Sunday, May 27, 2012

Where the Heart Lies by Michelle Garren Flye

Summary:
All widowed Alicia Galloway has left of her war-hero husband are the flag that draped his coffin and his final wishes: to move to his hometown, take over the family bookstore and enjoy a simple, quiet life with their two small children. When she arrives, her husband's best friend makes that new life anything but simple. How can she be so drawn to Liam Addison?

Liam only intended to help Alicia get settled. But one unexpected kiss awakens his long-held forbidden feelings. Soon, the town busybodies swoop in to warn Alicia away from him. Because no matter the man he's become, he'll never...

Reviewer: Dolce Amore
As he put the glass of chardonnay in her hand, she’d shouted over the music, “It’s very impolite to stare, you know.”
He leaned down. He must have shouted over the noise in the bar, but she felt as if his voice was very intimate, meant only for her. “That’s what I was coming over to tell you.” His breath was warm on her ear and when their eyes met, she knew immediately she would fall in love with him.
Alicia loved Ty, her husband, from the first moment she saw him; but now he is gone, hit by a sniper’s bullet, leaving her with their two children to raise alone. She has Gemma and Jason who is born a scant two weeks after Ty's death. Nine months later, the widow moves to Ty’s town, into her in-laws’ home, with the children in tow, determined to realize the dreams of her late husband.

Alicia's first meeting with Liam Addison starts out as a simple welcoming, but the attraction between them is sizzling and the gossip about them throws them together rather than tears them apart as the town gossips had hoped. Soon Alicia discovers that prior to Ty entering her life, he had a daughter with Penny, a woman who becomes her friend the moment she moves to town. It turns out Ty had known nothing about the daughter's existence.

The book has its funny parts:
“I owe you and your buddy a dunking.”
“Oh, you don’t owe me anything for that. It was my pleasure.”
And his wonderful and romantic ones:
He’d considered bringing flowers, but he hadn’t wanted to do anything that would make Alicia uncomfortable. Confronted by her beauty, however, his fingers felt empty, as if he needed something to offer just for the opportunity to look at her. Was this how Aphrodite’s worshipers had felt as they left their worldly goods at the feet of her statue in ancient Greece?
I’m impressed you exist, my love. I never thought anyone so perfect could live on this earth.
I loved the touch Ms. Michelle Garren Flye adds to the story with the magic tricks based on physics Liam performs to the delight of Gemma. And from all the characters, I absolutely loved Christine, the dance teacher. She is a maternal figure with a wicked sense of humor. She reminds me of Georgia, from “The Client List”:
“Honey, you’ve got to hold her like you mean it.” Christine moved her right hand down from Alicia’s waist to her hip. “The important thing about the tango is everybody watching has to be just waiting for you two to get busy right there on the floor.”
What I didn’t like about the book was that, after only a conversation or two, Alicia finds friends. But friends like Penny and Lulu with their attitudes and personal agendas should be steered clear of. Alicia needs nurturing influences, not backstabbing ones. Also, I found the relationship between the characters seemed to be evolve too slow, which made the story a bit boring. Those are some of the reasons that I believe the characters needed more depth and reality. 4 stars

Publisher: Carina Press's

1 comments:

Kimberly @ Caffeinated Reviewer said...

ooh this book sounds delightful and a perfect summer read..love your review!

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