Christmas is a time for remembering…
Too bad not all memories are pleasant! Everyone in Whiskey Creek remembers Sophia DeBussi as the town's Mean Girl. Especially Ted Dixon, whose love she once scorned.
But Sophia has paid the price for her youthful transgressions. The man she did marry was rich and powerful but abusive. So when he goes missing, she secretly hopes he'll never come back—until she learns that he died running from an FBI probe of his investment firm. Not only has he left Sophia penniless, he's left her to face all the townspeople he cheated.…
Sophia is reduced to looking for any kind of work to pay the bills and support her daughter. With no other options, she becomes housekeeper for none other than Ted, now a successful suspense writer. He can't bring himself to turn his back on her, not at Christmas, but he refuses to get emotionally involved. He learned his lesson the last time.
REVIEW
TAKE ME HOME FOR CHRISTMAS involves a storyline which contains two very sensitive issues, abuse and alcoholism. The heroine Sophia DeBussi has endured both, one at the hands of her husband, Skip, and the other as an escape.
The story starts out with Sophia, Skip, and their daughter Alexa on their yacht in Brazil. The family is there to celebrate their anniversary, reconnect with one another, and be together as a family. The next morning, Sophia and Alexa awake and are unable to find Skip. The crew has not seen him. The US Consulate is called which in turn calls the police. Sophia calls his cell and each time it goes to voicemail. She then calls his secretary who informs her that she hasn’t heard from him. The secretary in turn informs Sophia that the FBI is taking files and saying Skips committed embezzlement. With their bank accounts frozen, Sophia is forced to call Skip’s parents for money to return home.
Skip’s body is found and they return home for the funeral in Whiskey Creek where they have lived all their lives. The FBI questions Sophia about Skip's business dealings that she knows nothing about. The agent questions family and friends about their relationship. Sophia is very tempted to resort back to drinking in order to help her cope. But doing so, she would only risk losing her daughter.
The whole town is talking about the family and things continue to get worse. Sophia tried to hide and give up but her friend Eve and daughter wouldn’t let her. Sophia does the bravest thing and does not resort to drinking. When Ted offers to hire Sophia as his housekeeper things get pretty interesting since there's a history between them.
For Sophia, this is a very sensitive time filled with a roller coaster ride of emotions, but Ted helps her with so much. During her marriage and afterwards, Sophia loses a lot. Skip belittled her, took away her self esteem, and turned their daughter against her. But in the end, she regains some very important things and gains her daughter's respect. She may have lost some money but then comes into some but makes a very important decision in the end that will touch your heart...It actually melted mine. Sophia learned so much while this all was happening to her. But most important of all, Sophia learned that some things are more important than money.
Rating: 4
Release Date: October 29, 2013
Book Length: 400 pages
Source: Harlequin MIRA via NetGalley
Reviewed by: Mona
Reading format: Available in eBook and Paperback
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The Whiskey Creek Series:
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I really need to give her books a try. Sounds like a heart wrencher.
ReplyDeleteHonestly, I think all of her books are really emotional. I'm afraid to read them. I think I've bought like four so far.
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