Homecoming

Books about returning to your roots

I don’t really have a lot to say, intro-wise, this week, because these three books really speak for themselves. So what I’ll say instead is read to the end of the post for pics of my old homecoming/school dance photos for no reason other than I rediscovered them recently.

Also, my first exclusive post for paid subscribers comes out next week, where I’ll be serving piping hot takes about movie romcoms! Subscribe to get access to that post and all upcoming exclusives.

Rootbound by Tarah DeWitt. Tait Logan might still be reeling from an unexpected divorce, but she’s doing her best. She’s got her sister Ava, a career as a photographer she loves, and absolutely no contact with her father or his side of the family back where she started her life, in Idaho on Logan Ranch, who abandoned her and her sister after her parents’ divorce all those years ago. Right as she’s starting to feel settled, if not totally fulfilled, again, though, she gets a major assignment that will take her back to that very same ranch which is now used part time as a set for a major TV series (think Yellowstone vibes). She’s reluctant but resolved, and decides to bite the bullet for the sake of the career she cares so much about.

Henry Marcum never met Tait or Ava, but he came to the ranch not long after their mother took them away and considers Logan Ranch his home. He loves the Logan family like his own and can’t quite square why Tait is so cold towards them when she arrives, a surprise to everyone. Turns out, both Tait and Henry only have half the story, and what starts as a shaky alliance to ensure Tait gets the photos she needs blossoms into a genuine friendship which blossoms into much, much more than either of them bargained for.

Cowboys, Hollywood, complicated family dynamics, tough artsy women, and wide open country… what’s not to love??

Rating: 4.25/5

How hot? 🔥🔥🔥🔥

Georgie, All Along by Kate Clayborn. This is my favorite book I’ve read in 2023 so far, absolutely my favorite Kate Clayborn (a high bar!), and the book I’d probably recommend to anyone curious about romance but not sure where to start.

Georgie Mulcahy has been the best personal assistant in Los Angeles for a long time, putting off finding herself and what she’s supposed to be doing by putting everyone else first. When her long-time boss decides to retire for good to relax for the first time ever, Georgie ends up heading back to her hometown of Darentville, Virginia to regroup, using the excuse of her best friend’s pregnancy and similarly recent move home to put off making any big decisions. But Bel doesn’t actually need much help- she’s a full adult woman with a house she’s already set up and a husband and a good job and all that stuff Georgie is vaguely intimidated by. Without another person to focus her energy on, Georgie is adrift again until she rediscovers an old “friendfic” she and Bel made back in high school, filled with all the things they imagined themselves doing but never actually did, and she decides what better way to find herself than crossing things off this long forgotten list of ambitions?

Bel can’t do much of the fic with her, but that’s fine, because when Georgie’s parents said she could stay at their house while they’re away, they forgot to mention they’d already offered out their home to local reformed bad boy Levi Fanning (who happens to be the older brother of Georgie’s high school crush) and his adorable dog Hank while his own home is being worked on. Georgie doesn’t mind the roommate, and Levi doesn’t mind having someone to watch his dog while he’s working, and soon, Georgie ropes him into helping with the friendfic. They both have a lot to prove, mostly to themselves, about who and what they are and who and what they could be, and doing that together just makes sense. It doesn’t hurt that they’re wildly attracted to each other, have an easy chemistry, and are very much at transition points in their lives.

This book is genuinely funny, so sweet, surprising without ever going for shock factor, and deeply invested in its characters being exactly who they are. Reading this book brought me back to reading Meg Cabot in high school- it felt like reading notes from a good friend. Nostalgic while being completely fresh and new. I cannot recommend this book enough, so much so that I’m getting emotional while writing this review. It’s perfect. I own a digital and a physical copy and it’s still not enough.

Rating: 5/5

How hot? 🔥🔥🔥

Bad Girl Reputation by Elle Kennedy. Following a pattern from above, this might be my favorite Elle Kennedy book! We’ve actually got another reformed bad kid homecoming story too, but this time it’s bad girl. I can’t help it- I love a story where a character goes a little too far performing penance for pre-book bad behavior and has to find a happy medium. Also, I love when the FMC gets to be the savior of the family business. There’s just a lot to love, ok!

Genevieve West is back in town for the first time in a year for her mother’s funeral, but she swears she’s not here to make trouble, especially not for Evan Hartley, her ex boyfriend, high school sweetheart, and person she hurt the most when she left all those months ago in the middle of the night. She’s only going to be in town for a little while, after all, no sense in stirring up all the drama of the past. Once she gets her father’s business back on its feet, she’s gone.

Evan may have spent the past few months sowing a lot of wild oats, but he’s always known his end game is Gen. At first he’s thrown by her insistence at being on the straight and narrow after being a notorious party girl most of their lives, but he realizes that in order to make their second chance stick, they’ll both need to grow up a little, him included, without fully losing what gave them their spark initially.

Rating: 4.25/5

How hot? 🔥🔥🔥🔥

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Next week, I’ll be recommending books with undercover maids!

What should I be reading next? Let me know in the comments!

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Shout out to my junior homecoming date Taylor (top left, ultimately a very troubled boy but a pretty decent homecoming date) and my senior prom date Chad (top right/bottom left, still a close friend)