NO PLACE LIKE HOME
Barbara O’Neal
Lake Union Publishing
April 9, 2024
357 pages
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I was excited to see this book. I read Barbara O’Neils last two books and really enjoyed them. I was disappointed to find out that it is a re-release of a title originally published in 2014.
What I liked about the book
The storyline is good. Jewel has returned home to Colorado after estrangement for 20 years. She had burned some family bridges with her departure. Now she has returned to family.
There are recipes between some chapters. One is for an apple pie with crushed ginger snaps as the crust. It sounds delicious.
It is April, we celebrate Earth Day. I love that Jewel has a garden and grows her herbs for cooking. She has a wonderful garden that she inherited from her aunt.
The writing style is good. There are passages describing Jewel’s hometown in spring and summer. The descriptions evoked pictures in my mind. It also shows that the author is on the right road and that she is capable. The previous two books I read prove that.
What I didn’t like about the book
It has a lot of fluffy romance in it. I don’t want a couple of pages detailing a make-out session. And, I don’t want to read about Jewel’s constant lusty thoughts.
Jewel is very self-deprecating about herself, constantly. She has no self-confidence. I prefer a stronger woman as a lead character.
Instead of a recipe, a Devotional (Homily) from Pope Saint Gregory appeared between 2 chapters. WTF? I have no idea if it was relevant to the storyline. I didn’t read it even though it was only a page long.
My Summary
Not every book is for every reader. If you don’t mind pages of a make-out session, and many mentions of lusting, then it might be the book for you. I liked the family aspect of the story. I liked the setting of the story. And the descriptive writing was good.
But, sadly, this book was not for this reader. A disappointment after looking forward to it.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the Advance Readers Copy.
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