Totally Folked by Penny Reid

Review, Synopsis, Excerpt & Giveaway!

Totally Folked, the all-new folking delightful and bestselling small town contemporary romance from New York Times bestselling author Penny Reid, is available now!

Review

Totally Folked by Penny Reid

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Magical summer romance returns to Green Valley in Totally Folked

What you need to know about “Totally Folked” by Penny Reid:
✔ Friends to Lovers Romance
✔ Dual Point of View
✔ Celebrity Romance
✔ Raquel Ezra, A-list actress
✔ Jackson James, Deputy Sheriff
✔ Can be read as a Complete Standalone
✔ Good Folk: Modern Folktales Series #1

Deputy Sheriff Jackson James and Hollywood ingenue Raquel Ezra had a few passionate hours together several years ago at Jethro Winston’s wedding to actress Sienna Diaz.

Five years later, Raquel is back in Green Valley, Tennessee visiting Sienna and Jethro. She’s now an A-list actress and is having a crisis. Raquel’s Hollywood life is a mess. It’s all very sadly false and she longs for something real. Green Valley gives her a taste of that as does every glimpse of “Deputy Dreamy”.

Readers of the Winston Brothers series certainly are familiar with Jackson James and may be a little biased in their feelings towards him before they read this novel. Well, have faith. From the very first scenes we are treated to a Jackson James who is patient, honorable, humble and wry. And he just keeps getting better. With every chapter I felt even more tender-hearted towards Jackson. Every new piece of information I learned about him just made me melt.

Raquel is certainly worth every second of his time. Jackson tells Raquel (Rae) that she is funny, sweet, generous, clever, smart and good and that she deserves everything. They are both looking for something real but are going about it in different ways.

I loved Raquel’s insights regarding love when she’s speaking with Jackson. She thinks that with the right person, love should be fun and easy and not the effort and difficulty that Jackson describes. To Jackson, relationships are about putting in the work. Perhaps they are both right.

Raquel and Jackson’s attraction to one another is “Effortless. Easy. Euphoric.” It’s at once adorable and heart-pounding; I feel that readers will absolutely love their connection and root for them every step of the way.

Some chapters in Totally Folked are headed by quotes about being a sex symbol – some are funny, some are about what that means in regards to the confining nature of being typecast as such and how it just simply isn’t what is real. Jackson has been seen as a player for much of his adult life (just as Rae is typecast in certain roles) and this has left a lasting impression on them both.

“Folks around here, they get an idea in their head, and it’s hard to modify it. Someone who sleeps around might be an honorable, respectable person, but it doesn’t matter. That’s all people see. It’s just as hard to alter an idea as it is a first impression.” – Jackson

Rae and Jackson both are united in their wish for people to see them clearly for who they truly are. Green Valley allows Rae to see her own value when people treat her with kindness. Jackson wishes that people would get past the gossip and see him for the man he has become. They work towards these wishes together.

And never fear, Cletus Winston and his family appear as well, to help Jackson and Rae maneuver through a few things that life throws at them in delightful Winston style.

Penny Reid has created a tender and magical romance with incredible chemistry that is perfectly hot and steamy just in time for these mid-Summer nights. Readers will fall in love with Jackson and Raquel in the first of the Good Folk series.

WRITING STYLE: 5/5
PLOT: 5/5
WORLD-BUILDING: 5/5
PACING: 5/5
CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT: 5/5
ROMANCE: 5/5
HEAT: 5/5

I received an e-ARC of this book, my opinions are 100% my own.

View all my reviews

Synopsis

One unforgettable night leads to an unlikely shared connection, and unlikely connections never go unnoticed by the good folks in Green Valley, Tennessee. . .

Jackson James follows the rules. He has to. He’s a sheriff’s deputy in a super small town with a super big personality. However, strict adherence to the law during the day has been enjoyably balanced by rakish rules at night. Jackson, typically happy to protect and serve (and serve, and serve), starts questioning the value of wayward evenings when they begin to feel more like being waylaid rather than getting laid. Could
it be that Green Valley’s most eligible—and notorious—bachelor longs for something (and someone) real?

Mega movie star Raquel Ezra follows only one rule: always leave them wanting more. Strict adherence to this single rule has served her well. Studio execs, reporters, audiences, fans, lovers—no one can get enough of the smart, savvy, and sexy bombshell. But when “generous offers” begin to feel more like excessive demands,
years of always leaving has the elusive starlet longing for something (and perhaps someone) lasting.

When Raquel abruptly returns to the quirky Tennessee hamlet, her path crosses with the delectable deputy with whom she spent one unforgettable night. Unfortunately, scandal and intrigue soon follow. Raquel and Jackson must decide which is more important: following their rules? Or, at long last, finding something real.

Giveaway

TOTALLY FOLKED is a standalone, contemporary romantic comedy novel and book #1 in the Good Folk: Modern Folktales series.

Fall in love today!
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3mlffDE
Amazon Worldwide: http://mybook.to/TotallyFolked

Nook: https://bit.ly/3sOrkTX
Apple Books: https://apple.co/3sShLDy
Kobo: https://bit.ly/2OkmO0L
Google Play: https://bit.ly/39G9JpY
Amazon Paperback: https://amzn.to/36KBgo6
Barnes and Noble Paperback: https://bit.ly/2W0RNT0
Add Totally Folked to Goodreads: https://bit.ly/3tFSo8w

To celebrate the release of Totally Folked Penny has an incredible GIVEAWAY!
Enter now for a chance to win a bundle of incredible signed books>>>

https://bit.ly/3CnOAxz

Excerpt

“Rae. It’s late.”

“I know, but—”

“Rae,” he ground out, using my hold on his hand to bring us back to a stop. I faced him, my stomach erupting in uncertainty butterflies as I encountered the stern line of his jaw and the glittering, frustrated spark behind his eyes. “We need everyone to believe we’re just friends, right? And if we go inside the house, I don’t think I’m a good enough actor to pull that off.”

My mouth formed an O, and I released him, folding my arms over my chest while I wrestled with a strange combination of disappointment and pleasure at his words. I wanted to spend time with him, talk to him, get to know this mystery of a man so I could understand my feelings better.

But . . . I conceded his point.

We couldn’t seem to be around each other without kissing. Bringing him inside a dark, empty house in the middle of the night was something better left to my fantasies.

For now.

Oh really, inner voice? Now you’re impudent? Now?

He exhaled a short breath, it also sounded frustrated, but his tone was soft as he said, “Hey.”

I placed a tight smile on my face, it was the best I could manage. “Hey.”

Jackson seemed to be considering me, debating what to do next. He didn’t take too long. “Do you want to go for a drive?”

“Yes,” I said immediately. “Yes, I do. Let me grab a jacket.”

“Okay. I’ll wait here.” He shifted his weight to his back foot and hooked his thumbs in his jeans pockets.

I wanted to take a picture of him like this, all handsome reluctance and sexy self-control. This man, he just did something to me. I couldn’t explain it.

But maybe if we took this drive and spent some time together talking—just talking—I’d start to figure it out.

Meet Penny Reid

Penny Reid is the New York Times, Wall Street Journal and USA Today Best Selling Author of the Winston Brothers, Knitting in the City, Rugby, and Hypothesis series. She used to spend her days writing federal grant proposals as a biomedical researcher, but now she just writes books. She’s also a full time mom to three diminutive adults, wife, daughter, knitter, crocheter, sewer, general crafter, and thought ninja.