Dinca’s review of The Hometown Hero Returns (Home to Harbor Town, Book 1) by Beth Kery
Contemporary Romance published by Harlequin Special Edition 2 Mar 11

This is the first book from Beth Kery I have read. I love this story and plan on reading the rest of the series.  Ms. Kery has a way of making unforgettable characters jump off the pages and into your heart. There’s never a slow or boring moment I felt the need to get past. When she adds past filler information, it’s so important I had to make sure to remember every word because I knew it would be needed to get the most enjoyment from the story.

A friend wanted me to review this book. So when it arrived, I dropped everything and started reading it. It’s the first book in a long time I have read straight through without putting it down. The story is so intense about every aspect from the tragedy that tore these people apart as teenagers to the compelling sexual tension that reawakens when they come together again.

I don’t think I have read a book that has so many strong characters, and Ms. Kery really makes this work. There are no wishy-washy personalities to tolerate and each supporting character has a prominent stance and shows responsibility for their actions.

Marianna Itani, who’s always been known as Mari, jumped straight into my heart in the prologue. Since I am used to strong, decisive men in my life, Marc takes a little longer to get there, but he lands with a bang when he’s not willing to give up on what he wants more than any opposition his family can dish out.

The one thing Mari needs most is closure from the tragic deaths of her parents fifteen years ago. The devastation left so many holes in her life. She was yanked away from her hometown to live across the country with her aunt. Her brother goes into the military. The most devastating of all was the man responsible for killing her parents is the father of the love of her life. Seeing Marc again, she realizes she has an opportunity for some of the closure she so desperately needs.

Marc Kavanaugh is tired of living with the sins of his father. Losing his dad and having his family torn apart from the fallout of the accident has been a lot to deal with. Mari disappearing from his life and not being able to do anything about it left a monumental ache that has persisted in his heart all these years. Sure, he married and tried to get on with his life, but even his wife realized she was a replacement for what he really wanted, so she divorced him eighteen months back.

When Marc realizes Mari is appearing with the symphony in Chicago, he attends just to get a glimpse of her. Now he realizes he never wants to let her go again, so he follows her until he’s able to approach her. After their fifteen-year separation, their bittersweet reunion leaves its mark. Mari was pregnant. No surprise here in the storyline. The surprise is that Beth Kery did not leave it as the main obstacle in the story. Mari wants to open a treatment center in Harbor Town, and that’s only the beginning of feelings and emotions of everyone involved being stirred up after lying dormant for so long.

It has been a long time since I have read such a compelling love story mixed with the right amount of tragic grief separating would-be lovers. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys love and romance. I am looking forward to the next installment of  her Home To Harbor Town series.

Grade: A

Summary: YOU CAN GO HOME AGAIN!

At eighteen, Marianna Itani thought she’d found the man of her dreams in Marc Kavanaugh, the quintessential boy-next-door. That perfect romance flew to pieces when an unspeakable tragedy tore them apart. Yet when Marc appeared in her life fifteen years later, the sparks that flew were as explosive as the day they first met.

Now their reignited passion was changing their lives in more ways than one: Mari was pregnant! She was set on putting the pain of the past behind her—not reopening scars that had never truly healed. And their baby might bring these star-crossed lovers back together—forever!

Read an excerpt.

Other books in this series: