Customer Reviews

Sing Me Home

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is a first time author but the book reads like one from someone much more experienced. It deals with a young widow still reeling from the death of her husband (and her subsequent miscarriage) and the marriage of convenience she enters into with a country music star (in order to help care for his two pre-teen children so he can get full custody of them). Very enjoyable.

I chose this book partly because of it's title and partly because of the story line on the back of the book. This author is unknown to me but if you're looking for a well written, romantic story then this is it. I will definitely read her next book when it comes out in november of this year. The characters are believable and very enjoyable.

Three years ago in Cordelia, Missouri her husband died in a car crash because they were negligent in fixing bad brakes. That same day bookseller Lilac Ryan lost her unborn. Now she suffers guilt partially for living and for her part in the disregard of car repair.

Country rock star Jonathan Van Castle heads home to pick up his two children from his ex-wife before stopping to perform at Lake Kesebwi, but gets off the tour bus in Cordelia for a breather. When he is recognized by rapid fans, he ducks into Lilac's bookstore but the proprietor fails to identify him. Lilac thinks he is a jerk because he knows so little about his kids. He buys books for them, but one is left on order that Lila promises to deliver.

When Lilac's sister Mari delivers the book, Jonathan sees how great she is with his children so he proposes a marriage of convenience because he wants to help his troubled children, but realizes they also need a nurturing mother. When Jonathan and his children meet Mari's stunned extended family, he realizes he picked the wrong sister as Lilac is great with his preadolescents and he quickly falls in love with her.

SING ME HOME is an intriguing family drama starring a vast band of players so that it is difficult at times to keep track of specific personalities. Still the story line is fun to follow as a desperate Jonathan struggles with a solution to help his problematic kids. Lilac admits she feels guilty, but is so good in relationships with everyone that she seems to have moved on. The ensemble adds chaos and depth to an intriguing romance between wounded warriors.

Harriet Klausner

Wow, this author is refreshing. Love the story & I can't wait to read the next one--just hope she is quick. The characters are all great and every detail she writes about is so vivid. Congradulations to Jerri Corgiat on a job well done!

Lilac Elizabeth O'Malley, or Lil, is a lady that has had more than her share of losses. She is a survivor seeking to overcome the death of the only man she ever loved, Robbie, her child, her brother... well you get the point. Lil has the kiss of misfortune planted squarely on her life.

That makes her a perfect target for country and western singer, Jonathan Van Castle. Jon is a washed up performer on a comeback and comes with his own share of skeletons in the closet. Their coincidental meeting in the bookstore that Lil is packing up leads them on a relationship based partially on a need to be needed. Lil needs someone to raise her from the gloom and doom of her life while Jon needs a wife to help get custody of his two children that currently reside with their abusive mother, Belinda.

Belinda is a real bad lady and the author writes the role believably great, as you will quickly love to hate her. Anyway, as Jon and Lil's relationship blossoms from a state of need into authentic love, the story quickly excels into a shocking culmination as Belinda's trumps common sense as the custody hearing approaches.

Filled with plenty of love, revulsion, ardor, idiocy and compassion lined with a trail of lies, this tale by debut author Corgiat promises us an exciting new voice in the romance world. I, for one, welcome her work, even if it means more competition.

Jerri Corgiat makes her characters so real in Sing Me Home that I expected to see country music star Jonathan Van Castle being interviewed on CMT after I finished reading the book!

This is an absorbing book filled with charm and tenderness. Although it's the ageless story of redemption through love, Corgiat manages to make it fresh and alive. You want to spend time with her characters and you root for their eventual success. She has an especially gifted touch with descriptions of her setting and people. You feel the heat of a Missouri summer and can see the landscape of the Ozarks region. Readers will not only fall in love with Jonathan, they'll also be head over heels for the town of Cordelia and the entire O'Malley clan. Luckily, more books appear to be on the horizon so we won't have to wait for long!

Without a doubt, the best book I've read in months! Very, very engaging--I simply could not put this book down. The characters were so well drawn that they seemed real, and the plot never stopped surprising me. Nice, clean, evocative writing. This new author is definitely one to watch!!

Neglecting routine maintenance on their car resulted in her husband's death. Three years have not healed his loss or their unborn child. Now her brother's death brings the inevitable close of his less-than-profitable bookstore, "Merry-Go-Read." In the final days before closing, curious circumstances bring a stranger into the store. She does not recognize country music star Jonathan Van Castle, perceiving his behavior to rude and his lack of knowledge regarding his own children inexcusable. When she later finds another book in the series that Jon purchased, Lil sends her younger sister to make the delivery. She comes back engaged.

Dodging a pack of fans, Jon ducks into "Merry-Go-Round" to escape. He finds startling blue eyes and surprising anonymity. He has come to town to pick up his children for the summer while their mother cleans up again. When Lil's younger sister Mari shows up to deliver the book, for the sake of his children, he finds himself proposing. His troubled children certainly need a loving feminine influence. But when Mari takes him to meet the family, Jon discovers it's the older sister that holds the potential of stealing his heart.

A warm and touching story, SING ME HOME is one of those wonderful romances that truly captures the heart. The strong characterizations spring vividly to life from Lil's initial disdain of Jon's lack of knowledge regarding his children to her motherly touch with the children. While the extended cast of characters can be a bit much to keep up with, their individuality makes each one a delight to encounter. Filled with joy and laughter, pathos and challenges, SING ME HOME comes very highly recommended.

This book kept me up late! It has more depth and emotion than a typical contemporary romance, and I wouldn't be surprised if this author is destined for bigger books. The characters in _Sing Me Home_ are human. Lil is learning to *make* her life instead of having it made; and Jon is learning to *accept* life instead of making it. It is a wonderful dichotomy that is subtle and powerful. I'm already waiting for Jerri Corgiat's next book!

Jonathan Van Castle got his first surprise when the red head with china blue eyes failed to recoginize him. As a hot country star, he was used to being sought out by fans, especially female ones. In fact, he ran into Lil Ryan's shop seeking escape. Not only does the lovely widow not know who he is, but he can see she doesn't have a very high opinion of him after hearing that he has not seen his kids for two years.

On the other hand, Lil's younger sister knows exactly who Jon is, and jumps at the chance to date him, much to Lil's chagrin. To rescue her sister from a marriage of convenience designed to help Jon get custody of his children away from a neglectful mother, she agrees to what he really wanted, to marry her. Doing so gives her the funds to save her business and a family to not replace but fill in a bit of the hole in her heart left by her late husband and lost child.

Jon and his two children are just what Lil needs to pull her out of the grave she has lived in for three years. Yet only the children are able to admit the love blooming between all of them. Public life, high pressures, and a scheming ex wife are trying to pull Jon and Lil apart. Only love and strength of will can save what might be the best thing to happen to any of them.

**** This heartwarming debut novel will renew hope in the midst of winter. People are broken in ways to fit together again. Like a country song, it's sad and happy in all the right places. ****
Amanda Killgore