Forever My Girl (The Beaumont Series #1) by Heidi McLaughlin

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Synopsis
I was never supposed to be a rock star. I had my life all planned out for me. Play football in college. Go to the NFL. Marry my high school sweetheart and live happily ever after.
I broke both our hearts that day when I told her I was leaving. I was young. I made the right decision for me, but the wrong decision for us. I’ve poured my soul into my music, but I’ve never forgotten her. Her smell, her smile.
And now I’m going back.
After ten years.
I hope I can explain that after all this time.
I still want her to be my forever girl

Review
Here's my tell: when I really love a book, my reviews are long because I want to recapture every moment in an effort to convince you, the reader, to take a chance and roll the dice.  Here's my other tell: when I really hate a book, my reviews tend to be really long because I feel I owe it to you, the reader, to explain exactly what went wrong.  I feel that's really the only way to be fair.  My last tell: when you read a short review from me, it's probably because I neither loved nor hated the book and in all likelihood it's not something I'd actively encourage you to read.

So, as far as Forever My Girl is concerned, it was just okay.  If we had a "meh" shelf, that's where this would be shelved.  It was neither a distater nor a fail, but it was also nothing special, just something kind of in the middle and completely unmemorable.

I think my major grievance would have to be the confusion I felt toward the characters.  Jojo (god, I hate that nickname) was all over the place and I felt that maybe the author couldn't pin down exactly what she wanted from this character.  In one minute Jojo (bleck!) would profess that Liam always had her heart, and in the next she'd refer to him as someone she hadn't loved in years.  If what this was meant to do was to show confusion on the part of the characters' mind, then it was a fail.  I also thought that what happened with her boyfriend Nick was creepy.  If you're done with a relationship, be done with it.  If you're not, but are confused, be truthful about it.  Again, it was another situation that made me dislike the heroine.  Then, the author kind of cheated (yeah, that's sort of a big deal for me) and had Nick run off to Africa.  Huh?  Okay, so you were looking for an easy exit for this character but come on, really?  Never, not once was his departure from this story ever addressed.  Nick raised your kid, was his father for all intents and purposes, and then you never speak of him again?  Little Noah's gonna need some therapy when he gets older, that's all I'm saying.

Liam was at least more consistent and I did appreciate that he was able to man up and take responsibility.  I thought it was kind of stupid that he had such little control over his life that he didn't know he had a kid for ten years.  Sounds mildly far fetched to me but what the hell do I know, I'm no rockstar.  I guess it could happen.  Seems unlikely that nobody in the media would have picked up on this little jewel over time.  In this day and age I think I know more about Beyonce than I do my own parents.  Seriously.

There's not enough meat in this book to warrant going on to the next installment.  I really didn't have much interest in those characters anyway and since Liam and Jojo (ugh) had their HEA, I'm all set.