Customer Reviews

Called Home: Two Hearts Answer

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(24)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Emma Benson has returned home to Wisconsin to help her mom with the family farm. Her father abandoned the family and her brother died as a child. She has real trust issues especially when it comes to men.

David Schlosser also returns to Wisconsin from New York as a well known author. No matter how hard Emma fights it, these two just seem to connect. Can they be happy or will David let her down like every other man in her life? With all the drama in their lives are their dreams too big? Will there be a happily ever after?



Being set in Wisconsin really drew me to this book and was pleasantly surprised the this was more than a romance story, it is filled with mystery and a little suspense as well.

I would have liked more history about the main characters and for some reason the event in story being continuously called a rodeo without ever mentioning a horse or horse like events nagged at me a little. I think the author really meant a fair, like a county fair held all around the U.S. in the summer months.

I had a hard time liking Emma at first but she grew on me and while the romance seems to overshadow the mystery, the mystery is well plotted and more complicated that I first suspected.

This is a really good debut from this author and the story is very enjoyable. Gloria Schumann is an author I will continue to watch.


Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the author. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255 : "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

Called Home was hard for me to get interested in for the first couple of chapters but as I read on the story line unveiled a jaw clenching, nail biting novel I didn't want to put down.

The main character Emma is portrayed as a real pain in the buttocks. You will gradually learn why she is so rude and distant. I can't fault the novel because of this character. There are people like Emma in this world so why not write about them.

David enters the picture thinking he will be a knight in shining armour and seems to find her intriguing. He is persistent in making a connection with her whether she wants one are not. David sees through her masquerade. Gently he presses her to find out what happened in her past that causes her to distance herself from him.

Unexplained events began to happen and kept me as confused as Emma and David as to why all these suspicious events were happening to them. It definitely kept my eyes glued to the book wanting to find out what was going to happen next. I want to quote Emma's thoughts as she is reading a mystery book. "It was a section in which it is necessary for someone else to remove it from the readers' hand as he clung to every twist and turn in the plot, trying to ascertain its meaning."

That is how I felt about reading this book. When you read this book, all the way to the end, you might feel ashamed of yourself for having such a harsh opinion of Emma. Some people only see what is on the surface of a person.

I would recommend this book to my best friends.
I am rating this book 4 out of 5 only because I was tempted to stop reading the book all together at the very beginning. I am glad I kept reading because I would have missed out on a very good read.

Disclosure: I was given a free copy of this book by Gloria Schumann the author of this book for review. This review is my very own honest opinion.

Called Home: Two Hearts Answer by Gloria Schumann
Release Date: May 8th, 2010
Publisher: Savant
Page Count: 333
Source: Directly from author for review

Emma Benson's view of life was crafted by the death of her brother as a child, abandonment by her father and later, the man she trusted she would marry, until...

David Schlosser -- back in town after years in New York writing best-selling novels -- threatens her neatly tended life. Romance blooms. Emma and David eventually persevere in the face of tragedy, refusing to leave their dreams behind.

What Stephanie Thinks: Sweet small town romances can turn out one of two ways: tragically emotional and heartbreaking, or undeniably corny. Called Home: Two Hearts Answer contains all the elements of the latter; the sequence of the story is predictable and bland. I don't feel the "chemistry" between Emma and David, but it's portrayed like it's strong and passionate (but to me, it isn't. At all). Their relationship seems rushed, forced, and fake, as if it was scripted for a clichéd romance novel.

The main reason I think I can't feel the love between Emma and David is because of their personalities. They're both highly dislikable; Emma acts stingily and as if she's eleven years old -- and god, she is SUCH a prude -- and David is too demanding and cocky. While I can bring myself up to ignore David (because most men are demanding and cocky anyway), I just want to slap Emma in the wherever-it-would-be-most-painful. That girl's got something shoved up her ass! And she's in denial for the majority of the book too; though she kisses David and fantasizes about him in a more-than-platonic way, she won't admit she even likes him til the very end. She can't not only admit her love, but her LIKE for him til the very end. Like I said before -- is she eleven years old? What does it take to act civilly towards a guy who hasn't touched a hair on her head?

Regardless, David seems stunned by her as a woman. I find nothing extraordinary about Emma, by the manner of her speech, attitude, and style, and yet David is still perplexed by her femininity, beauty, grace, and all that other crap. This is why I find their relationship unlikely; Schumann does a poor job of convincing me that they could really fall for each other. Another reason for this may be the chastity. No love scenes are consummated, and aside from heavy kissing, nothing happens. Nothing. While I appreciate this in a sweet contemporary romance, it also seems unlikely in a real-life relationship.

Aside from the nonexistent connection between the characters, another problem I have with this book is the unnecessarily detailed and superfluous writing style. Schumann expounds the exact descriptions of attire (and furniture, exteriors, cars, etc.), names of minor (and once-appearing) characters, and redundant facts (such as "The silence was not at all awkward. Emma found it very comfortable." Oh, really? Because I thought an unawkward silence would be totally uncomfortable).

One thing I will give props to, is the structure of the story. The plot is coherent and consistent, and therefore easy to follow. I don't find this an easy read persay, since the language tends to drag on and repeat itself, but the events happen in order and are reflected back upon, facilitating my understanding of the occurring action. The mystery, though easy to guess, is frightening and overall well-crafted. The pace doesn't pick up until the temperature starts heating (in a life-threatening way, not sexually) -- but that isn't until the last quarter or so of the book. I think lovers of a good, clean romance will find this one enjoyable, but I personally didn't like it that much.

Stephanie Loves: "She wanted to smack him with a cracking good blow across the cheek.
She wanted to drag him to her bed, and slide her hands beneath the well-tailored façade of civility he wore. Wanted to stroke and tempt and touch until his bare skin shivered beneath her fingers."

Radical Rating: 5 hearts-Doesn't particularly light any of my fires; I feel indifferent about this book.

This was a very good read for me. I love Romance books that has mystery entangled within the pages, and this has plenty suspense. I love the character of Emma. At first you might not like or understand her, but in the end you will know how or why she is like that. If you love a good Romance, you need to pick this up. I know you will enjoy it.

If you want a romance with a ton of love and attitude then this is the book for you!
Emma couldn't give David more attitude if it were on sale....with good cause....she was basically thrown out with the trash by her ex and trusts NO man...so why trust MR. NEW YORK....He'll just go back!
The story is strong and well written with turns, you think you have it figured out with who did what, but you're wrong!
In the end....well...read the book!!!!!
Awaiting the next!

First let me be honest about something, I usually don't read romance novels. When Gloria Schumann emailed me and asked me if I would be willing to read and review her book which was " a sweet romance with plenty of passion and longing without sex scenes, and a bit of crime and suspense thrown into the mix to make a compelling story", I thought I'd give it a try. By that I meant I would try it because it had the element of crime and suspense mixed in. It was those elements as well as how well she crafted the romance that drew me in.
Emma was rude at times to David. I identified with her situation somewhat. After my divorce I thought I'd never remarry. Why take a chance again? I'd lost my first fiancé to cancer and later my husband left me with two small children. When my current husband and I got together, we'd both had failed marriages so I figured marriage was out of the picture. My husband was patient and persistent. Like Emma I'm a teacher who grew up on a farm. I connected with David wanting to go back to the quiet life. I live in a city, and long for the day I can move to the country. The author has done an excellent job of creating a realistic romance that is not mushy. The suspense is great. I will gladly read anything else this author comes out with.

I thought that Called Home was a wonderful story. Both Emma and David were amazing characters, and they felt incredibly real. The story was told in alternating points of view, the two most prevalent POVs were David's and Emma's. However, several other characters did have smaller sections with their points of view. I really liked the set-up that was created with the narrations. It was fascinating to transition between Emma and David's points of view...especially when they were both thinking about each other. :P

Emma was stubborn, independent, and had many characters of a woman who has been betrayed too many times. While, David carried many of the characteristics of a ladies man and quite the eligible bachelor. He's also a fairly popular author, and just moved back home from New York. He and Emma meet, well again anyways. They actually went to High School together, but they were a few years apart, so they didn't really know each other back then. Anywho, when they meet, they both feel a lot of attraction for each other. Throughout the book their attraction intensifies, and David heavily pursues it, while Emma consistently tries to resist the draw that she feels for David.

The backgrounds of Emma and David aren't clear from the beginning of the book, but as it progresses, they learn more about one another. For the most part the reader learns of their pasts through their interactions with each other, but there are some brief mentions during their through processes too. Emma's past is one of the most well guarded parts of the book...aside from the mystery aspect of it that is, but I'm going to keep my mouth shut about that because it is far too exciting for me to ruin for you. As mentioned in the blurb of this book, Emma's brother passed away when she was a child, her father abandoned her family shortly afterwards, and she was also abandoned by the man she thought she would spend her life with. She is incredibly afraid of being abandoned again, and she doesn't want to fall too hard for David because she's afraid he'll go back to New York and leave her. As you can expect, Emma has serious trust issues. but David isn't the type to give up...and you will love him for trying so hard.

I read Called Home at a pretty gradual pace, but it is definitely the type of story that can keep you up at night because you just need to know what happens next. It's not a sweltering romance, but trust me David and Emma do have a pretty heated relationship (sometimes they argue...and sometimes they make-out, pretty heavily I might add :P), but their relationship was founded on more than mere attraction, which I loved. They genuinely wanted to know more about each other. Emma even reads one of David's books, and David is constantly trying to get Emma to open up. Their relationship was so real, even if they did get involved in some super crazy situations and it's always refreshing to see relationships like that in books.

I think that fans of contemporary romance will love Called Home: Two Hearts Answer, especially if they love a little mystery thrown in with it. ;)

*I received a review copy from the author for an honest review.

Emma has come home to her small town to help her mother who has a farm that is failing financially. She is stressed and out and dealing with quite a bit of heartache and abandonment issues. Falling in love is not on the agenda.

David has a successful career as a novelist. He realizes that success and the big city are not the life that he wishes to lead and finds himself back home to the same small town as Emma. He wants to settle down and live a quite life.

It literally takes a tornado to bring them together. Once their paths have crossed the sparks begin to fly. The tornado is a foreshadow to the content of the book. The characters go through a whirlwind of emotions. The kissing scenes are pretty intense, but kissing is as far as Gloria takes us. This is a clean read that I would recommend to anyone who likes a good romance with a bit of a thriller and mystery element.

My only issue is that sometimes it became a little confusing with who is speaking. Once you catch Gloria's rhythm in writing it is easier to follow along.

I look forward to reading more from Gloria.

I received a copy to review from the Author.

Is a character with trust issues a good character to read about? Emma, the main character, returns home at the call of her mother. Emma's brother died as a child and Emma's father took off, it is natural for Emma to be a little wary of close, familial relationships. David Schlosser returns around the same time. He immediately becomes the love interest of Emma; Emma is understandably nervous and fights the attraction. The novel details the push and pull Emma feels for David and the culmination of what the reader can only assume was meant to be. Emma is not a character the reader will be immediately drawn too, she's a little to withdrawn and afraid-not naturally open. She'll grow on the reader though. The plot is not unique, but it is interesting. The setting is wonderful, Wisconsin will remain forever in the reader's mind as a place where the impossible can happen and a person may learn to trust again. This novel is wonderful for adult readers who don't mind a character that takes a little time to get to know.

My skin is crawling!! Ahh!! Called Home was filled with suspense and mystery!! This was about two adults that had moved away from their hometown but had decided to return for different reasons. David is a mystery author and decides to move back to the small home town after spending some time in NY making a name for himself as a best-selling author. Emma is an Elementary teacher that moves back home to help her mom pay for the farm and help her out! These two have interesting ways of meeting and things continue to get more complex as the story progresses. They find themselves in the middle of a mystery and it'll either tear them apart or push them together.

There were some great things about this story!! The best thing was the romance, the passion and the stolen kisses were just fantastic!! I'm all for a good kissing scene and there was plenty of those in this book to go around. The plot was pretty unique and I thought I had the ending figured out but I sure was surprised at what enfolded. I loved the mystery and was really freaked out at times.

The things I didn't like about the book were small but maybe worth mentioning; I got confused a few times as to what perspective and voice we were reading. One minute you were hearing what Emma was thinking then all of sudden it was David and it was at times a bit hard to follow but really didn't distract from the story because I did understand what was going on.

I also struggled with liking Emma but she really grew on me as the story progressed. At first I just wanted her to stop being so stubborn but then I felt like she was learning to lean on others as time went on and I really did enjoy her change of attitude.

I really enjoyed the character David; he was dreamy in the sense that he was buff and extremely handsome but also put a lot of value in his family and he loved to look out for his neighbors and help Emma deal with her past and her current problems.

Those that like to read my reviews to find out whether a book is clean or not should know that I feel this is a pretty clean book. There are a lot of kissing scenes, but they are done tastefully and there is no sex, which is great. I also have a lot of readers that read Christian only and I wanted to express that this is not a Christian romance but just a clean romance.

I received this book free from the author in exchange for my personal and honest review. All opinions are my own!