A review by whiskeyinthejar
Going Home by Stacy Finz
2.0
1.5 stars
****Full Review****
I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review
The town of Nugget is fairly remote, small, and surprisingly full of possibilities, Maddy hopes for just a little of those possibilities to come her way. After discovering that her husband has been sleeping with his cousin's widow and the added bonus of he was in love with the widow before even marrying Maddy, she hightails it out of dodge. Nugget just so happens to have an abandoned hotel, Maddy and her family is hotel mavens, so her and her brother moves there to not only return it to its former glory but hopefully Maddy too. Rhys on the other hand sees Nugget only as the rinky dinky town he escaped as soon as he turned eighteen. Now the father that was never much of one is showing signs of Alzheimer's disease and Rhys must find a way to deal with that, half-siblings coming out of the woodwork, being interim sheriff, and an attraction to his new neighbor Maddy.
The beginning of the book deals a lot with Rhys and his issues with his father; Rhys resents having to take care of his father when he feels this wasn't reciprocated when he was younger. I get what the author was trying to portray, anger issues, but the way it is written has Rhys coming off extremely callous because of the brusque writing. A couple times Rhys's father wanders off lost and confused, Rhys reacts with severe annoyance instead of understanding it’s the disease and his father isn't doing this on purpose to ruin Rhys day. Are Rhys's actions and feelings commonly found in the real world? Yes, but it doesn't mean I want to read about them in this type of genre book; it doesn't make you feel bad for Rhys, it’s all just very draining. Maddy wasn't that fun of a character to read about either, she doesn't send divorce papers until the second half of the book to her cheating husband. This makes it hard to invest in a relationship between her and Rhys. Maddy and Rhys also spend less time together than what I personally like to see in stories with this theme. They're neighbors, they find each other aesthetically attractive, and then they kiss with fireworks exploding over their heads.
The story overall was slow moving with a lot of subplots and povs for what I'm guessing will be following books. As a consequence this book falls to first in a series syndrome and it loses its focus on the main couple and what the reader originally wanted to enjoy. I've seen mentions that this is for people who like the Lucky Harbor series by Jill Shalvis. The components are comparable, small town and wide cast of townie characters but quality and delight is missing in this one. I also have to question where a book is inspired by and plain written to be Lucky Harbor; Nugget has a "Lucille" down to her colorful clothing matchmaking ways.
This is a debut book and perhaps the author's style isn't for me. There is a story here but I'm not sure there is any entertainment factor.
****Full Review****
I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review
The town of Nugget is fairly remote, small, and surprisingly full of possibilities, Maddy hopes for just a little of those possibilities to come her way. After discovering that her husband has been sleeping with his cousin's widow and the added bonus of he was in love with the widow before even marrying Maddy, she hightails it out of dodge. Nugget just so happens to have an abandoned hotel, Maddy and her family is hotel mavens, so her and her brother moves there to not only return it to its former glory but hopefully Maddy too. Rhys on the other hand sees Nugget only as the rinky dinky town he escaped as soon as he turned eighteen. Now the father that was never much of one is showing signs of Alzheimer's disease and Rhys must find a way to deal with that, half-siblings coming out of the woodwork, being interim sheriff, and an attraction to his new neighbor Maddy.
The beginning of the book deals a lot with Rhys and his issues with his father; Rhys resents having to take care of his father when he feels this wasn't reciprocated when he was younger. I get what the author was trying to portray, anger issues, but the way it is written has Rhys coming off extremely callous because of the brusque writing. A couple times Rhys's father wanders off lost and confused, Rhys reacts with severe annoyance instead of understanding it’s the disease and his father isn't doing this on purpose to ruin Rhys day. Are Rhys's actions and feelings commonly found in the real world? Yes, but it doesn't mean I want to read about them in this type of genre book; it doesn't make you feel bad for Rhys, it’s all just very draining. Maddy wasn't that fun of a character to read about either, she doesn't send divorce papers until the second half of the book to her cheating husband. This makes it hard to invest in a relationship between her and Rhys. Maddy and Rhys also spend less time together than what I personally like to see in stories with this theme. They're neighbors, they find each other aesthetically attractive, and then they kiss with fireworks exploding over their heads.
The story overall was slow moving with a lot of subplots and povs for what I'm guessing will be following books. As a consequence this book falls to first in a series syndrome and it loses its focus on the main couple and what the reader originally wanted to enjoy. I've seen mentions that this is for people who like the Lucky Harbor series by Jill Shalvis. The components are comparable, small town and wide cast of townie characters but quality and delight is missing in this one. I also have to question where a book is inspired by and plain written to be Lucky Harbor; Nugget has a "Lucille" down to her colorful clothing matchmaking ways.
This is a debut book and perhaps the author's style isn't for me. There is a story here but I'm not sure there is any entertainment factor.