Earlier this month I posted a review for the first two books in the River Valley Lost & Found trilogy by Kayla Tirrell and I loved them. I was honored to get an ARC of the last book in this trilogy that comes out today. If you want to read what I thought about the first two books click here. To find out what I thought of the third book keep on reading.

Cover

Again I have to say I love the feeling these covers show. This one gives a summer vibe as it should, because it takes place during the summer. I still love the font as well. All three of these books fit together perfectly!

“Instead of getting a tan in the sun, I’d be sitting under fluorescent lights. My sandy beaches would be replaced by shelves and shelves of books. Instead of gorgeous cabana boys, I’d be dealing with nerds.”

Plot

This one follows Michelle and Rainier. It’s the summer vacation and Michelle had plans to go to Cancun with her best friend Avery, but her plans are ruined when her dad tells her she will be working at least 25 hours a week in his bookstore. This is a nightmare for her. She doesn’t get that people still visit bookstores. I had a hard time connecting with her in the beginning, because come on, how can you not want to work in a bookstore? Haha. Also, in the previous books she was mentioned a few times and not in a positive way. Rainier is home from college for the summer and has worked on and off at Michelle father’s bookstore. Needless to say they don’t hit it off in the beginning. While at home, Rainier is also filling in as a guitar player in a friend’s band while one member is out with a broken arm. During the course of the book you come to find out that not everything is at it seems and Michelle has a good reason for certain ways of acting out. The relationship she has with her mother isn’t the greatest and that makes some things hard. Rainier is a bit ashamed of his hippie parents, but realizes he has it pretty good when he learns more about her situation. Michelle and Rainier kind of have a love/hate relationship. They don’t really like the other, but don’t understand why they get butterflies anyways. I loved the fact that it wasn’t an instant “we’re in love” situation, but it took time to grow and had its bumps. Not many books do it this way anymore. I could go on and on about this book, but I don’t want to spoil this book for anyone. All I can say is that you really need to read this if contemporary books are your thing. I really hope she writes more books in the future! And I wouldn’t say no to a book for Jenny, Avery and Sarah, haha. A girl can dream!

“She sighed and the irritation that had been evident on her face faded. I could already tell she was one of those customers. “I can’t remember the title, but it’s blue and has red..maybe yellow words on the front.””

Characters

Michelle seems like a spoiled girl in the beginning, but you soon find out that’s not really the case. She puts distance between herself and others when things get difficult so she won’t get hurt. After her mother cheated on her father she stopped believing in love and happily ever after. This even makes her friendship with her best friend Avery very difficult. Avery feels the distance and eventually confronts her with it. This is when she realizes what she’s doing and things start to change. Michelle really grew in this book.

“If you can’t remember what comes after G, we have some alphabet books in the children’s section.”

Rainier is not your typical college guy that you read about in this type of books. He’s pretty shy and insecure at times. His parents homeschooled him and he basically does his own thing. He has a few friends, but isn’t very popular. Playing the guitar in a band is a big step from him playing in front of his mirror at home in his room. So when he gets up in front of a crowd and sings it’s a really big step. He has to deal with some changes in his life and think about what he wants. This isn’t always easy.

“Between my job, practice, and shows, I was booked. And not in that cutesy way how girls wore shirts with books on them that said something like my weekend is all booked. No, I was so busy I could barely think straight.”

“I knew that look. I was the queen of that look. It was the don’t you dare go near what’s mine look.”

I’m so sad that this trilogy is all over! I love that characters from the earlier books make some type of appearance even if they are only mentioned. I really hope this author writes more, because I really loved these books. I basically read them all in one sitting, haha. They gave me such a fluffy feeling, just as a contemporary should, haha.