Coming Home (Taking A Chance On Love #1) by Misty Matthews-a review

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COMING HOME (Taking a Chance on Love #1) by Misty Matthews

ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date September 30, 2013

Motorcycle riding, high-powered attorney Alana Stewart is a far cry from the shy, teenager who left Chance determined never to look back. Family obligations force her to return to the town that only holds bad memories for her. A stop at her former sanctuary brings an unexpected surprise…the new manager just might be what she needs to get her through the holidays.

When sexy, leather-clad Alana walks into the bookstore, Connor Tate, has a feeling he may be in for the ride of his life. Despite the fact that their lives are headed in different directions, they are drawn to one another. Connor is determined to prove to Alana that Chance isn’t the place she remembers, but will his efforts fail when she discovers he hasn’t told her the whole truth about himself?

Can they trust each other enough to take a chance on love?

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REVIEW: COMING HOME is the first instalment in Misty Matthews’s adult, contemporary romance Taking A Chance On Love series focusing on the people and town of Chance, Arizona. Coming Home and the series is co-written by Misty Cail and Susanne Matthews and you can definitely see two distinct styles of writing in the novel.

The premise finds thirty-something lawyer Alana Stewart returning home for the Christmas holidays to small town Chance, Arizona where she will be re-introduced to Connor Tate-the son of the book shop owner-where she used to hang as a teen. But Alana has some issues of control; issues about Connor; and issues about family. She is also quick to judge; quick to misinterpretation; and refuses to admit that there is life outside of big city living and the bottom line. And when things begin to overwhelm, Alana is quick to run without thinking about where it is she wants to go.

Alana is an independent, successful lawyer in Texas and views life and family in Chance, Arizona as suffocating and controlling. When an opportunity presents itself for Alana to return home on a permanent basis she refuses to accept believing any chance of success remains in a big city environment.

The relationship between Alana and Connor develops slowly. There is a definite attraction to one another and one that will eventually lead to a sexual relationship, but Connor wears his feelings for Alana out in the open and Alana continues to deny that there is any potential beyond her time spent in town.

There are several secondary characters including Alana’s sister and Connor’s best friend who have a history together and one that will probably be addressed in a future storyline. Alana and Connor’s parents play a pivotal role in Coming Home and like most parents, their concerns for their children come across as controlling and over protective. Perhaps this is where Alana’s issues of control and Connor’s current living arrangements are the focus of Alana’s concerns.

Misty Matthews writes a story that will be familiar to many adult children who have a difficult time with parental issues of control and letting go. But sometimes, the bigger picture is not control but concern about the choices in life one makes. We watch as one daughter has a need to run from the family and all of its’ issues and, another daughter whose only option is to remain in the security of family and what it has to offer.

COMING HOME is a story about compromise and love; family and friends. It is also a story about two people who each see something different in the small town of Chance Arizona but something that is familiar all the same.

Copy supplied by the author.

Reviewed by Sandy