Small Town Hearts is a sweet, romantic contemporary that lays out the summer of Babe, a townie at heart and lover of everything baking, a true barista.
It deals with themes of friendship, love, and finding oneself. It will make you crave all the sugary sweets, slices of cake, and iced coffees while also slowly burning you with all the summer vibes. If you’re looking for a light yet intricately woven summer story that focuses majorly on the characters and relationships than plot and would love to know more about how that coffee is made behind the counter at a cafe, this is the book you need to pick up.
Babe’s friendship with her two close friends, who she has been around with since forever, hits a roadblock and the fact that Babe has to now see who she really is without these two vital people in her everyday life made me care about her right from the start. Moving on to the romantic aspect, Levi–the summer boy from New York who is an artistic soul–has officially made it to my book boyfriend list. He’s the sweetest, most adorable guy who genuinely understands everything and the only question I kept asking myself was: where do I find someone like him? Babe and his relationship is well paced and does reach the peak points at an understandable rhythm.
Another aspect that really impressed me was Babe exploring the possibilities of making new friends. The destruction of the notion that your best friends who you’ve spent the majority of time with are the only ones you can ever grow close to has even made me think about my own views regarding friendship in life. So that’s something I found commendable. Not only this, the opinions and discussions in this story regarding the ‘town life’ have sparked an interest in me. I’m a city person at heart or so I believed but seeing the characters in this book enjoying and genuinely loving the calmness, the peacefulness and everything else that a town offers the best has made me rethink my own views about being a townie.
The bisexual representation is not something I can comment upon since I don’t belong to the spectrum but I would love to mention that it amazed me to a great extent. It’s gracefully incorporated into the character’s personality and there are no unnecessary explanations being provided to the readers when Babe mentions her ex-girlfriend and starts falling in love with this summer boy. Also, the main character doesn’t take a step back when she needs to let other characters–or the readers–know that coming out is something a person does at their own pace and I appreciated it so much.
Overall, a definitely recommended read that will make you fall in love with the characters, the town, and the coffees and cakes.
Disclaimer: I received a digital copy of this via my participation in a blog tour but that doesn’t, in any way, affect my rating and/or opinions of it. Thank you, Lillie Vale, Lili (USOM) and Swoon Reads! This post may contain affiliate links.
This book sounds great! I’ve been hearing a lot of sweet reviews for this book, but I love the quotes (and the background) you chose. It helps me get to feel a connection to the book. I can’t wait to read this!
Thank you so much! It really means a lot to me <3 And you should totally give it a try, especially in summer 😀
Dear Fanna ,
1. your blog is gorgeous af
2. Now i want cake and ice coffee
3. Awesome review
Haha, thank you so much! <3 It really means a lot and pssstt, run to the nearest cafe and please do at that cake and drink that iced coffee 😀
Love love love the quote aesthetics. A lot of people have been raving about this book, I’m definitely adding it to my TBR.
Thank you so much! <3 Yes, it deserves all the raving. It's such an easy yet emotional read, I'm glad you're adding it to your TBR 😀
I’ve been enjoying everyone’s reviews on this book, and the quotes you posted are making me even more excited.