An epiphany in the form of the unborn child that she carried forced her to make some changes. Now she is returning to her home town a new woman with goals and dreams. She is determined to stay clean and be the kind of mom her son needs. The last thing she or her heart needs is to constantly run into the man who still has the power to break her heart and discover her biggest secret.
I flew through this book in a day and loved it so much it made me want to start from book one in the series and revisit the characters and the town I have spent so much time in. I wanted to reread Cheyennes story where we get to know the troubled Presley and Aaron.
Brenda Novak can write emotion like no other author can. From page one I was feeling everything Presley was and holding my breath in anticipation of the next scene. Presley has had an ugly past but the woman she has become is admirable and strong. Watching her and Aaron reconnect now that they are both very different people was exciting and fulfilling. It wasnt an easy transition, by any means, but it was real.
My one point of contention is the storyline involving Cheyenne and Dylan. At first I hated it! It made me nuts, and made my tummy unsettled. I dont like deception of any kind among favorite characters and this level of deception is off the charts. Not only is it dishonest, but its all entangled in a whole heap of other things that dont sit right with me. Normally, when I read something that irks me so much, I will lower the rating, because well, Im petty like that! Im invested in this town and its characters, damn it, their conduct and actions needs to fit my vision!! So why is my rating still so high? Because she made it work. Im still not fully happy with the goings on but all the characters involved seemed mentally on board, so who am I to argue with the Master of Manuscripts? I have a feeling Im not the only one who wasnt comfortable with this bit of the story, but as long as everyone in Whiskey Creek stays happy and satisfied I will too!
This series is outstanding! I encourage everyone to visit Whiskey Creek, but start with book 1. You dont want to miss a page!
Cherise Everhard
February 2014
This book was given to me by the author in exchange for an honest review
Former wild child, and subsequent drug addict, Presley Christiansen, returns sans spouse and with secret baby in tow to the only home shes ever known. Her sister, Cheyenne, has made a good life for herself here with her beloved husband, Dylan Amos, the eldest of the rowdy Amos brothers.
Both families have grown to adulthood without the benefit of kind, caring, loving parents. The Amos boys, on their own under the watchful eye of Dylan, lost their mother at an early age for most of them and their father has spent the last 20 years in prison for murder. The Christiansen sisters grew up living in cheap motels or cars dragged along by their now-deceased prostitute, drug addict mother, Anita.But Presley, too, has turned her life around. With the responsibility of a baby riding solely on her shoulders, shes straightened up, worked hard and saved up enough money to move back to Whiskey Creek and her only relative to open her own business a yoga and massage studio. Unfortunately, the clueless father of baby Wyatt Aaron Amos who was supposed to have relocated to Reno to open a satellite location of the thriving Amos automotive repair business has come face-to-face with Presley and decided to stay in town a little longer and perhaps, rekindle their former relationship.
The Amos brothers and the Christiansen sisters are carrying around enough baggage to open a Samsonite outlet (if they could ever be enticed to unload some of it.) The decisions made in the past werent the best and the decisions being made in the present by these very real characters rival those for the problems they create or will in the future. Well have to wait for the next book in the series for some of those chickens to come home to roost! (A couple of interesting subplots are left hanging and we will have to wait for their resolution.)If youve enjoyed the Whiskey Creek series up till now, you really should read Aaron and Presleys story: previous books have alluded to these characters and their history. Characters from those previous books also make brief and incidental appearances in this one and creates a feeling of connection to this growing and familiar place, Whiskey Creek.
But this story is not a fairytale populated with perfect people. Come Home to Me is about grittier folks with problems, flaws, tough pasts, intense passions, and a doozy of a moral dilemma and decision that may put some readers off. But there is also redemption here, and that is what will keep me waiting anxiously for whatever comes next.