This is the third book in the light, fluffy and sweet The Field Party series following a group of friends in smalltown Lawton. The stories are all about high school, football, field parties, falling in love, but with a more serious undertone than you might expect. They don’t shy away from heavy topics such as teen pregnancy and rape, sickness and loss of loved ones, absent parents, infidelity and mistakes that costs you everything, but they all leave you with hope in the end. This is a series about the healing power of love. How love can help you survive the most tragic events and make you strong.

I really liked that the stories had an overall very somber vibe as both the hero and the heroine face loss within their families or other tragedies. Each book in the series has different narrators, so they can be read as standalones, even though they are continuations of the same group of friends. I really enjoyed the appearances of the main characters from the first book throughout the series, and I appreciated how Abbi Glines allowed her characters to make honest, realistic choices and how they all grew characters-wise throughout the series.

The books are full of clichés and have a bit too much of the strong male hero that needs to be saved by the sweet, gentle girl, but I have to admit that I loved it! I binge-read all books in the series in just two days.

In this third book, we get to meet Riley and Brady, and Rhett, two years after Riley accused Rhett of rape and fled from Lawton.

Now, Riley’s back, but she’s not at Lawton High finishing up her senior year but at home raising the little girl that no one believed was Rhett’s. But the town still hasn’t forgotten their hate for her, and she hasn’t forgotten the way they turned on her when she needed them most.

When town golden boy Brady Higgens finds Riley and her daughter, Bryony, stranded on the side of the road in a storm, he pulls over and gives them a ride. Not because he cares about Riley, of course, but because of the kid. But after the simple car ride, he begins to question everything he thought he knew. Could Brady believe Riley and risk losing everything?

Rhett on the other hand is off at college living the life he was afraid he’d lose with Riley’s accusation, not wanting his past to come haunting him in his hometown, making everyone question his actions.

This book was the darkest one in the series, and really emotional and gripping. I truly felt for Riley and how unfair life has treated her. It was so realistically described how hard it can be to forgive and forget, to admit responsibility and to dare to put yourself out there for love, to trust again and to make your own choices no matter what everyone else think.

When reading all books in the series after one another, it’s very obvious how they all follow the same formula with the popular rich bad boy and the poor, broken and innocent girl, the slut-shaming and the division of all girls as either saints or sluts. But still, really enjoyed this series and would definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a nice, pleasant read, with a serious undertone, or for anyone wanting to get out of a reading slump.

Rating:
4 stars

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​Author info:
Abbi Glines

This is the second book in The Field Party series following a group of friends in smalltown Lawton, where a big part of life is focused on the Friday night football games. Each book in the series has different narrators though, so they can be read as standalones, even though they are continuations of the same group of friends in the smalltown Lawton, Alabama.

The Field Party series is light, fluffy and sweet, but still have more of a serious undertone than you might expect. The stories are all about high school, football, field parties, falling in love, but they also deal with difficult issues such as teen pregnancy and rape, sickness and loss of loved ones, absent parents, infidelity and mistakes that costs you everything, but they all leave you with hope in the end. The books are full of clichés and have a bit too much of the strong male hero that needs to be saved by the sweet, gentle girl, but I have to admit that I loved it! I binge-read all books in the series in just two days.

In this second book we follow the three friends Willa, Brady and Gunner.

Willa can’t erase the bad decisions of her past that led her down the path she’s on now. But she can fight for forgiveness from her family. And she can protect herself by refusing to let anyone else get close to her.

High school quarterback and town golden boy Brady used to be the best of friends with Willa, but that’s all changed now: her life choices have made her a different person from the girl he used to know.

Gunner used to be friends with Willa and Brady, too. He too is larger than life and a high school football star and doesn’t care about anyone except himself. But Willa is the exception…

This book was my least favorite in the series though and showed some of the more problematic sides of the books. Like how they all follow the same formula with the popular rich bad boy and the poor, broken and innocent girl, the slut-shaming and the division of all girls as either saints or sluts, the love triangle in this book that I really didn’t like. But still, I would definitely recommend this series to anyone looking for a nice, pleasant read, with a serious undertone, or for anyone wanting to get out of a reading slump.

Rating:
3 stars

Get your own copy:
Bookshop.org
Amazon
Book Depository

​Author info:
Abbi Glines

This is the first book in the wonderful The Field Party series following a group of friends in smalltown Lawton, where a big part of life is focused on the Friday night football games. The Field Party series is light, fluffy and sweet, but still have more of a serious undertone than you might expect. The stories are all about high school, football, field parties, falling in love, but they also deal with difficult issues such as teen pregnancy and rape, sickness and loss of loved ones, absent parents, infidelity and mistakes that costs you everything, but they all leave you with hope in the end. This is a series about the healing power of love. How love can help you survive the most tragic events and make you strong.

Until Friday Night is my favorite book in the series. I rooted so much for the two main characters West and Maggie.

To everyone who knows him, West Ashby has always been that guy: the cocky, popular, way-too-handsome-for-his-own-good football god who led Lawton High to the state championships. But while West may be Big Man on Campus on the outside, on the inside he’s battling the grief that comes with watching his father slowly die of cancer.

Two years ago, Maggie Carleton’s life fell apart when her father murdered her mother. And after she told the police what happened, she stopped speaking and hasn’t spoken since. Even the move to Lawton, Alabama, couldn’t draw Maggie back out. So she stayed quiet, keeping her sorrow and her fractured heart hidden away.

I really liked that the story had an overall very somber vibe as both the hero and the heroine face loss within their families or other tragedies. I also really appreciated how Abbi Glines allowed her characters to make honest, realistic choices and how she allowed her characters to grow.

Overall, this is a fast-paced and adorable story that I highly recommend to anyone looking for a nice, pleasant read, with a serious undertone, or for anyone wanting to get out of a reading slump.

Rating:
4.5 lovable stars rounding up to 5

Get your own copy:
Bookshop.org
Amazon
Book Depository

​Author info:
Abbi Glines