His Small-Town Girl

<b>HIS SMALL-TOWN GIRL is available to pre-order!</b><br><br>➳ Amazon: <a target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow" href="https://amzn.to/2JbVECV">https://amzn.to/2JbVECV</a><br>➳ Apple Books: <a target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow" href="https://apple.co/2QHtZy6">https://apple.co/2QHtZy6</a><br>➳ Nook: <a target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow" href="https://bit.ly/2JbVRpH">https://bit.ly/2JbVRpH</a><br>➳ Kobo: <a target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow" href="https://bit.ly/3afylUT">https://bit.ly/3afylUT</a><br><br><img src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/hostedimages/1585339485i/29181098.jpg" class="gr-hostedUserImg" loading="lazy"><br><br>READ AN EXCERPT NOW:<br><br>What was she going to do?<br>
Molly caught her knuckle as she twisted the wrench on a nut that just wouldn't give. She gritted her teeth as the skin scraped away. She sucked on the skin, the iron tang of blood settling on her tongue.
<br>Questions bounced through her mind as a cold wind blew straight down the collar of her jacket.
<br>Once she got the nut loosened, the dead alternator would lift out. Another hour, and she'd have the new one installed in its place.
<br>And then what?<br>
She'd promised Cord she'd get off his property. He'd been kind, letting her stay the past two nights. She'd repaid him by cooking some of Mama's favorite meals, though she'd left him to eat in peace, staying in her room and strumming her guitar.
<br>She hadn't slept other than in snatches. 
She needed to get the fear under control. She couldn't keep going like this.
<br>She'd seen a random stranger walking down the street and panicked. A full blown attack, with the shakes and trouble breathing. In front of Cord, who obviously pitied her.<br>
Pitied her, but wasn't going to invite her to stay.
<br><i>I'll never let you go.
<br>I'll kill anybody you get close to.</i>
<br>Toby's cutting voice had been bouncing through her brain ever since.
<br><i>You're mine.</i>
<br>She wasn't his. Never had been.
<br>But no matter how many times she repeated it to herself, his voice followed her.
<br>She'd found a measure of safety on Cord's land. It was quiet, peaceful. Maybe she could find someplace like it.
<br>She tried to tell herself she would be fine.
<br>But she didn't believe it.
<br>Footsteps crunched in the dried grasses, and she startled so badly that she dropped her wrench into the engine with a clang.
<br>She might've uttered a cuss word under her breath as she retrieved it.
<br>She shot a glance at Cord, approaching from the house, but he pretended he hadn't seen her jump like a lunatic.
<br>"Need some help?" He shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans. His flannel shirt was unbuttoned above a T-shirt that clung to his abs.
<br>"No thanks." She'd fight with this bolt a little more, and then she'd win. She'd do the next step and the next until the engine was rebuilt.
<br>Too bad she didn't have a manual for how to rebuild her life.
<br>He shifted his feet. Opened his mouth. Shut it again. Then blurted, "Can you come inside for a minute? I wanna talk."<br>
"What's there to talk about? I told you I'm getting ready to leave. You'll have your solitude back."
<br>He mumbled something under his breath. When she shot him a look, he awarded her a tight smile. It was some improvement over his fierce frowns. What would it take to drag a real smile from him?
"Please, will you come inside?"<br>
The nut finally loosened, the tension giving away under the strain in her arm. 
"Fine," she said.<br>
It was the work of a few seconds to remove the nut and bolt, and then she lifted out the alternator and set it on the ground beside the truck. An empty spot was left behind in the truck's engine.<br>
That's how she felt right now. There was a huge piece missing inside of her. She didn't know how to get it back.
<br>She wiped her grease-stained hands on a rag as she followed Cord to the house. 
In the kitchen, he motioned her to sit in one of the kitchen chairs. She crossed her arms and leaned against the counter instead.
<br>He leveled a look on her. "You okay?"
<br>She dropped her gaze to the floor. "I'm fine."<br>
She wasn't fine. But he'd already seen her at her worst, and she didn't want to face his pity again.
<br>"Molly." <br>She heard the skepticism in the single word. 
She turned away and started running water at the sink. She scrubbed her hands with the rough green bar of soap left there. And rinsed.
<br>And then he was close behind her, reaching around her to turn off the water. Her body was betraying her again. It was awareness of him at her shoulder—not fear—that made her heart pound.
<br>That and the sickening memory of Toby.
<br>"I want to know what's going on," he said. The words emerged heavy, as if they’d cost him.
<br>She squeezed her eyes closed.
<br>He touched her, cupping one hand beneath her elbow.
<br>And when she looked up at him again, something was burning behind his eyes. "I have to know. Did someone hurt you?"<br>
She clutched the edge of the sink. "He tried."


Ugh. Another day...another book that took me way too long to read. This 150 page book felt like it was 350 pages long and took me three nights to read. <br><img src="https://images.gr-assets.com/hostedimages/1591284786ra/29593843.gif" class="gr-hostedUserImg" loading="lazy"><br><br>Molly and Cord are two people with a barn-full of issues. Molly has fled Austin, Texas in an attempt to get away from a dangerous stalker. She gets a couple hours away when her car stalls out in the drive of No-Name Ranch. The owner reluctantly lets her spend the night. When she then proves to be handy around the falling-down ranch, he reluctantly lets her stay.<br><br>Cord left Sutter Hollow under a cloud of scandal ten years ago and vowed to never return. But when his cruel grandmother dies he’s forced to return to the ranch. His plan is to make repairs and sell it as soon as possible. A traumatized woman showing up on his land upends his plans, especially when they fall in love.<br><br>There was an abundance of telling vs showing in this book. Once glance at Molly and Cord automatically knows “something bad has happened to her.” It takes Molly a couple more days to realize Cord “is haunted by his past.” So much of this story was told through internal monologue instead of through storytelling.<br><br>One thing that makes me bonkers in a book is when there are “secrets” about a character and the author spends the whole book hinting about the secrets, waiting and waiting to give the big reveal! It was even more frustrating here because the heroine had secrets - that the reader knew but the hero did not (YAY - I like this), but then there’s a big mystery about the hero’s past that is referred to frequently but the reader has no idea what HIS big secret is… Why treat the two characters so differently? <br><br>The other issue I had with this story is that a lot of the background was only cursorily explained. We know Cord’s grandmother treated him badly, but not why. We get only a brief description of the big event that sent Cord running from the town - and even worse, I think it was done that way on purpose to set up the next book in the series. Sadly, not enough detail was given about any of the characters and thus no interest was piqued for reading any more from this series.<br><br>This book should have been long enough to give this story a fair shake. Much to my dismay, not much worked out for me...starting with a book cover that is completely incongruous to the type of story we’re given, and ending with a story that leaves me with more questions than were answered. <br><br><i>* thank you to NetGalley and Lacy Williams Books LLC for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review</i><br><br>

A sweet and wholesome romance that touched my heart. Molly and Cord were the best example of what true love is.

His Small-Town Girl is the first book in Lacy Williams' Sutter's Hollow series. This sweet and interesting romance novel has likable characters with mysterious and interesting pasts. <br /><br />Molly is desperate to leave her past in the past. She is running from something and looking for a safe place to disappear. When she sees an ad to work on a farm, she leaps at the opportunity. Cord has returned to his childhood home to sell it, but he never put an ad in for help, nor does he want help. However, Molly isn't about to let him refuse.<br /><br />As Molly and Cord work together to fix up the ranch, they both have to face their troubled pasts. Cord had a difficult and unloved childhood, and this still haunts him. Molly has her own troubles and is definitely hiding from something that Cord wants to protect her from. I enjoyed watching their relationship develop into romance. They are wounded people who can heal each other. I can't wait to read more in this delightful HEA romantic series!

Cord and Molly are trying to escape, but in Sutters Hollow, they learn the hard way that no matter how far you run, you cannot outrun the past. Secrets from their past relationships are revealed and they soon realize that they cannot hide from the monsters under the bed. Can they overcome their obstacles together? Can they overcome the hurt, abuse, pain and rejection and learn that it's okay to ask for help?<br /><br />While I enjoyed their story there were some areas that felt a bit incomplete to me as I wanted clarity on Mackie and her hatred right down until death, the mysterious signature for the loan that was never resolved, do not get me started on her father who I want to just bash in the head, the accident story of from when Cord and they were kids felt a bit flimsy to me and can somebody please tell me where Cord got money from to buy a ring when he could not afford a water heater?

I love Lacy William book and this one has to be one of her best! The two main characters are about as down on your luck as two people can be! As they rise from the ashes, you will believe in hope, love and second chances. This book touches me so much, especially with what is happening in the world right now. We NEED a book like this to restore our faith in humanity! Cord had such a difficult childhood and should have been loved and cared for by the one person responsible for that - his grandma - but he wasn't. So now she's left him a ranch and so many problems that he doesn't know half of them! Who does that? Molly is running from people who have betrayed her and I mean terribly betrayed her...people who should have cared for her too. Somehow she ends up on Cord's ranch and she wont let him turn her away, she's going to stay and help him fix up this ranch - but there is also an ulterior motive for it, he just doesn't know it! The two of them are just so broken but oh so right for each other and I loved how the author peeled back the layers of their relationship! The frustrations, the danger, the blossoming romance...so, so good! Already I can't wait for the next book!

I liked it <br /><br />What i loved... It was so descriptive... i could feel i was there with the characters at the ranch, from the smells of cooking, the layout of the building to the views from the window the Author transported me there.<br /><br />What was Meh<br /><br />The story was a bit bland and parts seemed a bit dramatic.. like the MC cutting everyone out of his life and avoiding them for years then being so content at the end of the book so, well easily.....<br /><br />I don't know.... some bits didn't add up.... still the writing was beautiful, it wasn't a hardship to read by any means

AHH this book was great! I so enjoyed getting to know Cord (man, that name grew on me quickly) and Molly in this first book in the Sutter's Hollow series.<br /><br />Williams did a great job at creating a sense of mystery and intrigue (what was the deal with Cord's grandma? What's got Molly spooked? How's it going to all pan out?). Details came out layer by layer, just how I like it (no matter how many times I say I just want to know everything right now). :) And ooh boy, The Moment. (Is that kind of like "the look" people reference? :D) That was epic. Every girl needs a Cord (and a Moment) in her life.<br /><br />I legit can't wait for books 2 and 3 to come out. In the meantime, I have some more Lacy Williams books to read!<br /><br />I received a copy of the book from the author via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

#HisSmallTownGirl #NetGalley<br /><br />This has be one of my favorite Lacy Williams book!! Her novels are always good, but this one was great! I really liked the characters and felt an instant connection with Molly. I really like that even though Cord grew in this book. He made some really big steps in opening up and beginning to live again. I liked that he and Molly really complimented each other. <br /><br />Thank you to NetGalley and Lacy Williams Books LLC. for an advance reader copy in exchange for a fair review. The opinions expressed are my own.

A beautiful heart filled novel....mending grief, renewing relationships and find love!