Small Town Hearts by Lillie Vale

Small Town Hearts

by Lillie Vale

Babe Vogel has spent her whole life in the postcard perfect small coastal town of Oar’s Rest, Maine. She works at the local coffee shop, the Busy Bean, lives in a lighthouse, and has a tight group of friends she’s known since birth.

When NYC-based artist Levi Keller turns up at the Busy Bean, Babe can immediately tell he’s from “out of town.” Levi is determined to live like a hermit and remain a mystery to the Oar’s Rest natives, but Babe won’t allow it. She takes Levi under her wing and shows him how the Maine locals live.

But as the seasons pass and Babe and Levi’s friendship becomes something more, they both have to figure out if they can balance small-town living with big-city dreams. Is Levi just a “summer boy,' destined to go home when the seasons change, or is he in Oar’s Rest to stay?

Reviewed by Sam@WLABB on

4 of 5 stars

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This was NOT turning out to be the summer Babe was expecting. She had planned to laze her days away on the beach with her besties eating tacos, but one mistake, and she was ousted from the group. To add to her misery, her ex-girlfriend was back in town after unceremoniously cutting Babe out of her life. All seemed lost, until a silver lining, in the form of a summer boy, appeared.

I am going to tell you right now - I was rooting for the summer boy from the very beginning. Levi was such a sweet little cinnamon roll, and it was easy to see that he made Babe something she hadn't really been in quite a while - happy. He was honest and a straight shooter, and he didn't leave her questioning everything she did or said. Their relationship was delightfully healthy.

It was easy to understand Babe's reluctance to open her heart to Levi, though. She was nursing quite a few wounds due to abandonment. Her mother left, her girlfriend left, and her best friends (kinda, sorta) left. How was she supposed to allow herself to fall for a boy, who was scheduled to leave at the end of the summer?

Alas, my heart didn't care, because these two shared a great friendship and a meaningful connection. And his friendship came without expectations, UNLIKE some of her "friends".

A big part of Babe's story was the conflict with Penny and Chad. I guess it's part of growing up, but it's also sad to see a long friendship run its course. It was definitely hard for Babe, and Vale did a wonderful job capturing those emotions. I felt for Babe and raged against her friends. I suppose I should commend the author for inciting these emotions in me, because I sort of felt like I went through the stages of grief during the demise of this friendship.

Aside from the romance, which was the star of this book for me, I also loved:

• What a fantastic little seaside town Vale brought us to. I loved exploring Oars Rest, and thought the author did a wonderful job pulling me into this local.

• Babe's mom and friends sort of sucked, but she was not without support. There were many fine inhabitants of Oars Rest, who gave their love to Babe. Her boss at Busy's was a sort of surrogate father to her, and she found an honest friendship in Lorcan and Lucy, who were both amazing. Sometimes found-families are just better.

• Sandcastle competitions for the win

• Baked goods. Lots and lots of amazing sounding baked goods. Oh, and seafood too.

• She lived in a lighthouse!

• End of summer traditions

It was a summer of many ups and downs for Babe, where she learned a lot about life and about herself.

*ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 9 March, 2019: Finished reading
  • 9 March, 2019: Reviewed