Somewhere to Call Home

Boardinghouse Betrothals #1

by Janet Lee Barton

Some might call it a proposal. Violet Burton knows it's blackmail, and she refuses to give in. She won't marry the unscrupulous banker who holds the mortgage on her Virginia home. Instead, she'll find employment in New York City, earning enough to pay her debts before returning home. Virginia's where she belongs…even if reconnecting with childhood friend Michael Heaton makes her long to stay permanently at his mother's boardinghouse.

The freckle-faced girl Michael knew is now a lovely woman. Helping Violet find her way is a simple act of friendship—at least at first. But soon he'll do anything to keep her safe, and hope she'll see that the home she seeks is one they can share together.

Genres: Love Inspired, Romance, Love Inspired Historical, Christian, Christian Fiction, Historical, Historical Fiction

288 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published October 30, 2012

Reviews

[Paula · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very enjoyable historical romance set at a boardinghouse in New York City. I really liked the characters in this book, the sweet and tender romance between Violet and Michael, and the boarders of Heaton House whose stories I'm looking forward to in the next books of the Boardinghouse Betrothals series. The descriptions of New York City at the end of the nineteenth century made me feel as if I was there experiencing the city for the first time along with Violet.

[Loraine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some might call it a proposal. Violet Burton knows it's blackmail, and she refuses to give in. She won't marry the unscrupulous banker who holds the mortgage on her Virginia home. Instead, she'll find employment in New York City, earning enough to pay her debts before returning home. Virginia's where she belongs…even if reconnecting with childhood friend Michael Heaton makes her long to stay permanently at his mother's boardinghouse.

A sweet, clean historical romance, first in the Boardinghouse Betrothals series. I really enjoyed finding out about the Butterick Company since I grew up sewing with Butterick patterns. It was also fun to read about Violet and the other boarders exploring New York and learning about the different areas. Although Violet is somewhat timid having never been out of her Virginia hometown, she has strength and faith that allow her to forge forward in her new life to save her family's home. Mr. Black was the ever infamous villain and Michael the always present protector. The various people who lived at the boardinghouse added wonderful elements to the storyline. A slow developing romance was enjoyable in this sweet Christian historical romance. I plan to read the others in this series to find out who next in the boardinghouse will have a betrothal.

[Janis Kay · Rating 4 out of 5]

History geek review! I loved this author's attention to historical detail from the legendary NYC traffic down to the mention of the spittoons...[shivers]. I believe this period is what historians have dubbed 'The Gilded Age'. I personally think Edith Wharton would've liked this book for a few of the comments about 'American royalty'.

As you can probably tell, I thoroughly enjoyed this read and hope to hear about some of the other boarding house characters in the future:) I LOVED Mrs. Heaton!!!!!

[Dawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Violet comes to New York to find a job so that she can reclaim her family home. She's living in the boarding house owned by her mother's best friend, Mrs. Heaton. Michael, the proprietress's son, is surprised to see the woman Violet's grown into. Never showing favoritism to one woman boarder over another, Michael finds himself drawn to Violet and must work hard to attempt to treat her the same as the other boarders. Violet is drawn to Michael and his helpful nature. Will these two ever admit their feelings?

I really enjoyed this book. Seeing NYC in the late 1800's from the perspective of the working class and not the wealthy, was refreshing. But also seeing how women of the period tried to find work in an ever changing workforce was interesting to read about. I'm hoping that this is the first in a series because I'd like to know more about the other boarders in the Heaton House!

[Rhonda Gibson · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you like historical New York and Romance, this is the book for you! The author has done an outstanding job of placing the reader in New York. A must read!!

[Sherry Watson · Rating 1 out of 5]

Didn't get through it. Found it boring from the beginning.

[Cindy DeLong · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked this book, although I found it hard to keep all the characters straight since they were pretty much all introduced at once. I don't remember the differences between Elizabeth and Julia. And the guys all got mixed up for me. Still totally worth reading.

[Goldenrod · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not super exciting or engaging, but light, cozy, romantic, and a little mysterious.

[🌹📚Beth🐅🍕 · Rating 2 out of 5]

Actual rating: 2.5 stars

[Kathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Somewhere to Call Home by Janet Lee Barton was a very interesting read. I found the historical aspects of a late 18th century New York City very intriguing. I also thought the book well written.

Here is my breakdown on aspects I feel are important in any good book:
Ease of Readability - 9/10 This book was very easy to read.
Uniqueness of Story - 6/10 I didn't really think this story was all that unique. The only thing I found truly unique was all of the historical facts about a late 18th century New York City.
Storyline Expansion - 8/10 I thought that the storyline expanded through the book pretty well. The thing that seemed to drag was the romance aspect.
Character Development - 7/10 I liked the character development, mostly, but I felt the characters were very limited.
Dialogue Plausibility - 8/10 The dialogue was very plausible, I only felt it a little boring and places.
Plot Development - 7/10 I thought the plot developed pretty well, but it took a long time for it to do so.
Annoyance Factor - 3/10 I was annoyed by the repetitiveness of Violet and Michael's thoughts regarding their feelings toward each other. They seemed to have the same thoughts over and over again just worded differently.
Interesting Characters - 7/10 the most interesting thing about the two main characters was that Michael used to be a Pinkerton and Violet had enough of a backbone that she was able to say no to the villain, despite his promise to fix all of her problems. I also liked the variety of jobs of the other boarders at the boarding house.
Humorous Interplay - 5/10 I didn't think there was enough humor in this book. I could've used a few more chuckles.
Romantic Chemistry - 7/10 The romantic chemistry was okay, but I did feel it lacking at times.
Tear Jerkiness - 5/10 No tears… Not one.
Villain Scariness - 4/10 Mr. Black… Not a bad name for a villain, a little obvious, but still not bad. The problem was, as creepy as I found him from Violet's descriptions of the way he made her skin crawl. I never really felt afraid of him. His character seem too weak to truly be a real danger to Violet.
Biblical Correctness - 10/10 I felt what little Bible she used, was used correctly, I just would have liked to have seen more.

Overall, I liked this book, but I honestly expected so much more.

[⚜️XAR the Bookwyrm · Rating 2 out of 5]

I picked this up to read for one of the group reads this month, and boy do I regret it! I'm sorry to say, I really didn't like this book. The premise of the story on the back of the book didn't interest me, so I knew I was in for a rough ride in trying to read this for this month's group read. Granted, it was a quick read, and did get more interesting as it went on, saving it from a one star rating and bringing it to the two star rating I gave it, but I really hated the heroine. Yes, her behavior could have been blamed on the time setting of the story, but for her to be whiny and spineless when she was priding herself on being strong by refusing to marry the banker that was trying to blackmail her just grated on my nerves too much to be enjoyable. To me, she was looking for everyone to save her from this man and tell her what to do and how to do it, which ended up making her seem weak in my eyes. She had started out showing real strength by moving away and trying to solve her problem by working in a different city to pay the debt off, but the second she got there, it was like she didn't have a mind of her own and had to have others tell her her best course of action. I would have to say that if I was looking for a read set in this time period that would be better, I would pick up The Gaslight Mystery series by Victoria Thompson before re-reading this or recommending it to others, which says something, as I don't read murder mysteries much anymore.

[Paula-O · Rating 3 out of 5]

LIH by Janet Lee Barton "Somewhere to Call Home"

My first book by this author and always like reading the LIH books..

Some might call it a proposal. Violet Burton knows it's blackmail, and she refuses to give in. She won't marry the unscrupulous banker who holds the mortgage on her Virginia home. Instead, she'll find employment in New York City, earning enough to pay her debts before returning home.

Ashland Va is small town living in 1895 and Violet Burton likes living there but soon determines she will move to New York City when an old friend offers her the opportunity to stay at her boarding house there. When Violet's mother dies she is told that the house has a mortgage and soon realizes she wont be able to find work anywhere in the small town when the banker that holds the mortgage suggest to businesses they should not hire Miss Burton. or else...
upon arrival in New York City Violet meets the Heatons, Mother and son and they are both a big help in learning her way around the city and in finding a job. Violet knew Michael when they were children and it was nice to get reacquainted now they are both grown up.
this book has some suspense (a villan) in it along with a little romance (hero) and you will enjoy reading the way Violet changes when she has to make many changes in her lifestyle.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought this book to read as a monthly book club read. I had read some horrible reviews on the book and thought well, I'll give it a try. I noticed a few errors in the book, that should have been caught by an editor.

I am really glad I picked up this book. It was fantastic. Yes, we all know how the outcome will be however, the story still tugged your emotions. Violet and Michael's attention to each other made me smile.

I would recommend this book to anyone who wants a quick, fun, romantic read!

[Jackie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you Janet Lee Barton and Goodreads for the historical love inspired novel, "Somewhere to Call Home". The novel was a very enjoyable read. It had interesting history information, courage, mystery and suspense and romance. I'm looking forward to the sequels of this novel. You are on my list of favorite authors...thanks again.

[Megan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this story but there definitely could've been some more active conflict with Harlan to make it more interesting. Also, it would've been nice to find out what happened to Michael's sister. It was also frustrating that Violet and Michael did not communicate their feelings to each other much sooner, seems unrealistic. Lastly, the Pollyanna-type dialogue among the houseboarders was annoying.

[Kelly_Instalove · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF at 40% - no clue what the conflict was supposed to be, and the writing was painfully cheesy.

[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Generic love story. Meh.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

A simple, sweet, classic read. Kind of like a breath of fresh air. Slow-moving, but not in a boring way. I rather enjoyed it.