nee223's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed this book. The life on the bay is fascinating. I love the small town atmosphere. I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the series!
disasterchick's review against another edition
2.0
I had seen a recommendation for Home Again, and right before seeing it I saw it was number two in a series so I got Coming Home. Now I see that it is part of another series. I thought this book was just okay. Maybe because I jumped in the middle of the story rather than the beginning. The first half with the wedding was perfect and boring. The second half was predictable. I was curious about the history of Vanessa's home but I don't know if that was in the other series or will come later. Not sure I'm that intrigued to go on the mission to find it.
margreads's review against another edition
4.0
When Vanessa Keaton's escapes an abusive marriage, she returns to the only place she has ever really called home. Whilst Hal is not really her stepfather any more, he and her half brother Beck have never treated Vanessa as anything other than family after she was dumped on their doorstep by her neglectful mother Maggie. Now, she has rebuilt her life. She has a successful dress boutique in the small town of St Dennis called Bling, she has friends and she is happy being single.
With Beck getting married, his fiancee has asked her to look after her reclusive brother, Grady Shields, who will be in town for just a few days for the wedding. Grady is ex FBI but now he lives in the isolated wilds of Montana. He operates adventure tours, but mostly he just wants to be alone and has done so since the death of his wife while he was an FBI agent. He is also pretty sure he doesn't need a babysitter for the few days he is in town, but he can't deny his attraction to Vanessa.
When there are a series of incidents where Vanessa and her business appear to be the targets, Grady steps in, determined to protect her, no matter what it takes.
This is one of, if not, the only books in the series to have that romantic suspense style subplot. It isn't my favourite thing, but I can live with it occasionally.
Rating 4/5
See my thoughts on the first five books in the series here:
http://www.theintrepidreader.com/2013/02/the-chesapeake-diaries-series-by-mariah.html
With Beck getting married, his fiancee has asked her to look after her reclusive brother, Grady Shields, who will be in town for just a few days for the wedding. Grady is ex FBI but now he lives in the isolated wilds of Montana. He operates adventure tours, but mostly he just wants to be alone and has done so since the death of his wife while he was an FBI agent. He is also pretty sure he doesn't need a babysitter for the few days he is in town, but he can't deny his attraction to Vanessa.
When there are a series of incidents where Vanessa and her business appear to be the targets, Grady steps in, determined to protect her, no matter what it takes.
This is one of, if not, the only books in the series to have that romantic suspense style subplot. It isn't my favourite thing, but I can live with it occasionally.
Rating 4/5
See my thoughts on the first five books in the series here:
http://www.theintrepidreader.com/2013/02/the-chesapeake-diaries-series-by-mariah.html
imbookingit's review against another edition
4.0
My previous experience with Mariah Stewart has been with her romantic suspense novels. The (absolutely beautiful) pastel cover on this led me to expect something much more sedate. The cover copy left me unsure: "sister's wedding", "peaceful town" both go with the quieter story, "FBI", "victim again", "fight her demons" all led me to think there might be more of an excitement factor.
The book was both, and they worked together very nicely for me.
At its heart, Coming Home is a book about people in a small town. I started out writing that it was the characters that made the book work for me, but that isn't quite true. I liked Vanessa, and I found her story interesting, but she's not really going to stick with me. Same with Grady. He had interesting demons to fight, but he was in many ways a stock romance character leading man (although I did like his sense of humor with his sister).
It was the town-- the collection of secondary characters-- that really pulled me in. Some of them will probably be getting their own books down the line, although Grace (the woman that retired from the local hotel to run the local paper) seems likely to keep to her observer role. There were just enough characters to be interesting without being overwhelming.
And yes, there was suspense. There was a bad guy doing bad things, and several ex-FBI characters to go after the culprit. It's not a mystery, since there's not much time spent wondering who it is, but rather how to stop the danger.
All in all, I enjoyed reading this book, and am looking forward to continuing with the series.
The book was both, and they worked together very nicely for me.
At its heart, Coming Home is a book about people in a small town. I started out writing that it was the characters that made the book work for me, but that isn't quite true. I liked Vanessa, and I found her story interesting, but she's not really going to stick with me. Same with Grady. He had interesting demons to fight, but he was in many ways a stock romance character leading man (although I did like his sense of humor with his sister).
It was the town-- the collection of secondary characters-- that really pulled me in. Some of them will probably be getting their own books down the line, although Grace (the woman that retired from the local hotel to run the local paper) seems likely to keep to her observer role. There were just enough characters to be interesting without being overwhelming.
And yes, there was suspense. There was a bad guy doing bad things, and several ex-FBI characters to go after the culprit. It's not a mystery, since there's not much time spent wondering who it is, but rather how to stop the danger.
All in all, I enjoyed reading this book, and am looking forward to continuing with the series.
katherineep's review against another edition
4.0
This is the opening story of the Chesapeake Diaries. The primary characters are Vanessa and Grady Shields but there are a lot of secondary characters around. Luckily, Stewart did a good job giving them personality so I found them easy to keep track of. There's a lot going on in this book - Vanessa's brother getting married, dealing with her estranged mother, Vanessa and Grady getting to know each other and trying to figure out who seems to be following Vanessa. Stewart does a good job of creating a lovely little town filled with memorable characters and I definitely want to go back. I look forward to reading the next books in the series. It did get a little annoying how frequently events from her Last series were referred too. I read the books but it's been awhile so my memory is a bit hazy. I'm thinking this is a one book issue though because Grady won't be a main character again.
allingoodtime's review against another edition
4.0
Mariah Stewart is a new-to-me author and I'm super glad I gave her a chance. The mixture of romance, family bonds, friendship and mystery was perfect in this book.
Ms. Stewart did a wonderful job of introducing the reader to key people in the small town of St. Dennis without it being overwhelming. And all of the residents of this small town are so charming. I'm really interested to see where the possible magic/herbalist storyline will go through the other books in the series.
I'm also thinking there may be more to the back story of the Shields family that can be touched on in the future. That particular family and their drama kept me riveted and I'd love to learn more.
As much as I loved this book, there were a few things about Vanessa that bothered me. I will admit the things I didn't like about her have more to do with me being totally non-girly and her being a bit girly. Her choice of footwear and disdain for other footwear I found snobbish. Truthfully it didn't really bother me too much until the last chapter. I thought she was acting kind of like a diva. But since it was at the end of the book it didn't totally ruin the character for me.
I'm interested to check out the next book and get to know the people of St. Dennis better as well as get to know this author better.
Ms. Stewart did a wonderful job of introducing the reader to key people in the small town of St. Dennis without it being overwhelming. And all of the residents of this small town are so charming. I'm really interested to see where the possible magic/herbalist storyline will go through the other books in the series.
I'm also thinking there may be more to the back story of the Shields family that can be touched on in the future. That particular family and their drama kept me riveted and I'd love to learn more.
As much as I loved this book, there were a few things about Vanessa that bothered me. I will admit the things I didn't like about her have more to do with me being totally non-girly and her being a bit girly. Her choice of footwear and disdain for other footwear I found snobbish. Truthfully it didn't really bother me too much until the last chapter. I thought she was acting kind of like a diva. But since it was at the end of the book it didn't totally ruin the character for me.
I'm interested to check out the next book and get to know the people of St. Dennis better as well as get to know this author better.
krazyizkool's review
5.0
Very good! I wasn't expecting it to be so good. I'd never heard of Mariah Stewart, and didn't really know that she would be so descriptive - with so much information, early on I had to reread parts because I was finding that I was skimming, and there was so much more! All the description made it more believable and honest feeling. Characters were so lovable for the "good guys" and hate-able for the "bad guys". I won this book from the giveaways, and I could not have asked for a better one. Now to read the 2nd one in the series, and try to finagle numbers 3 & 4 for Christmas! I had the opportunity to read this book because I received the book for free through Goodreads First Reads. Thank you!
chymerra's review
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
pattydsf's review
3.0
It has been more than one year since I read the fifth book in this series. I had forgotten all about that book until I was looking at what romances I read last year. This could be the disadvantage of reading books for escape. I don't always remember what I have read.
It was entertaining read the first volume in the Chesapeake Diaries series. I got to learn more about the community of St. Dennis and the people who live there. The main characters, Vanessa and Grady were fun to meet and the suspense was believable, but not too much for this timid soul.
If you read contemporary romances and have not tried Mariah Stewart, I recommend that you try this book. I hope you will enjoy it.
It was entertaining read the first volume in the Chesapeake Diaries series. I got to learn more about the community of St. Dennis and the people who live there. The main characters, Vanessa and Grady were fun to meet and the suspense was believable, but not too much for this timid soul.
If you read contemporary romances and have not tried Mariah Stewart, I recommend that you try this book. I hope you will enjoy it.