Vanessa Booked Up's Reviews > Totally Folked

4.5 Dreamy Stars!



That's right, I said dreamy, because that's exactly what this book was. I am several books behind on my beloved Winston Brothers series, something I need to fix, pronto! But when I saw that the deputy sheriff we all love to hate find annoying was actually getting his own story, well I just could not resist. And, my God, am I so glad I didn't. This book was DELICIOUS, sweet, romantic, cozy...I absolutely adored it.

"My friend over there is a police officer, local law enforcement."

"Oh? Is he?" I asked

"He is." Sienna's brother-in-law nodded, his tone still formal. "And he's got handcuffs with him. Just FYI."

If you haven't read Penny's work before, this is the perfect book to start. We'd all met Officer Jackson James over the years, and while we were predisposed not to like him, he also seemed to have a sensitive side. I loved the way this story was told because we get POVs from both he and Raquel, and get to be in both their heads.

Raquel and Jackson meet at a Winston family wedding and share a one-night...connection. But they both make a lasting impression on one another.

"I thought I could seduce him and keep things tidy, I thought I could be his fantasy, I thought I’d been in control. I was not in control. Whatever this was—this pull, this heat and energy—I’d never felt anything like it. Not with anyone. He won. I surrendered."

It's five years later when Raquel finds herself back in Green Valley and figures, maybe they can go for some fun seconds...but can they?



Jackson is now a changed man and wants to do the honorable thing...and he’s been through a lot since that one hot night with Raquel. And Raquel is running from her big Hollywood life.

I could not get enough of these two. I'd forgotten how exquisite Penny's dialogue is, how real she makes her scenes feel. I felt for these two characters and their individual situations so much...my heart was burning, burning I tell you!! It's kind of a slow burn, even though they hooked up early on in the story, and it totally worked. Oh, the yearning and the pining!!



This was a gorgeous read with a perfect balance of emotional depth and humor. Call me greedy, but I do wish the H/h would've had more page time together. (At the 30% mark of the story, they had shared roughly one long scene together.) This was frustrating to me. I also get super stabby when others are continuously interrupting our hero/heroine. Like, SEVERAL times. These things kept this book from being truly perfect for me, but their interactions together were such GOLD that of course I wanted more.

Overall, I really liked Totally Folked and it reminded me of how much I enjoy this author's work.

I can't wait to read more of this new Modern Folktales series!

"If you haven't cried, your eyes can't be beautiful." - Sofia Loren

I was provided with an e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.