Customer Reviews

Coming Home (The Chesapeake Diaries)

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Having not read any of Mariah Stewart's crime/suspense books, I had nothing to measure her by, and so I came into her new, softer small town romance with no particular expectations.

This is one of those cosy, small town romances that have gained huge popularity in the last few years, and if I've heard correctly, a complete change for this author. On one hand parts of the story were painfully sweet - planning weddings and baking cookies abound. I'm usually into darker stuff than that. However, on the other hand, Stewart is an incredible writer, and I was willing to overlook the sugary sweetness of it all because I was really enjoying the book (I had to put it down for a rest when I realised the sun had risen and I was still reading!). The suspense plot picks up by halfway through, and I enjoyed it.

I liked the evolution of Vanessa and Grady's relationship. It seemed realistic, considering the circumstances. I liked how they wanted to help each other but were uncertain of the boundaries. In fact, I just liked them: Grady's realisation Vanessa has learnt to expect nothing from a man she is involved with, Vanessa's determination not to be shaped by things she can't change.

I liked how real all the characters seemed, and though there was sometimes a bit too much description of the cuteness of the town and surrounds I was never bored the way I am with some other writers in this genre.

However, while this book is the beginning of a new series, it actually follows characters the author featured in other stories. It was quite clear there were things I wasn't going to learn about these people - and the pasts that shape them - here, in this book unless I read Stewart's earlier books. This is fine with me generally, but when you have not only started a new series but completely switched genres I'm not entirely sure it's fair to make readers genre-jump in order to get all the facts. I'm also not sure it is the right thing to do to the characters - take them from tough crime stories into a small town story about fishing and baking.
These characters clearly have quite the history from previous books, so a great deal of time had to be dedicated to explaining it. It was well-written, but sometimes felt like a recap for the benefit of new readers - which was exactly what it was.

So many small town books have a `thing' these days. There are books that start their chapters with recipes, while others have something to do with knitting, Sudoku, even beekeeping! This one has an older woman's diary entry at the beginning of each chapter, but it would have been better without. The diary entries simply sum up the story so far, rendering them pointless, except perhaps to add some `small town charm'.

I was very happy with the way the book ended. It seemed an acceptable ending for this couple, with no need for a tacked-on overly happy ending that ruins so many romance novels. The story didn't drag on too much; only taking us to the point where all the characters had a bright future ahead of them. I was happy Stewart didn't draw it out.

I will continue reading this series.

The book is easy to read, and like an earlier reviewer said, it tends to be more romance than suspense. The story about two damaged people finding solace and love is a repetitive theme in any book, but it is good. At least Grady isn't into the "Woe is me! I'll never trust another woman again!" syndrome, but more of the "It happens. Let's move on" type.

What I really like though is the diary written by the newspaper editor within the story. It's intriguing enough to be a stand alone novel.

In St. Dennis on Chesapeake Bay, Vanessa Keaton feels she has finally found a home as the townsfolk have welcomed her and her boutique Bling is a success. Her half-brother town Police Chief Gabriel Beck is always there for her; unlike her mother whom she is estranged from and her father who she does not even know who he is. She is especially ecstatic for Gabriel as he will shortly marry Mia Shields.

Widower and former FBI agent Grady Shield shocks everyone when he leaves his Montana reclusive hideaway where he ran to after his wife was murdered to attend Mia's wedding as no one expected him to come. Even more stunning is the attraction between the hermit and the shopkeeper. As they fall in love, their pasts keep both from committing. However when someone vandalizes Bling, Grady realizes this was not a teenage prankster, but instead a person angrily targeting Vanessa. He vows to keep her safe.

Coming Home is a very entertaining and compelling romantic suspense second chance at love thriller. The lead couple is a fascinating pairing as each brings tons of baggage into their relationship while the townsfolk add eccentricity into the mix. More romance than suspense, fans will enjoy the opening Chesapeake Diaries tale as two people learn the meaning of Coming Home is love.

Harriet Klausner

Vanessa moved to the small town of St. Dennis, Maryland to get to know her half brother and his father. What she ended up finding is a family and a community that embraces her. Finding herself at the wedding festivities of her brother, Vanessa catches the eye the bride's brother, Grady Shields, a former FBI profiler who retired and fled to Montana after his wife was murdered by his brother. The two engage in a one, two, possibly three night stand before Grady discovers that Vanessa has become a target of violence, and like he, Vanessa has a checkered past.

Stewart keeps both the romance and suspense light in this story about two damaged people who somehow find each other. I liked the lead characters, the small town atmosphere and the way the Vanessa interacted with her "father." What I disliked is that I am obviously in the middle of a series of novels and the writer knows that and has summarized the other books in the series to explain relationships. My interest kept waning, and I just skipped the annoying diary endings altogether since they really added nothing to the story. Overall, not a story or a town I would want to revisit.

The story begins with setting up the scenes for the reader as to the details of the characters and their separate relationships. Grady Shields and Vanessa Keaton are the main characters in the story. Vanessa owns a boutique in St. Dennis, and she is developing a relationship with her half brother Beck. Her father, Hal Garrity has welcomed her back, and the upcoming wedding of Mia weaves through the story line throughout the book.

Beck and his mother Maggie share family secrets. It takes the author awhile to set up the scene enough for the reader to begin to care about the characters, since all of the background information is listed like a playbill, or rolling credits, instead of acted out through the action of the book. When Grady meets Vanessa, it offers a chance for them to find love again. Ditto for Hal and Maggie after many long years, they are interested in love again with positive results.

The characters in the story struggle with determining how to make the right decisions as to who they should let into their lives. They also have personal issues managing their emotional ties to their respective pasts. As the characters open themselves to love again, the reader will begin to identify with them at every turn. The result is a truly heartwarming story recommended for readers of all ages.

This book is hard to characterize. It is far more romance than suspense even though the hero is a former FBI agent with a dark past and the heroine has her own scars (literal and figurative) that put her in danger. She's menaced in a couple of different ways, but the danger is never of the heart-pumping, nail-biting variety. And yet, even though there's the requisite happily ever after, this is not so much a romance, either, because the other relationships in the book (family, friendships) are just as important as the romance. If the romance weren't so prominent, you could almost classify this as women's fiction, but that doesn't work, either, because the happily ever after *is* so important to the book.

OK, all that muddling stuff aside, the story here is quite sweet and definitely worth reading if you're a romance fan. Two damaged people who are slowly emerging from the messes of their pasts come together and begin to see a future. The setting is well-described, almost a character in itself, and all the secondary characters are fully developed.

The only weaknesses of this book are that 1) it tends to get a bit repetitive and 2) it can be a bit on the sugary side. But it verges into those territories only rarely and they're easy enough to ignore.

I'd begun to despair of Mariah Stewart after the last couple of Mercy Street novels (Mercy Street: A Novel of Suspense (Mercy Street Novels)), but she's definitely found her feet again here.

An excellent book by one of my favorite authors. Story is quick based with characters that grab hold of you. Read it in one day. One of the things I really like about Mariah Stewert is the continuity of characters. Characters who are featured in one book become peripheral chacters in another book. The Shield family members wander though a lot if them.

The Chesapeake Diaries by Mariah Stewart is an amazing series. If you love Mariah's books like I do (I have every book she ever wrote) in paperback, then you will love this collection too. She is a wonderful author and writes with emotion. Her stories flow like a river and the characters she creates are so lovable. Brilliant series Mariah.

In Coming Home, you find Vanessa Keaton who after two bad marriages, shows up in St. Dennis to meet the half brother, Beck she never knew about (because Maggie, her mother never told her about him), and his Dad, Hal. They immediately take her in, and she is essentially "adopted" by Hal and the small town of St. Dennis. She gets her life together and opens Bling, a trendy boutique.

Vanessa's brother Beck is getting married to Mia, and Mia wants both of her brothers to walk her down the isle. She flies to Montana to talk her recluse, ex-FBI agent, "Mountain Man" brother Grady into agreeing to come to St. Dennis and walk her down the isle. Grady agrees, and comes to St. Dennis.

FULL review at: www(dot)shoe-girl(dot)com

I love the authors writing. She put just the right mixture of romance and mystery into it. It took me less then a day once I got started to read this book, one of those you can't put down books lol.