by G.G. Vandagriff

As a writer struggling to write her own "ensemble series," featuring only four characters, I can definitely tell you that Michele Ashman Bell is a gifted writer! In her Butterfly Box series (Hometown Girl is #2), Bell deals with a crowd of five women, best friends since High School. In her opening chapters, we are introduced to each of these characters effortlessly, until we not only know them apart, but know all the angst that they let their friends see, and a lot that we can guess at. This is a great achievement.

When the book narrows down to one member of the ensemble, Jocelyn, who has decided to move from St. George to a tiny town in Washington state, she seems to regress in the maturity and capability she demonstrated when she was home with the "girls." However! Do not be fooled! Though Jocelyn seems to struggle overmuch with problems that seem small compared to conquering world hunger, balancing the budget, and redeeming the world, there is a good reason for her seeming lack of perspective.

Jocelyn is dealing with problems in her past that occurred in this very locality—her grandmother’s house–years before. And, though it seems absurd that a beautiful girl of 31 would be so inexperienced with the male sex, take it from me, there is a very good reason for that as well.

Once the horrible tale is told, we are introduced to another of Bell’s brilliant strengths. She can write romance like nobody’s business. She avoids all known clichés and draws you in to her character’s heart in such a way that you feel loved down to your toes. This is a wonderful strength, surprisingly unusual in today’s world of literature. Since this is another weak spot for me, I appreciate her skill immensely.