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Coming Home (Chesapeake Diaries #1)

3.89 of 5 stars 3.89 · rating details · 750 ratings · 89 reviews

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...more

Mass Market Paperback, 376 pages

Published March 23rd 2010 by Random House Publishing Group (first published January 1st 2010)

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Apr 12, 2011 Deborah rated it 4 of 5 stars

I love Mariah Stewart’s writing style and her flexibility with it. Will this be a suspenseful book with romance, or romance with a twist of suspense to keep things energized? Well, it doesn’t matter to me which way it comes, because I loved Coming Home. I thoroughly enjoyed the romance and that it flowed naturally. It helped whenever back story was mentioned, in case you missed her earlier “Last” series. I do love when an author finds characters that can be brought back!!! It was a wonderful boo...more

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Jan 07, 2011 Kaye rated it 3 of 5 stars

Vaness Keaton has been living in St. Dennis. a small town on the Chesapeake, for three years now since she escaped an abusive marriage. She owns her own home and boutique; two things she thought she would never have. Life is finally okay thanks to meeting her half brother Beck and his father Hal who takes Vanessa under his wing and helps her regain a self of self- respect. There is no one special in Vanessa's life and that's the way she plans to keep it. As she too well knows, there are no fairy...more

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Jun 10, 2013 Lenore A. rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I adore books that talk about family, second choices and hope. This is one of them.

Grady Shields is an ex-FBI agent that lives like a reclusive on a ranch in Montana until her sister summons him to her wedding. Grady comes to St. Dennis, a lovely town on the Chesapeake Bay, to walk Mia in the aisle and then go back to his hiking and camping but he doesn't count with the sassy and attractive Vanessa Keaton, the sister's groom.

Vanessa had made terrible choices in the past and finally feels like ho...more

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Feb 24, 2012 Amanda rated it 2 of 5 stars

I downloaded this book for free from my library. Somehow, it got stuck in the section entitled "historical romance". First, it isn't historical. Second, while it reads like a romance, it is on the border of chic lit. It also involves a lot of big, heavy, themes such as domestic violence, grieving widowers, and two generations of people falling in love. The backdrop is a town in the midst of revitalization, a lot of people who get along really well for a small, gossipy community. One of the major...more

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Jun 06, 2011 Andrea Guy rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2011-reads, tlcblogtours, romantic-suspense, romance

Anyone that likes Debbie Macomber, Sherryl Woods or Robyn Carr, will love this book. Coming Home is the first book in The Chesapeake Diaries series by Mariah Stewart. It is part romance and part suspense, but really it is a story about relationships and families.

The story takes place in St Dennis, a small town on the Chesapeake Bay. This book helps to set up the next two books in the trilogy. In this book you are introduced to all the key players. The focus of this book is Vanessa and Grady. Bot...more

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Feb 26, 2012 Maria rated it 3 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Lazy Sunday Romance, beach read

Shelves: romance

I wish I had known before I started reading this series that there was a trilogy that preceded it (The "Last" trilogy). There are so many references to characters in these other books that I spent the first hundred pages wondering if I'd picked up the wrong book in the series after carefully checking that it was the start of The Chesapeake Diaries.

My main comment about this novel is that it reads like a soap opera: The plot focuses on a group of core couples, with a bunch of supporting characte...more I wish I had known before I started reading this series that there was a trilogy that preceded it (The "Last" trilogy). There are so many references to characters in these other books that I spent the first hundred pages wondering if I'd picked up the wrong book in the series after carefully checking that it was the start of The Chesapeake Diaries.

My main comment about this novel is that it reads like a soap opera: The plot focuses on a group of core couples, with a bunch of supporting characters on the periphery that the reader can already tell will get their own stories. The reader is supposed to be following Grady Shields and Vanessa Keaton as they meet and fall in love over the week that precedes his sister Mia's wedding to her brother Beck. It's a little cheesy, but once you get hooked you want to find out what happens next and can't stop watching. The plot even moves with the slowness of a television serial: The reader gets to spend time with the inner thoughts of at last a half a dozen characters, and the shifting POV further detracts from the focus on what is supposed to be the primary couple. This definitely strips much of the emotion and connection to these characters and, while it's good for building a series that will soon include a fifth book, it didn't feel like the main characters ever really had much of a chance to stand center stage.

I will also add that I don't like the diary aspect of the novel, as written by Grace Sinclair, an elderly character who has lived in St. Dennis all her life. The entries felt like a rehash of everything I had just read, and screamed "JUST IN CASE YOU WEREN'T PAYING ATENTION DURING THE LAST COUPLE OF CHAPTERS!" These diary entries would have been a lot more interesting if they had offered some insight or secret insider knowledge, that is, after all, what diaries in novels are for, but they never seem to function in a productive way in this book. Even the little surprise twist Grace offers isn't that exciting and I don't know how it will lead to anything in future books.

Another somewhat forgettable aspect of the narrative is the mystery that needs to be solved. The first key event takes place 175 pages into the story, and Vanessa spends the next 100 pages minimizing the possibility that someone might actually want to hurt her. When the climax of the story finally does arrive, it happens quickly, and there is very little suspense or question about how everything will be resolved.

Although this story never truly moved me, it did catch my interest enough to want to know what happens to the citizens of St. Dennis. I like Mariah Stewart's writing style, and the characters she has created feel real; I am compelled to return to St. Dennis to find out how everybody else's story goes. This isn't a series, however, that rises above simple 'like,' and will send me rushing to recommend it all my fellow romance lovers. It's a good story, set in an interesting community, and would be an entertaining read for a lazy weekend or beach read, but that's as far as I would suggest it. (less)

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Feb 26, 2013 Tia Bach rated it 4 of 5 stars

Love isn't always a bed of roses, and both Grady and Vanessa fully understand that. Neither is looking for love. In fact, they both avoid it. But there's nothing like a wedding, especially between two people who are a wonderful match, to bring out the possibilities.

Vanessa lives in a charming town, one that gave her a new lease on life. Years ago, she found a brother, Beck, there as well as a man who became like a father to her. Grady left town to leave behind his own demons, but he's back for h...more

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Apr 13, 2012 Cindi rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2012, reading-challenge

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. This book was recommended to me in one of my groups. The point of the recommendation was to introduce an author I have never read before. This author fit the bill.

The story started out good. Grady comes to small town, USA to walk his sister down the aisle when she marries Beck. Grady has lived in the mountains of Montana since the death of his wife. Beck's half sister is Vanessa who moved to the same small town a few years earlier after putting her abusive ex in prison. There is Hal, Beck's dad,...more This book was recommended to me in one of my groups. The point of the recommendation was to introduce an author I have never read before. This author fit the bill.

The story started out good. Grady comes to small town, USA to walk his sister down the aisle when she marries Beck. Grady has lived in the mountains of Montana since the death of his wife. Beck's half sister is Vanessa who moved to the same small town a few years earlier after putting her abusive ex in prison. There is Hal, Beck's dad, who did not know Beck existed until Maggie (HIS ex girlfriend) suddenly showed up on his doorstep when Beck was a young teen and dumped him there without warning. I'll come back to Maggie. Vanessa shows up one day (as a young adult) on Hal's doorstep and he takes her in as well. Vanessa is not Hal's daughter but she is Maggie's. Confused yet? Me too.

In the week leading up to the wedding, Grady and Vanessa get closer and end up hooking up (so to speak) after a break in at the boutique Vanessa owns. There relationship (kinda... sorta... almost) takes off from there.

I really liked this story in the beginning. Everything was going smoothly... the story... the characters... the small amount of drama... everything. Then it kind of went down hill.

Maggie... I couldn't stand her from the very mention of her. Then she shows up at Beck's wedding uninvited and definitely unwanted and gee, she couldn't understand why there was a problem. Throughout the entire story Vanessa told anyone and everyone that the only reason Maggie was in town was because she had just lost her most recent husband and she was on the prowl again... so she was going after Hal. Turned out Vanessa was correct. The author tried to make things right and tried to make Maggie out to not be the exact woman she had been describing during the entire book. Didn't work. Maggie was still trying to get her hooks in Hal and apparently she did. The author wrote that part as if it was the way to go with the story because she had been forced to marry another man when Hal was at war and that she really never stopped loving him in all the years since. I totally disagree. All the author did was prove the point she was trying to make before she decided to have everyone make nice with Maggie. Not to mention how horrible of a mother she was to Beck and Vanessa and no contact in years and years and suddenly all is well. That part of the story really bothered me. Obviously.

Then there is Grady. I absolutely loved him throughout the entire book.... until almost to the end. He was loving and protective to Vanessa when she needed him. He tried over and over to convince her that he was not just a one night stand and that he didn't do one night stands and all that. So...... what does Grady do? Abandons Vanessa when she needs him. Literally within minutes after she almost got killed he said "I'm going back to Montana." He had to go back to do a hike or something... which I GET.. but I think he could have waited a few minutes before he left. She was waiting to give her statement in regards to what had happened and he just leaves with a quick peck on the lips and a goodbye. In other words, he proved that he WAS exactly what Vanessa had assumed he was early in the book. Granted, he came back but never bothered to call her when he got home from his hike (or whatever it was). It says very clearly in the book that he was home for several days lonely. But yet he didn't call her during those days. That killed it for me. I couldn't stand him at all beyond that. Actually, I couldn't stand him the minute he abandoned her in the police station. His showing back up and surprising her and all that did not make for a happy ending in my opinion. Yes, they got together but it had already been over for me.

One more thing that I do not understand. What in the world was the Grace thing? The witchcraft thing? There were a couple of things mentioned and then something in the diary about it and that was it. Seemed like wasted words to me as nothing was elaborated on.

While it may not look like it, I really did like the book. I just did not like the way the author went with Grady and Maggie. Everything else was fine for the most part. I will more than likely read the others in the series. Maybe certain things that lost me in this one will be explained. I love small town type books. I love having a little bit of drama thrown in... a little bit of mystery. But what I don't like is when an ending leaves me unsatisfied with the resolution. I know it is a series and I will read more about the town and its cast of characters in future books so I hope to see some of my issues resolved.
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Mar 06, 2012 CJ - Secret Charm rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: beach-read, romantic-thriller, romantic-mystery, romance, review-to-be-posted

This is the perfect book to read on the beach or by the pool because there is little to no thought required with this book.

Everything is spelled out and ordered and there are very little surprises.

That doesn't mean this is a bad thing. Sometimes you just want a fluffy fiction book.

This book suffered from a few things, lack of a built up backstory, little tension between the leads, too many switches of POV to Hal, not enough Steffie and Beck, old-fashioned dialogue (what thirty something says "O...more

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Aug 11, 2010 Trisha W. rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: my-books

I loved this book. This is the first book I have read by Mariah Stewart and it will not be my last. This is the first book in the Chesapeake Diaries series.

This was one of those romance novels that you did not want to put down. I could have read 400 more pages of this book and not been sick of the characters. The character of Grady sounds like my dream man. A rough and rugged cowboy who has a soft and caring heart, especially when it comes to Vanessa. A woman who has made bad choices growing up...more

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Aug 05, 2012 Jess rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: romance-novels

I might be overly critical of this book because St. Dennis actually exists. It's a lovely little town on the Eastern Shore called St. Michaels. The description of St. Michaels was spot-on, as was the story about the town extinguishing all the candles to foil British troops during the war of 1812. Since I've been to St. Michaels more than a few times, I got really hung up on things that weren't right. Things like calling the Bay Bridge "the bridge over the Bay." Nope. It's just "the Bay Bridge,"...more

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Nov 09, 2011 Jojo rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: first-reads

A very sweet story about love and relationships in general. If you're looking for a calm happy romantic story, you've come to the right place!

Stewart's writing style is remarkable. Although the pace is pretty slow, it doesn't drag and make the reader feel bored. Stewart has a way of writing that easily grabs the reader's attention and then sucking them into the story. You end up really caring about what happen to the characters.

The plot is pretty predictable and not all that original but Stewart...more

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Oct 30, 2011 Kim rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: first-read

This was my first Mariah Stewart novel and won't be my last. She has a way of creating characters that makes you want to keep going. I read this book in two sittings because I couldn't put it down. Although we are in St. Dennis for Beck and Mia's wedding, it is Grady and Vanessa's story we are involved in. Both have come from hard pasts and need to find the time to work out their troubles. The budding love story has all the bell and whistles of a fairy tale until Vanessa's boutique is broken int...more

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Jan 24, 2012 Heather ShoeGirl rated it 4 of 5 stars

In Coming Home, you find Vanessa Keaton who after two bad marriages, shows up in St. Dennis to meet the half brother, Beck she never knew about (because Maggie, her mother never told her about him), and his Dad, Hal. They immediately take her in, and she is essentially "adopted" by Hal and the small town of St. Dennis. She gets her life together and opens Bling, a trendy boutique.

Vanessa's brother Beck is getting married to Mia, and Mia wants both of her brothers to walk her down the isle. She...more

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Feb 21, 2013 Jessica rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2013, chick-lit, series

If I'm being honest, I picked up Mariah Stewart's Chesapeake Diaries series because I wanted to read something similar to Nicholas Sparks, and this seemed (just from the back of the jacket) like a match. I'm glad I did.

I really enjoyed reading about the different characters in the small town of St Dennis, Maryland. I could picture the quaint Chesapeake town perfectly in my head, and I want to go there. I loved Vanessa and Grady's backstories and even more than that, I love their new story togeth...more

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Dec 23, 2012 Judy Collins rated it 4 of 5 stars

#1 in the Chesapeake Diaries Series – This is my favorite thus far (not reading them in order). Grady Shield (former FBI agent) is living in solitude in Montana after the murder of his wife and comes to St Dennis for his sister’s wedding. Of course his sister has him secretly matched up with her best friend Vanessa, who owns Bling the boutique town (with a troubled past which is coming back to haunt her). Mix in a bad childhood, love spells, gossip, break ins, good friends, secrets from the past...more

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Mar 23, 2010 Katy rated it 4 of 5 stars

This is a book I won on the Goodreads FirstReads giveaway. I received it yesterday, and then, when I started it last night, I couldn't put it down.
It's a good story by Mariah Stewart.

This is a predictable romance story. I could have predicted what would happen and why. What I liked about it was one of the main characters, who had bad things happen in his life, didn't have the "WOE IS ME!" attitude. His philosophy of "I did what I could, and I couldn't change certain things. Let's move on" is som...more

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Dec 10, 2011 Sally Guillen rated it 4 of 5 stars

I just finished reading Come Home and it was wonderful. I am kind of put off by romance novels as I'm more of a horror type gal. But with this book I was really pleased to find that it wasn't the run of the mill romance novel. No, it was a mystery, romance, and thriller story all in one. The romance wasn't too crazy and it didn't need to be hidden from the kids. It was a great story before everything else and ended up being a really good read. Mariah Stewart created characters that seemed so rea...more

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Jan 02, 2013 Michele rated it 4 of 5 stars

Although the resolution of the main event to which the book was leading up to was a bit unbelievable and resolved almost too neatly, it was an enjoyable read. The characters were people I wanted to get to know and I liked - save one, but he was the villain, which are not meant to be likable. The description of St. Dennis was wonderful and made me want to visit - if it were a real town. This book was mostly a romance but there was a bit of crime & suspense to keep the reader wondering what wa...more

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Apr 05, 2010 Lia rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: first-reads

This book reminded me of a Nora Roberts type romance novel. A little mystery, a little romance, a little "mysterious past". Add in a damsel in distress and the formula is complete. This "damsel in distress" didn't appear to need too much rescuing though, which I enjoyed. The author made Vanessa a strong, independent character and used Grady as support rather than relying on him to move the plot along. I felt like Vanessa was the central character who happened to fall in love, rather than focusin...more

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Oct 21, 2012 Bj Hoover rated it 4 of 5 stars

I really enjoyed this new series by Mariah Stewart. I am a fan of cozy mysteries and romance in a small town. Whether the romance or a mystery is the focus of the story, I love the atmosphere of unique towns and the characters therein. This one is more romance than mystery, but getting to know Grady and Vanessa and their venture into their relationship is a pleasant journey and I like the lack of blatent sexual content, but a more realistic development into a friendship and real love. The suppor...more

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Aug 31, 2010 Corky rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-in-2010

Vanessa Keaton loves St. Denis, the seaside town she has made her home. Happy with her new life and her new career as owner of Bling, a trendy boutique, the last thing she is looking for is romance. When former FBI agent Grady Sheilds arrives in town for his sister's wedding the sparks fly. Unwilling to let Vanessa's past cause her any more trouble now, Grady sticks around to insure she does not become a victim again.

This is a new series for Stewart and is sprinkled with characters from many of...more

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Sep 06, 2012 Kasie Whitener rated it 2 of 5 stars

I read this because the Read Between the Wines group chose it. Our book-hostess this month met the author and had never read anything by her, so ....

The story is predictable and contrived. The characters are cliche and rather silly. The writing is a lot of tell, tell, tell.

The scenery is interesting (being familiar with Annapolis helped my interest) and this set up a number of side stories for future books about the small town. I was entertained by it in that same way I'm entertained by Chef Ra...more

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Feb 17, 2013 Marg rated it 4 of 5 stars

When Vanessa Keaton's escapes an abusive marriage, she returns to the only place she has ever really called home. Whilst Hal is not really her stepfather any more, he and her half brother Beck have never treated Vanessa as anything other than family after she was dumped on their doorstep by her neglectful mother Maggie. Now, she has rebuilt her life. She has a successful dress boutique in the small town of St Dennis called Bling, she has friends and she is happy being single.

With Beck getting ma...more

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Jan 09, 2011 Angie rated it 3 of 5 stars

Immediately I realized that there were previous books with the majority of the characters in the book (including the hero, Grady). That always frustrates me, especially since this book is the first in a new series. After digging a little, turns out that there are three to five books including the Mira, Grady, Andy, and then several with their cousins. Also, the author has decided to change from romantic suspense to more romance and light rather than dark due to a few deaths in her family. It def...more

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Sep 20, 2010 Laura de Leon rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction, review-copy, romantic-suspense, blogged

My previous experience with Mariah Stewart has been with her romantic suspense novels. The (absolutely beautiful) pastel cover on this led me to expect something much more sedate. The cover copy left me unsure: "sister's wedding", "peaceful town" both go with the quieter story, "FBI", "victim again", "fight her demons" all led me to think there might be more of an excitement factor.

The book was both, and they worked together very nicely for me.

At its heart, Coming Home is a book about people in...more

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Apr 13, 2011 Cindy Flory rated it 5 of 5 stars

The characters in this book are strong, even while trying to deal with past tragedies of their own. Their not whiny nor weak. They're just trying to put their past lives behind them, and move on the best way that they know how. And yet, they find a strong attraction that's building more and more everyday between the two of them, that ends up being to hard to ignore anymore. So when things turn grim once again, it's no surprise that they'll do what ever it takes to prevent anymore harm.

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Apr 25, 2010 Linda rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: divorce, domestic-abuse, family-relationships, romance, women-businesswomen, first-reads

Vanessa Keaton has made a life for herself in the small town of St. Dennis. She owns her own boutique and has put her two failed marriages behind her. When Grady Shields comes to town for his sister's wedding, sparks fly between Vanessa and Grady. When Vanessa's shop is vandalized she and Grady work to discover who from Vanessa's past wants to harm her.

This is a light entertaining romance.

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Apr 05, 2010 Carla rated it 4 of 5 stars

This was my first Mariah Stewart book. I enjoyed it as it was a quick, interesting read. I live near the Cheaspeake Bay, so I found the setting an added plus. I found that the characters were very well rounded and I didn't feel I needed to know more about them as they were so well described. I am not one to pick up romance books, but glad I had the oppurtunity to read this enjoyable book.

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Mar 11, 2013 Marleen rated it 1 of 5 stars

Based on other reviews, I expected more from this book. It started out okay, but the more the story progressed, the more I had to come to the conclusion that the characters lacked depth, personality, even credibility. It went so far, that after awhile I started to dislike Ness, the main female lead. As for Grady Shields, he was rather flat and generic.
It was all rather dull and repetitive after awhile. The only plus point to the story was the setting of a cute little bay town in Maryland. I enjo...more

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About Mariah Stewart

Mariah Stewart is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of twenty-six novels and three novellas and has been featured in the Wall Street Journal. She is a RITA finalist in romantic suspense and the recipient of the Award of Excellence for contemporary romance, a RIO Award for excellence in women's fiction, and a Reviewers Choice Award from Romantic Times Magazine. A three-time winner...more

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Coming Home (Chesapeake Diaries #1)

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