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.

I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

REVIEW:

A long time ago, Maze, Heather, and Walker were foster kids living with Cat’s family. They were very close, but when tragedy hit their home, they spread out far and wide. They’ve done an okay job keeping up with one another, except for Maze. She feels responsible for what happened and the guilt is heavy, so she has spent her years keeping everyone at a distance. Now, they are all reunited at Cat’s house to celebrate her wedding, and they really have no excuse not to explore what has happened in their past and how they all feel about it. 

The Forever Girl by Jill Shalvis

As the siblings were all arriving at Cat’s house for their stay, I wondered how this story would unfold. It was such an unusual time among siblings. I could really tell things were tense and that they didn’t know one another as much as I had assumed. It’s almost like they didn’t know what to say to the others, or how to break the ice. But I loved this, because my siblings and I have had awkward, tense moments in our past as we are not particularly close, and it probably looked a lot like this gathering initially did. Some of the siblings have done well in their his/her life, and some haven’t done as well. They all have been burdened with what happened when they were young, and this has impacted them in different ways. Maze seems to have a little more negativity and guilt in her feelings, but I’m sure this is an assumption of mine based on her POV being centered in this story. When Maze actually takes the time to reacquaint herself with her siblings, she realizes that she isn’t the only one with baggage and big things going on in her life. 

Jill Shalvis is one of the very best at writing character relationships. I particularly love her sibling relationships because they all feel so real. I think a lot of her readers can see themselves in at least some of her characters, and even though most of us probably do not have the same type of family represented in this story, I can still find myself in these characters. A couple of them try so hard to be hard and unaffected by things, but it only takes a little while before these strained relationships start to evolve into something better and stronger. Honestly, I think I really needed to read something like this at exactly this time. 

Walker is my favorite of all of the siblings. He’s cool, calm, and collected and he doesn’t try to hide his feelings. He is honest, and sometimes his honesty surprises his siblings. Mostly, it is super obvious how much he loves these women. He arguably had a harder time growing up than his sisters did, but each moment in his past has shaped him into who he is today, and I enjoyed the scenes involving him the most. 

The books in the Wildstone Series can be read in any order. The connecting factor is the setting. Even though I’ve read them in order, I would suggest to anyone interested that they can pick up any of the books and be just fine because there is very little (if any) character overlap in this particular series. 

Sidenote: There are two sweet puppies in this story: Roly and Poly. I LOVED them!

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About Jill Shalvis

Jill Shalvis Author Photo

New York Times bestselling author Jill Shalvis lives in a small town in the Sierras full of quirky characters. Any resemblance to the quirky characters in her books is, um, mostly coincidental. Look for Jill’s bestselling, award-winning books wherever romances are sold and visit her website, www.jillshalvis.com, for a complete book list and daily blog detailing her city-girl-living-in-the-mountains adventures.

Asheley

About Asheley

Asheley is a Southern girl. She loves Carolina blue skies, Ben & Jerry's ice cream, and NC craft beer. She loves all things history but prefers books over everything.

You can find her somewhere in North Carolina, daydreaming about the ocean.

Find Asheley on Litsy @intothehallofbooks!

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