The Homecoming

Constellation #4

by Sabrina Blaum

‘On the outside looking in,’ once perfectly described Temperance Worrington’s life until she met and fell in love with Rania Karam and Antoinette Joseph, a married couple who lives next door to Tempe’s grandmother.

Although none of them believes in a ‘price for happiness,’ their lives are forever altered on a stormy August morning when an accident portends to shatter their carefully crafted togetherness.

The aftermath of this unexpected crash threatens to tear them apart as they each face and battle their greatest demons. Along the way, we learn how their love story came to be and discover what they stand to lose as they try to overcome the various troubles life throws at them.

While facing these obstacles, their relationship dynamic evolves—highlighting not only romantic love but also deep friendship among them. This dynamic trio navigates through various experiences including intimate moments shared between them or individually reflecting on past regrets or future aspirations.

Ultimately, The Homecoming is about finding happiness in unexpected places—a testament to taking life less seriously while cherishing every moment spent with loved ones regardless of conventional boundaries.

This novel is the final installment of the contemporary stand-alone romance series Constellation. It is not necessary to read this series in any particular order, though it might be more fun to read them from start to finish.

Genres: Polyamory

280 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 14, 2023

About the author

Sabrina Blaum hails originally from Germany and moved to the United States in 2006. She studied Sociology, Geographic Information Systems, and English at a local university in Alabama, at which she is currently teaching English Composition.
She has always written and wrote her first “novel” in elementary school, when she decided that Enid Blyton’s Malory Towers needed a sequel. She also had the habit of telling her late grandmother bedtime stories.

Sabrina is an avid reader and writer, and she loves to spend time with family and friends.

Reviews

[John Gilbert · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an interesting study in relationships, primarily with a married couple meeting an interesting younger woman via their next door neighbour, but that's just the start. Temperance meets Rania and Antoinette through her grandmother, who lives next door to the married couple. So we are looking at an uncoventional relationship developing, yet suddenly a major accident leaves Tempe in a coma for over two weeks, where we have so much more going on than a simple three way relationship. All their families get involved and issues including dealing with a traumatic injury of a loved one, to how to move beyond the trauma.

I thought I was going to be reading a simple story of three women of differing ages developing a relationship with intimacy involved. There was a whole lot more. In going back and forward in time the story sometimes worked well, sometimes not so much. 3.5 stars for me.

[Cameo Burton · Rating 4 out of 5]

When Tempe gets into a major car accident things tend to shift. In the beginning Antoinette and Rania were not let in by Tempe’s father but soon Bree arrives and fixes that. The story goes on to show how these 3 women came together and how they overcome the struggles and stresses of coming back from major injuries.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

By far the best book I have read about a trouple. Finally a book where the 3 involved actually take the time to get to know each other and show that the feelings are geniune and not just about sex. 4.25 stars.

[Andrea (looseleftlesbian) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rania and Antionette are a married couple who find themselves falling for the same woman. The story starts with said woman, Tempe, getting into a horrible car wreck that leaves her in a medically induced coma. We see how the couple navigate this and the problems that arise from the fact that all three of them are in a relationship with a less than accepting parent on Tempe’s side.

I loved that we got to see how the women met and how organically they came together as friends and eventually lovers. I feel like it can be hard to write flashbacks throughout a story, but Sabrina Blaum does a great job at this. It was nice to see the evolution and how all three women communicated and made the relationship work. It didn’t feel forced. It honestly felt like the natural next step was for them to date each other.

The book doesn’t shy away from tough topics like homophobia that all three women experience from their parent(s). It was also interesting to see the different cultures that Rania and Antionette came from— Lebanese and Haitian and how that affect their parents views on things like their marriage.

I wasn’t sure how I would feel about this book because poly relationships are not for me. But I’ve read two other Sabrina Blaum books and loved them, so I figured I’d give it a shot. I am glad I did. Like I said, it felt natural for the three women to be together. The Homecoming is a beautiful love story between three women and how they navigate tragedy, triumphs and life with each other.

[Michelle Schuler · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Homecoming

This was my favorite of the series by Sabrina Blaum. It's emotional, sexy and passionate. I loved the relationship and how they dealt with the situations endured. The character growth was wellndone. I'm sad that the seri3s has ended, but I will most likely reread in the future.

[Sol Canny · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. That’s that. Sold

So…I made it to the sapphic poly romance. And… I found this list of recs on the internets. Lots of the books seemed to be on the kinky side of things, so I decided to start with this one… it looked vanilla enough. I mean, they were making pizza 😅 WRONG!!!!!

* Disclaimer* I admit that I have rarely bumped into polyamory in media and literature. I have staved off questions to the very few poly people I have met. However, my preliminary take is that polyamory representation is often concerning specific religious or cultural contexts, tainted by the oppression of patriarchy, and/or colored by the fetishes of cishetmen. In a similar manner, maybe my lack of experience and exposure will bias this review. Moreover, I am not poly (yet 🙈).

This book was a great primer on polyamory. The start was a bit meh, and honestly I was about to DNF in the first few chapters. For some reason, I picked it up again. What an interesting study of any relationship! Unlike other queer romance novels, this relationship existed in the eye of a storm of conflicts: family, race, age, ethics, health. Yet, it wasn’t just about overcoming a conflict, as it was about the sustainability of a relationship through unavoidable and continuous conflict, just like in real life. Also, this book wasn’t focused on sex, but whoah… it was sooooo sexy…. And as hot as it was, it still left me with a warm, fuzzy, glimmering feeling of possibility not just for the characters, but also for me and for everyone: May everyone find that wholesome, spicy, and boundless love 🥹 (except for my ACE/ARO siblings ofc, who are already living their best life)

[Jennabeebs79 · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Homecoming by Sabrina Blaum is a beautifully crafted tale that I found difficult to put down. Fortunately, I was able to shirk my adult responsibilities so I could devour this book in one day! I was gripped from the first page as Tempe’s car hydroplanes, turns end over end, and comes to rest on its roof. Breathless doesn’t even begin to describe how I felt after reading that scene. The captivating story weaves the present with the past and allows so much character growth and development. Antionette, Rania, and Tempe are three amazing women who, despite what society says, have worked together to build a wonderful life and an unbreakable bond. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a story that highlights the importance of love, support, honesty, and commitment!

Stay tuned for my full review at TheLesbianReview.com

[karen fitzgerald · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this book and the characters that jumped to life from the pages. I had not realised this was a story about a throuple and may not have read it if I'd known but so glad I did, it has been written so well and makes you realise how this type of relationship can really work. I really enjoyed the use of the flashbacks to tell the story, which I am not usually a fan of, but this was done so well by the author and was completely the right way to do it.
I will definitely be looking for more from this author.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

surprising

I never expected to enjoy this book so much. The word polyamory is foreign to my vocabulary, but I loved the organic way this relationship developed. I really like the way this story flowed. Switching between past & present was done so well. And these three characters, when together make a perfect whole. Good Book!

[Sheila · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved

The bonds of love can never only be one way. It can lead to several connections. With trust and communication it can lead to a HEA.

[Emily · Rating 2 out of 5]

Didn’t love the structure but that’s not the issue here. I just really didn’t like the actual writing itself.