Come Home to Me by Brenda Novak Series: Whiskey Creek #6
Published by Harlequin MIRA on 25 March 2013
Genres: Adult, Chick-lit, Contemporary, Romance
Pages: 416
Format: eARC
Source: Netgalley
Home is where her heart is
When Presley Christensen returns to Whiskey Creek with her little boy after two years away, she has completely changed her life. She's made peace with her past and overcome the negative behavior that resulted from her difficult childhood. Now she's back in the small town that was the closest thing to "home" she ever knew—the town where she can be with the sister who's her only family.
There's just one catch. Aaron Amos still lives in Whiskey Creek, at least until he moves to Reno to open a branch of the Amos brothers' auto body shop. And no matter how hard she's tried, Presley hasn't been able to get over him. Seeing him again makes the longing so much worse. But she hopes she can get through the next few months, because she can't fall back into his arms…or his bed. She's come too far to backslide now. And there's a secret she's been guarding—a secret she'll do anything to protect.
*I received a free ARC of Come Home to Me from Harlequin MIRA via Netgalley in exchange of an honest review*
As usual, any book in the Whiskey Creek series is like catching up with good friends I haven’t seen in a while. Come Home to Me is the story where Presley and Aaron are the main characters, and I was very eager to learn more about both of them, as they have both had pretty difficult childhoods, and both have also had trouble with alcohol or drugs. Turning their lives around hasn’t been easy for either of them, but Presley has had a lot of help from Wyatt, whereas Aaron has worked hard at his family’s auto-repair shop to stay out of trouble.
Ever since Presley disappeared from Whiskey Creek the night her mom died two years ago, Aaron has been thinking about her. But knowing she had a baby – that was not his – and that she had gotten her life back together kept him from searching too hard for her. Presley has stayed away for two reasons, one is that she doesn’t think Aaron is the kind of guy she should be so hung up on, and the second is that she is keeping a huge secret.
Come Home to Me is a tender and sweet story, because even if Presley and Aaron have changed a lot, there are many things about them that are the same. Their mutual attraction and easy friendship are among the things that seem constant about them. Presley has finally decided to come home and start her new career close to her sister, and in the one place she spent the most time in growing up.
The writing is beautiful, as the story slowly unfolds, and shows the readers how insecure Presley is about herself, even after all the wonderful changes she has made. She is now a certified massage therapist, and she will also teach yoga in her small studio close to the home she’s rented for herself and Wyatt in Whiskey Creek. Come Home to Me also features both Dylan and Cheyenne quite a bit, and Cheyenne is about to get a huge secret of her own.
Come Home to Me also features Riley, and while I did feel a little bad for him because he wanted to try to date Presley. However, I also have to admit I was pretty happy about Presley only going out with him a few times, then she listened to her heart instead of what everybody else said. Even when Presley decided she would try to do things Aaron’s way, though, she tries to guard her heart. And even if she has changed her own life around completely, she has trouble to understand that Aaron has changed in many ways as well. These complications only made the anticipation sweeter, though, and seeing the two of them get to know each other again was truly awesome.
The characters really have become almost like friends to me, and it is always a pleasure to return to Whiskey Creek to catch up with them all. Both the settings and the way the characters all interact is like coming home, and I appreciate being able to follow this story and hope there will be more.
Aaron Amos was in the bookstore, too, Presley Christensen could tell by the prickle that skittered up her spine. Maybe she’d subconsciously recognized his voice amid the babble of the others, or there really was such a thing as a sixth sense, because when she turned and glanced across the crowded room, she confirmed what her body had already told her. He was standing off to one side, looking right at her.
Maybe a relationship based on mutual respect instead of sexual attraction would keep her on an even keel, make her capable of achieving more than she otherwise would. It would certainly give her more power in the relationship, which was important after having such a one-sided experience with Aaron.
He couldn’t be happy when he was with her, and he couldn’t be happy when he wasn’t, because… He wasn’t sure exactly. All he knew was that he no longer felt as ambivalent toward her as he had two years ago.
Now she was back where she’d begun. There had to be a reason. There had to be more for her here in Whiskey Creek than heartbreak.
About Linda @ (un)Conventional Bookworms
Linda is an English as foreign language teacher and has a Master's degree in English Language and Literature. She's an avid reader, blogger, compulsive one-clicker and a genre omnivore. Ever since she learnt how to read she has been seen with a book or two in her hands everywhere she goes.
Oh I love series like this where the characters become like your own friends and family! It makes me want to live in one of these small towns (plus they always seem to be brimming with sexy brooding men haha!). I haven’t read any of Brenda’s books yet, but I usually enjoy Harlequin books, so I will be looking up this series!
LOL, I wonder if those small towns are really so full of hot males? I love reading these kinds of stories, though, and the Whiskey Creek series is really well done!
Thanks for stopping by, Amy 🙂
Brenda Novak’s Whiskey Creek series has just been added to my wishlist in its entirety. Well done 😉 I’m glad you continue to like this series so much, Lexxie. As huge as my to-read list and wishlists are, I really don’t have a lot in the way of contemporary romance. Great review!
If you think you’ll enjoy contemporary romance, with mostly adult characters, you should definitely check out this series. If you enjoy it, I have several others to recommend, too 😉
Thanks for stopping by, Jessica.
Twitter: bmreviewsohmy
I love a series that feels like coming home when you get to read a new installment. 🙂
Me, too, Stormi! And especially finding the characters I have so enjoyed in the past – that’s always awesome!
Thanks for stopping by.
Love your comparison to catching up with friends you haven’t seen, implies this series is comfortable and there is love there
Yes! That’s exactly it, Brandi 🙂 Thanks for stopping by.
Great review, Lexxie! I’ve just read a teaser from this book on another blog and really liked it, happy to hear such good things about it, too 🙂
I think all my reviews for this series are like this, Silvia. I love it!
Thanks for stopping by 🙂
Yay! Awesome review, Lexxie! I just finished this day before yesterday and WOW! I loved it. I was wondering what it said about me that I liked this one better because it’s a little darker, in a way. I’m going to pm you about other stuff so as not to spoil anything. 😉
Happy Tuesday, my friend! Today is my wedding anniversary. I’m hoping to get in some good reading time! *ha* Oh, and it’s snowing again. 🙂 Hope you’ve had a lovely day!! *BIG HUGS*
*Waits impatiently for e-mail or PM…*
Happy anniversary a day late, Brandee! I hope you got your good reading time in 🙂
LOL, I guess we both like darker reads every now and then…
Thanks for stopping by! *BIG HUGS*
This sounds like such a sweet story. I just read a book in a series that I haven’t read in a long time, and it felt like coming home too.
It’s a great story, as is the whole series, in my opinion.
Thanks for stopping by, Pamela.
This is the first time I hear about this series. I do like the cover and it sounds like a good romance series! I really like slow unfolding stories :).
Do you have to read this series in order or is a series that can be read as standalones, but the characters make comebacks in other books?
You could definitely read it out of order, Lola, but there might be some small things that would be a little bit harder to understand if you did. However, the overall storyline usually follows one couple, and the rest of the friends are side-characters.
Thanks for stopping by 🙂
This sounds like a great series! I love when I get so attached to the characters in a story that they feel like old friends, and every time I open up a new installment in the series, I feel like I’m coming home! I can tell how much you love this series! Great Review Lexx!!!
It’s an awesome series, Lindy, and I agree about having characters that feel like friends 🙂