6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
I think I saw this hero on Dr. Phil...., Jan 7 2011
By E. Holmes "elizholmes" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: The Coming Home Place (Paperback)
....in an episode about husbands with narcissistic personality disorders and the wimpy women who love them.
There will be spoilers here, so if you don't want to know, look away...
I am at a loss as to how this book has received such great reviews. First, I can't abide a doormat heroine, especially when you never see any growth in the character as the story progresses. Beth starts out as a very resilient, capable, domestically talented young girl who has survived the worst possible circumstances, knows and clearly expresses her expectations of her husband in this marriage of convenience. But as soon as she falls in love, she goes stupid. She forgives categorically unforgivable actions by her spouse....over and over and over again. Half way through the book I was praying, please don't take this jerk back, please don't listen to him, please don't let this be one of those stories........
...and she takes him back. Not only takes him back, but goes out to dinner with the mistress?
Secondly, this is one of the worse heroes I have ever encountered. He commits unthinkably cruel acts against his sweet young (17 year-old) bride, beginning with a much too angry, forceful consummation of their marriage. He then calls his wife by his dead fiancé's name while having sex with her...no wait, while raping her. He tells his newborn son that he wishes his dead fiancée was the child's mother. Then he leaves his wife sitting on a bench outside the hotel where he is having sex with another woman.......just walks away from his wife leaving her there stunned for hours until a sympathetic friend takes her home.
The most disturbing characteristic of this hero though is his motivations for this horrible behavior. He is either angry, out of his head, drunk, or he forgot where he was. This guy is written with a complete lack of control of himself and his emotions. Even during his groveling, he lacks any insight into what he has done or why. He only seems sorry that he got caught and the apologies come just to get back in the h's good graces.
Worst of all, I don't like authors who write characters like this hero, and then give them an unbelievable "happy epilogue" at the end. If you are going to write a character this bad, you need to have some REAL accountability at the end or else you have cheated your readers.
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Very unlikeable "hero"......, Sep 23 2008
By Krista Lyn - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: The Coming Home Place (Paperback)
I read a lot. I've read hundreds and hundreds of romance novels, and there definitely have been some keepers, some unforgettable reads, some very forgettable reads, and some books that are just plain bad. This is DEFINITELY not one of the "bad" books that I've read, but it is DEFINITELY not a keeper and is one that I would hesitate to even recommend.
James is not a good guy. I spent the entire book, except for the last 2 chapters (when he finally wises up) really not liking him. It's hard to recommend a romance novel when you don't care for the "main guy". James is grieving for his fiance who died in a train crash. He then decides that he needs a wife, so he opportunistically weds Elizabeth (who is in dire straits and very vulnerable). He tells her that he'll never love her, but he wants her to sleep with him and give him children....nice! Although he appreciates her cooking and cleaning, he NEVER treats her as anything else than a hired hand, and thus she ACTS that way. If you throw in some verbal abuse, a rape scene, and an adultery scene...you have all you need to know about this "hero".
His best friend Nate is another story. I loved him and was hoping he'd end up with Beth because he deserved her a lot more and loved her a lot more than Jim did! I especially loved the scenes with Nate and Beth together which were much more romantic and touching...the gifts he brings her, the way he wants her opinion on his house. Nate was the better man...FOR SURE! Unfortunately, I wanted him for Beth so I don't know if I care enough to read the next book Fire and Water (his brother Matt's book) to see if Nate find love himself.
Very disappointed in Beth for choosing wrong and Jim for being a really big jerk!
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
How is this a 5 star book??, Jan 3 2011
By Navi - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: The Coming Home Place (Paperback)
I guess it's a "to each his own" situation, but this book doesn't seem to deserve a 5 star rating. The "hero" rapes Beth while they're out on a picnic, is overheard telling his son on the day of his birth that another woman (his first love) should have been his mother, treats her like a hired hand their entire marriage, leaves her waiting on a bench while he is "reunited" with his one true love... it goes on and on. No amount of groveling could redeem this man in my eyes.
Then when I see a glimmer of hope for this book in the form of Nathan, our "hero" comes back and manages to win this girl back. Nathan is the only character in this book who deserved a Happily Ever After. I even went and bought the sequel hoping that Nathan would find someone who deserves him. No such luck. To this day, he hasn't gotten his own story or any closure. It's really sad.
For all that this book made me angry, I couldn't put it down. Probably in hopes of something changing. Not a chance.
Nathan deserves his own book.
Ms Spencer, at least write a little novella and put it on your website. Something, anything. It breaks my heart.