She Lost Her Muse

 Title: She Lost Her Muse

Series: The Maypole Artists #1

Author: June Rollins

Publisher: KDP

Genre: Women's Fiction

My Review:

The beautiful cover is what first drew me to this book. Once I read the synopsis, I was hooked and could not wait to start. 

I like Poppy; she is real, relatable, and has common struggles that most young ladies have. She has a rocky relationship with her parents and is trying to break out of the role of "preacher's daughter" and make something of herself. 

Meagan is Poppy's best friend and only looks out for herself. Poppy does not see this character trait in her best friend because she is too busy being thankful for the friendship. Meagan is spoiled and constantly looking to Poppy to help her out of sticky situations.

She Lost Her Muse by June Rollins is her debut novel. June Rollins is an artist with signature membership in the Southern Watercolor Society and Watercolor Society of North Carolina. She has twenty years of experience writing narrative essays.

This book held such promise from the synopsis, yet I was a bit disappointed. 

I will start with the things I enjoyed about this novel. First, I love that it was set in North Carolina, as that is where I live! I enjoyed seeing Poppy's personal character development and addressing the issues that kept arising. I appreciated the way that Poppy interacted with the other ladies of the Monday art class. The dialogue, for the most part, was engaging, especially as the story got going. This story was complex and had a bit of mystery in it, with family secrets, adding an extra element to a contemporary story. The ending was much more interesting than the beginning. I also appreciated that despite one profanity this story did not have any explicit romantic scenes or an abundance of profanity, as I prefer clean reads. She Lost Her Muse would classify as a clean read.

My favorite line from the story: 

"His open admiration of her work made her feel sweet and warm, like a chocolate chip cookie fresh from the oven."

Now onto things that I did not prefer. I did not like that the storyline was predictable. I did not enjoy the homophobia, the demeaning language used concerning eating disorders, and the judgmental attitudes of Poppy's dad, who is the preacher but does not act like one. I also did not appreciate the way Christians were portrayed in the book. Most of them came across as judgmental, gossipy, and only seemed to care about themselves. There was not enough of a balance. I felt like there were too many characters without enough development toward the middle, as I got lost a few times, wondering, who is this again? I did not like that once the story got really interesting it skipped three months and ended up leaving many things unresolved.

Despite everything, I do feel like this debut novel is worth reading. It is real, raw, and you cannot help but root for Poppy. When I picked up this book, I did not realize it was the first in a series, so I am glad to report that there is a second book coming and should resolve the issues that were left hanging. Those who like Kristen Hannah, Jodi Piccoult, and Ann Brashares will enjoy this one.

Special thanks to the author and Reedsy Discovery for the opportunity to read this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.  

★★★/5 

Synopsis:

Poppy believes she’s a nobody without Meagan, her best friend since childhood.

They’re college roommates, majoring in fine art with high aspirations of becoming successful artists. But Poppy’s world shatters when she’s suspended one semester before graduating.

Her controlling father, Pastor Wayne, sends her away to live in her mother’s abandoned homeplace while it’s being repaired. The same homeplace he’s forbidden his wife to visit, except for funerals, since they’ve been married.

Alone in a new town, in the North Carolina mountains, Poppy struggles to begin again. She convinces her mother to share stories about her family’s past. She visits a nearby art gallery and develops a schoolgirl crush on the owner. She attends a local watercolor class, makes new artist friends and is dismayed by the instructor. She tells no one of her reoccurring dreams, but with the help of Liam, the town handyman, she begins to face issues leading to her own healing.

Will Poppy have the courage to stop living in Meagan’s shadow, develop her own beliefs and accept her true muse hidden away in long-buried family secrets?

Eat Pray Love meets the Sweet Magnolias series in June Rollins’ debut novel, She Lost Her Muse.

Coming Soon!  

The sequel to "She Lost Her Muse," is now available for pre-order on Amazon: "She Held The Key," The Maypole Artists, Book 2.