Book Review: Coming Home

Author: Mariah Stewart
Title: Coming Home (The Chesapeake Diaries)
Publisher: Ballentine Books
Publish Date: March 23, 2011
Buy: Amazon
Review Copy Provided By: TLC Book Tours and the publisher
Book Blurb: In the wake of his wife’s murder, agent Grady Shields turned his back on the FBI—and everything else—to retreat into the vast solitude of Montana, grieve for his lost love, and forget the world. But after years in seclusion, his sister’s wedding draws him to St. Dennis, a peaceful town on the Chesapeake Bay. Though he swears he isn’t interested in finding love again, Grady can’t ignore the mutual sparks that fly when he meets Vanessa Keaton.


Although her past was marked by bad choices, Vanessa has found that coming to St. Dennis is the best decision she’s ever made. Bling, her trendy boutique, is a success with tourists as well as with the townspeople. She’s made friends, has a home she loves, and has established a life for herself far from the nightmare she left behind. The last thing she’s looking for is romance, but the hot new man in town is hard to resist. And when Vanessa’s past catches up with her, Grady finds that he’s unwilling to let her become a victim again. As together they fight her demons, Grady and Vanessa discover that life still holds some surprises and that love doesn’t always have to hurt.
 
Review: Anyone that likes Debbie Macomber, Sherryl Woods or  Robyn Carr, will love this book. Coming Home is the first book in The Chesapeake Diaries series by Mariah Stewart. It is part romance and part suspense, but really it is a story about relationships and families.
 
The story takes place in St Dennis, a small town on the Chesapeake Bay. This book helps to set up the next two books in the trilogy. In this book you are introduced to all the key players. The focus of this book is Vanessa and Grady. Both are wounded individuals when it comes to relationships, but something clicks between them.
 
The romance blossoms, much faster than it would in real life, but hey! this is romantic fiction. It isn't real life. Vanessa and Grady really seem to belong together, regardless of the things that happened to them in the past. The past however doesn't want to stay in the past.
 
Vanessa has a string of incidents happen that is more than just a tiny police matter, and Grady feels the need to step in.
 
This is really when their relationship blossoms, it is also when some other relationships start to mend.
 
I love the small town that Ms.Stewart created in this book. The townspeople are fun and much like those that you find all over America. This book could easily have been about my town.
 
She keeps both the romance and the suspense fairly light, making this a great read for the beach. I can't wait to dive into the next book
 
Rating: 5 flowers