The Seaside Homecoming by Julie Klassen @Julie_Klassen @bethany_house @sophiarose1816

Posted December 11, 2024 by Sophia in Blog Tour, Book Review / 10 Comments

Review copy was received from NetGalley. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.


The Seaside Homecoming by Julie Klassen @Julie_Klassen @bethany_house   @sophiarose1816 The Seaside Homecoming by Julie Klassen
Series: On the Devonshire Shores #3
Published by Bethany House Publishers on December 3, 2024
Genres: Historical Romance
Pages: 400
Format: eARC
Source: NetGalley
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Disgraced eldest sister Claire Summers has been living in exile as companion to a stern great-aunt in Scotland. About to become homeless and longing to be reconciled with her estranged family, Claire answers an advertisement from someone looking for a "respectable female partner" in a Sidmouth boarding house. Is it a sign or another reckless mistake? When she meets the handsome, secretive proprietor, she wonders what he's hiding and if he's any more trustworthy than the nobleman who betrayed her years ago. Even as she is drawn to him, she fears he will reject her when he discovers her genteel façade hides a less-than-respectable past.

Meanwhile, the Summers family learn their great-aunt has died and Claire has disappeared without a word. The sisters rally together to find their lost sibling, but will their unexpected reunion heal old wounds and rekindle their bonds . . . or widen the divide?

From the beginning of this series, I have been curious and hoped to encounter the missing eldest sister.  As the series progressed, this desire grew so when I saw Clare was entering the series story, I was full of great anticipation.  Julie Klassen not only knows how to write a solid, engaging story, but an equally fabulous series story.  The story of the Summers family drew me in from the beginning and I’ve loved seeing each wounded member find healing and love even as the family as a whole has grown and strengthened.

The Seaside Homecoming is the third in a closely-connected series of books telling one family’s story with their individual parts.  It doesn’t make a good standalone, but I suppose one could jump in here in a pinch.

Claire Summers is the Summers sister no one is allowed to mention and she certainly isn’t welcome to return home.  Of everyone, Claire knows and accepts this.  She made a tremendous mistake when she eloped with Lord Bertram who left her high and dry on the road to Gretna Green when he learned his mistake about her dowry.  Her father disowned her and banned her mother from every accepting her back, but fortunately an old, severe Scottish great-aunt accepted her as companion.

But now, her great-aunt is dead and Claire must find something.  An advertisement for a boarding house business partner and manager draws her just where her heart has yearned to go- Sidmouth, where her mother and sisters live.  Hope and fear and guilt are her invisible companions on the journey.

Claire’s new life in Sidmouth introduces her to her mysterious world-traveled partner, his half-Indian daughter and her severe Indian governess, and the tension of finally encountering her family after the way she disappointed them.

I found the whole build of tension, all the inner and outer conflicts, little mysteries, friendships, slow-burn romance, and personal growth to be a fabulous combination.  The return of Claire to her family and meeting Claire herself was all that I hoped it would be.  She is contrite and changed from the girl who willfully fell for a charmer and she is a quietly strong woman needing forgiveness, acceptance, and warmth of family and friends.

All was so good in this one that I was finished before I knew it.  The Seaside Homecoming left me brimming with all the good emotions and needing the next story.  Those who like gentle inspirational tales with a stellar historical backdrop, and tender relationships including slow-burn romance should definitely give this series a go.

 

Sophia
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Posted December 11, 2024 by Sophia in Blog Tour, Book Review / 10 Comments


10 responses to “The Seaside Homecoming by Julie Klassen

  1. I’ve heard such good things about this author and I really should try something by her. I will have to look for the first in this series. It sounds like something I’d really like. Great review!