Almost Home [Mass Market Paperback]

Barbara Freethy (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 2000

TROUBLE IN PARADISE

Katherine Whitfield hadn't left her seamless life in California to get mixed-up with a rough around the edges man like Zach Tyler. With his well-worn jeans and slow, seductive smile, he was nothing but a cowboy on the wrong side of the Mississippi -- a diversion in her heartfelt quest to discover the father she never knew.

Zach has a gentle hand with horses and a seductive touch with women...and when he takes Katherine in his arms, he unleashes the passion simmering just below her cool exterior. Yes, her probing questions and tantalizing ways could cause nothing but trouble -- but sometimes a man needs a little trouble...

 

TROUBLE IN PARADISE

Katherine Whitfield hadn't left her seamless life in California to get mixed-up with a rough around the edges man like Zach Tyler. With his well-worn jeans and slow, seductive smile, he was nothing but a cowboy on the wrong side of the Mississippi -- a diversion in her heartfelt quest to discover the father she never knew.

Zach has a gentle hand with horses and a seductive touch with women...and when he takes Katherine in his arms, he unleashes the passion simmering just below her cool exterior. Yes, her probing questions and tantalizing ways could cause nothing but trouble -- but sometimes a man needs a little trouble...

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

When Katherine Whitfield finds a chest containing some of her deceased mother's mementos, she leaves her sophisticated life in L.A. for Kentucky's thoroughbred-racing country, hoping to find the father she never knew. Armed with a quilt, a cufflink and a letter addressed to a man identified only by the initial J, Kat begins her search. But it seems every man in town has a name beginning with J, and every one of them has something to hide. Her only friend is Zach Tyler, a rough-hewn horse trainer. Zach supports her against the town's slimy characters but stands to lose everything when Kat discovers the truth about her parents. While stock ingredients--tortured hero, driven heroine, secrets galore--keep the story moving at a brisk pace, it's the behind-the-scenes peek at the world of horse racing that gives substance to Freethy's latest offering (after The Sweetest Thing). (Jan.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Driven by a need she barely understands to find a father who doesn't know she exists, Katherine Whitfield leaves her ordered existence in Los Angeles and heads for Paradise Valley, KY, armed only with a restaurant's name and a man's initial. But her quest quickly throws the town into chaos; and when her questions begin to lead to unexpected answers, Katherine begins to wonder if she really wants to find her family after all. A strong but vulnerable heroine who needs to belong, a worthy, driven hero determined to prove himself and live down his father's reputation, and a cast of well-developed, not always conventional secondary characters drive the plot, which also skillfully blends down-home country charm with a dash of horseracing fever. Unlike Freethy's earlier novels, this emotionally involving romance has no paranormal elements; it is sure to please her many fans--and garner her new ones. Freethy (The Sweetest Thing) is a RITA Award-winning writer of warm, contemporary romances and lives in the San Francisco area.
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Avon Books (January 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0380794829
• ISBN-13: 978-0380794829
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.3 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #870,029 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

40 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A real feel good romance, June 23, 2000

By 

BarkLessWagMore (USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Almost Home (Mass Market Paperback)

Katherine Whitfield never knew her father and lost her mother when she was only twelve. She longs for family ties, for roots, and most importantly for love. When she finds her mother's old trunk and discovers a letter that hints at the location of her father she drops everything and heads straight for Kentucky.

Katherine is searching for a map when she nearly collides with a trailer and meets a very unfriendly Zach Taylor. Zach is furious at Katherine's reckless driving and gives her an earful. The trailer she nearly hit contains his horse, Midnight Rogue, who he believes will win the Kentucky Derby. Despite his anger he stays with her until a tow-truck arrives.

Their attraction is immediate but a relationship seems to be an impossibility because Zach refuses to risk his heart after he was left at the altar by a woman he loved. He has no room in his life for a woman, he stubbornly insists. He only wants to win the Derby, own his own stud farm and live a quiet simple life without all of the complications that love is sure to bring along. Lucky for us he falls hard and fast for Katherine.

I tend to favor relationship driven novels about people who genuinely care for one another as opposed to those books where the couple spend the book calling each other nasty names and then immediately hop in the sack. That's why I enjoyed "Almost Home" so much. The relationship between Zach and Katherine begins with a lusty attraction that gradually deepens into a friendship and eventually develops into love. It's clear to see that these two down-to-earth people genuinely "like" each other and aren't mistaking infatuation with love. The end result is an intensely satisfying love story.

If you're in the mood for a slower-paced, feel good romance that isn't plagued by the unnecessary subplots that are far too common in contemporary romances give this one a try.

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I Enjoyed Every Moment!, January 10, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Almost Home (Mass Market Paperback)

Almost Home is a wonderful, engrossing book and kept me reading long past midnight. I especially loved the hero, Zach. Mmmmhmmm. I was also immediately drawn to the setting--Kentucky bluegrass country--as well as the very interesting background of thoroughbred horse racing. Almost Home is a keeper, romantic without being unrealistic, and with a surprise twist at the end. Once again, Barbara Freethy has written one from the heart!

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A wonderful book, January 17, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Almost Home (Mass Market Paperback)

Almost Home, Barbara Freethy's latest, will keep you guessing from page one. Who's the heroine's father? Will she fall for the sexy horse trainer? Lots of emotion, lots of suspense, lots of romance. My kind of book.