Thursday, August 2, 2018

TLC Book Tours Book Review: When We Found Home


Author: Susan Mallery
Title: When We Found Home
Publisher: HQN
Publish Date: July 10, 2018
Buy: Amazon
Book Blurb: 
Becoming a family will take patience, humor, a little bit of wine and a whole lot of love...


Life is meant to be savored, but that's not easy with no family, limited prospects and a past you'd rather not talk about. Still, Callie Smith doesn't know how to feel when she discovers she has a brother and a sister--Malcolm, who grew up with affection, wealth and privilege, and Keira, a streetwise twelve-year-old. Callie doesn't love being alone, but at least it's safe. Despite her trepidation, she moves into the grand family home with her siblings and grandfather on the shores of Lake Washington, hoping just maybe this will be the start of a whole new life.


But starting over can be messy. Callie and Keira fit in with each other, but not with their posh new lifestyle, leaving Malcolm feeling like the odd man out in his own home. He was clever enough to turn a sleepy Seattle mail-order food catalog into an online gourmet powerhouse, yet he can't figure out how to help his new sisters feel secure. But affection isn't Malcolm's strong suit...until a beautiful barista teaches him that an open heart, like the family table, can always make room for more.


In this emotional, humorous and heartfelt story, Susan Mallery masterfully explores the definition of a modern family--blended by surprise, not by choice--and how those complicated relationships can add unexpected richness to life



Review: This was a book that I fell in love with from the minute I started reading it. There aren't many books like that, so finding one always brings me joy.

I just instantly fell in love with all the characters, they were just so lovable, especially Keira and Callie. Those two were so broken and in need of real love and a real family.

Malcolm was quirky and lovable in his own way. Santiago was an Italian Superman. Really the characters couldn't get much better than that. I have to admit though, that the teenage Keira stole the show more often than not. She was perfection. An adult in a teenage body. I loved her observations, especially when talking to Malcolm.

The story is really a fairy tale. A grandfather bringing together the illegitimate children of his son, who has passed on.  Malcolm, Callie and Keira are such a dysfunctional lot on first glance. Malcolm is the lucky one, as he has been with his grandfather the longest. His two newly discovered sisters need more nurturing.

I loved the romances that built between Malcolm and Delaney and Callie and Santiago. These were light romances that perfectly fit with the story, though the sex scenes felt a bit much for the type of book this was. Santiago was a great foil to Malcolm. The two men were friends since college and both so very different.

It is funny because I liked Malcolm better than Santiago, because Santiago was too perfect and Malcolm, just kept trying and failing and with the ladies, Callie was really the more likable of the two, though Delaney was a nice enough woman, it was just her issues seemed so trivial in comparison to everyone else's. Delaney also came across as selfish especially at the end. Her actions towards Malcolm made me want to slap her simple.

The climatic events in Callie's life were a bit predictable for me, but that didn't detract from a perfect story.

This was an absolute winner for me. I love Susan Mallery!

Rating 5 flowers





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1 comments:

Heather J @ TLC Book Tours said...

Thanks for being on the tour!

 
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