REVIEW ~ Coming Home by Christine S. Feldman

No woman ever really forgets her first love. Callie Sorenson is no exception. Hers was tall, tanned, and - as her older brother’s best friend - completely off limits.

 

Danny McCutcheon.

 

It’s a name that Callie hasn’t spoken in years, even if the man to whom it belongs has never really been all that far from her thoughts. Or her heart. But now a twist of fate will bring her back to the childhood home she left behind years ago, and to the hometown boy for whom she secretly longed.

 

When her mother takes a bad fall and breaks her hip, Callie leaves the bright lights of New York City to fly back west and help with the rehabilitation. It’s a tense homecoming due to a long time estrangement between mother and daughter, and it drives Callie to confront both a painful personal loss and her unanswered questions about the father who abandoned her when she was just a child.

 

It also brings her face to face with Danny again, and Callie quickly realizes that old feelings die hard.

 

But for Danny, it’s new feelings that are a problem. Callie is not the young girl he remembers but a woman now, and a very desirable one. They both have reasons to fight the growing attraction between them, but the temptation may just prove to be too much to resist, despite some very real risk to their hearts. The past casts a long shadow over the future, though, and Callie will have to overcome it or else face losing the one man who means the most to her.

 

Sensuality Level: Behind Closed Doors

REVIEW

COMING HOME was more than I bargained for.  I was looking for a romantic story.  I wasn't prepared for the classic mother/daughter friction and I wasn't prepared to cry.

 

COMING HOME was a story that I could completely relate to.  I mean let's face it, most daughters are like their mothers, and neither one EVER sees it.  That's the case of me and my mom and my daughter and myself.  It's only when you fall that you realize your mother was only trying to protect you from pain and heartache.

 

There isn't any question that Callie and Libby, her mother, love each other.  You can tell they do.  For Callie however, the one thing she can't get over is why her mother took away every momento of her father and never talks about him.

 

Libby is a strong woman, in more ways than one.  She sees all and knows all.  After her husband left the family, she took care of two kids alone, only to lose one at the hands of a drunk driver.  Though it broke her heart, she allowed Callie to bypass college and leave home, to spread her wings, always hoping she would return.

 

Danny McCutcheon isn't a man without his own share of pain and heartache.  When he was eight years old, he came to live with the only family he has, his grandfather.  Danny has no memory of his father and probably wishes he had no memory of his mother.  Because of life, Danny has learned not to take chances.

 

Upon learning that her mother has fallen and broken her hip, Callie rushes home to take care of her.  Knowing that once her mother is better, she will be back to her nomadic life.  What Callie doesn't expect, is that coming home this time will put her heart at risk and that she'll make new discoveries about herself and others.

 

I believe this book is classified as a contemporary romance.  It is heavy on the sweet romance side.  But this book is more than just a romance book.  This is a story of a mom trying to protect her daughter but finally realizing that she needs to let her go and stand on her own.  Understanding that if her daughter falls, she will to be there to pick her up.  It’s also a story of realizing that through the eyes of a child, things are not always as they seem.  

 

Though I hate to use the term coming of age, through the course of this book, the characters make self discoveries about themselves and those around them.  One will realize that you can’t punish yourself for something cast out in the universe to happen.  There are times you need to stop playing it safe and take a risk.  

 

One will realize that if you just be honest with yourself and those you love, things will look different in the light of day.  And one will realize that coming face to face with your past just might lead you to where you truly belong and the place you’ve been looking for your whole life.  And realizing that what you’ve been looking for has always been right there in front of you.

 

~Favorite Quotes~

"Most people think that coming home is like the ultimate feeling of belonging.  Everything is as it should be when you're finally home again.  Parts of yourself come together like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle, and everything fits.  But for some people, coming home is only a reminder that you don't have all the pieces you need, and without them it's hard to make sense of the rest."

 

"I think you're an amazing woman, Mom.  More so than I ever realized.  And I hope you know that I love you."

 

Rating: 4

 

Release Date: March 25, 2013

Book Length: 149 pages

Source: Author

Reviewed by: Kim

Reading Format: Available only in eBook

Purchase from Amazon or your favorite eRetailer

Places to find Christine S. Feldman:

Website | Facebook | Goodreads