Small Town Secrets – ARC Book Review

“Young women needed for the Fortune Springs Town Improvement Initiative. One year’s room and board provided.”

I should have known it was too good to be true when I first saw the ad. It turns out that Fortune Springs, Colorado isn’t just a one-horse town, it’s a two-woman one, and this is their attempt to keep the community alive. I want to say the scheme is ridiculous, totally outdated, but I’m carrying everything I own in my canvas backpack and the greyhound I stepped off this morning is long gone. If this is my chance at a fresh start, I’d better grab it with both hands.

I know I should feel guilty about pretending to be a lonely heart willing to help repopulate this rural logging town, but all I feel is relief at having escaped the apartment in Savannah. And after all, what’s one more secret to add to the pile? I only hope I’ve hidden my tracks well enough, and that the kind Fortune Springs locals who’ve opened their doors to me will never find out what made me run away in the first place…

An emotional, gripping story full of family drama. Fans of Carolyn Brown, Robyn Carr and Debbie Macomber will be hooked.

No of pages:- 254 pages

Date published:- will be published on March 24th 2021

Genre:- Women’s Fiction

“Young women needed for the Fortune Springs Town Improvement Initiative. One year’s room and board provided.”

That’s how the story starts with Virginia Bessel moving into Fortune Springs to start a new life. She befriends Calla and her granddaughter, Willa and lives with them in the Bride House. Then she meets a handsome firefighter, Owen–initially, they first didn’t get along and soon sparks start flying between them…

I had enjoyed reading Alys Murray’s books and so I was excited to read this one. Like all her book, this story was engaging and also actually easy to read and quick to read as well. The characters to me are all likable, particularly I like little Willa and how Virginia quickly becomes friends with Willa. This was actually more like a Hallmark movie with Virginia leaving behind bad memories and wanting to start a new life in Fortune Springs, Colorado and then meeting a handsome man and falling in love with him.

Overall, to me, this wasn’t a bad book–it was good. The story was nothing new but nonetheless, I enjoyed reading this book and read in one go. Worth four stars in my opinion!

Alys Murray writes novels for the romantic in all of us. Born and raised in New Orleans, she received her BFA from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts and her Master’s in Film Studies from King’s College London. She loves black and white movies, baseball games that go into extra innings, and reminding people like Michael Bay has two films in The Criterion Collection.