Devon’s review of The Girl Who Came Back by Barbara McMahon
Contemporary Romance released by Harlequin SuperRomance 13 Dec 05

After staying up way past my bedtime to polish off most of The Girl who Came Back, I stand by my earlier observations about Harlequin SuperRomance: even when there are issues, these books suck me right in, and sometimes the romance takes a back seat to the character’s personal dramas. I had debated about reading this one, as it’s a bit older, but I wanted to review another HSR, and the blurb was calling to me. Foster families, dark secrets, lost loves and a small Southern town. I had to know more. The Girl Who Came Back did deliver on its back cover promise. Although I have some complaints, I could not stop reading this for nothing.

The book begins with a flashback: what happened that fateful day when Eliza Shaw and her two foster sisters were separated from their foster mother, and from each other. This was also the same day her boyfriend’s sister died. Eliza has moved on from these traumatic events, and become a successful Boston chef with an attorney fiancé. Nostalgia had made her get a subscription to her hometown paper, and one day Eliza sees that Mattie, her foster mother, has suffered a stroke. Eliza decides to follow her heart back to Maraville, Mississippi, to help Mattie and track down her foster sisters. Unfortunately, she will also come into contact with Cade, the high school sweetheart who hates her to this day.

This is juicy, engrossing stuff. I liked Eliza. She was young and stupid and didn’t appreciate her foster mother, but as an adult, she longs for the sense of family she had then. She is strong and level-headed, and unwilling to put up with too much crap from her fiancé or Cade. I liked the small town setting. And, of course, the drama. What exactly happened that fateful day? What happened to the other girls? Can Cade ever forgive her?

Actually, I didn’t care about that part, as I really didn’t like Cade. I tried and tried to put himself in his shoes. He was young and overemotional, he came from a troubled family, he had suffered a great loss. But twelve years later, he still holds Eliza responsible for his sister’s suicide for the flimsiest of reasons, going so far as to think of her as a murderer. It made him seem like a jerk. Then once Eliza explains what happened (and no big surprises there) he suddenly changes his mind. Kinda. They are still very attracted to each other, and that worked. But Cade’s sudden decision that he was in love and wanted to marry Eliza didn’t ring true.

But still, I really want to know what happens next. So many things were left hanging. What will Mattie say when she regains speech? What is April like? Where’s Jo? What really happened to her? There’s something shady going on in town, for sure. The romance aspect would’ve kept this in the C range, but the fact that I am now determined to track down the other two books in the trilogy, The Lies That Bind, and Truth Be Told bumps it up to my final grade.

Grade: B-

From the Back Cover:

Home, Sweet Home?

When Eliza Shaw was sixteen, her life was torn apart. False accusations meant the only home had had ever known-a foster home-was destroyed, and she and her two foster sisters were separated. That same year, tragedy struck Cade Bennett, Eliza’s first love, and it ruined their relationship.

Twelve years later Eliza returns to the small Mississippi town where she grew up. Seeing her childhood home brings back emotions that Eliza hasn’t felt in a long time, and she begins the search for her former foster sisters. Eliza can’t ignore the feelings she has for Cade, either, even though he blames her for his sister’s death. But as the truth about the past begins to emerge, Cade and Eliza find themselves growing close. Maybe you can go home again.

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