Summary:
After ten years of exile, Harriet Brown is back in town. Things have definitely changed, but so has she. Now the confident owner of a catering business, she's no longer the shy, overweight girl everyone—including her hot teenage crush—used to ignore. In fact, she's determined to make peace with Adam Blackstone for her part in exposing his father's secret affairs and corrupt behavior as mayor.But Adam has changed as well. No longer a pampered, rich pinup boy, he just wants to reestablish his family's good name. He reluctantly agrees to a truce with Harriet, and is surprised by how changed she is. He doesn'twant to be drawn to her, but he can't seem to resist her allure.
As Harriet struggles to come to terms with her past, her adolescent infatuation with Adam morphs into something more serious... Will she ever be accepted again? Or will ancient history ruin the chance of a future full of possibilities?
52,000 words
ebook, 300 pages
Expected publication: October 24th 2011 by Carina Press
D's Review:
I could not put this book down, I read until the early hours of the morning, until my eyes refused to stay open. As soon as I woke up the next morning, I did housework then got right back into the book until I finished it. The emotions, secondary cast and most of all Harriett and Adam kept me enthralled until the end.
I was drawn into this star crossed lovers story from the first few paragraphs. Harriett has returned to Wilmot because of a family emergency. She has all her guards up because the people of Wilmot weren't nice to her when she was a teenager and exposed their shady Mayor, they were so awful, in fact she fled her family and hometown to live in Sydney. The first person she runs into once home is Adam, the boy she had a teenage crush on, the boy who's life she destroyed by exposing his father, the Mayor. When Adam runs into Harriett for the first time in years, all the resentment and anger at what she did to his father come rushing back, but Adam has changed and realizes he is attracted to Harriett. The problem is there is still some residual anger on Adam's part and Harriett still feels like the chubby pariah who ruined one of the town's elite families.
There were times during the story I wanted to shake Harriett and tell her "Give Adam a chance" and times I wanted to scream at Adam "Stop rushing her". The attraction between Harriett and Adam is strong. Adam is alpha but not in your face, he shows his vulnerability and NOTHING gets to me quicker than a strong alpha man who is not afraid to show his soft side.
When Harriett Came Home is strictly romance, no underlying devious plans...just a man and a woman who fall in love in spite of their seemingly LOVE/HATE feelings for each other and circumstances from their youth that many of us would never be emotionally strong or mature enough to work through. It's a beautiful story of forgiveness and not letting the past hold you down, but make you stronger.
There is some "making out" throughout the book, but no actual sex between the Adam and Harriett, however that does not detract from the romance, if anything it adds to the story. The times they do get romantic are touching and show how strong each one of them are.
I would love to see more about Adam's cousins Portia and Tristan, yeah Portia is a B***ch in most of the book, but I caught a glimpse of "human" in her at one point. I'd also like to see more of Harriett's friend Gemma.
Random Trivia:
There were a couple of words that I hadn't heard of before, they sound like they are Australian verbiage, they were easy enough to figure out. PASH was the only word I kinda got an idea what it meant but wasn't sure so I investigated...apparently PASH is similar to what Americans call French Kiss =)
D' gives When Harriett Came Home:
Overall
Naughtiness
I LOVE WHEN YOU LEAVE COMMENTS...To leave a comment click on comments a page will pop up for you to leave your comment. Thank you!!
