Tuesday, November 12, 2013

Take Me Home for Christmas



In Take Me Home for Christmas by Brenda Novak, Sophia escapes an abusive marriage, but not the way she wants to.  When her husband first goes missing from their yacht off the coast of Brazil, then is later found dead with money strapped to his body, Sophia finds out the hard way her husband has lost a lot of other people's money and has been under investigation by the FBI.  He apparently thought he'd run away and start fresh, leaving Sophia and their daughter Alexis on their own.

His death and illicit actions, along with Sophia's past have made her an outcast in Whiskey Creek.  Not have the FBI seized all of their belongings and money, the house and car will soon be confiscated and not only do some people in Whiskey Creek want her punished for her husband's sins, they want her to suffer.  When it seems like Sophia is all alone and at her darkest point, help comes from her acquaintance Eve and Sophia's former boyfriend Ted.

Ted has never gotten over Sophia, although he won't admit it.  And even though Sophia was married to Skip, she has never forgotten Ted.  There is a lot of hurt, both past and present that needs to be dealt with ... and getting involved again is not what either of them is looking for. 

Brenda gives us a unique romance in Take Me Home for Christmas.  Take Me Home for Christmas is not a book filled with feel good happiness.  It is about Sophia's journey and struggle to find herself again and move on after the disaster her husband left behinds.  Brenda doesn't mince words or sugar coat emotions, and whether or not you can bring yourself to like Sophia you will feel the emotions.  I personally found Sophia really hard to like.  From previous books we've had glimpses of the mysterious Sophie and I've always wondered what her story was.  After reading Take Me Home for Christmas I still don't really feel like I understand Sophie and why she did what she did when she cheated on Ted and ended up with Skip way back when.  We did see present day Sophie become stronger and do a lot of growing in Take Me Home for Christmas, she was a lot stronger than even she thought she was, and very determined.

Ted is an interesting guy!  He's determined not to fall for Sophia again, but he still goes out of his way to help her and her daughter.  Maybe your first love is your true love.

Take Me Home for Christmas is one of Brenda's Whiskey Creek series.  I would recommend reading the other books in this series to make it easier to figure out who is who and how everyone fits together.  Some of the relationships are very complicated!!  I loved seeing the other characters again, and there is one ongoing dilemma in the series that keeps popping up that I can't wait to see how it resolves (although part of me is really nervous, lol!!).

Brenda Novak is a very well written author who in Take Me Home for Christmas, as in other books she has written, puts issues that are sometimes well hidden in society or not talked about very much, right out there to be dealt with and understood.  All of her characters have real depth and even if I can't imagine everything that happens in Whiskey Creek could happen in real life, I really enjoy the time I spend there!  Take Me Home for Christmas is not just the romantic journey of two past loves, but the journey and growth of Sophia and Ted.

I'd recommend Take Me Home for Christmas to romance readers who want to feel the good and the bad of love, and the joy of self discovery.

4/5 stars

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