The best
journeys take us home….
When Tessa
Alexander came to Sanctuary Island, she left behind a marriage to a man who
didn’t love her the way she loved him. When she finally found the strength to
set them both free, she discovered friendship and self-acceptance in her
adopted hometown. Now she’s settled into a quiet life on her own—never
expecting to see her husband again.
Johnny
spent almost two years deep undercover, unable to let his wife into his cold,
dangerous world. He’s shaken to the core when he comes home to find her gone.
It’s painfully clear that Tessa is no longer the timid young woman he
married—she’s become a force of nature, a brave and determined beauty. Johnny
can’t let her go without a fight so he sets out to seduce his own wife. But will
passion alone be enough to convince Tessa that her new life should include a
second chance at happiness with a man who must learn to believe in love?
Release Date: January 31, 2017
Sanctuary Island #5
St. Martin's Press
Contemporary Romance
Review copy provided by publisher
Liza’s Review:
Close to
Home is the newest release from Lily Everett in her wonderful
Sanctuary Island series.
Tessa, who used to go by Terri, and Johnny have been married in
name only for years. While Johnny is in a deep undercover job, Tessa has had
enough of in name only and decides to move on with her life and she is lucky
enough to end up on Sanctuary Island. Of course, as soon as Johnny’s job is
finished, he goes after her to make sure he puts and end to her idea of
divorce.
I liked Tessa and Johnny as individuals, but will admit it took
me a bit to buy into them as a couple. I think the biggest reason was because
they had spent so much of their married life apart, they didn’t have the
connection I usually felt with a couple. In fact while I really enjoyed their
story, I felt like the romance itself moved very slow. Johnny being so over
protective and seeing danger around every corner seemed to rightfully bother
Tessa. I found myself liking her more and more as the book progressed for her strength
of knowing what she wanted and not taking any flack for going after what she
wanted.
I did feel the attraction between Johnny and Tessa and was so
happy when they finally acted on said attraction with more than just kisses.
The first time Johnny and Tessa made love was both sweet and beautiful. I loved
that by that point Tessa was strong enough to know she wanted to stay married
to Johnny and still remain on Sanctuary Island, but it almost broke my heart to
see that by that point Johnny was ready to give Tessa her wings. I did like
that Johnny’s protective instincts weren’t always wrong when it came to things
on the island, and that Tessa was strong enough now to find a way to get help
when needed. I will say the individual’s identity completely surprised me, but
in a very good way.
Close to Home was a
sweet romance filled with second chances. I liked that Johnny and Tessa got a
second chance to take their relationship to a real level where both people were
equals. While it did take me longer to get into this story, I did end up
enjoying the story. I also loved meeting new characters on Sanctuary Island and
can’t wait to see what happens next in the series.
Rating: 4 Stars (B-)
