05.14.2021 The Girl I Used to Be By Heidi Hostetter

 

The Girl I Used to Be: A gripping and emotional page-turner

Publisher : Bookouture (May 11, 2021)
Publication date : May 11, 2021
Language : English

Synopsis:
Your husband is not the man you thought he was… but how do you move on, when you’re forced to keep his secret?

When Jill Goodman’s picture-perfect marriage implodes, she’s heartbroken. Still reeling from the shock, the only thing she receives in the hasty divorce settlement is the deed to her husband’s sprawling beach house on the New Jersey coastline. Jill never cared about money – only her marriage – but with Marc determined to take everything she owns, the beach house is her only lifeline left.

With no other choice, Jill travels to the shore intending to sell the house quickly—but the task is not as easy as she expects. Still, she can’t help but be charmed by the beautiful seaside town and its sweetly old-fashioned ways. Despite everything, Jill is starting to see a path back to who she was before she met her husband – not the demure, polished housewife she’d become, but the smiling young woman with the strong Jersey accent who loved her family more than anything.

Then Jill dives deeper into Marc’s secrets and she stumbles across a something in her husband’s past that changes everything. Could Jill herself have been unknowingly complicit in what Marc did and, if so, what will happen to her when the truth finally comes to light? With Marc determined to bury the evidence, can Jill find a way to save herself before her once perfect husband takes her down with him?

A gripping, emotional read that will keep you turning the pages late into the night, perfect for fans of Amanda Prowse, Elin Hilderbrand and Diane Chamberlain.


My Review:

Heidi Hostetter writes an emotionally gripping story about fractured families and the power of resilience and starting over.

The Girl I Used to Be is a well written contemporary women's' fiction about Jillian DiFiore whose perfect marriage comes crashing down after discovering her husband Marc's affair. In a whirlwind divorce, she ends up with the property right on the Jersey Shore, where she unearths secrets her husband has been a part of.

In a story that gripped me from the very first chapter, I read this through in a weekend while spending my time by the water over Mother's Day weekend, and it sure was a delight. Hostetter has won my heart for her strong and resilient characters, in the beautiful New Jersey sea side setting.

A fantastic Beach Read that will surely entertain and keep your fingers turning those pages.

AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT:

Heidi Hostetter grew up in New Jersey and spent summers at her grandparents' house on the shore. Every magical thing was there, from sparklers and fireflies at night to whole days spent swimming in the ocean and exploring tide pools. She moved to South Carolina for college where Southern culture inspired the Lowcountry novels. Her first job brought her to the Pacific Northwest, where she lived long enough to appreciate the rain and the mountains and to write the Inlet Beach novels. She and her family have recently moved back across the country to the DC-area and live in a one hundred-year-old house that's definitely haunted.

When she's not writing - or reading, you can probably find her digging in her garden, ripping back a knitting project, or burning dinner. She's recently learned to kayak on the Potomac and is always up for a trip to a bookstore, no matter how far away.

Heidi is currently at work on the second book in the New Jersey Shore series. Her writing partner, a labradoodle named Emmett shares her office, keeping a careful watch for errant squirrels and neighborhood shenanigans.

She loves to hear from readers and answers all her own mail. You can find her here:

Facebook Author Page: facebook.com/AuthorHeidiHostetter/
Facebook Reading Group: facebook.com/groups/636728933179573
Goodreads: Goodreads.com/HeidiHostetter
Website: www.HeidiHostetter.com
Twitter: @HeidiHostetter