ARC Review: So Many Boots So Little Time by Kalan Chapman Lloyd

Series:	Misadventures of Miss Lilly #3
Pub. Date:	Oct 18, 2016
Publisher:	Rebelle Press
Length:	398 pages
Source:	NetGalley

Sassy Southern Belle Lilly Atkins is back again in this third installment of the Misadventures of Miss Lilly. This series follows the unapologetically southern attorney and her wacky girl posse in a slapstick blend of chick lit and cozy mystery.

In So Many Boots, So Little Time, Lilly is having an existential crisis. Her no count cheating ex-fiance has come to town to make her life miserable, and Lilly finds that small-town Oklahoma is not a big enough place to have to deal with her first love, her smarmy ex, and her last kiss all at the same time. The stress is just too much for our gal, and Lilly is having a desperation-induced identity crisis. While she is turning inward and hoping ignoring it all will make it go away, Lilly occasionally pokes her nose into the investigation of her family's stolen cattle. The mystery took a backseat to the drama in this installment, so we saw a lot more of the relationship dynamics between Lilly and those around her.

I love all the characters that Kalan Chapman Lloyd has infused into this series. I'm totally jealous of Lilly's girl posse. Each girl has their own brand of crazy, mostly with a stereotypical southern bent involving guns, big hair and boots. But the girls are a cohesive unit that highlight the importance and benefit of having that ride or die group of girlfriends around you when things get tough... or when you just need to shoot something. The men are nothing to sneeze at either, most evincing southern charm and manners... or at least a little bad boy magnetism. Well, except for that aggravating Yankee, Spencer Locke.

We get some personal growth from Lilly in this installment... both with respect to her self-image and her relationship habits. While I wouldn't classify this as a romance, there is the promise of a relationship on the horizon. Lilly is an endearing heroine who continues to draw me in, probably because I can see a little of myself in her at times, but also because she is a hot mess. I'm not sure what that says about me. 🤔

While this was an entertaining read, I did feel that it was a bit too long and it dragged at times. I think some of the extended descriptions of outfits and decorations could have been sacrificed to preserve the pacing. There were also some abrubt and/or odd section and paragraph transitions throughout, which gave the story a discombobulated feel. However these could have been resolved during the editing process as I received the ARC some months ago.

There is a sneak peak into Lilly's next adventure at the end, and it promises to be a doozy. I'm definitely looking forward to it. I voluntarily reviewed an advanced copy of this book that I received from the author/publisher.

Misadventures of Miss Lilly