Blurb:

Jody Oliver believed perfection was power. Her mother had possessed it, and one day, Jody would too.

But how long can control survive the truth?

In the upper-class South of the 1960s, Jody marries Robert Oliver and claims the life she was raised to want. His parents disapprove, but Jody is determined to become the kind of wife, mother, and woman society expects.

For decades, she rules her family with charm, judgment, and control. But when her son Joseph grows into a man with his own desires, choosing a blue-collar life and a woman Jody despises, the illusion begins to crack.

As love twists into obsession and pride hardens into cruelty, Jody retreats into a world where every betrayal is someone else’s fault, and perfection is the deadliest lie of all.

This is a bonus origin story from The Girl Once Known trilogy.

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My Review:

Jody Oliver aims to be the ideal person. The ideal daughter, friend, wife, daughter-in-law, and mother. She puts in her utmost effort to become who she thinks the people around her want her to be. Jody believes that perfection means being in control, and that is her goal. She knows what she desires in life: a family, a husband, and a baby.

Jody encounters the perfect man for her ideal husband, Robert Oliver. Robert is the best match for her perfect life. He understands who Jody is; he knows who she is with her parents, who she is with his parents, and the person she is when they are alone. He loves her regardless because he thinks he knows her true self, but does he really?

The Petal Once Fallen is the sixth installment in The Girl Once Known series by R.M. Demeester. It is a wonderful addition to the series. Once I began reading, I couldn't put it down for a second because I needed to find out how Jody and Robert's life together would unfold. I was eager to see if it would be the perfect life Jody envisioned. How long could she maintain this kind of life?

The suspense in The Petal Once Fallen kept me turning the pages, racing to the end to discover how all my questions would be resolved. As I mentioned before, I adore this series and can't get enough of it, hoping for more stories in this world.

I wholeheartedly recommend picking up a copy of The Petal Once Fallen, along with all the books in The Girl Once Known series, today!