Tom Winter

It started with a letter ... It's hard for Carol to admit her failings. Unhappy in her marriage and with a teenage daughter who will barely converse with her, she feels trapped. So she puts pen to paper; well, it seems less daunting than airing her thoughts aloud. She isn't expecting anyone to read her letters, so she doesn't address them. Instead, she marks them with a smiley face and pops them in the post box. Albert's retirement day at Royal Mail looms and he's given one final task; organise the 'lost letters' that have been piling up in a room behind the sorting machine. Amongst the letters addressed to Santa, he arrives at one with a smiley face drawn in place of an address. Albert opens the letter, unaware that in doing so his world would never be the same again.

Lost and Found

Nicole Williams

After numbing herself for the past five years with boys, alcohol and all-around apathy, Rowen Sterling finds herself on a bus to Montana the summer after graduating high school. Her mom agreed to front the bill to Rowen's dream art school only if Rowen proves she can work hard and stay out of trouble at Willow Springs Ranch which is the last place she wants to be. That is until Jesse Walker saunters into her life.

Ciska van Bokhorst

Kaele Perkins 

Classic. I LOVE THIS BOOK. Jesse Walker is the best. He started my love of cowboys. We need more books like this.

Lisa ✩ @lifeinlit

Audiobook Review:

Immediately upon listening to the first chapter I was able to see why everyone loves this story so much. With amazing characters and a wonderful setting, (though that seems common), this story was like no other.

Rowen is a complicated one. Despite her shady past, she wants to be a good person. She IS a good person. Though she’s made her mistakes and lied to people in the past, that behavior doesn’t form the person she is as a whole. She so desperately needs someone to believe her. To believe IN her. She’s lucky enough to find that with the Walker family in Willow Springs. The bond Rowen has with Rose and the rest of the Walkers is a breath of fresh air.

The Walkers, along with the rest of the Montana community, were more than Rowen could have pictured. Feeling utterly honky-tonk overloaded when she first arrived, she effortless fit right in, enjoying their happy, more accepting attitude toward life. I adored the cowboy/cowgirl characters in this story. From totally swoon-worthy Jesse down to his adorable country girl sisters, these characters instantly won my heart. Though their lifestyle wasn’t easy, it was real. It was heartfelt.

I instantly felt for Rowen. Though some referred to her as a “freak”, she was simply lost and trying to find herself. With her outrageous sense of fashion, she had the attitude to pull it off. I was so happy to see the Walker family accept her for who she was, rather than try to change her. If only she could figure out exactly who she was for herself… and sooner, rather than later. She had self-destructed enough in the past few years… she needed stability, and fast.

I loved that these characters weren’t perfect. They made mistakes. They also owed up to these mistakes, taking full blame when deserved. Rowen was obviously struggling with herself and her life at the time, and it was good to see her grow so much as this story progressed. Without giving too much away, I really enjoyed the sincerity and trustworthiness of the characters as they opened up about their issues, opened up about their past troubles, and learned from them. Just because someone appears to be a “freak” or “asshole” doesn’t mean they don’t have a reason for why they come off that way. People have pasts, things that have changed them for the better, or more often the worse, and these pasts tend to make us all who we are, whether we like it or not.

Lost & Found is a fun, emotional and at times very silly story that really carries a great message along with it. If you’re a fan of cowboys, pickup trucks, and good ole’ country music, you don’t want to miss this one. Now I’m off to go listen to some Johnny Cash… ;)

Lacey

Also posted at Booklovers For Life

Nicole Williams, I love you. You are one of my absolute favorite authors ever. I fell completely in love with your Crash series (Jude!!! <3) and when I found out about your new book, Lost and Found, I absolutely had to read it! And goodness gracious, it did not disappoint! I wholeheartedly loved every bit of Lost and Found. It’s got incredible characters who you can’t help but love and care for. My heart just went out to Rowen and Jesse, the Walker family, and even Garth. Nicole Williams writes characters that are just so well-written, and a story that is sure to entertain.

Rowen is who you would consider a bad girl. She’s slept with tons of guys, done drugs, gets into tons of trouble, etc. But she’s funny as hell, and I love her every time she cracks a joke. She’s just graduated high school, and is sent to work at a ranch by her mother (who is a total bitch and hag-bleh) to what she calls “Hicksville, USA.” Really, it’s just Montana, but there’s pretty much no difference to a city girl like Rowen. And she doesn’t expect to meet the one and only Jesse Walker, hottie and cowboy extraordinaire.

The fantastic thing about Rowen is that she’s easily relatable. Even though she’s what some would call “bad,” she’s still real and down to earth. She’s blunt and honest, and even a little lost. She doesn’t know who she is, what her purpose is in the world, and during her time at the ranch, she discovers parts of herself she never knew existed. Her self-discovery and self-awareness are what make Lost and Found so much more than just a bad girl meets a good guy (I’ll talk more about this yummy good guy later ;) ). Rowen’s a teen just like any other who is struggling to find her place in the world. And she gets the chance to change her bad girl ways thanks to a heartwarming and welcoming family who shows her what it means to love and be loved.

Ahem. So. What do you get when you have a gorgeous blond, blue-eyed boy who’s also an all-around nice guy, and is a cowboy? Jesse Walker. *fangirls* I honestly can’t think of another book who has a guy as nice and good-natured as Jesse is. And I LOVE him for that. It’s endearing and sweet and wonderful how good he is. He has a heart of gold, but don’t worry, he’s not entirely perfect either. He’s got some secrets of his own, but they’ve done nothing but make him into the incredible man that he is. He’s the type of guy you wish existed, because he’d make the world a better place with his optimism and goodness. Not to mention the hot bod he’s got going on. *sighs* He’s a cowboy-so it’s muscles galore! ;) Rowen falls for him so hard (how can you not?), and it’s the sweetest thing to see them growing to love each other more and more, to see Jesse break down that tough-girl wall Rowen has erected around her heart.

The characters and the story are just incredible, and I could go on and on about how much I loved this book, but I won’t! Just read this book!

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Lost and Found

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