REVIEW: Bluestone Homecoming (Welcome to Bluestone) by M. J. Fredrick

REVIEW:

I first need to start by saying that I enjoyed this novel very much, but had a visceral reaction to it.  I have thought about what I would want my husband and kids to do if I ever passed away and struggle with thinking about them moving on and having another "mother".  I was so consumed by this that I finished the book in a few hours.

Fredrick beautifully captured the hold grief can have on you, how selfish and raw is can be.  Leo could not see past his own grief of losing his wife and felt unable to help his son, Max, deal with the emotions of losing his mother so he escaped into his work out of town.

Fredrick created a wonderful story that illustrates that grief can totally encapsulate somebody until they are ready to let go and move on.  How in times of grief people can come together and build back relationship by remembering and not running away.

The novel is quickly paced, allowing you to really get drawn into the characters.  I cannot wait to see where this series will take us, with a touch small town, a dash of fun and a whole lot of romance BLUESTONE HOMECOMING is a 4 star read you will really enjoy.   

Book Description  (Buy it HERE)

Publication Date: January 30, 2012

War correspondent Leo Ericson returns to his hometown of Bluestone Lake, Minnesota, when his parents notify him his young son is having trouble fitting in at school. Leo doesn’t know how to be a single parent since the death of his wife, and he certainly has no desire to return to Bluestone. But he needs a place for his son, a place where he’ll be with family, while Leo does his job. He’ll stay long enough to get Max settled, then go back to work.

School counselor Trinity Madison watches Leo struggle with his son, trying to overcome the mental barricade she’s erected against the man who sent his son away when he’s perfectly capable of caring for the child. The situation brings about her own unsettled feelings about giving her child up for adoption when she was young. But as she observes Leo’s difficulties, his sacrifices, she softens toward the man.

While he’s in town, he ends up working with some old friends and Trinity on a committee to revitalize Bluestone. The former resort town is struggling and looking for ways to bring tourists back. Leo finds himself charmed, then smitten with the feisty counselor, but will he still love her when he learns her secret?

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See more books by M.J. HERE

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Bio:

MJ has been writing forever. In elementary school, she wrote plays and pseudo-Trixie Belden mysteries. After fifth grade, she wrote her first romance, a Grease rip-off. She continued writing serialized stories throughout high school, then went to college and got married. After completing 20 manuscripts, her first two books were out within two weeks of each other, and both have firefighter heroes! Where There's Smoke is in print from The Wild Rose Press, and Hot Shot, a romantic suspense, is from Samhain Publishing. Three more books are scheduled for release this coming year: Beneath the Surface and Breaking Daylight from Samhain Publishing and Don't Look Back from The Wild Rose Press. MJ also has a Wayback Texas story from The Wild Rose Press in ebook and an essay in In the Hunt, Unauthorized Essays on Supernatural, available March 2009. Her next book, Beneath the Surface, her 2007 Golden Heart finalist, will be coming from Samhain in September 2009. Visit MJ at mjfredrick.com and marywritesromance.blogspot.com.