The Forever Girl (Wildstone #6)
by Jill Shalvis
Blurb:
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.
Themes: Contemporary
Rating: 3.75 stars
Heat Rating: 
Review:
Wildstone is back… with some serious emotional
trauma. Any fan of Jill Shalvis knows she has a terrifying skill at breaking
the readers’ heart even as she builds you up to experience the deepest love
story imaginable. Her Wildstone series, though unconventional and different
from her previous series, is no less filled with love and emotion. Most series
are most tightly connected, primarily through character connections, but to my recollection
the only connection so far in this series has been the actual setting, the city
of Wildstone, with minimal character crossover.
Instead each story has had two couples connecting and finding their way
to an HEA, giving us double the happiness and love. This newest addition,
begins with a bit more of a heavy trauma and backstory, setting the stage for
the much deeper emotional drama to come, but in all I found that I laughed
plenty and was happy to have the coupes find love. Just to prevent spoilers, I
will stick with describing Maze as her story is the primary one, but I will say
that one of her sisters-of-the-heart also finds love and her HEA in this
novel. Maze is returning home after a
long separation, brought about by her own fears and insecurities, but
instigated by the marriage of her best friend from childhood Cat. Unfortunately
she knows that her first love Walker will also be there and she is not really
ready to deal with him. The loss of their relationship and the love she thought
they had broke her as a young woman, but she is still not prepared for his impact
on her. Walker has returned for the
wedding and has his own ulterior motive when it comes to Maze, but seeing her
and being stuck in a house with her for a week is awakening some long-dead
feelings her has been denying. Can
either of them lower their walls enough to have a chance at a happiness that has
been just out of reach their entire lives or will their loneliness continue as
they split again for good this time? Walker and Maze were definitely both tough
nuts to crack, but as we get to know them, learning about their painful pasts
and the mistakes they both made as young idiots, it becomes abundantly clear
that they are made for one another. I
enjoyed watching them dancing around their emotions until they finally decided
to drop their guards and let one another in, even at the risk of pain, so that
they could find that HEA they had been chasing.
The passion and draw was always there between them, even when they were
both reminiscing to their youth, and you couldn’t imagine two people more
connected physically or emotionally. I am glad both of these couples found
their happy ending and that their little family found a way to come back
together and stay together despite their rockiness of the week the spent
together and the trauma they lived.
Another masterpiece of the healing power of love, Jill!
*ebook provided by publisher (via
NetGalley) for the purpose of an honest and unbiased review. No compensation was provided.
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