Customer Reviews

Almost Home

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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!

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.

I really enjoyed this book. The hero was my favorite kind, a rough around the edges guy, strong, sexy, intense. The heroine was a good match with lots of heart and passion. But most of all I loved the way the other characters played around them. The older women were so interesting, one reminded me of my mother! Ms. Freethy does such a great job writing stories that feel so real and yet are still so magical.

I enjoyed this book - it has all the elements of a good romance. A rough around the edges hero, a heroine with a personality, some mystery and a dose of antagonism between the two characters to keep the tension going.

I particularly liked Katherine, mainly because she doesn't follow the stereotype of a romance heroine. She's vulnerable and very human. After reading this book, I would probably read something else by this author.

Katherine Whitfield lives and orderly and sophisticated existence in Los Angeles. Orphaned at 12 when her mother died, she never knew her biological father. When she discovers trinkets in her mother's chest that provides a clue to her father, she drops everything to travel to a Kentucky horse town to locate her biological father.

She gets more that she bargained for when she literally runs into Zach, a reticent cowboy. He's angry that she endangered the life of his horse that has a chance of winning the Kentucky Derby. Despite their initial encounter, they're definitely attracted to each other, but she has a daddy to find and he has a race to win and doesn't want to take another chance at love after getting burned. Or does he?

All Katherine has to go on is the initial J, and just about every man in this town has a name that starts with J... Her appearance in town results in an uproar, and makes the lives of all J-men miserable. The paternity is predictable - easily determined within 50 pages, but Freethy's skill at weaving a romantic web will keep the reader enthralled.

I really like Barbara Freethy's work and this is a good book, but I like some of her others better. Kat is a young woman living in California and working for her stepfather who has raised her since her mother died when she was 12. She never quite feels truly loved by him and feels a strong desire to find her own father. She has never known who he is but finds possible clues in her mother's old chest. These clues lead her to a small town in Kentucky and to men with J's in their names. She meets Zach when she almost runs into him and his horse trailer. His horse is on its way to the Kentucky Derby and Zach is trying to prove himself to the town. While waiting for the tow truck, she confides in him why she has come to this town. He believes she is just a city girl who should go back home. Kat is not deterred and proceeds to ruffle feathers of men with J's in their names.
While I guessed who her father was early on, it was entertaining to see how her appearance in town caused so much commotion. I thought the relationship between Kat and Zach was good, and his cowboy "from the wrong side of the tracks" feeling was interesting. I was a little skeptical about his spending time with Kat looking through photos just days before the Kentucky Derby a little hard to swallow, as well as what goes on at the Derby that day but it ties everything together.

Ms. Freethy really delivers everything in this story. Laughter, tears, and great sexual tension. It's nice to read a book that has all that, and makes you care about the characters. I plan to read more of her work.

I found this book by accident in a church rummage sale and picked it up even though I was unfamiliar with the author.

Can I tell you how glad I am?

Zach and Kat simply took my breath away. And isn't that really what we read romances for, anyway? The romance.

Aside from the beautiful horses and the lush countryside, aside from the wonderful dialogue and the interesting secondary characters - we simply want a romance.

"Almost Home" delivers it - completely!

This was simply a wonderful book. It was a wonderfully realistic romance - the way they meet, the feelings they have for one another, how their emotions become involved. This is a couple who respect each other and like each other.

This is such a fabulous story, I highly recommend it!! Read this book - you won't regret it.

I didn't particularly like this book. I like to know the main characters and feel that I care about them. Claire was the only character I felt this way about and she had only a small part in the book. The premise of the book was good, but somehow it just left something to be desired. I would not recommend this book, although I would recommend this author and most especially, Daniel's Gift.