First published in 2010 by Ballantine Books
In the wake of his wife’s murder, agent Grady Shields turned his back on the FBI—and everything else—to retreat into the vast solitude of Montana, grieve for his lost love, and forget the world. But after years in seclusion, his sister’s wedding draws him to St. Dennis, a peaceful town on the Chesapeake Bay. Though he swears he isn’t interested in finding love again, Grady can’t ignore the mutual sparks that fly when he meets Vanessa Keaton.
Although her past was marked by bad choices, Vanessa has found that coming to St. Dennis is the best decision she’s ever made. Bling, her trendy boutique, is a success with tourists as well as with the townspeople. She’s made friends, has a home she loves, and has established a life for herself far from the nightmare she left behind. The last thing she’s looking for is romance, but the hot new man in town is hard to resist. And when Vanessa’s past catches up with her, Grady finds that he’s unwilling to let her become a victim again. As together they fight her demons, Grady and Vanessa discover that life still holds some surprises and that love doesn’t always have to hurt.
Coming Home is the first in The Chesapeake Diaries series. I have read a couple of the latest books, but never had a chance to go back to the beginning. This one was enjoyable and definitely was a first in a series book, setting up the town and characters. It has a lot of great characters who add a lot of flavor and color to the town. Along with the romance between Vanessa and Grady, there is a little bit if a mystery. I kind of guessed what was going on, but I didn't mind because I loved the atmosphere and the story.
My only complaint is that I kept having the feeling that I was missing some major backstory among some of the characters. Mainly Beck, Mia and Grady. I found out that this story connects to the book, Last Words, which is the second book in this author's "Last" series. That really annoyed me. I really dislike reading a book and feeling like I walked into the middle of a movie. There just wasn't enough explanation of a back story to make this a true stand alone.
Despite thtat, I did enjoy the book. I'll definitely be checking out the next book, Home Again, real soon!
It's always nice to start a series from the beginning. I remember when I decided to go back and start the Alex Cross series by James Patterson from the beginning. 20+ books later, I'm almost caught up!
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