A McKaslin Homecoming

The McKaslin Clan: Series 3 #5

by Jillian Hart

When contacted by her long-lost grandmother, Lauren McKaslin wanted to reconnect - with all the warmhearted Montana McKaslins. For too long, she'd relied solely on herself and her faith.
But mistrustful lawman Caleb Stone stood in the way, and his questions about her were intimidating.
Was his attention more than a protective instinct? Now that she believed in family again, perhaps this was also the time to believe in true love.

Genres: Romance, Love Inspired, Christian Fiction, Fiction, Christian, Christian Romance, Contemporary Romance

256 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published July 1, 2007

About the author

Jillian Hart grew up on her family's homestead in Washington state, where she raised cattle, rode horses and scribbled stories in her spare time.
After earning her English degree from Whitman College, she worked in travel and advertising before selling her first novel.
When Jillian isn't working on her next story, she can be found puttering around her rose garden, curled up with a good book and spending quiet evenings at home with her family.

Reviews

[Jerry (Rebel With a Massive Media Library) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great story in this series. I'm glad I randomly decided to pick these up.

[Kathryn Cooper · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reviewed on Clean Adult Fiction

A McKaslin Homecoming was a sweet love story about new love and family. Lauren was taken from her family when she was 2 years old by her mother. Her mother left behind her husband and 3 children to get out of the small town and try to become famous. Her childhood was rocky and full of mistrust. She couldn't rely on her mom and thought her family didn't want her.

Now she was older (I think 19 or 20) and was invited to meet her grandmother. After many years she gets to know her family. It was interesting to see how the family reacted to her homecoming. The sisters were a fun crew for sure. Caleb was the neighbor and family friend Lauren met first. Their relationship was cute.

The thing that bothered me was that things went along too easily without enough conflict. I also wanted more at the end. But overall it was a sweet and fast read I think romance lovers would enjoy.

Content Ratings:
sexual: very mild
language: none
violence: none

[Andrea Guy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the 7th book in the McKaslin Clan series. I wish I had read some of the previous books because it would have been nice to have the full backstory, but if you are like me and just picked this one up, don't worry, you'll get to know the other family members in the series soon enough.

Lauren McKaslin is returning to Montana to meet her Gran and other siblings for the first time since her mom ran off with her at the age of 2. There she meets Gran's neighbor and generally nice guy, Caleb Stone. Their blossoming relationship is a delight to read about, along with her getting reacquainted with the family, even some of the more stubborn ones, like her older brother Spencer.

This was such a sweet light entertaining read. I couldn't put it down. Now I want to catch up and read all the rest of the books in the series

[Makayla Pope · Rating 4 out of 5]

Personal Response
A McKaslin Homecoming was a pretty good book. It was not the best book that I have ever read, but it was not the worst either. I enjoyed how it was a Christian book because I knew that it would be a clean book and not have anything inappropriate in it. This book reminded me of a Hallmark movie and I love Hallmark movies! The one thing that I did not enjoy about this love story was that there were a lot of characters in it, so it was a little bit hard to keep up with all of them without forgetting who they are. Overall, A McKaslin Homecoming was a very good book.

Plot Summary
A McKaslin Homecoming starts off with Lauren arriving at her grandmother's house for the first time in a very long time. Lauren's mother took Lauren away from the rest of her family when she was very young. Lauren does not even remember that she has a brother and sisters. When Lauren gets to her grandma's house, her grandma is not even there, but a guy named Caleb is. Caleb and Lauren hit things off right away, but Lauren is not the type of person that has relationships. She has trust issues, so she does not want to get married to anyone. Caleb on the other hand, had been engaged before, but he broke things off with that person. Then, Lauren's grandma, Mary, arrives and she immediately loves Lauren. Mary wants Lauren to meet her brother and sisters, so they head off to the family book store. Lauren's sisters love Lauren, but her brother does not like her very much. Spence thinks that Lauren is going to be just like their mom, but she really isn't. She is just the opposite. Spence asks Caleb, who is a police officer, to get a report on Lauren. Caleb really does not want to do that because he knows that Lauren is not the same as her mom. Caleb is only going to get the report on Lauren because he and Spence are friends. Then, Lauren's nephew, Tyler has a birthday party. At the birthday party, Caleb put the report on Lauren in Spence's truck. Tyler had the best birthday ever and everybody had a good time. Next, Caleb asks Lauren to go on a date and Lauren accepts. Lauren and Caleb go on their date, but they had to cut it short because one of Lauren's sisters, Danielle, asks Lauren if she could watch her kids because she had to go to the hospital. Danielle's husband was in the hospital because he got shot while he was working as a police officer. Lauren and Caleb both go over to watch Tyler and Madison and they have a really good time. Then, the night ends without a kiss and Lauren was really disappointed because she wanted Caleb to kiss her. As soon as Lauren gets back to the house all of her sisters are there, except for Danielle. Lauren and her sisters had a pajama party with ice cream because that is one of their traditions when one of the sisters goes on a first date with somebody. Later that week, Lauren has to say her goodbyes. As Lauren was taking out the garbage, she heard Caleb and Spence talking about the report and she was not very happy with Caleb. Lauren leaves without even saying goodbye to Caleb. As she got down to the end of the driveway, Caleb was there and he was blocking the driveway with his truck. Caleb tells the whole story about the report and Lauren accepts his apology. A McKaslin Homecoming ends with Lauren and Caleb having their first kiss.

Recommendation
I would recommend A McKaslin Homecoming to Christians. I would recommend it to Christians because it mentions God a lot, which is a good thing if you are a person like me. I would recommend this book more towards girls, because it is a love story and I do not think that guys would enjoy that very much. This book is perfect for female Christians that really enjoy love stories.

[Stacy]

I registered a book at BookCrossing.com!
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/14468234

[Jennifer · Rating 1 out of 5]

It is no wonder they give this book away for free--it contains everything you don't want to do as an author. Or rather, it is the perfect example of why sending your book to an editor is so important. Which brings to mind the question: Did Harlequin decide to skip the editing process with this author? Because apparently this is not the only book in the series with issues like this.

Head-hopping is prevalent with no break to warn the reader (although breaks--sometimes with blank spaces and other times with asterisks--are spread occasionally at random throughout). In some cases it seemed as if the point of view only changed for one sentence and then flipped back. At least once in the first two chapters, I could not figure out who was saying something because of this. With statements like: "Suddenly his voice sounded distant and tinny. What was happening?" (p 23) it is impossible to tell--are we in her head or his? The last we knew, we were in his head: "Caleb figured it was." But after reading two sentences into the paragraph, we find out that it is not Caleb having this odd experience, but the heroine: "Lauren's feet froze in place..." If that third sentence had been placed in front of the other two, we would have at least been warned that we had switched perspectives again, but it was not. So, not only does the reader not have breaks in the page to warn him/her of point of view change, but also the reader does not even get written clues it has happened.

Then, there is the whole time/space issue. The opening setup is that there is a house with a carriage house (presumably behind it) where the heroine will be staying. So, hero and heroine walk around the house with her bags at least halfway: "as they circled around the side of the house." (p 23) Then, he guides her to sit "on the bottom step of the porch." (p 24) Hmmm... so there is a porch on the side of the house. I guess it must be a wraparound since there was a porch in front of the house as well, but the author never mentioned the porch wrapping around the house. Then Caleb gets her some lemonade, and "Caleb's steps approached her from behind." (p 24) Okay, so that makes it seem like there is a side door since if he was approaching from the front of the house he would have approached from her side as she is sitting on the bottom step of the porch. But then, he takes her bags to the carriage house--the one presumably behind the main house--and he does so by going through the house! This makes absolutely no sense if the door is in front of the house and there is no side door (why would you walk back around to the front of the house and then go through it to get to the back of the house). But it also makes little sense even from the side--why would you go in the house and weave through rooms to get to the carriage house?) At this point, I have no idea what the layout is. I can only presume after walking halfway around the house, when she has a spell that he presumes is dehydration of some sort, he has her walk back to the front of the house instead of finishing their walk to the carriage house where she could rest completely because she is staying there. Then, despite not going through the house to get to the carriage house the first time, he takes her things through the house. Either that or the author forgot they were on the side of the house in the first place. There are so many different ways to interpret what is happening here--but none of them really make a whole lot of sense.

Even worse than the abrupt changes in point of view is that the author slips from third person to first person! "She wanted answers, but what if she didn't like what she found out? I could get hurt." So, the author could have chosen to do all internal thoughts in first person. That would not really be a good choice, in my opinion, but it would be a clear choice. Here we have TWO of the heroine's thoughts back to back, and one is in third person while the other is in first person. Further, there is no italics to warn you the sentence is a thought!

Then, you have the standard typos: "Lauren couldn't exactly say why she was so aware of Caleb's Stone [sic] presence." (p 25) The hero's name is Caleb Stone so, I am not sure if the word "Stone" was supposed to be lowercase with the meaning of "rock solid" or if the plural is in the wrong place and was supposed to be "Caleb Stone's presence." I am, however, sure by page 25 that if an editor got paid to edit this book, he/she should give that money back.

I get it. I am a professional editor. There are few books, especially in these pulp Christian romances, that don't have at least one or two typos that I catch. But the above is all contained in the first two chapters, and I haven't even got into plot and structure. I must admit it is difficult to focus on plot and structure when the author names the heroine's grandmother's sister and the heroine's sister Katherine within four pages. Your instinct will be that you must have read something wrong, but don't go back and re-read it because you probably read it correctly the first time and this book is not worth spending that much time reading.

There were also little factual matters that just didn't work. The hero has to go rub down horses and give them "a little" water after they figure out the gate and open it. Uh, horses run all the time in a pasture and don't need to be rubbed down immediately after. So, yeah, if you are just brushing them to groom them that day or to check them for injury, fine, but you don't brush them every time they run. Also, what kind of moron doesn't have a trough of water ALWAYS available to the horses! It does not say "refill their water trough." No. It's a hot day. They've been running around. And he's going to "give them a little water." After reading this book, I don't think the author ever had a horse in her life or ridden one. The problem is that her hero is supposed to own a horse, and he is the one doing all these stupid things like feeding the horses together when there is an alpha mare. This is another good "how not to do something" for authors: Don't write what you don't know. This author might have read Black Beauty, but she didn't look up details about horses or even watch videos on YouTube before spending an entire chapter talking about riding one!

This book is long and boring and made even longer by all the editing issues that leave you confused about what is going on and frequently having to reread it to try to figure out what is happening. It contains at least two chapters filled with so much bad horse information, I cringed through them and had to force myself to plow forward. The plot is paper thin, with the majority of the text filled with "fluff"--all the other characters telling the hero and heroine that they should marry and how great they would be for each other. The characters are psychic and know things about the other person they should not know. The only redeemable parts of this book were about three paragraphs of description and the very end scene which was, in my opinion, actually romantic. The three paragraphs are not so amazing they should entice you to read the full book, and if you want, just skip to the last couple pages for the end scene.

[Rosa Cline · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is technically book 5 of this series of books. But you CAN read them individually without reading the others in the series. I have read books 1, 2, and 3 and they were 'so so' for me but his one I really liked. It was a different setting and the main character didn't seem to obsess over her feelings (like it seemed the main characters in the other books seemed to do). Each book takes one of the adult children and tells their 'story'. This one is of the very youngest child that years before their mother took off with her when she was just a toddler but told her her family didn't want her and she didn't know if she even had siblings when in fact she had four. Her grandmother has now tracked her down and wanted to get to know her again. So she travels to Grans house to put her past behind her and find who she really is...what is a lie and what is truth. What she finds is heartwarming and touching. Very well written. The setting is the country and has horses which I enjoy (versus the city setting) so that just added to me.

This series is a nice read, they aren't bad nor are they super good but I don't think you would think you waste your time on them. Each one is a bit different and each one you learn a little more about each family member and how they work as a "unit". But like I stated before you can read these as independent reads.

I would recommend this to an advanced pre teen reader. There isn't any language or sex related issues. And actually the main young man is the 'perfect' gentleman of what a boyfriend-young man should be.

[Shirlene]

Lauren McKaslin's mother, Laura, felt like she was meant for bigger things than motherhood. She left her husband, son and 3 daughters but took Lauren and left Montana to become a movie star. Lauren didn't remember her life with a grandmother, father and siblings. She thought that she was alone until her grandmother hired a PI who found her. Gran invited Lauren home to meet the family she never knew she had.
Lauren was scared and anxious about meeting her grandmother. She arrived and a neighbor, Caleb Stone was there to meet her. An appointment made her grandmother late. Caleb was counted on a lot to help out at Gran's place. He had lived in Seattle for a bit and gotten himself engaged. The engagement was called off when his grandfather got sick and Caleb returned to Montana to care for him and his ranch. By the time his grandfather passed away, his grandmother was sick. Caleb stayed with her until she died and inherited the ranch neighboring Lauren's grandmother. Caleb was also the local police. His partner was married to one of Lauren's sisters and he was in the hospital recovering from a gunshot wound.
Lauren met Caleb and noticed how attractive and considerate he was. Her grandmother's horses got out of their pen and they chased them down in Caleb's truck. Caleb and Lauren talked for a bit and he asked her if she wanted to go riding with him in the morning. Lauren told him she'd never been on a horse. He offered to give her lessons and she gladly accepted. Caleb thought that Lauren was a really nice girl, and attractive too.
Lauren was both happy and relieved that her grandmother was excited to see her. She met most of her family the next afternoon. One of her twin sisters arrived early in the morning after she got back from riding with Caleb. Ava took Lauren into town to meet her twin, their older brother and a half-sister. Spence, her brother, was suspicious of Lauren because he remembered their mother the most. He knew that his mother often wrote home asking their grandmother for money. Spence needed convincing that Lauren was not like that. His sisters and Caleb told him that she was different and that he would see that in time. He asked Caleb to run a check on Lauren which he hesitantly did.
She met her father that next evening when he was invited over for a family dinner. Her grandmother said that Lauren was the spitting image of Katherine who was the only family member not there. She was overseas on vacation with her family. Lauren was able to relax a bit after she met everyone because they all seemed genuinely happy to meet her and accept her as part of their family.
She and Caleb continued to ride in the mornings and became friends during that time. Lauren told him and her family that due to her mother's relationships with men that she didn't trust them. She never intended to get married and had never had a boyfriend. Caleb was falling for Lauren by that time. He was not sure what she felt for him and was afraid to find out. He thought that he would never measure up to what she was looking for because he was just a county boy and she was a city girl. Lauren was still in college pursuing a graduate degree.
Lauren's family all pushed her to get involved with Caleb but she didn't trust guys. She was learning to like Caleb and she was afraid that she might be falling for him. They spent a lot of time together including a birthday party for her nephew. After the party, Caleb asked Lauren out on a date. It would be the day before Lauren was to leave back to LA for school. Lauren agreed to go out with him. It would be her first date.
The day of the date arrived and her sisters showed up with clothes and accessories to help her get ready. Lauren was pleasantly surprised. She was even more surprised when Caleb showed up for the date wearing a suit. They went out to dinner and one of her sisters called in a panic. She needed to go to the hospital to check on her husband and Lauren volunteered to babysit. Lauren and Caleb went to her house and watched her children while she went to the hospital. Lauren had been given her sister's cell phone and didn't know it until it rang. She didn't have one of her own and her sister thought that she was calling Ava.
Caleb took Lauren home and was disappointed that Caleb didn't kiss her. She thought that maybe he didn't like her all that much and that he didn't want to get too involved because she was leaving the next day to head back to school. Caleb and her family had taught her a lot in the week she was there. She thought that maybe Caleb would work out as a boyfriend. She had learned to trust him and even thought that maybe marriage to him might be a good thing.
Lauren was packing up to leave the next day when she overheard her brother and Spence talking about the report that Caleb ran on Lauren. She felt like Caleb didn't really like her all that much and was only being nice to her to find out what he could about her for Spence. Her grandmother tried to give Lauren a check to help with her college tuition but Lauren refused to accept it. Spence heard that conversation and decided that maybe Lauren wasn't so bad after all. Caleb tried to explain to Lauren that he didn't want to run a check on her but did at Spence's insistence. Lauren wasn't ready to listen.
Caleb went home and thought about what he had done. He knew that he was falling in love with Lauren by this time and didn't want her leaving upset at him. He drove to the house and blocked the end of the long driveway so that she had to listen to him. She told him that she liked him and thought that he trusted her. He told her that he liked her too and wanted to give a relationship with her a chance. She could finish school and he would live anywhere she chose. He just wanted to be with her. She wanted to come back and live with him and have a life around her family. Caleb was happy with that. She admitted that she was falling in love with him too. She didn't think she would ever feel that she could trust a man but she did him. Caleb then kissed her.

[Brittany · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this sweet book about family and forgiveness.

Lauren returns to Montana to meet the family she thought didn't want her, only to find that all but one welcome her with open arms. Their love is instant and unquestioning.

There are many different stories in here that I would have liked to see play out, like Jonas for example, but I will hope for the best! I loved the relationship between the sisters and of course "the perfect man", the man in every romance book and makes you insanely jealous but happy at the same time. This man was the most perfect that I've ever read about so that made him a touch unreal to me. I must admit that I did cry a bit near the end when hearts get broken and again when they are mended... I didn't give anything away, it's a romance... you know how it ends!

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is another quick, very enjoyable, light read in the McKaslin series by Jillian Hart. Lauren McKaslin, the young lady whose story is the subject of this book, has lots to work through. She is meeting family members she has never known, and her thoughts and feelings seem very authentic. Ms. Hart is touching on many things in this story: breaking a destructive life cycle that has been the only one modeled to you, impulsive judgment, forgiveness, and unconditional love are some of them. This is a wonderful, clean romance, and an easy, feel good story for times when that's what you're looking for. A bit predictable and/or repetitive at times, but I still soared through it; visiting with the McKaslin clan is a treat for me because the auther makes them seem like friends,

[Denise · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. I feel there needs to be a sequal though (I don't think one is planned). The premise of the story is that a young child of 2 was taken by her mother. The mother abandoned the rest of her children and husband. She told Lauren as she was growing up that none of the family wanted her. When Lauren is in her 20s and putting herself through school her grandmother hires a PI to find her and invites Lauren to come home and meet the family. Her sisters bond with her right away, the brother not so much. Of course there has to be a romance, after all this is a Harlequin. Falling in love was not something Lauren wanted or expected. She has major trust issues. I invite those that like a "soft" romance (no big sex scenes) to try this book or this author.

[Mevia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this story. There were stories throughout it, however, that weren't quite explained--stories about the sisters and their husbands/fiance' that came into play during the book and, as readers, we weren't given the full story. It would have been nice to have that information just for clarity's sake in case we haven't read all the McKaslin books.

Other than that, the story was exactly what you wanted it to be. Caleb Stone is the best man any woman will ever find and Lauren is a wonderful woman. She is by far one of the nicest female characters I've read lately. She came by her flaws honestly, but works to improve them. Both characters are people to look up to.

Loved it.

[Christine · Rating 5 out of 5]

AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT..
I absolutely loved this book. Yet there were no bad guys, no gunfights, no world-hopping adventures. It was entirely about people & the dramas inherent in Life--the people who hurt us, the ones who save us; the danger in living & allowing ourselves to love; all wrapped up in a marvelous journey to a sun-baked ranch not really so far away after all.

MY STARS!

I gave this book 5 stars because I'd like to visit it again someday. And I'm on the lookout for more by this author!

[Gina · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like this book. It was really about finding love and reuniting with family after being separated for a long time. Lauren was separated from her family when she was two years old by her mom. Years later, she met them again. Lauren was asked by her grandmother to visit her in Montana. She went there, but was a little nervous. She didn't know how everyone would treat her. But, it didn't turn out as bad as she thought it would. Plus, she found love along the way, and learned how to ride horses. This was a great story about family, friends, and most of all real love.

[Rayni · Rating 4 out of 5]

My mom received this book quite a while ago as a complimentary gift in the mail. It has kicked around for a long time. I finally picked it up & noticed the author, who is an author I like.

It was a nice, light read. I didn't even realize it is part of a series until I added it here. It would be nice to read the others, but I don't think I'll go on an all out search for them.

[Monica · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading a romance book that is considered inspirational. As I was reading the story I was rooting for Lauren and Caleb to realize that they both really loved each other. When Lauren comes home after being taken away by her mother, hoping to find the family she never knew she had sets the stage for a sweet and tender romance.

[JoAnne · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a cute romance that reunited us with the McKaslin family in Montana. There was romance, love, friends, family, happiness and sorrow. I could feel for Lauren as she tried to find her place in a family she didn't remember. Nice closure. I look forward to meeting up with them again to see if she and Caleb do get their happily ever after.

[Dana · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am setting this book for today, but in reality I have read this book about three times. I love Caleb and Lauren, and I love the way Ms. Hart connects these McKaslin books. This is a wonderful family.

[Tiffany Malcom · Rating 2 out of 5]

You know, Christian fiction is sometimes refreshing as far as the clean language and lack of sex scenes go, but sugar sweet, unrealistic endings make me want to vomit!!

[F · Rating 2 out of 5]

Simple, entertaining read but don't think I'll peruse reading the rest of the McKaslin Clan series in order. I did think that Caleb, a main character, in Chapter 13 defining the phrase - insurmountable obstacles are opportunities in disguise -- was thought provoking. Caleb introduced the other main character, Lauren, to the Rocky Mountain range. Caleb said the explorers, Lewis and Clark, canoeing the river and as they were coming closer and closer, they wondered how they were going to get their boat over those "Shining Mountains".

[Jean Katchmar · Rating 4 out of 5]

When Lauren was 2 years old, her mother took her away from her family---dad, brother and sisters were left behind. Lauren is now 20 years older and needs to go home to see if it is true what her mother told her--- they don't miss her. Her family welcomes her home and now Lauren can believe thta theyr love and have missed her. Caleb Stone, the lawman neighbor, develops feelings for Lauren and so does Lauren for him. Hope that Caleb steps up to tell her before she leaves.

[Jessica Sanford · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not terrible. It's a Christian romance. Cute story, same romance formula. Also, I was extremely bothered by her ability to RIDE BAREBACK and gallop after two 30 min lessons? What type of crap is that? Also, she fell off the horse and brushed it off? Falling off a horse hurts! And no mention of helmets. No wonder they fell in love so fast - brain damage.

[Denise · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sweet story, but repetitive and formulaic. It was pushing toward annoying to keep hearing how Lauren couldn’t trust anyone. This could have been shown without being extensively reinforced in so many words. This is a perfect book to read on the beach or the plane. It’s not Don Quixote (I’m also reading that right now), but it’s a lovely story that can be enjoyed and delighted in.

[Jennifer Robb · Rating 3 out of 5]

Average read--a friend (MH) sent me this book in a box of books. Apparently this author has written several "series" about the McKaslin family. I am pretty sure I have read some of them but not all of them.

I felt like the plot was a rehash--similar to other plots that I've read in Love Inspired books.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought the long lost daughter/sister/granddaughter plot was under utilized. I would have loved to seen the main character have to come to terms with her mother- but maybe I have to read one of the other 20 odd books in the series for that. The conflict between the couple should have also been about him not trusting her as well as her not trusting him.

[Carmen Nuland · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book knowing that it was part of a larger series. There were references to the rest of Lauren's family that eluded to past books but thankfully it didn't detract from the story - it was an enjoyable read as a stand-alone. However ... now I want to read the rest of the series :)

[angela yargus · Rating 5 out of 5]

Family IS Everything!

I am in love with this series! I just can't wait to see the next phase of the MuSlim Clan!
God has all the answers! I am so glad to find a set of books that keeps this theme in my life! I want more!

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

A strange upbringing, taken away from her dad and siblings and living with her mom when her grandmother invites her to come and visit. She has a hard time believing that most of the family has open arms welcoming her back "home".

[April · Rating 2 out of 5]

I made it to page 91 of 240 and decided this story wasn’t for me. It felt slow and repetitive. I skipped to a few chapters from the end and was surprised to find the 2 main characters trying to decide if they liked each other!? This confirmed my page 91 conclusion.

[Courtney McDougal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book the ending could have been better.