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A Thunder Point Novel
This was my first Robyn Carr book and I will definitely be back for more.
The Homecoming is a contemporary romance set in a small town in Oregon and is part of a series. Of course I haven’t read any of the other books but that didn’t seem to mar my enjoyment here.
Seth was the most popular boy in school and ended up leaving college to play football for the pros. A car accident changed his life forever. Seth’s injuries were significant and he ends up with several surgeries and one leg shorter than the other. But that doesn’t stop him from applying to the Sheriff’s department. He won’t take no for an answer, and eventually he gets hired.
When the opportunity arises to return home as the Sheriff of Thunder Point, he leaps at the chance, both to be near his parents and his closest childhood friend, Iris. They haven’t spoken in many years, and Seth misses her.
Iris is still angry at what happened during their senior year in high school. Iris ran into Seth at a party after he and girlfriend broke up. She saw he was getting drunk, so she pulled him out of there to take him home. Seth invited her to the prom, but got back together with the girlfriend the next day and they went to prom instead. Worst of all, he had no memory of that night. Or the fact that he and Iris had sex. The bottom line is that Iris has been in love with Seth for as long as she remembers, but she is terribly afraid of getting hurt again.
Iris is a guidance counselor at the high school where they both went and is beloved by her students. Having been a gawky teenager, she remembers too well how difficult a journey it is through adolescence. Iris and Seth’s relationship take some interesting turns along the way to the inevitably happy ending.
What was most interesting to me about this book was they way the intricacies of friendship and the loss of a friend were explored. Whenever I hear about women who have friends for 30, 40 years or more, I’m always awed. I have lost friends over the years, found them again (thank you, Facebook) but can honestly say I do not have a real friendship that has lasted that long – other than my husband. I understand things change, sometimes we are at different points in our lives and we don’t have the same things in common, or there are geographical moves away, although with social media that no longer seems to be a problem. We have had couple friends, husbands and wives, who were incredibly close only to have them push away, without my understanding why. I have always regretted the loss of a friend, and Carr helped me realize that I am not alone, a funny thing to find out at 55+ years of age.
I found this a very thought provoking read, and a good story. More Thunder Point novels are out there, and plenty of others too. Carr is a prolific writer, and I am a most grateful reader.
12/15 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch™
THE HOMECOMING by Robyn Carr. Berkley (December 8, 2015). ISBN 978-0399174483. 352p.
Stacy Alesi's BookBitch.com™ 