Since You've Bean Gone

Thanks to the author & Home Cooked Books for the eARC. Since You’ve Bean Gone By Lainey Davis Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (0-5) Steam: 🔥🔥🔥 (0-5) What I’m Starry-Eyed Over: 🤩 This whole amazing collaboration between authors to make the Farm 2 Forking series—Bedd Fellows Farm and Fork Lick, New York. The next books will be written by Liz Alden, Karen Grey, Erin Mallon, and Ember Leigh. 🤩 The book reminded me why I prefer first person dual POV. I love knowing both characters deeply, feeling the inner turmoil, deep thoughts, and growth. 🤩 An emotional support sheep named Baabara Streisand. And, some super fun town names. 🤩 Angsty second chance romance—oh my heart. 🤩 The captivating plot is the reason Lia Thorne is back in town. And that need to know how and why she left town in the first place. 🤩 Secret pining, forced proximity, and naughty thoughts. 🤩 Amazing Crohn’s Disease representation—so much heart while keeping the romcom humor (the dung diary). 🤩 Farm life is interesting and funny. 🤩 Cabin life—Ethan Bedd is total book boyfriend material—caring, loving, supportive, and so stinkin’ hot. 🤩 Sibling fun and forgiveness. 🤩 Gran—she’s amazing and funny and so, so sweet. What I’m Wishing/Dizzy About: 💫 A little love triangle situation. I like it this way, where the one character (non-MMC) is not a very good person. But I wish the love triangle could have been gone a bit sooner. 💫 The slow burn was beautiful, but I did wish for a little more time with them as a true couple. Update: The bonus scene helped me feel more like I got enough of them together as a couple. 💫 Molly and Alex—I’m so looking forward to their story and the rest of the series.

When I first heard about this Farm 2 Forking series involving 5 books written by 5 different authors all revolving around the farming town of Fork Lick, New York, I knew I wanted to jump on board. Lainey Davis, Liz Alden, Karen Grey, Erin Mallon, and Ember Leigh each write a book based on one of the Bedd siblings who are dealing with a family farm facing foreclosure. Book 1, by Lainey Davis, is a sweet small-town second chance romance. Ethan and Lia were high school sweethearts with plans for forever. But Lia up and left and Ethan, not knowing why, has struggled to let her go. Years later she returns to help him get his family farm out of debt, but his anger at being left has resurfaced. There’s great tension between the two which spices up the attraction brewing again. Add her boyfriend from back in the city and it’s even juicier. But what he doesn’t know is the secret she’s been hiding and the reason she left. Experiencing Ethan and Lia getting to know each other and slowly open up is a beautiful thing. The ice breaker that begins the healing process between them was a laugh out loud discussion about poop, that had me laughing along with them. One thing I loved about this book is how the author wrote the reality of Lia’s health situation. and it’s one of the things that overtakes her life so that it cripples her social life. I can totally relate to that as someone who is gluten intolerant and are constantly aware when you go out how much stress it can cause to eat and how much of a burden it can be to eat with people. I totally related to that and liked the reality of her situation. It’s not romantic but it’s life and felt real. And the way in which Ethan supported her and helped her was swoony.

I just read Lainey Davis last book Against the Grain last month and I loved it. So I was so excited when I received this book. This book made me smile I mean who wouldn’t laugh when grandma’s sheep is called Baarbara. I loved the character and their banter. I loved how Lainey wrote compassionately about Lia’s Crohn's disease. Her books always focus on characters with a disease and the profound influence it has in the life of this person. It's really refreshing to read books like that. This book was fun and sweet and I can't wait for the next book and to read more from Lainey Davis. I would definitely recommend this book!

What a fantastic start to the multi-author Farm 2 Forking series set on Bedd Fellows Farm. Since You’ve Bean Gone is full of fun and puns that make you wince and cringe, but also with a serious thread running throughout. Family, finances, foreclosure, fitness – and the future. Ethan is the oldest Bedd sibling and the serious one. Grandad died and left the family soybean farm in a very precarious position, and he left Ethan fully in charge of it. Grandad didn’t take advice or suggestions well, so no one knew just how dire their financial straits were. So Ethan is scrambling. Gran has just lost her husband; Ethan can’t bear being the one responsible for also taking away her home – and her spoiled sheep Baa-bara. The bank is only willing to work with Ethan if he agrees to have a consultant, an advisor, an interloper come and review things and make suggestions, suggestions he may have no choice but to follow. As if things aren’t already bad enough, the financial advisor is none other than Lia Thorne, the woman who years ago took off for the big city and took his broken heart with her. Don’t worry that all this drama and doom make Since You’ve Bean Gone a depressing read. Just the opposite. Author Lainey Davis expertly weaves humor and heat into Ethan’s predicament and his reaction to Lia’s sudden appearance back in his life. As for Lia, she had her reasons for leaving and still has them, but it sure does feel good in some ways to be back, even if Ethan wants to run every time he sees her. She never meant to break his heart. From the first glimpse of them back together we know there is something still there and can’t help but hope it will take root and grow. Lia has suggestions for saving the farm that involve what seem like pretty radical changes, but Ethan has to agree that Grandad’s stick-in-the-mud-set-in-his-ways approach didn’t exactly work out. He’s game to try new things, but it’s tough – and often hilarious. Since You’ve Bean Gone is sweet and tender, heartfelt and sincere, with so many puns and outlandish predicaments you can’t keep count, and with loyalty and dedication and determination everywhere. And heat, don’t forget the steamy side. Bring a handkerchief to fan your face. Thanks to Home Cooked Books and author Lainey Davis for providing an advance copy of Since You’ve Been Gone. I thoroughly enjoyed it, so much so that I sought out other books by this terrific author. And I can’t wait to return to Bedd Fellows Farm and Fork Lick, New York to see what the other four authors in this five-book series have in store for us. I voluntarily leave this review; all opinions are my own.

In the first Farm 2 Forking book, Davis does a good job of establishing the setting of Fork Lick; and while some of the Bedd siblings were introduced more effectively than others, there are enough glimpses to bait the hook for the reader, and it will be interesting to see their stories play out over the course of the series. Davis’ entry with the story of Ethan and Lia is just a really sweet second chance romance. The characters have a clear affection as well as attraction for each other that I found really appealing. There’s also some great rep for invisible, chronic illness in this story, with a nuanced portrayal of the trials and tribulations that go along with such a diagnosis, and how living with such illnesses is often misunderstood. At its heart, I felt that this is a story about the beauty of finally being seen - in all facets of one’s existence - by the right partner. Ethan is so great because even when he doesn’t understand Lia’s condition he cares enough to learn and doesn’t presume to think he knows better than her- and that is so gratifying. And it’s a great strength of this book that these are two people who really come to know one another again in a genuine way, and though their history plays a part, it doesn’t get in the way of them coming to know each other in the now. The second chance trope is just really well-executed. The only issue I had with this book was the romcom label. The only comedy didn’t really arise from the romance. In fact aside from some goat related shenanigans, there really wasn’t much comedy to be had. Instead, this was much more an exploration of the relationship between these the MCs and the gentle re-ignition of their love story. So, it’s not that it wasn’t funny, just that the funny wasn’t related to the relationship so I feel like it doesn’t really fit the romcom mold. However, though I think calling it a romcom mislabels it, this is still a very satisfying story, with a well-drawn setting and great MCs. This is a definite recommendation and I am looking forward to the rest of the series and seeing each Bedd sibling meet their match. I received an ARC copy of this book via the author. All opinions are my own.

Thirty-two year old Ethan Bedd has been tending the family farm, but now his grandfather has died, leaving the rest of the family with $750,000 worth of debt, and the bank has sent a financial advisor to help them avoid foreclosure. And who should that advisor be but Lia Thorne, Ethan’s high school sweetheart, but what Ethan does not know is that she didn’t leave Fork Lick and him because she wanted to but because of the medical diagnosis of Crohn’s disease that would kill their dreams of a family. Lia suggests that the farm diversify their current soy bean crop with strawberries, so she and Ethan develop a plan, along with finding their feelings for each other. Lainey Davis has created a delightfully quirky, heartwarming, laugh-out-loud, steamy romantic comedy that hooked me from page one. The characters, including one spoiled goat, are carefully crafted, and the plot line is mesmerizing, even including the difficult challenges that people with Chron’s disease face daily. Grab a copy and enjoy a page-turning experience set in the town of Fork Lick, nestled in the Catskills mountains. So great! I received this book as an ARC reviewer and voluntarily leave my honest opinion.

What a great kickoff to this series! So many wonderful characters, animals and antics in this fun small town. The surrounding town names are hilarious and will make you giggle. Lia has returned to town to take care of some business…but not everyone is happy about it. She is strong and determined to get the job done but she has a few bumps along the way…including her heart. Ethan is a fantastic and caring man who is a hard working, protector and a wonderful human. He’s facing a crisis and needs to lean on others…one of them being the most unexpected person. Lia and Ethan are a wonderful couple who give us great banter, tension and overall dialogue. I love when they finally get to the point where they can laugh again…love those scenes. The family members add great humor and love. I really enjoyed how they all came together to meet their goals. So looking forward to the other books in this series.

Ok this series is off to a good start! We have a disfunctional family with a crazy sheep. Add in a few neighbors and townies and this has all the designs for a knockout. In here we meet Ethan and his family while they are in dire straits. His ex girlfriend is the one to try to help this family out of their hole. The story moves along at a good pace and easily kept my interest. It has a few laughs and silly times. I cant wait to see what is in-store for the Bedd Fellows farm and family in future stories.