Scan barcode
canadianbookaddict's review
3.0
this book was ok. Like most Harlequin books this was predictable but still was a good read.
pixieauthoress's review
4.0
Alisa Machak’s life revolves around helping her mom run her diner and raising her son, Greg. She doesn’t have time for men, especially not those who are drifting aimlessly through the small town of Bear Lake, Montana, like Greg’s father. Having her heart broken once was enough to make Alisa swear off dating, but even she can’t help but be intrigued when Nick Carbini, an old classmate, returns to Bear Lake for a spell. No one knows what happened to Nick after his mom died and his father took him away from Bear Lake. Alisa doesn’t want to get involved with a man who looks like he might up and leave at any moment, but when an accident occurs that prevents her mother from working in the kitchen, Nick steps in to help. Nick slowly opens up to Alisa, revealing that he worked as an army chef in Afghanistan. Greg is excited to be in the presence of a real war hero, especially one who can take him fishing and play football with him. Alisa is worried that her son might get too attached to Nick, especially since he has no plans to stay in Bear Lake long-term. But Nick is battling his own problems—namely, the PTSD that has stuck with him since his time in Afghanistan. Nick doesn’t like to talk about his experience, and no one seems to be able to stop the nightmares from plaguing him. As soon as they return, he starts to run again—but Alisa and Greg make him consider staying and fighting his demons. Can he face his past and start a new life in Bear Lake with Alisa?
I’ve wanted to read one of Charlotte Carter’s novels for a while now, simply because she’s an active member of a writing forum that I frequent, and I really appreciate the advice she gives to aspiring writers. When Home to Montana became available to review, I jumped at the chance, and I’m only sorry that I wasn’t able to fit it into my reading schedule until now. On the whole, I really enjoyed this romance. It was a light, easy read, which is what you’d expect from a Love Inspired romance. But despite the sheer number of romances that Love Inspired publish every year, Home to Montana didn’t feel predictable.
One of the unconventional aspects of this novel was Nick’s character. Plenty of contemporary romances feature war heroes, but Nick isn’t your standard soldier—he served in the army as a chef. I feel like men like Nick often get overlooked or are less appreciated because they aren’t serving their country in the conventional way, but as shown by this storyline, sometimes the after-effects of their experience are just as serious as those who saw combat. The exploration of Nick’s PTSD seemed pretty realistic from what I know of the subject, and it was particularly heart-breaking to read about Nick’s difficulty with talking about his experience. It’s so easy to acknowledge someone’s sacrifice when they’re missing a limb or have lost their sight, since these are immediately recognisable signs, but you don’t automatically notice if someone’s suffering from PTSD. I think this works for any mental illness or “invisible” condition. For men who are heralded as “war heroes”, it can be difficult to admit that you’re struggling mentally and emotionally because these troubles don’t fit the typical mould of a “hero”. I wished we'd had more time to see how Nick overcame his difficulties, but there was only so much that could fit into such a short novel.
The setting of Bear Lake, Montana and Mama’s diner immediately drew me into this novel, and I could see how Nick was drawn back to the place. Charlotte has written several other novels set in Bear Lake, and I’m definitely going to have to go back and learn the backstories of all the secondary characters who appeared in this novel. Although it’s hard to introduce background characters into such a short novel, each of the characters that Alisa or Nick ran into at the diner or in town enriched the story in their own way. And as for the diner—the descriptions of Mama’s Czech food made me incredibly hungry! I could smell the lingering scents of garlic and paprika whenever Alisa or Nick visited the kitchen. I’ll definitely be looking up some Czech recipes and attempting to recreate some of Mama’s specialities. Perhaps a recipe at the back of this book would be a great addition? Especially considering how all the customers raved about Mama’s chicken and dumplings.
Alisa's son, Greg, was really cute, but then again I love romances about single parents. I’m not sure what it is that draws me to romances that include children as secondary characters, but this one definitely hit the spot. I did wish that we could have learned a little more about Alisa's ex-boyfriend, the drifter who left her on her own with Greg. This backstory was continually alluded to but never explained in detail, except to say that Alisa had been very hurt by the experience.
Rags, the dog, also became a pretty important character in the story—I'm not usually a dog fan, even in novels, but this one won me over. I feel like this book ticked all the right boxes—Cute kid? Check. Cute dog? Check. Tasty descriptions of food? Double check!
As for the romance, I liked the slow-moving nature of Nick and Alisa’s relationship. Their cautious hesitance felt realistic considering both their pasts, but the way in which they were thrown together and forced to work alongside each other at the diner allowed for the relationship to develop at a believable pace. However, I wasn’t a big fan of the ending—considering that they had only known each other for a couple of weeks and still had a lot of issues to work through, it didn’t feel terribly realistic for them to be talking about marriage already! This is the second Love Inspired romance I've come across that's ended this way and I'm not a big fan of proposals occurring quite so soon. I'd much rather have an open ending where it's suggested that the characters will get married in the future, but they need more time getting to know each other. Or a more stretched-out romance set over a longer period of time where a proposal would feel more believable. But I’m afraid that a two-week romance followed by a proposal and a wedding epilogue isn’t my ideal romance. Especially considering Nick's struggles with his PTSD, this felt really rushed. I still really enjoyed this romance, but the ending felt a unnecessarily rushed.
Although the ending wasn’t entirely to my taste, the only thing I feel that the novel could have improved on was the length, so that I could have learned more about Alisa and Nick’s backstories and problems! Considering that this book is a mere 224 pages, Charlotte Carter managed to pack in a great romance with an appealing setting and cast of characters. Home to Montana was uplifting and made me smile, which is just what I'm looking for with a Love Inspired novel. I'll definitely be checking out more of Charlotte Carter's Montana novels.
Review title provided by Love Inspired Books.
I’ve wanted to read one of Charlotte Carter’s novels for a while now, simply because she’s an active member of a writing forum that I frequent, and I really appreciate the advice she gives to aspiring writers. When Home to Montana became available to review, I jumped at the chance, and I’m only sorry that I wasn’t able to fit it into my reading schedule until now. On the whole, I really enjoyed this romance. It was a light, easy read, which is what you’d expect from a Love Inspired romance. But despite the sheer number of romances that Love Inspired publish every year, Home to Montana didn’t feel predictable.
One of the unconventional aspects of this novel was Nick’s character. Plenty of contemporary romances feature war heroes, but Nick isn’t your standard soldier—he served in the army as a chef. I feel like men like Nick often get overlooked or are less appreciated because they aren’t serving their country in the conventional way, but as shown by this storyline, sometimes the after-effects of their experience are just as serious as those who saw combat. The exploration of Nick’s PTSD seemed pretty realistic from what I know of the subject, and it was particularly heart-breaking to read about Nick’s difficulty with talking about his experience. It’s so easy to acknowledge someone’s sacrifice when they’re missing a limb or have lost their sight, since these are immediately recognisable signs, but you don’t automatically notice if someone’s suffering from PTSD. I think this works for any mental illness or “invisible” condition. For men who are heralded as “war heroes”, it can be difficult to admit that you’re struggling mentally and emotionally because these troubles don’t fit the typical mould of a “hero”. I wished we'd had more time to see how Nick overcame his difficulties, but there was only so much that could fit into such a short novel.
The setting of Bear Lake, Montana and Mama’s diner immediately drew me into this novel, and I could see how Nick was drawn back to the place. Charlotte has written several other novels set in Bear Lake, and I’m definitely going to have to go back and learn the backstories of all the secondary characters who appeared in this novel. Although it’s hard to introduce background characters into such a short novel, each of the characters that Alisa or Nick ran into at the diner or in town enriched the story in their own way. And as for the diner—the descriptions of Mama’s Czech food made me incredibly hungry! I could smell the lingering scents of garlic and paprika whenever Alisa or Nick visited the kitchen. I’ll definitely be looking up some Czech recipes and attempting to recreate some of Mama’s specialities. Perhaps a recipe at the back of this book would be a great addition? Especially considering how all the customers raved about Mama’s chicken and dumplings.
Alisa's son, Greg, was really cute, but then again I love romances about single parents. I’m not sure what it is that draws me to romances that include children as secondary characters, but this one definitely hit the spot. I did wish that we could have learned a little more about Alisa's ex-boyfriend, the drifter who left her on her own with Greg. This backstory was continually alluded to but never explained in detail, except to say that Alisa had been very hurt by the experience.
Rags, the dog, also became a pretty important character in the story—I'm not usually a dog fan, even in novels, but this one won me over. I feel like this book ticked all the right boxes—Cute kid? Check. Cute dog? Check. Tasty descriptions of food? Double check!
As for the romance, I liked the slow-moving nature of Nick and Alisa’s relationship. Their cautious hesitance felt realistic considering both their pasts, but the way in which they were thrown together and forced to work alongside each other at the diner allowed for the relationship to develop at a believable pace. However, I wasn’t a big fan of the ending—considering that they had only known each other for a couple of weeks and still had a lot of issues to work through, it didn’t feel terribly realistic for them to be talking about marriage already! This is the second Love Inspired romance I've come across that's ended this way and I'm not a big fan of proposals occurring quite so soon. I'd much rather have an open ending where it's suggested that the characters will get married in the future, but they need more time getting to know each other. Or a more stretched-out romance set over a longer period of time where a proposal would feel more believable. But I’m afraid that a two-week romance followed by a proposal and a wedding epilogue isn’t my ideal romance. Especially considering Nick's struggles with his PTSD, this felt really rushed. I still really enjoyed this romance, but the ending felt a unnecessarily rushed.
Although the ending wasn’t entirely to my taste, the only thing I feel that the novel could have improved on was the length, so that I could have learned more about Alisa and Nick’s backstories and problems! Considering that this book is a mere 224 pages, Charlotte Carter managed to pack in a great romance with an appealing setting and cast of characters. Home to Montana was uplifting and made me smile, which is just what I'm looking for with a Love Inspired novel. I'll definitely be checking out more of Charlotte Carter's Montana novels.
Review title provided by Love Inspired Books.
oldswampy's review
First book by this author I've read. Smoothly written, somewhat believable.
More...