Book Review & Giveaway: Home Again (closed)

Title: The Chesapeake Diaries: Home Again

Author: Mariah Stewart

My Review:

In Home Again, the second of Mariah Stewart’s books set in the small fictional town of St. Dennis, big-time movie star Dallas MacGregor gets a second chance at true love. St. Dennis is the only place that has ever felt like home to Dallas. After a scandal breaks out involving her soon-to-be ex-husband Emilio, Dallas returns to St. Dennis with her son Cody in tow. Taken in by her kindly great-aunt Berry, a former star of the silver screen herself, Dallas introduces Cody to the small town that has always held a special place in her heart. In St. Dennis both Dallas and Cody are able to disappear from the paparazzi’s radar and live a normal, calm existence. For the first time, Cody is able to make friend. Too bad for Dallas that Cody’s new friend Logan is the son of Dallas’s old rival, Brooke Madison.

The rumor is that Brooke moved back to St. Dennis to win the affections of the only man Dallas has ever loved, local veterinarian Grant Wyler. As Dallas begins to firmly plant her feet into St. Dennis, a more mature romance than the one they had as young adults begins to blossom. If Grant can forgive her for leaving him behind for a movie career all those years ago, and if Dallas can accept that she is still in love with Grant, they will have a love that is greater than any role Dallas has ever played on screen. But will Dallas’s ambitions to write a screenplay based on her new favorite book tempt her away from St. Dennis once again?

Now that I’ve finished Home Again, maybe I can finally get a good night’s sleep! This was another page-turner for me that has repeatedly kept me up late night after night, and I had such high hopes for it after being introduced to the town of St. Dennis in Coming Home.Familiar characters in Coming Home made small cameos in Home Again, and new characters found their way into my heart. I absolutely loved the relationship between Berry and Dallas. Their careers so closely mirror one another, and Berry was an example of how Dallas might be in 30 more years if she kept her heart closed off to love. The message of this book was beautiful, and showed that even in the late years of life true love can definitely happen.

Grace Sinclair’s diary entries are once again sprinkled between groups of chapters, and I found her just as mysterious and fascinating in this book as I did in the last. I was a little disappointed that more of her past hasn’t been revealed, and I’m still crossing my fingers that one day readers will be treated to a book of Grace’s very own. The next installment of the Chesapeake Diaries series will be available in Spring of 2011, and will feature Dallas’s brother Wade, and Steffie Wyler (Grant’s sister), the innovative ice-cream shop owner.

*I received a copy of this book to review but I was not financially compensated in any way. The opinions expressed are my own and are based on my observations while reading this novel.*

Giveaway

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Giveaway ends on September 21, 2010 at 11:59 pm EST. The winners will be selected by random.org and notified by email and will have 48 hours to reply back before a new winner is selected.