Coming Home - Ann B Harrison

I will start this review with full disclosure, I was given a free copy of COMING HOME with the hope that I would review it. My critique of this book is an honest representation of my opinions and feelings towards the story and is in no way coerced or compensated in any monetary form.

COMING HOME is the second book of Ann B Harrison's I have read. I am quite ashamed to admit this as she is a fabulous author. I also reviewed the first book I read OUTBACK GOLD, an awesome story, which is the reason I ran out and filled my kindle with her other work (which I will find the time to read sometime soon). I loved Outback Gold and hoped I would not be disappointed by Coming Home. I wasn't! It has the same gritty and genuine feel to it, Ms Harrison is a master when it comes to writing realistic and down to earth scenes.

Ann B Harrison writes heart stirring drama every bit as compelling as one would expect from Jodi Picoult. In my opinion Ms Harrison offers her readers a perfect blend of romance and drama, the combination making her stories hard to put down.

I curled up on the couch and consumed Coming home, doing nothing else until I read those final words “the end”. It is the story of three siblings who have been left with emotional scaring from a hard childhood, life is definitely not going well for any of them when they return to the family property after their father's death. The terms of the will are quite harsh and they must stand together or lose it all. The Williams siblings are endearing in their dysfunctional yet faultlessly loyal love for each other. As the reader I found myself rooting for their family dynamics to be restored as much as I was for each sibling to find love.

Coming home was almost like four stories in one and this kept the story fresh and compelling, I loved the concept of following the three of them as they re-found each other, dealt with personal demons and tried to find time for love. It is quite ironic that the same thing I loved about Coming Home is also the only thing I wished was different. I wish there was more time given to each of the siblings, it felt a little rushed in places as Russ, Cade and Rooney all competed for play time.

I like the way Ann B Harrison builds suspense, quite a unique skill in the romance genre, I love the more realistic approach to love stories and the drama powerful enough to tug on the heart strings. I wish however that the story/stories had gone on longer and been filled in a bit more. Rooney's love story is the only one that felt complete when the book ended, I wanted to know more about Cade and Russ, their stories felt incomplete to me. This unfinished feeling is the reason why I only give 4 teabags to Coming Home, it tastes amazing but just seemed a couple of cups short of the whole pot of tea.

Dead Until Dark (Sookie Stackhouse #1) -Charlaine Harris

For a long time I resisted reading the Sookie Stackhouse books. I do not like the original covers they seem a little childish, not quite serious enough. I like my vampires dangerous and sexy, from seeing the cartoon covers I never expected the appropriate level of danger and bloody violence. Sookie Stackhouse is also (in my opinion) a ridiculous name, how can you take a heroine with that name seriously?

Then there is Trueblood (which I have not watched because I did not read the books), everyone went crazy for Trueblood and insisted I read the books and/or watch the show. I am not proud to say but the last time “everyone” insisted something was an absolute must read I ended up reading the twilight saga (which I will not be reviewing) and wasting a week of my life I will never get back!

As it happens though a friend whose judgement I trust suggested I read Sookie Stackhouse, and lent me a couple of books from the series. I said sure why not, after all friends would never steer you wrong...right? That’s where things get strange!

I didn't dislike Dead Until Dark, I didn't love it either. I finished reading it and quite happily picked up the second book and continued the series, I am enjoying it, but I don't know why...

I still find Sookie to be a ridiculous name and honestly Bill Compton is quite the ass. A lot of the characters are not developed enough for my liking and I am really not sure about an “Elvis” vampire. In fact Bubba gives me the same deep sighing, eye rolling reaction that I get from the Men in Black line “Elvis isn't dead, he just went home”. The whole Elvis creative trope is a very popular one and in my opinion way too many people find it amusing to explain sightings of “the king”.

The story however is interesting enough to hold my attention, and Eric Northman is everything I imagined a vampire should be, sexy, dangerous, self involved and depending on his mood anywhere between amoral and downright evil. Charlaine Harris is not the greatest writer in the world (I shudder every time I read a sentence with “had had” in it), but she is far from the worst. Reading her work leaves me no where near the traumatised mess I was after subjecting myself to the literary (and I use that word lightly) scratchings of Stephanie Myers.

I didn't curl up on the couch and devour Dead Until dark in one afternoon, but it did give me a few perfect moments with a book in one hand and a pot of tea on the table beside me. Thinking logically I want to give the book (and the series so far) 3 teabags, it isn't great but it is a pleasant and easy read, the fact that I enjoy it enough to keep reading the series bumps it up to 4 teabags. It isn't going to be everyone's cup of tea, but it doesn't taste too bad to me!