No Place Like Home: going home and a second chance romance

No Place Like Home by Jess Mastorakos is the first book in the Love in Charlotte Oaks series. A high school reunion doesn’t mean reuniting with the love of one’s life, right? The last thing Laney Cole wanted was to head to her hometown of Charlotte Oaks for her high school reunion. It’s not because she doesn’t want to see her family but because of the man she left behind when she decided to pursue her music career. When it seems impossible to avoid going home, Laney decides that she will avoid him like the plague when she gets there. However, it seems the second she is in town, she runs into him, literally. Everett Wilson has never forgotten Laney and seeing her in town is like a dream. Can he convince her to give their love a second chance? 

No Place Like Home is a sweet second chance romance. This is the first book by Jess Mastorakos and I have many more on my To Be Read list. It was a fast paced romance with a quirky small town and great family interactions. Told in dual points of view between Laney and Everett, readers will see that the fires still burn for both of them. It was just a matter of time before they could no longer deny it. I instantly loved the Cole and Wilson families. Their gentle teasing and banter reminds me of many families I know. I look forward to reading the rest of this series as well as other Jess Mastorakos books. If you love second chance romance in a small town, I recommend No Place Like Home. 

No Place Like Home is available in paperback and eBook

Going Home: finding home when you least expect it

Going Home by Judith Keim is the first book in the Chandler Hill Inn series. In 1970 as 18 year old Violet “Lettie” Hawkins finally escapes her life in Dayton, Ohio. She makes her way to the west coast and finds herself in San Francisco, with little money, no place to live and very few options. One day, when a kind, young man, Kenton Chandler, offers her a sandwich and a job at his father’s inn and vineyard in the Willamette Valley, Oregon. With nothing to lose, she takes the offer. When she gets there, she immediately feels a connection with the land. In a whirlwind romance, she marries Kenton. Their happiness is short-lived when his father dies from a stroke. And on the day she learns she is expecting their first child, Kenton is killed in a car accident. Heartbroken, she is left in charge of the Chandler Inn and Vineyard. Her job is to make them the success that Kenton and his father had envisioned. As she struggles to raise a child alone and grow the business, she wonders if she can make it on her own. 

Going Home is my second book by Judith Keim and sadly, I was bored. It began great but once Lettie arrives at Chandler Hill, it began a series of unbelievable events. The timeline for the book goes from event to event with only the indication of the time passed with “Several years have passed…” from one paragraph to the next. It would have been better if the years passing could have been between chapters. There was so much potential for this book but I found myself skimming and not really caring about the characters, especially Lettie. I also feel the book’s synopsis gives too much away that the reader doesn’t get the same emotional impact as Lettie when she learns of each tragedy. Although Ms Keim does capture the struggles of a former child of the foster care system in terms of relationships, especially Lettie’s relationship with her own child. The care of the grapes and process of wine making was interesting. Overall, the story was boring. I’m not sure if I will continue this series. If you are a fan of Judith Keim, you may enjoy Going Home. 

Going Home is available in paperback, eBook, and Audiobook.