A Home of Her Own

Dundee, Idaho #4

by Brenda Novak

When Lucky Caldwell was ten, her mother married Morris Caldwell, a wealthy and much older man. It didn’t last, but having grown up without a father, Lucky considered Morris’s kindness the highlight of her young life.

Mike Hill, Morris’s grandson, doesn’t feel quite as warm and fuzzy about that time. He believes Lucky’s mother purposely alienated Morris from his family. What’s worse, Morris’s Victorian mansion, right next door to Mike’s ranch, wasn’t inherited by one of his grandchildren. Instead the house went to Lucky, who left it sitting empty for years.

Now that her mother and Morris have both passed, Lucky has finally come back to Dundee. She plans to restore the derelict home—and to look for her real father, once and for all. That means Mike has a new neighbor. One he doesn’t want to like…

Originally published in 2004 under the title A Home of Her Own

Genres: Romance, Contemporary, Contemporary Romance, Harlequin, Enemies To Lovers, Fiction, Audiobook

304 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published November 24, 2004

About the author

It was a shocking experience that jump-started Brenda Novak’s bestselling author career.

“I caught my day-care provider drugging my children with cough syrup and Tylenol to get them to sleep while I was away,” Brenda says. “It was then that I decided that I needed to do something from home.”

However, writing was the last profession she expected to undertake. In fact, Brenda swears she didn’t have a creative bone in her body. In school, math and science were her best subjects, and when it came time to pick a major in college, she chose business.

Abandoning her academic scholarship to Brigham Young University at the age of 20 in order to get married and start a family, Brenda dabbled in commercial real estate, then became a loan officer.

“When I first got the idea to become a novelist, it took me five years to teach myself the craft and finish my first book,” Brenda admits. “I learned how to write by reading what others have written. The best advice for any would-be author: read, read, read….”

Brenda sold her first book, and the rest is history. Now a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author, she continues to publish two or three novels a year, in a variety of genres.

Brenda and her husband, Ted, live in Sacramento and are the proud parents of five children—three girls and two boys. Now that they are empty-nesters, she spends her free time babysitting her two grandchildren.

When she’s not with her family or writing, Brenda is usually raising money for diabetes research. To date, she's raised almost $2.6 million. Her youngest son, Thad, has diabetes, and Brenda is determined to help him and others like him. She also enjoys traveling, watching sporting events and biking--she rides an amazing 20 miles every day!

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Author-...

Reviews

[Vintage · Rating 3 out of 5]

All I want is the chance to squeeze lemon juice on everyone's paper cuts before they die in a fiery explosion that takes out the town.

Maybe Lucky (ha - that name) and Mike can live and a couple of the kids and, of course, the pets. The rest have to die...

Mike's whiny mother that blames an abandoned child for her mother's sins and can't empathize with her son.

Mike's stupid dad that verbally attacks the girl.

Lucky's heinous slutty mother that had no boundaries. I'm surprised she didn't sell her daughter to one of her married lovers.

The loser town people that thinks it's so funny to not give the h heat or electricity in the winter. It's Idaho! It freezes hard.

The worthless potential married dads that think it's okay to have sex with her skanky mother then pass the baton to the virginal daughter. She may be your kid, you hypocritical jackasses. I hate you!

The stoopid police officer that thinks she's into bondage because after being kidnapped by two bozos she was found half-nude and bound in the back of a pickup truck by the hero. Again...reasons...her mother.

The town people for labeling a girl a slut because of her mother, and NO OTHER REASON.

P.S. Changed from two stars to three as anything that can make me rant has something going for it. Too bad it's terrible for me blood pressure.

[Preeti ♥︎ Her Bookshelves · Rating 5 out of 5]

Omg I’m drowning here.
If I needed reminding why super romances are called so, then this book did a perfect job doing it.

No review but some headers…
The wrong side of the track /white trash trope + family feud/hate + back in town for answers + tarred with slutty mom’s brush + who’s my father? + digging some secrets can be dangerous + vulnerable lonely h with a prickly exterior + big age gap-15 years + insta-attraction and conflagration + sweet absoluteness of connection + secret affair + whole world against me/ us + forbidden/ star-crossed lovers!
What more could one ask for???

Just let me wallow some more in the supremely poignant and bittersweet feeling still roiling in chest…the aftertaste being mostly sweet!

“I’m in love with you, Mike,” she said softly, her eyes wide and honest, “so in love that I can’t even ask you to love me back.”

“We’re wrong for each other in every way.” He blinked up at the ceiling.“Except…”
“Except?” she echoed weakly.
“Except the one that matters most.”

[Germaine · Rating 1 out of 5]

I can't believe that this is the fourth book Brenda Novak has written about Dundee, Idaho, a town which is populated by ignorant, small-minded, judgmental, and just plain nasty people. Heroine is the daughter of the town slut, so everyone knows that she is a slut, too, and proceeds to treat her as one. Heroine, being the proud thing that she is, suffers in silence and keeps her head up through a series of contrived circumstances that push the credibility limits even for Romanceland. Hero's family (who have put the "fun" in dysfunctional) are the most judgmental and meanest of all the denizens of Dundee, but through a convenient plot contrivance in the last fifteen pages we have the HEA. There's an epologue that is sickening in its sweetness (and I don't mean sweet romance). You can also get sick to your stomach from the dizzying reversal of Hero's family's attitude toward Heroine. It's a true WTF set-up.

My advice is to avoid this book at all cost. If you are driving and see a sign directing you to Dundee, Idaho, take another route, preferably through Yuma, Arizona.

[Debbie "Buried in Her TBR Pile" · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 "I liked it" stars

Very surprised at how much I enjoyed reading this one. If anyone deserves a happy ending, it is Lucky (h). The family and town drama that caused her to be ostracized as a child, also follows her as an adult as she returns to her "home" town to live and fix up an old victorian her step-father left to her upon his death. The house is a bone of contention with her step-father's family.

I cheered on Lucky from the beginning of the story. The house negotiations by fax marriage proposal from Mike made my cynical self smile - yes, there is an epilogue - so I got a couple of extra feels on this one. I really need to process this one more to add to this review because it is not doing this story justice.

[Margo · Rating 2 out of 5]

This could have been a three-star book but I do not quite understand what Brenda Novak is trying to do with Dundee, Idaho. It appears to be full of casually monstrous people. This book features attempted rapists, vandals, corrupt police offices, and spiteful public works employees.

These people are absolutely terrible! How can there be a series about a charming small town where every single person is despicable?

The h and H should have left the town in their rear-view mirror.

[Jackie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well good golly miss molly. I really enjoyed this. This a story about a girl who was left property by her stepfather which caused a lot of animosity between her and his first family. She comes back 6 years after she inherited with plans to fix it up and find out who her real father was. Her mother was a prostitute and was not liked in the small town and as an extension of that either was Lucky her daughter.

Lucky meets up with Mike the grandson of her step father and they can't fight their attraction. Things I love which made it work for me.

She wasn't much to look at in her teenage years and is a beauty now and he is floored. I like when the hero has to eat his words.

She has always loved him but he didn't know she existed but now he is smitten despite never falling for anyone like this before.

the angst with his family and how they treated her was so hard to read and that type of great frustration as Mike slowly slowly started to stand up for her.

She was treated terribly by so many I particularly enjoyed it when she left town without telling him and he was heartbroken mooning over her.

I NEEDED more resolution between Lucky and Mike's mother. Not happy with how that was handled in epilogue.

Lucky deserved more apologies from his family.

The steam is fairly light and alluded to more than descriptive.

I couldn't wait to pick it up each time I put it down!

[Tia · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was one amazing book! The heroine's mother was a mistress to many men and when the heroine was born, there were three possible candidates for paternity. She was trying to find her father when she met he hero, whom she'd been in love with since she was sixteen. Secretly they got together and the heroine offered her virginity to the hero. Then the heroine fell in love with the hero and was chased outta town. A month later and the hero is mourning for her, the heroine just found out she's pregnant. Now the hero will do everything in his power to get her back because he realizes he's in love with her.

[Martel · Rating 2 out of 5]

Didn't care much about anyone except the heroine. Who was too sweet for her own good and accepted a lot of abuse from everyone, hero included. Judging someone for what his parents did ? Eeeew.
Because of the people of Dundee the Heroine almost freezes to death, suffers theft and abduction, no mentioning constant insults. Half of the population of the town belongs in prison and the other half needs some serious education.
This novel plainly angered and annoyed me, hardly the emotions I'm looking for while reading or listening to a romance.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great series! On to the next!

[Rose Maria · Rating 5 out of 5]

H38,h24
Beautiful story....made me cry too.
Heroine is the step daughter of hero's grandfather.
Readers who like Linda Howard stories would love this too.

[★ gwiz ★ · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story shows how the sins of the mother (a prostitute who married a rich older gentleman) are judged by a small town onto the daughter. When her stepdad left Lucky the old Victorian home that she lived in until she left after graduation of High School and enough income to allow her to travel and not have to work. The town and the neighbor (of the Victorian) all thought she was as money grabbing and loose as her mother. Not that she might have had feelings for her stepdad.

She decides to come back to town to fix up the decaying home in the hopes of resolving questions she has about her life before she left and to finally say goodbye to memories and move on with her life by spending one last Christmas where she had spent her happiest holiday.

I thought the long distance commutation between Lucky and Mike at the end was really well done and original. It is a quick read and well worth a reread.

[KathyB · Rating 4 out of 5]

I saw this book recommended on a few Amazon threads and decided to pick it up based on the plot. I was in the mood for a story surrounding a "wronged" heroine, and this one fit the bill. The hero, his family, and most of the town was incredibly cruel to the heroine. Lucky was irritating and bitter at times, but based on how she was treated, I understood and empathized.

I enjoyed this one, for me it was a winner. I'm taking off a star because there are a few loose ends that should have been wrapped up. That being said, I'm looking forward to reading more of this series, I'd recommend.

4+ Stars

[Jacqueline J · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this one. I liked the way the hero couldn't stay away from the heroine. It was just a well put together book that I really didn't want to end. I really would have liked to see the heroine meet his parents as his girlfriend since the whole family hated her family. Those would have been some interesting scenes. Brenda Novak is one of my favorite authors. She writes realistic characters but with enough out of the ordinary happening to keep things interesting and different.

[Ditchwater Sal · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 This book had a lot of potential, but was lacking in the execution. There are some weird loose ends that never get tied up, and no one ever apologizes to the heroine for the shit she had to endure. A lot of relationships are never resolved and just sort of implied about, and then there is the TRULY horrific fat-shaming that pops up throughout the book for literally no good reason. Like this:

“She pushed to her feet—no easy task with the weight she’d gained since Lucky had been away—and squished over, moving from side to side because her legs were so big she could no longer walk straight.”

What?!!!! All the bad guys in this book are fat cus clearly fat people are evil. It’s extremely weird.

[Vikki Vaught · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great read in this series, so glad I continued on after the first few books. Happy reading!

[Brenda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another book in the Dundee series completed and one more book closer to my 50-book goal to earn a Brenda Novak pin. Throw down a challenge and I'm probably in lol 😅

[Janet · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just loved this book from start to finish! Looking forward to the next book in this series.

[Lilly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lucky Caldwell has returned to Dundee and Mike hill is seeing what the town's residents aren't.

Lucky just want to fix the Victorian house to put it in the market and leave Dundee for good , she did love Morris Caldwell like a father and felt in love with his grandson Mike, she saw how caring hi was. Obviously he didn't feel the same ,she was 10 years old and he was 25 .

-Live and let live -
"She’s a mean-spirited, nasty person just like her mother.“

Mean-spirited?” he repeated.
“What else would you call her? She has no use for that house. She doesn’t even like Dundee. She thumbed her nose at us and ran off the second she inherited it, and no one’s heard from her since. Unless it’s to send a forwarding address for her monthly check.”

“She left as soon as she graduated,” he clarified, “not as soon as she inherited.”
“Maybe she didn’t feel accepted here.” His mother shook her head. “She was born here! She just couldn’t wait to start traveling across the country, living the high life on my father’s money.”

Mike knew of Lucky’s reputation, all right. He’d made assumptions based on that reputation and he’d found them to be totally false. But without telling his parents how he came to know her reputation had been largely exaggerated, he couldn’t convince them that they were wrong, so he decided it’d be smarter to back off.

This whole mess is really her mother’s fault.” “Lucky was part of it, too,” Barbara argued. “I remember how she used to fawn over my dad. ‘Daddy, it’s cold out. Don’t forget your coat. Daddy, I shined your boots the way you like them.’ She hung on your grandpa’s every word and smiled up at him as though he was the moon and the stars, all the while hoping to get her hands on his money. It kills me that he fell for it.”

“We don’t know about her motivation, Mom. She was only a child.”

A tear trickled down his mother’s cheek. “The way I feel isn’t right,” she said, suddenly deflating. “I’ve never hated anyone in my life, but I hate Red, whether she’s dead or not, and I hate Lucky.”

you learn pretty damn fast that everything else is smoke and mirrors. Fame. Money. Success. You realize that life is fleeting and family’s what it’s all about. It’s the only thing that matters.”

Mike rubbed his neck, feeling guilty for not keeping his distance from Lucky when he knew that associating with her would hurt the people he cared about most. Even that night they’d decorated the tree had been a mistake, because he felt he knew her so much better, liked her so much more.

Gabe maneuvered his chair around the leg of the table and lowered his voice. “You get with Lucky, and it’ll divide this town in two.”

"Mike touched the condensation on his glass, telling himself he should just nod and ignore it, but he couldn’t. “What if everyone’s wrong about her?” he asked. “In what way?” “They think she’s this…materialistic, self-serving woman out to gain advantage in the world any way she can.”

“Sort of like her mother?” Gabe eased back to his normal distance and lifted his beer.

[Meran Rhodes · Rating 1 out of 5]

I know I read these all out of order but after reading book #6 I was pretty intrigued with the plot of this book it started out ok but then it went downhill FAST! I live in a small town in Idaho (population 550) and I can attest that the gossip mill really is alive and well as this book portrays. What broke this book was how incredibly stupid and judgmental the ENTIRE town was about one girl who happened to have a prostitute for a mother. Now I get the town hating Red. That I get. I get the high school kids being awful to Lucky because of her mother because highscool kids are just awful to each other in general. But the fact that the whole town...THE WHOLE TOWN...assumes she is a slut and a gold digger and so on just because her mother was is absurd and way too melodramatic. The fact that EVERYONE is up in arms about Lucky "stealing" part of Mike's inheritance is also silly because only a few people would actually care about that. The fact that even public works employees and a cop would be so horrible to her just because of who her mother was, even though they have no serious connection to the Hill family, is mind boggling! Like I said, I live in a town much smaller than Dundee and this kind of wide spread animosity just wouldn't happen and even less so with more people! It all made the book totally overblown and unrealistic and by the end I pretty much hated everyone in the book including the two main characters for many different reasons. I get the Hill family hating Red and her children but Novak took it too far and ruined her book. On top of that Novak seems to have a serious aversion to labeling sex as sex. She used the term "making love" so much it really got annoying. When two people actually have feelings for each other and are committed it is making love but calling it that when its just fun and physical got old really fast and made me roll my eyes. Ok...rant over.

[Albert · Rating 5 out of 5]

I would like to read many more of such fine contemporary romances. The book has a contemporary Romeo and Juliet feeling.

We have our sympathetic heroine Lucky, who is despised by everybody because of the faults of her deceased mother, when she comes back to her old town to deal with an old Victorian mansion. The only person there who has a mind of his own is Mike, a truly nice, independent owner of a ranch next to Lucky's inherited mansion.

The book was over too fast and a bit unexpected for me. The last chapter(s) were about Lucky fleeing from all of the hostility towards her, and Mike trying to find her. Of course there is a HEA, but I would have liked it to go on a bit. At first, I was thinking about 4.5 stars, but the good feeling of Lucky and Mike stayed with me for quite some time, so I am going for 5 stars.

[Melodie · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 Stars

I've read quite a few small town romances and have always though that are pretty nice places to live in but this book has really changed my mind. The way the people treated Lucky and judged her for something she has nothing to do with made me so mad. Perhaps because I did not read the previous novels in the series, but I really disliked Mike's parents. Especially his mother.

Notwithstanding how I feel about the people of the town, I really liked Lucky and Mike and think they are great together. I'm not a big fan about the huge age gap but they truly loved each other. I just have to remind myself of those couples I know that love each other deeply despite their age.

[Gail · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great book in the series. I felt so sorry for the way the people of Dundee were treating Lucky because of who her mother was. Lucky just wants to restore the old Victorian home her grandfather left her. The only happy times were in that home. Mike Hill should have inherited the house and his family treat Lucky like dirt. Can Mike get to know the real Lucky and will Lucky make known her attraction to Mike since she was 16 years old? Read the story to see how it all ends. I loved every minute of the story.

[Beverly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Had trouble liking this one as much as some of the others in this series. It was a fast read. Will continue with the next one.

[Andrea Canela · Rating 3 out of 5]

Doy tres estrellas porque la autora sabe escribir y se nota el oficio, pero el punto central de este libro (al igual que me ha pasado con otros suyos) me ha resultado tan molesta que he decidido no seguir leyéndola.

Premisa inicial: Lucky recibe en herencia una casa y una pensión modesta por parte del que fue su padrastro unos 6 años. La familia del padrastro está molesta porque el señor dejase a su esposa (en plan 50 años casados) para irse con una persona de moral distraída del pueblo y darle en herencia la casa a la hija de esa mujer cuando debería ser para ellos.

Ok, puedo hacer la suspensión de la realidad y entender a unos y otros con la motivación inicial. También puedo entender que Lucky decida no mantener relaciones con nadie hasta encontrar a la persona adecuada en contraposición a la vida de su madre y para demostrarse a sí misma que ella no es su madre.
También puedo comprender que a la familia del padrastro le haya molestado que dejase a su mujer de toda la vida por lo que ellos denominan una mujerzuela y que no hayan entendido por qué sigue incluyendo a Lucky en el testamento cuando se ha divorciado de su madre y regresado con su primera mujer.

Lo que no tiene sentido es:
-TODO el mundo en Dundee (literalmente, todos menos uno) odia a Lucky. A pesar de que Lucky se fue del pueblo hace 6 años, no ha vuelto y no la conocen demasiado.
-El odio indiscriminado a Lucky se sustenta en que su madre era prostituta y que le «robó» el marido a una de las grandes familias del pueblo.
-La gente desconfía de Lucky y consideran que es una cazafortunas, que es ligera de cascos y que es capaz de hacer cualquier cosa porque ES HIJA DE SU MADRE.
-Todo el mundo en el pueblo ha decidido tomar partido por la familia de Mike Hill respecto al tema de la herencia, considerando que Lucky debería devolver la propiedad de la casa a la madre de Mike.
-El policía del pueblo recibe una denuncia indicando que Mike (prota pusilánime masculino) le ha roto la nariz. Mike dice que ha sido para defender a Lucky porque la llevaban medio desnuda y amarrada de noche en la parte trasera descubierta de una ranchera. El policía dice que según los otros, ella estaba de acuerdo con eso y no hay que ponerlo en duda porque ya sabes de quién es hija. Vamos, hombre.
-Mike Hill, un hombre de casi 40 años y que debería tener el culo pelado no se atreve a estar con Lucky (24) o a defenderla en público porque: eso podría molestar mucho a su madre y hacerla sufrir, eso podría suponer una brecha en su familia y podría suponer una división o guerra en el pueblo. No es capaz de hacer nada más que un puñetazo y decir que era virgen cuando se acostó con él. No es capaz de pararle los frenos a sus padres o de decirle a su amigo que se calle la boca.
-La madre de Mike es horrible. Ya no era muy buena en el libro de Josh (el hermano de Mike) pero en este se lleva la palma. Todo lo que hace y dice respecto a Lucky cuando (y me parece que esto es importante y suficiente para que cualquiera que se lo dijera a esa señora le desmontase el cuento): LUCKY TENÍA 10 AÑOS CUANDO SU MADRE SE CASÓ CON SU PADRASTRO. Dice que era mala, una arpía, que intentaba ganárselo con malas artes, ... qué puede hacer una niña de 10 años que sea tan grave para que una adulta de unos 50 años en ese momento considere que es el demonio y la culpable de las guerras en el mundo.
-La madre de Mike no se disculpa en ningún momento por ninguna de sus actuaciones (tampoco el padre), pareciendo ser capaz de preferir que su hijo pierda al amor de su vida que esté con una persona que no le cae bien por ser hija de su madre.
-Como ya me sucedió en Whiskey Creek, no entiendo la personalidad de personajes secundarios que fueron principales en otras novelas. En este caso, Josh ( y por ende Rebeca). Se supone que Rebeca lo pasaba mal porque todo el pueblo la considerase un desastre y que no servía para más que para meterse en líos y la opinión nefasta que tenían a veces sobre ella por cosas que no eran ni verdad. Sin embargo, no duda en juzgar con la misma dureza a una chica que no conoce de nada sin pensar en lo que le sucedió con su mujer. No sé.


Hay tantas cosas que me parecen mal (y otras tantas que se me habrán olvidado) que no puedo y no voy a seguir con ninguno más de las dos series de la autora. Entiendo lo que pretende hacer o cómo dar fuerza a los puntos de giro, pero de este modo a mí me pierde por completo. Bye, bye, Brenda.

[Suzie Weber · Rating 4 out of 5]

Originally Home of her Own became retitled as Say You Love Me. This is the fourth book in the Dundee, Idaho series. So far I have liked this book the best. We have seen Mike more in each of the previous stories. At almost 40, Mike is thinking that one gal is never going to cross his path. I think he is coming to accept that. His grandfather who he adored surprisingly divorced his grandmother and basically married the area hooker. Red, as she was called, had a young daughter named Lucky who adored Morris. He was a true father figure to her and was crushed when her mom was accused of trying to poison Morris. Red also couldn’t stop that side business while she was married to Morris.

Morris left his old Victorian house next to Mike and Josh’s farm to Lucky. Mike has tried for years to buy it from her. Lucky is just like her mother - or so everyone thinks. Well what does ass-u-me mean? Lucky comes back to clean up the Victorian to sell it. She comes back to a house with no heat, no electricity, broken windows and a snow storm. Mike stops by the old Victorian to find Lucky there and freezing.

Mike realizes Lucky is no longer a kid, isn’t over weight anymore and he is 15 years older than her. Lucky knows w just one look the love she had for Mike when she was a kid is still there these years later.

This is truly a book about the sins of the father and mother. Lucky must be as loose as her mom. Mike’s mom is livid Lucky is in town. Didn’t her family and her father endure enough! Lucky has also learned through her moms detailed journals that there are three men who could be her father. She sets out to find out which man it is.
And Please, can someone shoot Officer Orton!!! What a 🤬.

[Gina Bowman]

I came across this book accidentally. I was searching for something else and the title looked interesting. I really got sucked in right away. The story continued to keep me on the edge of my seat.

Lucky’s mom was the town whore, she even kept a log of everyone with their likes, dislikes, and everything that she might need to be able to continue pleasing them. She married a rich guy that treated Lucky like a princess and he showed her lots of fatherly love. She finally, for the first time in her life, had someone that loved her.

Mom and the guy divorced though. Mom couldn’t keep her whoring ways in check. There was an accidental overdose of insulin and that broke up the marriage. People accused her of trying to kill her husband. She got the contents of the home in the divorce.

When the old man died he left Lucky an income and his old Victorian mansion. His family was pissed. The town already treated Lucky like a pariah so she left town.

She came back at age 24 to fix the house up. But in truth she’d found her mother’s journals after she passed away. During the time she would have conceived Lucky there were three men. Lucky wanted to find out who her father was. This is why she came back. It’s a VERY good story. I checked out the first book in the series.

The core of the story is not about this back story. So this isn't really a spoiler.

[Jane Stewart · Rating 3 out of 5]

Weak 3 stars. I was not enjoying it. I did not smile or feel good until the very end.

Kind of a downer most of the way through. I’d prefer having some positive anticipation. But it kept my interest. It’s part of a good series, so I like getting to know various people in the community.

Back story: Wealthy Morris Caldwell divorced his wife to marry Red a former prostitute. Red had a daughter Lucky but did not know who the father was. Morris loved Red’s kids, especially Lucky. When Morris died he left a house to Lucky. The locals resented that. Morris’ grandson Mike wanted to buy the house from Lucky but she wouldn’t sell. The story begins 6 years later when Lucky comes to town and moves into the house. Lucky is down on her luck and Mike helps her out of pity.

This is book 4 in the 8 book Dundee, Idaho series. Each book can be read as a stand alone but I prefer reading them in order. Various characters have small parts in subsequent stories.

DATA:
Narrative mode: 3rd person. Story length: 304 pages. Swearing language: moderate with the s*** word. Sexual language: mild. Number of sex scenes: two. Setting: current day Dundee, Idaho. Copyright: 2004. Genre: contemporary romance.

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this Dundee series, I’ve read the first 4 in about as many days. This is my second favorite couple so far, though Lucky is a tad annoying with her constant pity party and the “older” generation of Dundee citizens are so judgmental and frustrating. Although, I love how Brenda Novak does that, she creates characters that evoke a strong emotion whether you love them like Mike or despise them like the Smalls and Officer Orton, she’s a master at making you feel very strongly about her characters which is great when it comes to a series because you have to keep reading to find out if your favorites get their happy ending or if the ones you despise ever get what’s coming to them.

I really loved the forbidden love aspect of this, my only complaint is that it seemed to resolve too nicely int the epilogue (which is not common in Brenda’s books) so much of the book was the feuding families, grudges held etc but then just in the last couple pages you find everything is fine and dandy now. I would have liked a bit more build up to resolution but the book was great and I can’t wait to start the next one to find out what is in store for my favorite characters.

[Mac · Rating 2 out of 5]

Por alguna razón releí el otro libro que tengo de esta saga donde conocíamos a Josh Hill y Rebecca una pareja explosiva, divertida y competitiva que se complementaban muy bien. El resto de la saga no me llamaba la atención, pero en esta ocasión quise saber qué había sido del hermano mayor de Josh, Mike Hill, aún soltero y a punto de cumplir los 40 en un pueblo de Idaho 0donde todo acontecimiento importante tiene que ver con matrimonios y bebés... ¿En serio está escrito en este siglo?

Eso es lo que me pasé preguntándome todo el libro, desde la costumbre "vaquera" de los hermanos Hill de echarse a las mujeres al hombro como si fueran sacos de patatas (¿se repetiría en el resto de libros de la saga?) hasta el final. Es cierto que, dentro de lo que cabe, considero que actitudes de Mike y de Josh entran dentro de lo normal, eh, y en varios puntos son personajes bastante modernos atrapados en una zona ubicada en el pasado.

Pero en resumen, un libro divertido, con una trama muy rápida (en la que me faltó un poco más de desarrollo) y personajes majetes, que puede mantenerte entretenido una tarde de aburrimiento.

[Ashley Hedden · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Home of Her Own (Dundee, Idaho #4) was a great read by Brenda Novak. Lucky’s mom married Morris, a much older and wealthy man, when she was ten years old. Although the marriage didn’t last long, Morris was extremely important and a father figure to her. Many of Dundee’s resident’s blame Lucky and her mom for alienating Morris from his family and causing his death. When Morris died, he gave his house to Lucky and it sat empty for a long time. This angered many people especially Morris’ grandson Mike Hill. Lucky returned to Dundee after Morris and her mother’s death’s. She wants to restore the home and look for her real father even though no one seems to be happy that she’s there. I really enjoyed Lucky and Mike’s story and can’t wait to read more in this series.