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Lakeside Porches #2
Coming Home to Love
Global venture capitalist Justin Cushman has come home to Tompkins Falls in the Finger Lakes to assist his injured nephew Joel. Sick of accumulating wealth for its own sake, Justin knows that his life is meaningless without a loving relationship and a purpose for his billions. When he visits Joel’s spa, looking for a massage to relieve his pain, gifted masseuse Gianessa Dupioni senses what ails Justin and starts him on a journey of health and happiness. Too bad for Justin that Gianessa is strictly focused on rebuilding her career after devastating personal losses. Justin may be a master strategist in the financial world, but can he persuade Gianessa to let love in?
309 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 24, 2014
About the author
Katie O'Boyle
4 booksBorn in the upstate-New York village known as the Birthplace of Women’s Rights, Katie O’Boyle passionately loves the Finger Lakes in every season. She cherishes the lakeside porch as a place for intimate sharing, laughter and inspiration. Some years ago, Katie was a stellar student and closet substance abuser at a picture-perfect small college. She credits loving friends, 12-step spirituality, and plenty of hard work for her transformation into her grown-up self: tech-savvy college professor and passionate author of warm-hearted romance. She skillfully weaves those essential experiences and knowledge throughout the Lakeside Porches romances.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
November 19, 2014
Originally posted at Bunny's Review
I enjoyed the romance part of this book. I did not enjoy reading about people in recovery. I personally feel that should be part of the book description.
I did enjoy the characters having gluten problems. This is something so many people face. I would have liked to have some of the recipes Gianessa and Justin cooked. They sounded so delicious.
This book was the second in the series. I have not read the first book and I do not feel it is required reading for this story.
Gianessa is trying to get her career back on track after reaching her bottom. When she encounters Justin she sees him as a sick man, someone who has an abundance of wealth at his finger tips but without an answer as to why he feels so bad. When Gianessa quickly diagnoses his problem I wonder why he so easily accepted the word of someone were he did not ask for advice.
Justin is living a dry-drunk life. He may be on the wagon but he acts like a person who is drunk. Justin storms thru life with a take charge attitude and believes (or just acts) like everything is made better with money. He tips outrageously and spends like money will be obsolete tomorrow.
This was a hard read for me with recovery triggers. Something I do not want to think about or remember. It is nice to know the characters got their life together but to this reader it is not as easy as these characters make it sound.
The characters in recovery seems a little advance in there thinking. They seem to have it all together even after a few weeks of meetings. I have dealt with a husband who went thru recovery and he (and others in groups) never acted or portrayed thoughts advanced as these characters. To this reader the characters seem like they have been clean and sober for several years to several decades not a few weeks or a year or so. To be in recovery and barely think about drinking or needing a fix just does not ring true with this reader. Granted I have never been an alcoholic or drug addict but I have seen it and know my husband was not right with his thinking and emotions after rehab or a few months down the road.
I do recommend this book to any who enjoy contemporary romance.
The bunnies and I give this book
carrots.
I was given this book in exchange for an honest review. All views are my own and do not reflect those of the author, my clients or tour companies I work with. This is not a paid review. To form your own opinion please support the author and acquire your own legal copy of the book.
I enjoyed the romance part of this book. I did not enjoy reading about people in recovery. I personally feel that should be part of the book description.
I did enjoy the characters having gluten problems. This is something so many people face. I would have liked to have some of the recipes Gianessa and Justin cooked. They sounded so delicious.
This book was the second in the series. I have not read the first book and I do not feel it is required reading for this story.
Gianessa is trying to get her career back on track after reaching her bottom. When she encounters Justin she sees him as a sick man, someone who has an abundance of wealth at his finger tips but without an answer as to why he feels so bad. When Gianessa quickly diagnoses his problem I wonder why he so easily accepted the word of someone were he did not ask for advice.
Justin is living a dry-drunk life. He may be on the wagon but he acts like a person who is drunk. Justin storms thru life with a take charge attitude and believes (or just acts) like everything is made better with money. He tips outrageously and spends like money will be obsolete tomorrow.
This was a hard read for me with recovery triggers. Something I do not want to think about or remember. It is nice to know the characters got their life together but to this reader it is not as easy as these characters make it sound.
The characters in recovery seems a little advance in there thinking. They seem to have it all together even after a few weeks of meetings. I have dealt with a husband who went thru recovery and he (and others in groups) never acted or portrayed thoughts advanced as these characters. To this reader the characters seem like they have been clean and sober for several years to several decades not a few weeks or a year or so. To be in recovery and barely think about drinking or needing a fix just does not ring true with this reader. Granted I have never been an alcoholic or drug addict but I have seen it and know my husband was not right with his thinking and emotions after rehab or a few months down the road.
I do recommend this book to any who enjoy contemporary romance.
The bunnies and I give this book
carrots. I was given this book in exchange for an honest review. All views are my own and do not reflect those of the author, my clients or tour companies I work with. This is not a paid review. To form your own opinion please support the author and acquire your own legal copy of the book.
November 24, 2014
Justin is a complex unusual man. He is in denial over himself and his brother. He is lost emotionally and trying to figure out how to get back on track. To do this he feels his nephew the one he raised and brought back from a bad place is the key. Key to his salvation and bring him to who he really is and find peace. Gianessa is trying to come to terms with her past and move on. She is trying to find a way to be a better Gianessa and when Joel gives her the chance she jumps. Two souls trying to right their ships find one another and set off on a journey that has love, laughter, anger, frustration, healing and truth. But most of all love. They find their soulmates and fight for control and to be together.
Justin is a good guy who doesn’t see himself this way. In denial as to what he is and how to be who he wants to be he meets another in the same place Gianessa and they click. Their souls call to each other and heal one another. They have a sweet relationship where attraction is there but they start as friends and let it grow from there. Until Justin lets his demons surface and explodes. This precipitates him realizing he needs change and he begins to work on this alone. When he feels stronger he does try to talk to Gianessa but her pride does not allow it. In fact she resents him and allows her past resentments and anger to stop this. She is a hypocrite here. She can forgive others for worse and give them second chances but not Justin. Not a fair thing to do in my opinion but she was hurt and allowing her past to dictate what she did here.
To people that are lost finding their way and end up together in this sweet and sometimes heartwrenching story as they learn about each and heal each other at the same time. The story of their love is a journey that is expressly written for us to feel the angst of the past creep in, the battle of their demons being fought, the struggle for independence and to become something be battled and for love to be seen to soar within this couple and those surrounding them. A sweet story of a love that endures anger,fear and misunderstandings to come out stronger in the end.
Justin is a good guy who doesn’t see himself this way. In denial as to what he is and how to be who he wants to be he meets another in the same place Gianessa and they click. Their souls call to each other and heal one another. They have a sweet relationship where attraction is there but they start as friends and let it grow from there. Until Justin lets his demons surface and explodes. This precipitates him realizing he needs change and he begins to work on this alone. When he feels stronger he does try to talk to Gianessa but her pride does not allow it. In fact she resents him and allows her past resentments and anger to stop this. She is a hypocrite here. She can forgive others for worse and give them second chances but not Justin. Not a fair thing to do in my opinion but she was hurt and allowing her past to dictate what she did here.
To people that are lost finding their way and end up together in this sweet and sometimes heartwrenching story as they learn about each and heal each other at the same time. The story of their love is a journey that is expressly written for us to feel the angst of the past creep in, the battle of their demons being fought, the struggle for independence and to become something be battled and for love to be seen to soar within this couple and those surrounding them. A sweet story of a love that endures anger,fear and misunderstandings to come out stronger in the end.
November 25, 2014
I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Katie O'Boyle got much of the difficulties and pain of the characters out front. At least for the most part. There are still some things that need to be answered but there are only a few questions at the beginning of the novel.
I will admit that while I enjoyed this book it also didn't fully capture my attention. I'm not sure if it was just that I wasn't falling into the character's lives or whatnot but it just didn't grab my attention as some novels have.
As always it was interesting to hear new perspectives and possibly see new takes on scenes that might not have been the most obvious of choice. It kept things interesting and if you've read the first book in the series, you'll probably be happy to see some familiar characters. But Coming Home To Love can also be read as a stand-alone as I have not read the first novel yet.
There were some moments where tension was high as well as some laugh-worthy moments, perhaps at the expense of a character. But it also included character growth, something that was interesting to witness as the book moved on and characters became more familiar.
Coming Home to Love was a good book, one that if you're interesting in difficult romances it will be right up your alley.
Find this review and many more at Reading Shy With Aly
Katie O'Boyle got much of the difficulties and pain of the characters out front. At least for the most part. There are still some things that need to be answered but there are only a few questions at the beginning of the novel.
I will admit that while I enjoyed this book it also didn't fully capture my attention. I'm not sure if it was just that I wasn't falling into the character's lives or whatnot but it just didn't grab my attention as some novels have.
As always it was interesting to hear new perspectives and possibly see new takes on scenes that might not have been the most obvious of choice. It kept things interesting and if you've read the first book in the series, you'll probably be happy to see some familiar characters. But Coming Home To Love can also be read as a stand-alone as I have not read the first novel yet.
There were some moments where tension was high as well as some laugh-worthy moments, perhaps at the expense of a character. But it also included character growth, something that was interesting to witness as the book moved on and characters became more familiar.
Coming Home to Love was a good book, one that if you're interesting in difficult romances it will be right up your alley.
Find this review and many more at Reading Shy With Aly
December 31, 2014
First of all I would like to thank Reading Addiction Blog Tours for providing us with a copy of this book so that we could bring you this review, but I would also like to take a second to apologies that I didn't get this up on the date we'd agreed on. I ended up having a scheduling conflict with work and was not able to get to it in time. So again I apologies to Katie O'Boyle for not getting this up on time.
Ok I am not going to lie, at first I did have a bit of trouble to read this book, I think part of that was a part of the subject matter. But it was also what makes this book so real. What Gianessa, Justin, Joel and many of the other characters in this book deal with is real, and something that not many authors are brave enough to write into a book, So for that I applaud Ms. O'Boyle for being brave enough to do.
Now Justin is a bit of an ass, but at the same time he can be very sweet and wonderful with Gianessa. I loved the history behind the area where they are at. Gianessa is a strong character, with a great head on her shoulders, even if there are times when she wasn't always so wonderful. I did find myself crying towards the end of the book, but I think that has a lot to do with the fact that I came to love these characters so much, so when they went through something I went through it along with them.
Happy Reading... Adri
Ok I am not going to lie, at first I did have a bit of trouble to read this book, I think part of that was a part of the subject matter. But it was also what makes this book so real. What Gianessa, Justin, Joel and many of the other characters in this book deal with is real, and something that not many authors are brave enough to write into a book, So for that I applaud Ms. O'Boyle for being brave enough to do.
Now Justin is a bit of an ass, but at the same time he can be very sweet and wonderful with Gianessa. I loved the history behind the area where they are at. Gianessa is a strong character, with a great head on her shoulders, even if there are times when she wasn't always so wonderful. I did find myself crying towards the end of the book, but I think that has a lot to do with the fact that I came to love these characters so much, so when they went through something I went through it along with them.
Happy Reading... Adri
October 27, 2014
Here's my personal guarantee for reading Katie O'Boyle's Coming Home to Love. If you're hungry when you pick up this book, you'll be starving by the time you put it down--the food descriptions are THAT mouth-watering! The good news, though, is that you'll crave salads instead of bread or pasta, which is one of the benefits of the heroine's gluten-free lifestyle. Fresh angles--in addition to fresh greens--appear constantly throughout this engaging romance. I especially enjoyed the luscious descriptions of the Finger Lakes and reading about thoughtful, self-aware adults seeking healthy relationships. What a pleasant change of pace from the usual romance novel! The promise shown in Katie O'Boyle's first Lakeside Porches creation, Stepping Up to Love, comes to fruition in this, her second book. Congratulations, Ms. O'Boyle!
December 13, 2014
I enjoyed reading about the romance throughout this book. I also liked the different hardships this couple had. They were different from what I usually read. However, I felt like those hardships took away from the book some. Maybe a little too in detail. Still a great read.
This is the second book in the series and can be read as a stand alone. I had not read the first book, although I may pick it up since I do have some unanswered questions from the beginning of the read. Still, having not read the first book I personally don't think it took anything away from the story. The overall story was good. I found some humor here and there. The characters also developed nicely throughout the read.
This is the second book in the series and can be read as a stand alone. I had not read the first book, although I may pick it up since I do have some unanswered questions from the beginning of the read. Still, having not read the first book I personally don't think it took anything away from the story. The overall story was good. I found some humor here and there. The characters also developed nicely throughout the read.
Read
November 4, 2014DNF. This novel has a lot of potential and deals with a lot of heavy-hitting situations (from celiac disease to alcoholism and more) that should keep readers who like mystery romances engaged. The main reason I stopped reading this novel at 50% was that the romance between Justin & Gianessa moved so slowly that to couldn't fully root for them, and by the halfway mark I was getting bored.
I wish you luck with reading it, and even though I wasn't a huge fan, I still recommend it.
Check out my website here: https://fromjesstoyou.com
I wish you luck with reading it, and even though I wasn't a huge fan, I still recommend it.
Check out my website here: https://fromjesstoyou.com
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews