The Way Home [Mass Market Paperback]

Megan Chance (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 13, 1997

Eliza Beaudry was determined to get out in the big, wide world--even if it meant trading a few kisses for her freedom. When she met travelling gambler Cole Wallace, she thought her fantasies had come true. But Cole's daydreams didn't include Eliza Beaudry. He was a man used to taking what he wanted, so he took what Eliza offered--and neither of them thought about what might happen later.

Penniless and pregnant, Eliza found a savior in Cole's shy brother, Aaron, who fell for her instantly. He surely wasn't the man of her dreams, but could her dreams change?

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Beautiful Eliza Beaudry is determined to escape her parents' life of poverty as sharecroppers in the cotton fields of Texas. When her father insists that she marry a neighboring bachelor who she doesn't love, Eliza is forced to take a desperate step: she gives her virtue to traveling gambler Cole Wallace in hopes that he will rescue her from an impoverished life. But Cole has no plans to marry Eliza, and he leaves without even a goodbye. Two months later, Eliza finds herself alone and pregnant, with a father that insists on tracking down Cole to arrange a shotgun wedding. Cole turns to his younger brother Aaron to save him from the marriage, and Aaron, who feels indebted to Cole, reluctantly agrees. When faced with only one option, Eliza agrees to the union with Aaron, only to discover that he is the husband of her dreams--shy Aaron loves her deeply and passionately. Author Megan Chance has once again created characters with a depth of emotion that will move readers and remind them of all the wonderful reasons for reading romance novels.

From Library Journal

Desperate to escape an arranged marriage to a sharecropper and a life of servitude, poor, naive Eliza Beaudry falls for Cole Wallace, a charming, ambitious gambler who steals her virginity, leaves her pregnant, and then pawns her off on his shy brother, Aaron. But when Cole returns, rejected, he discovers a changed and very desirable Eliza, and suddenly Eliza has some difficult choices to make. A poignant, emotionally satisfying story with definite shades of My Fair Lady. Chance (Fall from Grace, Harper, 1997) lives on Bainbridge Island, Wash.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 464 pages
• Publisher: HarperTorch; First edition (September 13, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0061084913
• ISBN-13: 978-0061084911
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.3 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,743,561 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Well, almost 4 stars..., May 21, 2004

By 

Isobel "isobel3" (NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Way Home (Hardcover)

I rated this so high for the first 3/4's of the book. There was no need to explore the mystery going on in town. We could have focused entirely on Eliza and Aaron and been just as happy. There was more than enough with the brothers' love triangle to keep us satisfied. The author really screwed up the last few chapters with the feeling that the epiloque was from a whole 'nother story. Where did that come from??

Anyway.....I read it straight through with the hopes that I would love it till the last page. No such luck.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Warm and enduring, May 2, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Way Home (Mass Market Paperback)

I gobbled this book up in a day and a half! A warm story full of emotion- people with "ghosts" in their closets, too afraid to believe in themselves and to touch the ones they love. Aaron and Eliza - a couple who fought their own demons before admitting their love for each other. But their love was stronger for that reason. A soft, quiet story but endearing.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A heartache filled with promise, poignant., November 21, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: The Way Home (Mass Market Paperback)

Ms. Chance has written an original romance that captivates and brings a longing to help these all too human souls find an end to their aloneness. Eliza is a much more realistic character then most romance heroines, if for no other reason then she has crooked teeth. The characters are not perfect, they don't look perfect, and they certainly don't act perfect. This makes you care for them all the more. In a twist of fate, Eliza finds a man to love, who "needs her". Aaron, her reluctant bridegroom, is silent and painfully inept in his attempts to develop a relationship. Aaron's brother Cole, who impregnates Eliza and walks away with out a thought, has a few redeeming qualities, but his smooth exterior that originally calls to Eliza, is just that, an exterior. The contrast between Aaron's beautiful poetry and Eliza's simple response sum up this book-it speaks to both their souls and ours.