I have had the first three books of the Finding Home series on my wishlist in my account at OverDrive and decided to go for the first one over the weekend. I am so glad I did - this small town contemporary romance brings something fresh to the sub-subgenre, most notably a more diverse town population.
This is the story of Ean, a man who was ready to move back to his hometown and put down roots after achieving his goals in NYC and Megan, a business owner and hometown girl. This is also the story of Quincy, BFF of Ean and a professor of history at the local university and Ramona, the mayor of Trinity Falls and Megan's cousin/Ean's ex-girlfriend. This is also the story of Doreen, mom of Ean and newly widowed and Coach Leo, also a widower and Ean's former football coach. Finally, this is also about the relationship between Ramona and Meghan.
I actually liked that the book had three relationships to follow, each distinct enough to keep them straight in the reader's head. The main relationship, Ean and Meghan, was hot and emotional, with Meghan growing a lot both on her own and with Ean. My favorite relationship though was Quincy and Ramona - what a wonderful gut punch! Ramona had a lot of working on herself to do, but Quincy had her back every step of the way - and that NYE kiss in her office was a big payoff after watching their relationship wind its way. Doreen and Leo were sweet, and their relationship's conflict came across as very true especially as widow/widower and older characters.
The big baddie was the economic conditions of small towns, which I loved. Meghan, Ean, Doreen, and Ramona all love their hometown, but each had different ideas on how to save it without gentrification taking over. Very timely concern and I always enjoy the villain being something the characters have to work together to overcome rather than catching the bad guy in the act.
I am looking forward to reading books 2 and 3!
4
0