Coming Home to Paradise
Author: Carolyn Brown
Reviewer: Sophia Rose
Rating: A-
What I’m Talking About:
The last two Simmons sisters to find their way home after leaving to pursue their dreams arrive in time for the holidays at the old Paradise where family and new friends know how to be festive. With warnings from feisty great-aunt Bernie NOT to fall in love, it might take a bit of sneaking and contrariness- traits Aunt Bernie has in spades- to find their happy.
Coming Home to Paradise is the third in the Sisters in Paradise series following an important prequel novella also set at a Christmas time when the girls were young and first came to the old Paradise Brothel. This is definitely a series that works best in order as the seven sisters find their way to happy, but I think a reader could squeak by picking this up out of order if they really don’t mind encountering several characters who already got their story.
Like the earlier books in the series, Coming Home to Paradise hones in on two of the sisters who have returned home, not finding what they were looking for out in the big, bright world. This time, Bo and Rae, the older set of twins have shucked Bo’s dreams of a Nashville music career and Rae’s previous police patrol deputy job to start over with family nearby.
Bo still loves her music and would love to find something that involves that and Rae is considering taking up her secondary degree and working with kids.
Aunt Bernie, the matchmaker, pointedly instructs Bo to stay away from that hottie bartender drifter and Rae not to get tangled up with the widowed local police chief and his hellion twin girls. But, the heart does what it wants.
Another easy read, low-angst, comfy country holiday charmer from Carolyn Brown hit the spot for a good holiday read, but another strong entry in the Sisters in Paradise series. I was a little sad that this series was finishing after getting Mary Jane and Joe Clay’s story first and then the girls, but Carolyn Brown slipped in a surprise at the end that promises maybe to add more and she was already planning a historical to tell the story of the Paradise when it was a working establishment back in the day.
Bo and Rae are great characters and I enjoyed getting their story told in an alternate narration. They had dreams that fizzled out, but neither are too down about it and were open to new possibilities. The family group and the love interests along with all the holiday activities made this a full and fun book. Those who like easy-going small town romance should definitely put this series on their lists.
My Rating: A-
Sophia Rose
About the Book:
All seven sisters are finally home for Christmas, but can the last two find love like the others?
As Endora Simmons plans her Christmas wedding, she’s delighted to have her last two sisters, Rae and Bo, finally back in Spanish Fort, Texas. Endora figures if she keeps them busy, they won’t have time to think about leaving again. So, Endora talks Rae into teaching Sunday school. As a former police officer, surely Rae can corral the rowdy kids into making Christmas decorations for the upcoming pageant. No question the most high-spirited (uncontrollable?) kids in the class are gorgeous, rugged Sheriff Gunner’s twin daughters.
Bo helps out by taking over the community Christmas program. She’s also been working with Aunt Bernie on her new venture, a monthly speed-dating night at a bar just over the river in Oklahoma—and boy, does she have her eye on that handsome bartender. With all the Christmas preparations in high gear, will Rae and Bo still find time to fall in love?
Release Date: October 1, 2024
Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca
Series: Sisters in Paradise #3
Genre: Contemporary Romance, holiday
Format(s): paperback (320 pages), e-book, audiobook
Book Source: Netgalley
Purchase Info:
Amazon (affiliate link)