Friday, January 17, 2014

Forever My Girl (Beaumont #1) by Heidi McLaughlin {Review}

Genre: Contemporary Romance
Age Group: New Adult
Publication Date: December 27th 2012
Series: Beaumont #1
Pages: 287 
Format: Kindle
Source: Purchased from Amazon





I was never supposed to be a rock star. I had my life all planned out for me. Play football in college. Go to the NFL. Marry my high school sweetheart and live happily ever after. I broke both our hearts that day when I told her I was leaving. I was young. I made the right decision for me, but the wrong decision for us. I’ve poured my soul into my music, but I’ve never forgotten her. Her smell, her smile. And now I’m going back. After ten years. I hope I can explain that after all this time. I still want her to be my forever girl.



My Review:

I bought Forever My Girl a while ago and like most books I grab while they are on sale this gem sat neglected in my Kindle. I can't believe it took me so long to read this one because it was such a sweet and loving story about high school sweethearts and I love this particular trope. 

From the first page I was already shaking my head, rolling my eyes and groaning because I thought "Oh great, another book about a pseudo misunderstood rock star with a god complex who bangs sluts because he was hurt by someone". Forever My Girl opened on Liam's point of view and I was already prepared to hate him. Waking up with a random groupie with memories of a certain girl he left behind in his hometown had me wanting to write him off immediately. When he finds out his high school best friend dies he has to return to Beaumont and face the people and the life he left behind. Namely Josie Preston. The girl who he let slip through his fingers. Josie and Liam were the "IT" couple growing up. He was the star quarterback and she was the cheerleader who loved him. Leaving Beaumont to follow his dream to be a musician was something he felt he had to do but he always regretted not bringing Josie with him. Returning home after ten years makes him realize he left a lot more behind than just the love of his life.

Liam Page the musician and Liam Westbury regular guy may be the same person but they are totally different persona's. Liam the singer is cocky, sometimes arrogant and always a prick, especially to the women he brings home. That's one of the main reasons I wanted to hate him from the start. Seeing that side of him right off the bat was almost off putting for me but thank my lucky STARS I kept reading because Liam Westbury, the once loving high school boyfriend was everything I want in a love interest. He had no intention of ever going home again but the death of his best friend was the catalyst for his return. I fell in love with Liam slowly, from his heartfelt eulogy to his determination to care for his best friend's widow, Liam proved he wasn't such a jerk. He wasn't just another tortured artist he had actual reasons for leaving. Getting thrown out of his house by his wealthy and disconnected parents wasn't the only reason he went running. He felt like following his dream wasn't what Josie would have wanted and he couldn't live his life for someone else no matter how much he loved her. I got that about him the more fleshed out he became and I started to really like him. I think what I loved most about Liam was Josie. I loved how she brought out the side of him that he had been trying to bury all these years. I enjoyed watching him grow and want to become the man he knew she needed and deserved.

Josie Preston was an easy character to love. Not just because she had her heart broken by the love of her life when he just left but because she was so damn strong in the aftermath. When Liam left her she was completely devastated and did everything she could to get him to talk to her and explain why he left but he wouldn't take her calls. She's been keeping a secret all these years and found comfort in Doctor Nick Ashford, the towns resident Pediatrician. I felt so bad for Josie not only for having to help her best friend through a tragic time but the stress of Liam's return and the implications it brings into her life. Seeing her put on a facade of strength to be able to get through seeing Liam again was rewarding for me. I wanted her to make him hurt like he hurt her. I wanted her to flaunt her relationship with Nick in Liam's face because he couldn't stand him in high school. She didn't do that though, she took the high road and even though she tried to keep him away she did what was best for everyone in the situation. I hated seeing her caught between Nick and Liam while they sorted out the issues they were facing. I really liked Nick and Josie together and at first didn't want Liam to win her back but poor Nick never stood a chance. You just can't compete with high school sweethearts who experienced so much together and share a bond as strong as Liam and Josie do.

The supporting characters in this book were absolutely fantastic. The death of the beloved best friend Mason and all the memories everyone shared made him feel like an enormous presence and had me tearing up a little. Watching everyone mourn him was tough and you didn't even get to read much about him. I think the author did a fantastic job working him into the story the way she did. It broke my heart for his wife Katelyn having to handle their two daughters alone but I loved how Liam stepped up and helped out because he loved his friend. I wasn't expecting the emotional side of the story to hit me so hard but I found myself feeling everything the characters did. I am absolutely excited and a little afraid to read the next book about Katelyn and I can only imagine the water works that one will bring.

Forever My Girl was a book I didn't want to fall in love with. I love books about Rock Stars even though at times they can be cliche and predictable. I love books with dual points of view and enjoyed the way the author fleshed out her characters. What I found with this one was more than just your run of the mill musician, I found something sweet, honest and endearing that will stay with me for a long time. I would have liked just a little more of the sexy times between the two love interests because they had absolutely amazingly written chemistry that sizzled when they were around each other but overall I was very happy with the way everything turned out. I'm excited to read the other books in the series because even the secondary characters were interesting enough to want to continue. If you need a good story with characters you can love and you like high school sweetheart romances then you should definitely read Forever My Girl!


Quotes:

I’ve pictured her many times standing in the line at the grocery store holding People or Rolling Stone when I’m on the cover. I want to think that she’s read the articles and seen me talk about her without actually saying her name. That she’s created a playlist on her iPod of all the songs that are about her, that she knows I've never stopped loving her. Kindle 11%


“If you're asking me today if I could live like this, the answer is no. I've lived such a quiet life for the last ten years I wouldn't know what to do with all of this if I had to do it now. But had you said you were giving me an option of never seeing you again or moving here so you could try your hand at music, I would've gone with you. I would’ve left that night because you were my life, Liam.” Kindle 59%

"I watched for you and once I saw you, I knew I was going to end up chasing my girl, waiting for you to turn around and see… the real me and love me for who I am and not what I did to you. I’m standing in front of you, Josie. You just have to turn around.” Kindle 86%



About The Author:
Heidi is the author of USA Today, Kobo, Digital Book World, Amazon and Barnes & Noble Bestselling novel, Forever My Girl. Originally from the Pacific Northwest, she now lives in picturesque Vermont, with her husband and two daughters. Also renting space in their home is an over-hyper Beagle/Jack Russell and two Parakeets. During the day Heidi is behind a desk talking about Land Use. At night, she's writing one of the many stories planned for release or sitting court-side during either daughter's basketball games.

Links:

2 comments:

  1. I looooved this one! I'm so glad you did too. I know you'll love My Unexpected Forever. I still need to read book three.
    Great review!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I loved this book! It's my favorite in the series.

    ReplyDelete

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