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Coming Home for Christmas*
Not an Easy Holiday Read, But a Good One
I am new to this author, and of course, am new to this series. So I feel like I wasn’t quite prepared for all this book would be. The cover of it looks like any inviting and lovely Christmas romance. I thought the blurb was a little confusing, as I couldn’t quite figure out the timeline and some of what the author was hinting at. Let me just disabuse you of one notion to start with. If you’re expecting a light and fluffy Hallmark-style Christmas romance, this is not it. I know for me, sometimes, I want to read that light and frothy holiday romance. But if you are in the mood for a holiday romance that tackles more difficult subjects, like severe postpartum depression and traumatic brain injury, this book definitely delivers a compelling story with all the feels.
I will have to say that I had a hard time liking the hero and heroine at the start before I knew their full story. I couldn’t imagine a mother willingly leaving her family, as Luke suggested rather angrily several times. I also didn’t like that Luke at first was unwilling to engage with Elizabeth more than he had to. Even his sister was surprised that he didn’t try to find out the “why” and other details on their trip back to Idaho. I probably would have had more sympathy for Luke if I were familiar with the series. But once the couple got back to Haven Point, and the full story began to unfurl, it was amazing and I’m glad I stuck with it. Elizabeth has been through so much. And the children, my goodness! This story is about so much, including the themes of forgiveness of both self and other and the meaning of family and all that entails. There are definitely moments that will have you breaking out the tissues.
