Where She Belongs: Johnnie Alexander

By Kelly Bridgewater

Synopsis:

Shelby Kincaid is ready to move on from her grief. With high hopes for the future, she longs to purchase her family's ancestral homestead so she can raise her young daughters in the only place she ever truly belonged. She plans to transform the abandoned house into the perfect home of her memories. But she'll have her work cut out for her.

AJ Sullivan never wanted the homestead. Inherited as a punishment from his grandfather, it has sat empty for fifteen years and fallen into ruin. He's glad to finally unload it. But a clean break isn't possible when he can't get the young widow Shelby off his mind.

Welcome to Misty Willow, a place that will have as great a hold over the reader as it does over its inhabitants. With writing that evokes a strong sense of place and personal history, Johnnie Alexander deftly explores the ties that bind us to home--and the irresistible forces that draw us to each other.

From Amazon

My Thoughts:

I’m really not a fan of contemporary romances, but Johnnie Alexander’s newest romance Where She Belongs kept my attention. I accepted a romance between a man and a woman with the predictable ending, which the story does. It is very formulaic in that aspect, but there is so much more to the plot. First, there are two different love triangles that involve the same men but different women. This created some spice to the plot. There is a confused father identity for a hurt child, but the father finally steps up and takes his long awaited position. Second, Alexander creates Shelby Kincaid as a young woman who has just lost her husband and now is a single mother to young girls. Shelby wants to come home and make a place where she feels comfortable and safe. Returning to Misty Willow Brook and her ancestral home, Shelby searches for meaning behind her families’ feud with an adjoining family. There is a little bit of a mystery to the meaning behind the family’s issues.  Alexander does a good job at creating a story where love and forgiveness reminds us of where we belong. As long as we are with the ones we love than that is where our home is. Alexander weaves a story where she shows the importance of family history. The romance really wasn’t that sappy; there was more to the story than just watching two people argue and then slowly fall in love. Shelby and AJ have to overcome more obstacles as the story progresses. The end is enjoyable. I recommend this book to fans of Melissa Tagg, Beth K. Vogt, Becky Wade, and Susan May Warren.  I really enjoyed watching the transformation of the characters. Alexander doesn’t mind getting right down and pour the characters’ hearts onto the page.

I received a complimentary copy of Where She Belongs from Revell Publishing and the opinions stated are all my own.

My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

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If contemporary romance is your genre of your choice, do you stick with one author or just read rapidly in the genre?