Review: Finally Home by Helen Scott Taylor

Finally Home by Helen Scott Taylor
Release Date: September 24, 2012
Publisher: Carina Press
Source: Carina Press through NetGalley
Links: Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Goodreads

My Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars (Goodreads rating: 3 out of 5 stars)

Synopsis: As manager of the charming Greyfriar House Hotel, Melanie Marshall loves her job and spending time with her young son. But she can never forget what she ran away from: her late husband's crimes and her own terrible guilt. Though lonely, Melanie can't afford to let another man into her life.

But when her boss, gorgeous hotel owner Jack Summers, returns from his supposed wedding without a ring or a wife, Melanie discovers there's more to him than she ever thought. For one, the ex-soccer star is son's idol. But the closer she gets to Jack, the more she pulls away. She can't share her past. Ever.

For too long, Jack protected his scarred heart by letting gold-digging women make him think love didn't matter. But a sweet single mother and a soccer-crazy little boy change everything. He knows Melanie has secrets. Secrets she'll have to share if he's to help her realize she's finally home.

           After reading so many Young Adult books in a row, I was in the mood for a little bit of romance. As I started Finally Home, I was intrigued especially after reading the synopsis. I thought it would be entertaining and while it was, I found it to be rather bland. The main characters weren't exactly memorable and while it has a good premise, I just wasn't excited with the end result.

After dealing with a horrible past few years, Melanie Marshall is finally moving on and after we learn of her secrets, I thought that her hesitance to trust another person is justified. However, I found her indecisiveness when it came to trusting Jack a little maddening. I just wanted her to make up her mind.

I also found it a little bizarre that after spending some time with Jack and after one night, she would agree to marry him. When Imelda, Jack's mother, mentions something about his past and she doesn't know anything about it, only then does she realizes she doesn't really know him. At first, she wouldn't even entertain the idea of going on a date with him because of her secret and she didn't want her son to have any attachments in case they had to leave town. But then she agreed to marry him after such a short period of time, I found that to be a little out of character.

The same goes for Jack. At the beginning of the story he's getting ready to marry someone else but then he changes his mind. He start spending time with Melanie and he becomes smitten with her and her son. As he spends time her and her son, suddenly he can see himself spending the rest of his life with then. I know books are make believe, but I find myself unable to enjoy a book where there isn't some sort of realism to them. I definitely don't buy into those insta-love romance novels.

When Melanie is trying to run away from her problems, I found Jack's tough love just right (I totally saw that coming, too). He knows he love her but that he can't spend the rest of his life with someone that doesn't trust him. I did not, however, like how he invited her parents to the the surprise in the end. I thought that it was wrong and not in his place. Melanie was finally coming around and trusting him and reuniting with her parents should have been private affair. So, I did not agree with how he handled himself when she fled to her flat while in a panic attack. So while he had me cheering him on the whole time, he definitely lost some brownie points from me because of that.

Besides my issues with Melanie and Jack, I found this to be a quick read. I wasn't overly impressed with it but it was something to read in between all the teenage angst.