WELCOME BACK TO RAMBLING TEXAS BY JUNE FAVER

8/16/2021

Welcome Back to Rambling Texas is a sweet, small town romance. If you enjoy the Blessings, Georgia series by Sharon Sala then I think you’d enjoy this one!

Rating: ★★★
Release Date: June 29, 2021
Genre: Small Town Romance
Series: A Visit to Rambling Texas #1
Pages: 281 pages
Format: Paperback. Source: Purchased.

For fans of Carolyn Brown, Sherryl Woods, and Sharon Sala, comes a heartfelt, Southern second chance story for a single mom and her rambunctious young daughter.

Reggie Lee Stafford is a hometown girl living in Rambling, the town in Texas Hill Country where she grew up. As a single mom, her world revolves around her young daughter and her great job writing for the local newspaper. But her peaceful life is turned upside down when Frank Bell—the bane of Reggie's teenage existence—returns to town to claim his inheritance.

Now, Frank is the owner of the local paper where Reggie works. Reggie can't imagine going to work every day and seeing her old

nemesis. Frank seems intent on apologizing, and if he plays his cards right, he might be able to make up for having been such a jerk when they were young. But Reggie has more than her own reputation to protect this time, and Frank is going to have to pull out all the stops to prove he's worth a second chance.

PURCHASE A COPY

AMAZON KINDLE | AMAZON PRINT | LISTEN WITH AUDIBLE

READ MY BOOK REVIEW

𝗥𝗘𝗩𝗜𝗘𝗪 𝗦𝗡𝗔𝗣𝗦𝗛𝗢𝗧: Welcome Back to Rambling Texas is a sweet, small town romance. If you enjoy the Blessings, Georgia series by Sharon Sala then I think you’d enjoy this one!

So, the reviews on this book are really mixed but I decided to read it anyway because I’m a sucker for small town romances that are a little more wholesome than erotic (just like Sharon Sala’s Blessings, Georgia series). Anyway, I don’t think this book was horrible by any means, but I can certainly see why some readers didn’t care for it. Essentially, this book looked like it was written in parts (like the author had all these great ideas and then slopped them together to make a novel). Some things didn’t really feel like they should have made their way through the final edits while other parts fit into the “sweet, small town romance” perfectly. I suppose it would just be easier for me to explain these things below. It might make it easier for readers to decide whether this is a book they’d like to pick up for themselves.

𝗪𝗛𝗔𝗧 𝗪𝗢𝗥𝗞𝗘𝗗 𝗙𝗢𝗥 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗦𝗧𝗢𝗥𝗬

▶ This is definitely a sweeter, small town romance. Normally in books like these the romance happens really FAST and honestly, I was fine with this and sort of expected it. The two main characters (Franklin and Reggie; aka Regina) have a history from high school and finding themselves together (even though they were enemies at first) worked for them. If you don’t mind 𝗜𝗡𝗦𝗧𝗔 𝗟𝗢𝗩𝗘 𝗦𝗧𝗢𝗥𝗜𝗘𝗦 then this book will be a good fit for you.

▶ Another thing that worked for me was the small town and friendship vibes you get from a book like this. Everyone knows each other, everyone respects each other, and friendships are formed in a charming way. If I’m reading a small-town romance, then it HAS to feel this way and I think the author does a decent job making it feel homey. While I would have liked just a little more depth in this area, it was fine the way it is.

▶ The secondary romance that takes place between Gayle and Paul. If you’ve read the Blessings, Georgia series by Sharon Sala you’ll note similarities here because the author sprinkles in other relationships and things throughout the story. I love this but really hope the author isn’t trying to add these things in simply because Sharon Sala does it. That would be almost like cheating to me…

𝗪𝗛𝗔𝗧 𝗗𝗜𝗗𝗡'𝗧 𝗪𝗢𝗥𝗞 𝗙𝗢𝗥 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗦𝗧𝗢𝗥𝗬

▶ There was drama added that never needed to be there simply because it went NOWHERE. Reggie is divorced and hasn’t seen her ex-husband in YEARS (after he left her and their daughter- he gave up his parental rights so he wouldn’t have to pay child support) and he randomly shows up looking to get her back? All the while being violent towards her? It came out of nowhere and once he was arrested for assault nothing else happened... We all know a man can assault someone and be out jail the next day, so it seems like the author added this drama just for the sake of it. It added nothing to the story and really was just a nuisance.

▶ There were small details that weren’t fleshed out and the editor missed some details that should have been fixed. For example, Reggie was afraid of her ex getting joint custody when he came back into town, but he GAVE UP HIS RIGHTS! He would NEVER get any sort of custody again… That made me cringe a little to be honest.

▶ In the beginning of the book there was some pretty foul language used when Franklin was describing what a “bitch” Reggie is… This doesn’t fit into the “wholesome” genre. Now I don’t mind swearing and all that (I swear like a truck driver sometimes) but in a book like this it doesn’t fit and is sure to turn off many readers.

▶ Finally, it would have been nice to see the relationship between Franklin and Reggie more (even the daughter!). We’re told is happens, but nothing materializes in our eyes. A little extra would have gone a long way.

All in all, while there were certainly a number of things I didn’t care for in terms of this book, I did enjoy it for what it was and even read it all in one day. I’ll definitely take a look at the next book in the series when it comes out but if things are edited better then I’ll chalk this author up to a loss for me.

𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗙𝗘𝗖𝗧 𝗙𝗢𝗥 𝗙𝗔𝗡𝗦 𝗢𝗙:
• Wholesome romances
• Insta love stories
• Authors like Sharon Sala, Delores Fossen, and Jennifer Snow.

𝗠𝗬 𝗥𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗚: ⭐⭐⭐