REVIEW & BLOG TOUR Coming Home (Book 1) by Carolyn Spencer

Coming Home by Caroline Spencer Only Time Will Tell #1 

Publication Date: August 2014 

Genres: Contemporary, Romance 

Synopsis

Life hasn't been easy. I guess no-one's ever is, but I feel that my life had a few too many hurdles to contend with at a young age. Moving back to the States after spending eight years in England was supposed to be my clean, fresh start, but that backfired in the space of ten minutes. That day would be the start of a completely new life, one that I hadn't expected. It meant that everything I had dealt with came flooding back to the surface, leading me down a new path, a path I never knew existed. My childhood sweetheart was back in my life and I had to find a way of bringing up my haunted past to help build another new life. I just had to climb a few more mountains along the way.

About the Author

Born and raised in a small mining town in Derbyshire. Caroline has spent her adult years building a home and a future based on what's in front of her, and for a while, that was all she needed. Family, friends and the dog. In 2012, that all changed. Her new love of reading became a drug. Living in a fantasy became her happy place to escape from reality. Her imagination came to life and ideas that had laid dormant for years, came rushing back to the surface and Emeralds And Pearls was conceived, her debut novel. In October 2013, that new chapter in her life started and Emeralds And Pearls were introduced to the world. Caroline works a normal 8-5 job which has nothing to do with literature. When people discover that she has written a novel, the look of shock on their faces is enough to bring a smug smile to her face, knowing that people underestimate her.

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REVIEW

Effing cliffhangers! Argh!!!

Only after turning the page, expecting more and finding nothing, did I go in search and find this is the first of three books. ****!!

Be prepared.

Kyle and Catalina - K.C. & C.J. - childhood sweethearts.

Best friends. Lovers. Together forever until she moves to England. Now, the exact reason for the move isn't explained in this one and I hope it gets cleared up in future books. But, you can guess and speculate since his mother hates her and doesn't hide it from her, telling Cat she's not right for Kyle and to stay away from him. 

You want to bitch-slap his cow of a mother for being, well, her, and cuff him across the back of the head for being so blind to his mother's intentions, hostility and actions towards Cat. 

When Cat comes back from England to the US, the last thing she expects is to literally bump into Kyle. Shit happens. Things go up and down for them like a freakin' roller coaster ride and the interfering parties don't help them sort their shit out one bit.

Cat's got a huge secret to tell Kyle but the timing never feels right for her, especially since it's not the kind of news you blurt out when tempers and emotions are flaring. The interferences don't help either. I did have a grump at Cat a few times when an opportunity presented itself to her and she didn't take it and quite frankly, I could've clipped her across the back of the noggin too!

Cat and Kyle have all the love in the world for each other but keep getting handed shit on a platter, and more and more obstacles. I really hope they can work it out and get their HEA over the next two books (which I am impatient for and don't want to wait! *insert tantrum here*) I'll be crushed if these two don't get their happy ending. 

It took a couple of chapters to get into the swing of the story and meet the characters but once in there, I just wanted to read to the end, sleep be damned. :)

EXCERPT

Do you ever get one of those feelings, where something isn't right, like you’re instinctively detecting a death, injury or fire? I'm having one of those, like I know something bad has happened but I just haven't gotten the bad news yet. It's getting to me. It's making me nervous.

“Have you found anywhere for tonight?” she asks, changing the subject, distracting me from my uneasiness.

I nod and pass her the print out I did for her while she was in a meeting. I knew if I didn't, I'd lose the page and forget everything. “Leopard Lounge, it's only a couple of blocks away on Cocoanut Row.”

“Looks a bit expensive,” she says as she glances over the menu and images. She eventually looks up and raises a questioning brow. We normally keep it cheap. “You know I'm saving, I can't splurge this much on food and drink.”

The British accent is back. “Don't worry about that. Thai food does not say thank you half as much as a sophisticated night out.”

Nod chews on her lip, looking nervous. “I can't. I can't expect you to pay for last night and tonight, oh and not forgetting the week before.”

“You didn't expect me to, I offered,” I say as I take the paperwork back that she's shoving back to me. “Last week was a favor and this week was my idea. So, suck it up, we’re going.” I smile and she smiles too. I won that one.

We look at the other two women who work in the office and realize that it's finally five o'clock. Thank. The. Lord. I clear my desk of everything except what is normally left out and grab my purse from under my desk.

Nadine rushes past me shouting that she's going to the bathroom before we walk to the bar. So, I use my free minutes to make sure my hair is still looking reasonable in a messy, wavy ponytail, hook my arm through the handle of my black tote and head out into the reception area while checking that I haven't splattered any coffee down my gray dress—although it is stupidly skin tight, I would have felt it.

This is one of my favorite Friday night dresses. It comes to just above the knee making it acceptable for work, but it's quite low cut with capped sleeves so it shows just enough skin for slumming it in a bar afterwards.

As I'm walking out, not paying any attention to what’s going on around me, I accidentally walk—head first—into something hard.

I stumble in my heels, from hitting this unsuspecting thing or person, with such force that it knocks me off balance. Two hands grasp at my elbows, steadying me.

The contact sends a shiver down my spine and every hair on my body stands at attention. I am instantly reminded of the frost we used to get in England. I always thought it was so beautiful the way it resembled little white mountains on the surface of a park bench.

I force myself back to the present. I'm almost too embarrassed to look at him. “I'm so sorry,” I say as apologetically as possible, keeping my head down, checking my dress over, even though I know it looks fine. When he doesn’t say a word, I cautiously start to look up.

“Are you okay, Miss?” His words feel like molten lava, slowly being poured over those frosted mountains.

I only ever got this feeling from one person, and that voice definitely belonged to him.

It's deeper, manlier and who'd have guessed it could have gotten sexier. Certainly not me.

Eventually, I look him in the eyes, those turquoise eyes. Eyes that I've not seen in years, and thought I never would again. But here he is...right here…in front of me. Holding me.

Swallowing hard, I try to get rid of the sandpaper that I now call a tongue, and attempt to keep my voice steady. “I'm fine, thank you.”

COMING HOME PLAYLIST

Nelly ft P. Diddy & Murphy Lee - Shake Ya Tail Feather
Delta Goodrem - Burn For You
Delta Goodrem - Can't Break it to My Heart
Rihanna - Where have you been
Britney Spears - Hold It Against Me
Birdy - Skinny Love
O-Town - Baby I Would
Happy Hardcore - We Are The Children Of The Night
McFly - Party Girl
Conner Maynard  - Animal