Review: Small Town Hearts by Lillie Vale

Title: Small Town Hearts

Author: Lillie Vale

Genre: Contemporary Romance/Young Adult

Release Date: May 2019

Rating: 4/5 Stars













Sometimes, you just need a solid small-town romance to cleanse the palate after reading a pile of literary fiction titles and for me, Small Town Hearts was the perfect sweet treat. Small Town Hearts is a bittersweet, beautifully written book that perfectly captures the in between of growing up and childhood, of moving forward or staying in place. The story follows 19-year-old Babe, who works and lives in the small Maine town of Oar's Rest. Babe is happy to stay in town after graduation and pursue her love of baking and coffee, and plans on spending the summer with her best friends who also happen to be dating. Babe herself hasn't dated since her ex girlfriend left for college, and she certainly doesn't plan on pursuing the cute, mysterious "summer boy" Levi who is in town for a summer art program. But Babe's summer gets complicated real fast and nothing turns out quite as she plans.

Babe is the best, she bakes and makes coffee

What I loved: the setting! Oar's Rest is an idyllic small town set on the coast of Maine. Babe lives in a freaking lighthouse and is a baker and barista at a super cute coffee shop called the Busy Bean. There's an annual fish fry and sandcastle competition, and neighbors around Oar's Rest look out for each other. Yet even in this sweet small town, there's drama. Babe doesn't know her father, and her mother basically takes off most of the year to work on a cruise line. At nineteen, Babe is basically on her own and supporting herself, so her friends play an extra important role in her life as sort of her found family. So when her perfect summer plans come to a halt when her best friend, Penny, decides to break up with her other best friend, Chad, and asks Babe to do it for her, Babe knows that no matter how much she hates change, this will be a summer full of it. Babe finds some relief in Levi, an artist in town for the summer as a part of the town's Art Center's artist in residence program, but she has no desire to fall for a boy who will only be in town for a few months, so she tries her best to keep him at arm's length. Meanwhile, she finds out her ex, Elodie, also an artist, is back in town for the summer and she dreads seeing the girl who broke her heart. As you can see there are lots of juicy moments throughout the story, but overall the authenticity of the characters really shines through, even with all of their faults.

How I pictured Babe's front yard

Plus, It was nice to read a story with a bisexual heroine whose coming out isn't the focus of the story, but instead her sexuality is just already a fact about who she is. The writing is really evocative and the setting makes you wish this town was real. Although there are quite a few dramatic moments between friends and exes, I thought that was very authentic given the age of the characters. Everyone is right on the edge of being done with high school and forced to start growing up, but also reluctant to be a full-fledged adult. Babe's story really rang true for me, and I would definitely recommend this to readers who love small town settings, realistic angst, and complicated friendships and relationships. Also, it will make you really hungry so make sure you have coffee and a baked good while you're reading!

Admittedly, it was kind of odd to read this book during the holidays since it takes place in the summer, but it actually perfectly captured that warm-and-fuzzy first love feeling that is fun to read about this time of year. It's expected publication date is next May, so it will come out right in time to be a perfect summer read. A really solid YA contemporary, and I look forward to hearing more from this author!