Veena’s review of When We Found Home by Susan Mallery
Women’s Fiction published by HQN 10 Jul 18
Delaney is a once-financial-whiz-now-barista as she puts herself through school to become a naturopathic. She lusts after the man in the suit who stops by at midday for a coffee fix. Unbeknownst to her, he is also the “Asshole” brother of the teenage Kiera whom she has befriended and shares a daily hot chocolate break with. It all comes to a head the day Kiera dashes out into the path of an incoming car to rescue a kitten…
Apparently Malcolm Carlesso’s father was a traveling Romeo. In addition to Kiera, who has just been rescued from a foster home in LA, Malcom has another half-sister, Callie, who has her own share of baggage from the rough life she’s lived. The central theme of the story is the three siblings and the painful path they walk toward forging a bond and becoming a true family. There’s a lot going on, because, in addition, both Callie and Malcolm also find romance, which is in its own way messy and complicated.
The story starts off with a whole lot of questions from the readers. Why did Delaney give up her successful and upwardly mobile career to go back to school in a totally different field, financing her education by becoming a barista in a coffee stand in an office building? Callie’s story comes together in bits and pieces, along with the conflicts that she’s facing about her choices. Her relationship with Malcolm accelerates rapidly from a light flirtation, when he comes to get his coffee, to a serious love affair as she befriends his troubled sister.
Kiera has been damaged by her mother’s neglect and drug addiction and then a hard life in the foster care system, separated from the only person who gave her care and affection. Transported to her newly found grandfather’s home in Seattle, sent to a private school, virtually neglected by her older half-brother, she’s full of fear of abandonment and waiting for the next shoe to drop. Her story as it unfolds is heart rending.
Callie has had her own share of challenges. Brought up by a loving mother, a single wrong step in an attempt to fit in leads to a prison sentence and a felon brand that has seared her soul. She’s another one who’s waiting to be cast out from her newly found rich grandfather’s home. Yet she bonds with Kiera and slowly but surely learns to trust her stepbrother Malcolm, who hasn’t a clue how to interact with people, most especially his newly found sisters. Meanwhile, in her desire to work for a living, she goes to work in one of the Carlesso factories where she meets Santiago, who is Malcom’s best friend and Carlesso’s CFO. Love hasn’t been easy for Callie, but, despite her fears, Santiago coaxes her into a relationship until she finds herself on the other side when his family is involved.
As the five protagonists go through their own journeys and intersect with each other, the reader lives their joys, fears, and angst with them, rooting for a happy ending. The middle of the story sags a little as we explore all the different facets, but then the story comes to a very abrupt end as all the threads are pulled together. This is not my most favorite of Ms. Mallery’s books.
Grade: C
Summary:
Life is meant to be savored, but that’s not easy with no family, limited prospects and a past you’d rather not talk about.Callie Smith doesn’t know how to feel when she discovers she has a brother and a sister—Malcolm, who grew up with affection, wealth and privilege, and Keira, a streetwise twelve-year-old. Despite her trepidation, she moves into the grand family home with her siblings and grandfather on the shores of Lake Washington, hoping just maybe this will be the start of a whole new life.
But starting over can be messy. Callie and Keira fit in with each other, but not with their posh new lifestyle, leaving Malcolm feeling like the odd man out in his own home. Becoming a family will take patience, humor, a little bit of wine and a whole lot of love. But love isn’t Malcolm’s strong suit…until he learns that an open heart, like the family table, can always make room for more.
Read an excerpt.
