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3.7 AVERAGE
3.7 AVERAGE
3.5 ⭐️ quick and easy read. Little bit of a strange premise.
emotional
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Cora was given up for adoption as a baby. Now after years of searching she has managed to find her birth mother working as the head mistress at a school for boys with behavioral issues. She applies for a job at the school as their new art teacher hoping to find some answers but keeping her secrets proves very difficult with her growing attraction to Elijah, her mother's adopted son.
So this is a romance about a woman who was abandoned as a child, a man who suffered horrendous abuse as a child (which doesn't seem to have affected him at all) a mother (who in all honesty should be named MacGuffin), set at a school (with no students).
The hand of god resolves everything and shoulder angels (in the form of the protagonists' friends and siblings) also show up and have their say.
It's a long way from Brenda Novak's best...it's not even on the same planet. I'll forget it all by Friday but I still enjoyed it for what it is. Entertaining fluff.
So this is a romance about a woman who was abandoned as a child, a man who suffered horrendous abuse as a child (which doesn't seem to have affected him at all) a mother (who in all honesty should be named MacGuffin), set at a school (with no students).
The hand of god resolves everything and shoulder angels (in the form of the protagonists' friends and siblings) also show up and have their say.
It's a long way from Brenda Novak's best...it's not even on the same planet. I'll forget it all by Friday but I still enjoyed it for what it is. Entertaining fluff.
emotional
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Enjoyed this!! Probably not my favorite romance author but I liked it enough to read the next in the series:)
The characters were underdeveloped and the plot was thin. This felt like the outline of a book that someone forgot to revise with the actual details and story
Art teacher Cora Kelly accepts a position at the New Horizons Boys Ranch for the sole purpose of getting to know the director, Aiyana Turner, who happens to be her biological mother. Cora hasn't told her adopted family nor Aiyana of her discovery. She has her reasons but things start to get complicated when she and Elijah Turner, Aiyana's adopted grown son, become "involved."
It's an interesting story as Cora tries to figure out who Aiyana is and why she gave her up when she later adopted so many others. Cora's relationship with Elijah develops pretty naturally even though it creates some serious ethical issues for her. It was easy to judge her for keeping her secret so long but just as easy to understand why she delayed telling everyone. I liked how the issues related to adopted children seeking out their biological parents were addressed, presenting all sides of those affected.
The narrator did a wonder job of distinguishing the characters and I liked how she chose to handle the male roles. No over exaggerating but you could hear the shifts. I'll definitely look for more by this narrator.
I enjoyed this story and the introduction to the series, as well as the small town and community of Silver Springs. While there wasn't a lot of drama, there were lots of realistic issues and dilemmas to keep me hooked. I'm looking forward to continuing the series. 3.5 stars
(I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review)
It's an interesting story as Cora tries to figure out who Aiyana is and why she gave her up when she later adopted so many others. Cora's relationship with Elijah develops pretty naturally even though it creates some serious ethical issues for her. It was easy to judge her for keeping her secret so long but just as easy to understand why she delayed telling everyone. I liked how the issues related to adopted children seeking out their biological parents were addressed, presenting all sides of those affected.
The narrator did a wonder job of distinguishing the characters and I liked how she chose to handle the male roles. No over exaggerating but you could hear the shifts. I'll definitely look for more by this narrator.
I enjoyed this story and the introduction to the series, as well as the small town and community of Silver Springs. While there wasn't a lot of drama, there were lots of realistic issues and dilemmas to keep me hooked. I'm looking forward to continuing the series. 3.5 stars
(I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review)
Another AWESOME Brenda Novak book!
I loved the idea of this books since the first time Brenda told us, in her Book group, about it.
I'm studying to be a Social Educator and one of the places we can work in is this kind of institutes, with troubled kids and teens.
And when I begun reading and Aiyana asked why Cora had answered the ad, I immediately thought about all the activities that a art teacher could do to help those kids, and as a social educator working as a partner with a art teacher to plan and do those activities using art to give them values and knowledge that would make them better persons and help them reintegrate the society. Working on their self-esteem, their feelings, their understanding of the world and the community where they used to live and the one they now live...
“I want my boys to be educated,” Aiyana continued, “but even more than that, I want them to be whole, to find peace.” -> This scene is what I believe in, and has a future social educator, that's what I want to do: help people giving them ways to once again "be whole".
So, over all, I really did enjoy the book. It was one of those books that makes you think about our society, social and personal problems and how to keep going, never giving up and getting better, while learning knowledge and values.
I can't wait to read the next one. I'm so excited to know more about this new series. What a great beginning.
I loved the idea of this books since the first time Brenda told us, in her Book group, about it.
I'm studying to be a Social Educator and one of the places we can work in is this kind of institutes, with troubled kids and teens.
And when I begun reading and Aiyana asked why Cora had answered the ad, I immediately thought about all the activities that a art teacher could do to help those kids, and as a social educator working as a partner with a art teacher to plan and do those activities using art to give them values and knowledge that would make them better persons and help them reintegrate the society. Working on their self-esteem, their feelings, their understanding of the world and the community where they used to live and the one they now live...
“I want my boys to be educated,” Aiyana continued, “but even more than that, I want them to be whole, to find peace.” -> This scene is what I believe in, and has a future social educator, that's what I want to do: help people giving them ways to once again "be whole".
So, over all, I really did enjoy the book. It was one of those books that makes you think about our society, social and personal problems and how to keep going, never giving up and getting better, while learning knowledge and values.
I can't wait to read the next one. I'm so excited to know more about this new series. What a great beginning.
