Book Review of 'Forever Free' by Hope Toler Dougherty

Happy Tuesday Bookworms!

Spring has arrived in Texas but to be fair we didn't really have a winter this year. I'm one of those people that loves every season for its own unique attributes and feel sad when we don't get that season. I love the cooler weather and am not looking forward to the warmer temperatures that seem to choke the joy out of spring and summer in the south.

That's one thing I love so much about books. I get to experience other seasons vicariously through these literary worlds, and the landscape is one of the things that I eat up most when I'm reading. I love the adventures that my imagination takes me on, which is one of the things I loved about the novel that I am featuring today. The imagery is amazing and took me to a world that I have never had the opportunity to experience first-hand.

I hope you enjoy my thoughts of Forever Free, and don't forget to scroll to the bottom of this post and enter the amazing giveaway from JustRead Tours!

Welcome to the Blog Tour for Forever Free by Hope Toler Dougherty, hosted by JustRead Publicity Tours!

About the Book

Title: Forever Free
Series: Forever #4
Author: Hope Toler Dougherty
Publisher: Scrivenings Press
Release Date: January 29, 2024
Genre: Christian Contemporary Romance

Phoebe Sinclair combines her love of flowers and teaching to nurture a cut flower business on her grandfather’s land. She’s got her hands full growing the farm, growing her customer base, and dealing with her growing attraction to the aloof man who’s volunteered to help make her farming dream come true.

Can she focus on her main job, or will a pair of yearning eyes and a hurting heart divert her worthy goals?

Heath Daniels has resigned himself to a life of singleness as he watches his siblings couple up and set wedding dates. Tracking their happiness, however, is more difficult than he expected. A real struggle, in fact.

Feeling the old troubles creep back to tempt him—troubles from the bad time when he dropped out of college to explore less-than-noble pursuits—propels him to volunteer for manual labor that leaves him exhausted at the end of every day and out of trouble.

His additional hours of agri-business, however, lead to more struggles with an intriguing farmer. Does he have the strength to resist old temptations as well as a beautiful new one, too?

PURCHASE LINKS: Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | BookBub

My Review

Heath and Phoebe are acquaintances that end up working together and it’s a slow burn romance that I wish was a little quicker. Though I have read other books in this series, this novel took me a bit to get into. I didn’t immediately feel vested in Phoebe and her big plans for the farm, though I did like the overall premise, which is what kept me reading on.

Though the character development was mostly there, there was nothing that kept me truly tethered to these characters. The plot felt too predictable and sadly I didn’t care enough about these characters to care about their plight for the majority of the novel. Both Heath and Phoebe’s stubbornness and emotions are all over the place, taking the reader on quite the emotional rollercoaster, almost to the point of me getting sentimental whiplash. I would’ve liked to have seen more focus on the events that happened at the farm as well as the world they inhabited, and a little less on Heath and Phoebe’s relationship, though I will say that the imagery was amazing and took me to a world that I have never had the opportunity to experience first-hand.

I loved seeing a happily ever after, but I do feel like the ending was rushed, which was disappointing, especially since there were several slower parts in the novel that needed a little extra oomph. After all we’ve went through with these two, I was craving more than a few brief paragraphs, but I will say it was still a satisfying conclusion, nonetheless.

All in all, this was a heartwarming story that takes you on quite the emotional journey, and it was a nice literary escape. The characters did eventually win me over and it was great to be in their world.

My Rating: ★★★★

More Books In This Series

About the Author

Hope Toler Dougherty holds a Master’s degree in English and taught at East Carolina University and York Technical College. Her early novels are Irish Encounter, Mars…With Venus Rising, and Rescued Hearts. Her Forever series includes her latest, Forever Free, Forever Music, Forever Home, and the novella, "A Hatteras Surprise."

Connect with Hope by visiting hopetolerdougherty.com to follow her on social media and sign up for email updates.

Tour Giveaway

(1) winner will win print copies of all 4 books in the Forever series, a $25 Amazon card, and a bookmark!

Full tour schedule linked below. The giveaway begins at midnight March 4, 2024 and will last through 11:59 PM EST on March 11, 2024. Winners will be notified within 2 weeks of close of the giveaway and given 48 hours to respond or risk forfeiture of prize. US only. Void where prohibited by law or logistics.

Giveaway is subject to JustRead Publicity Tours Giveaway Policies.

Enter Giveaway

Follow along at JustRead Tours for a full list of stops!