This was so disappointing. I've read Sarina Bowen in the past and really enjoyed her work, but this was just not it for me.

Jonas Smith is a famous rockstar who goes to a small town in Maine one summer to relax and make some music. He wasn't expecting to find a friend in one of the locals, Kira. The two become close when he decides to eat lunch at Kira's father's store. And when it's time for Jonas to go back to his life as a rockstar, they say farewell. Little did he know that five years later, when he returns to the small town, he would meet the biggest shock of his life: his daughter.

Because I don't want this entire thing to be negative, here's what I liked about Lies & Lullabies:

-Adam! This is our Kira's brother. At the beginning he felt a little like a stereotype of a gay guy but I really grew to love him in this story. He felt nuanced and like a three-dimensional character.
-Vivi! This is our little bundle of joy. She was such a sweetheart! I love little kids.

Okay, now to the bad.

Unfortunately, this story just doesn't work. There are a few reasons, but I'll stick to these three.

1. We never actually get to see Kira and Jonas fall in love. The author doesn't spend near enough time in flashbacks to really establish Kira and Jonas's romance that summer five years ago. So, by the time they met again, I wasn't really rooting for them as a couple. They said I love you WAY too fast. And that's the thing with this particular trope (unplanned pregnancy, finding out about the baby later on), there's not much tying these two love interests together but the baby, so establishing those former years seems very important. Especially because we enter the present day and they say I love you so fast! It just wasn't believable to me.
2. I found it really hard to suspend disbelief in this novel. I just can't get over the fact that Jonas was willing to forgive Kira at the drop of a hat for not telling him about Vivi for FIVE FUCKING YEARS. He literally would have never known about his daughter. The only reason he did know was because his band went back to Maine for a weekend and I don't think the book really addresses how messed up that is. I could see if Kira had something to fear with Jonas, but she doesn't. He was her only friend and she trusted him absolutely--that is something the text establishes very well. The only reason she didn't tell him he had a daughter was because he didn't reply to the ONE love letter she sent????? HUH???? You are literally sleeping in your brother's house, unable to pay bills, or go back to school like you want to and you don't want to hit up your MILLIONAIRE BABY DADDY because your feelings are hurt?!? Lord, save me from stupidity. It's just unrealistic. It made me take a step back and examine this relationship I'm supposed to be rooting for.
3. There are way too many moving parts. The author tried to do so many things and none of them are flushed out. At one point we get one chapter in Adam's point of view (we switch between Kira and Jonas's POV). That chapter almost made me cry because I finally had relief from being in Kira and Jonas's dumbass heads. It also made me realize that I would much rather read a story about Adam than anyone else in this novel.

Okay, and I feel like I'm getting mean. I think that means it's time to end the review.