Book Review | Lyrics of a Small Town – Abbi Glines

Lyrics of a Small Town
By: Abbi Glines

Genre: New Adult Romance
Publisher: Indie/self-published
Publication Date: July 30th, 2021
My Rating: 3 ½ stars
My Reading Format: Paperback

Synopsis:

One last thing, if you do fall in love with him, please go slowly. Be careful. Trust your gut and know not all things are easy. Damaged things can become beautiful if they’re placed in the right hands. –Love, Gran

A small town where pickup trucks rule, the farmer’s market is bigger than the grocery store, and just about everyone goes to church on Sunday is the last place Henley Warren expects to find herself three months after her grandmother’s death. But Gran left a list of things she needed Henley to do after she died, and fulfilling those wishes means spending a summer in the same place her mom fled from when she was only seventeen years old. With each task that is ticked off the list, events are set in motion that uncover secrets surrounding Henley’s life.

Although Henley may have arrived on the shores of Alabama’s Gulf Coast feeling alone and lost in a world without her Gran, things soon change. The small town holds more than she realized- including a broody, gorgeous, potentially dangerous guy who is always showing up when she needs him the most. Henley fears her heart isn’t ready to trust someone so unpredictable but he makes her feel things deeper than she thought possible. So, when Henley discovers the twisted, dark world he is living in, will it be too late to save her heart? Or has her heart been beyond saving from the moment he stepped out of his truck on that very first day?

Lyrics of a Small Town by Abbi Glines is a stand alone story told from Henley Warren’s point of view. This novel is all about Henley finding herself, not the person her mother wants her to be, but the true person she is meant to be.

After Henley’s grandmother passes away due to Covid, Henley receives a letter with a list of instructions and soft demands. She must carry the list out to its fullest and hand deliver her requests. A few tasks down, Henley realizes this list isn’t about her Gran, but about her Gran wanting Henley to uncover a mystery surrounding who she is, but most importantly, who her father was. It’s a summer of discovery for Henley. Discovering secrets, discovering joy, and discovering love. But will this summer of discovery leave her heart ripped open, or will she find the place she was always meant to be.

My Thoughts:

This isn’t my first time reading a Glines’ book, and honestly I was a huge fan a few summers ago. But then life got in the way, ARCs started popping up on my kindle, and my reading became more about a schedule and less about reading what I already have. This year, something in me changed, I long to read all the paperbacks on my shelf, and in that challenge, I stumbled across Lyrics of a Small Town by Abbi Glines!

The more I sat down, looking at the paper that listed the pros and cons of this novel, the more I felt myself questioning certain points of the story and my 4 star rating didn’t feel adequate enough….. So let’s start with this spoiler free review.

I’m not going to say a lot due to all the twists that pop out from nowhere. What I will say is I absolutely adored Henley and the journey of self discovery she went on. Henley was as sweet as they come! I loved the fact that she was the girl next door and never spoke ill of anyone, even the mother who treated her as if she were someone else. My heart vibed with her character!

I loved all the secondary characters Abbi Glines brought to this novel. But, maybe because this is only told from Henley’s point of view, I had trouble vibing and getting to know SAUL. This man had so much going on in his life, from an alcoholic and drug addicted mother to a crazy ex-girlfriend. I think because his business was interfering in Henley’s summer of self discovery I needed his point of view to understand and like his character a tad bit more. I did like the alpha-vibes he brought to this story, I just wanted to know this man much more than what was given.

One character I also adored was Rio! Let’s just say, Rio and Henley may be on the same journey of self discovery… and that is all I’m going to say about that!

I decided to rate this novel 3 ½ stars because, even though I loved and adored Henley’s character, I felt lost when it came to Saul and his character. I craved more from this man than what was given. I wanted more. There was also a name that kept popping up in regards to Henley, and I wanted to know more about this situation and this name!! I’m not going to mention the name due to spoilers… Ugh, I feel like I’m left hanging by a thread here. I also feel like I’m missing out on another story. Like, maybe this novel stems from another novel. Where the hell does the title come from? The only musical reference was of Saul and his guitar playing. But those are just, back of the mind, problems…

Overall, I can’t say it enough. If you’re looking for a novel that features a self discovery and hot sex scenes, this is a novel for you. If you’re looking for a novel with strong relationship goals and a plot that surrounds that, this may not be the book for you. Give me self discovery and hot sex any day! I was vibing with this one. 

Read Today:

*Free with kindleunlimited*

Amazon US: https://amzn.to/3YniA8g
Amazon Worldwide: https://mybook.to/lyricsofastag

Peace Love and Happy Reading,