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Seven Brides, Seven Brothers #1
The Way Home
Christian Romance. Seven boys were adopted from the foster care system by Alec and Maggie Donahue, a loving Irish couple living in Breeze Point, Cape Cod. Now grown men, the brothers are making their way in the world in their chosen professions, each hoping to find love that will last a lifetime.
The Caretaker
Blue Donahue, an internationally-known journalist, has come home to Breeze Point, Cape Cod to celebrate his parents’ fortieth wedding anniversary. When his father suffers a stroke, Blue, along with his six adopted brothers, is thrown into a tailspin. When he comes face to face with Sarah, the love of his life, his heart awakens to all the possibilities stretched out before them.
Sarah Dalton, an emergency room nurse, can’t believe her eyes when her ex-fiancé, Blue Donahue, comes crashing into her hospital. Four years ago their relationship crashed and burned when Blue showed up two hours late for their wedding. Now, she’s forced to face the only man she’s ever loved as he deals with a family crisis.
The hurts of the past loom large between Blue and Sarah. But as circumstances drive them together, they find that the love they thought they’d lost has endured. And, with faith and truth, they may be able to create a love stronger than any they’d ever dreamed possible and get their happily ever after.
Seven Brides, Seven Brothers Series
The Caretaker
Blue Donahue, an internationally-known journalist, has come home to Breeze Point, Cape Cod to celebrate his parents’ fortieth wedding anniversary. When his father suffers a stroke, Blue, along with his six adopted brothers, is thrown into a tailspin. When he comes face to face with Sarah, the love of his life, his heart awakens to all the possibilities stretched out before them.
Sarah Dalton, an emergency room nurse, can’t believe her eyes when her ex-fiancé, Blue Donahue, comes crashing into her hospital. Four years ago their relationship crashed and burned when Blue showed up two hours late for their wedding. Now, she’s forced to face the only man she’s ever loved as he deals with a family crisis.
The hurts of the past loom large between Blue and Sarah. But as circumstances drive them together, they find that the love they thought they’d lost has endured. And, with faith and truth, they may be able to create a love stronger than any they’d ever dreamed possible and get their happily ever after.
Seven Brides, Seven Brothers Series
155 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 4, 2014
173 people are currently reading
1036 people want to read
About the author
Belle Calhoune
95 books434 followersBelle Calhoune writes heartwarming, inspirational romance novels set in small, cozy towns. Married to her college sweetheart and living in southern Connecticut, she is the mother of two girls. Born and raised in Massachusetts, she is one of five children. Growing up across the street from a public library allowed her to become an avid reader who aspired to be a romance writer. When she isn't writing, she enjoys reading, spending time in Cape Cod, traveling and enjoying time with friends and family.
Belle hopes her books will provide readers with inspiration, entertainment and an escape from day to day life.
Belle hopes her books will provide readers with inspiration, entertainment and an escape from day to day life.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 55 reviews
August 10, 2016
I was fortunate to receive this book as an Arc. What a lovely and touching tale. If you like Christian Inspirational stories this is a series you want to sink your teeth into. This book is full of emotion and heart and won't disappoint.
August 7, 2014
Is a great book to read
July 31, 2014
Cute read. Looking forward to others in series.
August 1, 2014
Amazing. I loved this book. Good Christian romance. Worth your time!
April 22, 2019
A series called Seven Brides, Seven Brothers - what's not to like? Seriously though, finding this series was largely an accident, albeit a happy one. I inadvertently purchased book 4 when it was on sale for Kindle and didn't realize I was jumping into the middle of the series. I happily learned that book one is available from the Kindle Lending Library and got the backstory.
The series follows the Donahue brothers, all of whom were adopted from foster care as children. Now all grown up, each book uncovers their past slowly as they each find love and care for aging parents. The first book shows us Blue Donahue returning home to Breeze Point near Cape Cod (although I took the liberty of pronouncing it Breezy Point and transplanting it to MN for my own enjoyment!) and running into his ex-fiance who he left stranded at the altar years ago. Despite their pain, the flame of love is not extinguished between them. It was an enjoyable and sweet romance that sets the stage well for the series. I look forward to reading more.
The series follows the Donahue brothers, all of whom were adopted from foster care as children. Now all grown up, each book uncovers their past slowly as they each find love and care for aging parents. The first book shows us Blue Donahue returning home to Breeze Point near Cape Cod (although I took the liberty of pronouncing it Breezy Point and transplanting it to MN for my own enjoyment!) and running into his ex-fiance who he left stranded at the altar years ago. Despite their pain, the flame of love is not extinguished between them. It was an enjoyable and sweet romance that sets the stage well for the series. I look forward to reading more.
November 23, 2017
I read this book waiting for it to pick up. I’m lost on all the good reviews. The story was extremely predictable. I don’t feel it was well developed either. No one would risk being late to the wedding of the love of their life without calling or telling them. The reason why he was late to his wedding made zero sense. And over fours years Blue couldn’t have sent a text, a card, a letter or anything explaining why? Chased after her when leaving the church? I’m gonna skip the rest of the series. Even throughout the book it was easy to predict that
Ryder ‘s story would be next with Tess 🙄. I only gave it an extra star due to it being a Christian book and God constantly being referenced.
Ryder ‘s story would be next with Tess 🙄. I only gave it an extra star due to it being a Christian book and God constantly being referenced.
May 14, 2021
Wonderful
This is the second time I'm reading this book. I love the Donahue brothers, and Blue is just wonderful. He and Sarah we almost married, four years ago, but he arrived too late to their wedding. Now they meet again and have to work through their feelings and disappointments. I so enjoyed their story and am excited to read more in this series.
This is the second time I'm reading this book. I love the Donahue brothers, and Blue is just wonderful. He and Sarah we almost married, four years ago, but he arrived too late to their wedding. Now they meet again and have to work through their feelings and disappointments. I so enjoyed their story and am excited to read more in this series.
Read
May 29, 2023Didn't Disappoint
I heard about the series from a post on social media. I love a series and Seven Brides for Seven Brothers is my a fave musical since my college days. Belle Calhoune did not disappoint. Great story. Character arch was rich. I can't wait to learn more about Ryder!
I heard about the series from a post on social media. I love a series and Seven Brides for Seven Brothers is my a fave musical since my college days. Belle Calhoune did not disappoint. Great story. Character arch was rich. I can't wait to learn more about Ryder!
May 13, 2017
Wonderful!
I really like the Donahue's and those women who love them. Great job with this family Belle Calhoune! I definitely recommend this book!
I really like the Donahue's and those women who love them. Great job with this family Belle Calhoune! I definitely recommend this book!
August 5, 2017
sarah confused me with her wanting to know why but never really giving blue the opportunity
March 9, 2018
☺☺☺☺
This is a really good series of clean Christian romances. The Donahue family makes for engaging characters and the plots are interesting.
This is a really good series of clean Christian romances. The Donahue family makes for engaging characters and the plots are interesting.
July 30, 2018
I didn't get past the prologue - a bunch of telling, not showing, and I just wasn't interested enough to continue.
May 12, 2020
Loved it!
I loved this family and what they stand for! The way the characters support one another is heartwarming. Ready for the next brother's story.
I loved this family and what they stand for! The way the characters support one another is heartwarming. Ready for the next brother's story.
September 25, 2020
Sweet Christian romance. Forgiveness and Redemption.
January 11, 2021
Loved it this is my second time reading it. You can feel the passion without the rated r scences.
February 27, 2017
It was lovely to read a Romance book where the book focused mainly on the two characters rather than the actual romance itself. I really enjoyed the character development in this book and how the two characters got together and realised that they were meant to be. Blue Donahue is a journalist, he has come home to breeze point for his adoptive parents 40th anniversary. Blue along with his six brothers were adopted by the Donahues and taken out of the foster care system. While at the celebration party Alec Donahue suffered a stroke which forces blue to be entangled again with Sarah Dalton the woman he has never stopped loving since he turned up two hours late to the wedding for years previously. Sarah is overwhelmed to see your ex fiance blue showing through the doors of her hospital, however helping the family to deal with this family crisis makes her realise that she has never got over him and still loves him. Can blue and Sarah get over the past in order to have the love of a lifetime?
February 6, 2018
I bought this book because I got book 5 in the series free. I wanted to see how everything began. Unfortunately, I didn't enjoy it. The beginning was interesting, but it went downhill from there. I think I could have dealt with the predictability had it not been so repetitive. The story could have been told in half of the time. About half way through, I was bored to the point of skimming til the end. Disappointed!
July 1, 2017
I am absolutely in love with Mrs. Calhoune's novels. They are fabulous and the perfect combination of Christian and romance.
March 1, 2017
The Donahue family is amazing: seven boys adopted out of foster care and now all successful adults and the parents who made that happen. I enjoyed Blue and Sarah's romance, though I thought they have cleared up their misunderstanding sooner.
November 30, 2015
This review was originally posted to Jen in Bookland
The Way Home was not a book for me. It is a christian romance with a good bit of God talk, but that is not why I disliked it. I don't know how I missed that in the synopsis since it is literally the first thing it says, but I did. Even though that got to be a bit much for me at times, it wasn't that bad. Not as preachy as some other Christian reads. No, the reason I didn't enjoy this story is it was just pages and pages and pages of the same thing. It dragged on and on and was very tedious to read even though it wasn't very long.
Blue and Sarah were engaged to be married, but then Blue showed up at their wedding 2 hours late. Sarah doesn't know why and she never let Blue explain what happened. She just told him to leave and she never wanted to see him again so Blue left. Now he is back in town and they both realize they still love each other, but can they move past what happened and start again? Blue's dad ends up in the hospital which adds to the tension and actually helps Blue and Sarah reconnect (since Sarah is a nurse). It would have been okay, but both characters just kept going on and on and on about the same thing without actually doing anything about it. Sarah could have asked Blue about what happened and listened instead of constantly being like I don't want to know, it is too late, blah blah blah blah. At the same time she can't stop thinking about what happened and going on about the same thing to herself all the time. Blue could have told Sarah why he was late, could have brought it up, could have done something instead of thinking about how he regrets what happened and needs to tell her the truth, but continues to not do so. They both act like nothing happened and try to just forget everything while thinking constantly of the past. It was to much for me.
My other issue with the book? The ending. I suppose slight spoiler alerts! Sarah and her sudden change of heart after talking to her sister? Really? It was just too lame for me. Like I get what her sister was saying, but that was not really a reason for Sarah to forgive everything. It would have been better had they talked things out earlier then have the rest of the story be Sarah working through what happened. Sure they should be together, people make mistakes, but it was all a bit too unbelievable and simple. Not the story for me.
The Way Home was not a book for me. It is a christian romance with a good bit of God talk, but that is not why I disliked it. I don't know how I missed that in the synopsis since it is literally the first thing it says, but I did. Even though that got to be a bit much for me at times, it wasn't that bad. Not as preachy as some other Christian reads. No, the reason I didn't enjoy this story is it was just pages and pages and pages of the same thing. It dragged on and on and was very tedious to read even though it wasn't very long.
Blue and Sarah were engaged to be married, but then Blue showed up at their wedding 2 hours late. Sarah doesn't know why and she never let Blue explain what happened. She just told him to leave and she never wanted to see him again so Blue left. Now he is back in town and they both realize they still love each other, but can they move past what happened and start again? Blue's dad ends up in the hospital which adds to the tension and actually helps Blue and Sarah reconnect (since Sarah is a nurse). It would have been okay, but both characters just kept going on and on and on about the same thing without actually doing anything about it. Sarah could have asked Blue about what happened and listened instead of constantly being like I don't want to know, it is too late, blah blah blah blah. At the same time she can't stop thinking about what happened and going on about the same thing to herself all the time. Blue could have told Sarah why he was late, could have brought it up, could have done something instead of thinking about how he regrets what happened and needs to tell her the truth, but continues to not do so. They both act like nothing happened and try to just forget everything while thinking constantly of the past. It was to much for me.
My other issue with the book? The ending. I suppose slight spoiler alerts! Sarah and her sudden change of heart after talking to her sister? Really? It was just too lame for me. Like I get what her sister was saying, but that was not really a reason for Sarah to forgive everything. It would have been better had they talked things out earlier then have the rest of the story be Sarah working through what happened. Sure they should be together, people make mistakes, but it was all a bit too unbelievable and simple. Not the story for me.
September 15, 2016
Loved this family. Not bound together by blood but by an abundance of love and faith.
I have a deep interest in older children who are in foster care. They need the love and nurturing of a faith based home. This is a fantastic story of a couple who saw the need and listened to God's voice, adopting not just one but seven boys.
I would have rated this a five but being the detailed oriented person I am, I was disappointed by the distractions of many proofreaders oversights. I do look forward to reading more books in this series.
I have a deep interest in older children who are in foster care. They need the love and nurturing of a faith based home. This is a fantastic story of a couple who saw the need and listened to God's voice, adopting not just one but seven boys.
I would have rated this a five but being the detailed oriented person I am, I was disappointed by the distractions of many proofreaders oversights. I do look forward to reading more books in this series.
August 5, 2019
Heartbreakingly beautiful!
This book was so much more than I expected! I got it on Kindle Unlimited and was a little unsure as it was described as I christian romance and sometimes these can be too much religion for me, but in this case I was wrong....very wrong! This book had me hooked from the first page to the last and I read it in one sitting. The religion was there but very quickly faded into the background behind the main storyline and so was not too overbearing.
Blue and Sarah have a history, a traumatic, twisted, heartbreaking history that has left them both as broken shells, running from the past and hiding from the future, just existing one day to the next. When a family tragedy unexpectedly throws them together they quickly realise they need to put the past on hold and help each other through the very uncertain days ahead, only then can they face the past and maybe, just maybe begin to look to the future.
Sarah is very wary though and no matter how much she still loves Blue, she is not sure she is strong enough to survive him leaving again, if only she could tell him this ....because seeing Sarah again has floored Blue and only re-enforced the mistake he made when he left, he knew it was a mistake and has spent four years running from it. Now he has had no choice but to face this and admit the truth to himself he knows he won’t be strong enough to leave her again.
Can they find the strength to trust each other and be honest, can Blue lay all of his fears, his past and his heart into Sarah’s hands and trust that Sarah won’t run? That she really does love him and will be there for him?
A complete bargin on Kindle Unlimited, I cannot wait to read the rest of the series which is also available on Kindle Unlimited....amazing!
This book was so much more than I expected! I got it on Kindle Unlimited and was a little unsure as it was described as I christian romance and sometimes these can be too much religion for me, but in this case I was wrong....very wrong! This book had me hooked from the first page to the last and I read it in one sitting. The religion was there but very quickly faded into the background behind the main storyline and so was not too overbearing.
Blue and Sarah have a history, a traumatic, twisted, heartbreaking history that has left them both as broken shells, running from the past and hiding from the future, just existing one day to the next. When a family tragedy unexpectedly throws them together they quickly realise they need to put the past on hold and help each other through the very uncertain days ahead, only then can they face the past and maybe, just maybe begin to look to the future.
Sarah is very wary though and no matter how much she still loves Blue, she is not sure she is strong enough to survive him leaving again, if only she could tell him this ....because seeing Sarah again has floored Blue and only re-enforced the mistake he made when he left, he knew it was a mistake and has spent four years running from it. Now he has had no choice but to face this and admit the truth to himself he knows he won’t be strong enough to leave her again.
Can they find the strength to trust each other and be honest, can Blue lay all of his fears, his past and his heart into Sarah’s hands and trust that Sarah won’t run? That she really does love him and will be there for him?
A complete bargin on Kindle Unlimited, I cannot wait to read the rest of the series which is also available on Kindle Unlimited....amazing!
May 31, 2022
I never really read romance novels, and Christian romance novels are rarely on my radar, but I thought I would give this one a go.
It really should be a 3 1/2 instead of a 4, but it's not a 3. I wish Goodreads had a point number system and this would be a 3.5.
There was way too much drama, and some extremely huge problems were taken care of so effortlessly that the build up was really just useless writing.
The other problem I had with the story is the endless long, long conversations and the characters started to sound like the adults in Charlie Brown shows.
As a Christian, I did like their thoughts on relying on God during our hardest times, but that's not enough for me to read the stories of the six other brothers.
It really should be a 3 1/2 instead of a 4, but it's not a 3. I wish Goodreads had a point number system and this would be a 3.5.
There was way too much drama, and some extremely huge problems were taken care of so effortlessly that the build up was really just useless writing.
The other problem I had with the story is the endless long, long conversations and the characters started to sound like the adults in Charlie Brown shows.
As a Christian, I did like their thoughts on relying on God during our hardest times, but that's not enough for me to read the stories of the six other brothers.
March 16, 2021
The Way Home (Seven Brides, Seven Brothers, #1) by Belle Calhoune --So I picked this up because I love Seven Brides for Seven Brothers the musical, and this series has the same name. The premise is that the Donahues decide to adopt seven boys all from fairly troubled childhoods. This book is about Blue and Sarah. They were engaged four years ago, but when Blue's biological father is dying he decided to go see him on his wedding day and misses his own wedding. Sarah and Blue have a lot of drama to work through, but when Mr. Donahue has a stroke they both rally around the family. The dialogue was good, and the ending was happy so it was a cute read! Happy Reading!
June 27, 2016
Alec and Maggie Donahue adopted seven boys who had had abused and nightmarish backgrounds.
They were brought up is a loving Christian home with unconditional love, guidance, and faith. Now they are all young men, each with a story of his own. This book is about Blue and Sarah. It deals with love, faith, forgiveness, acceptance, and second chances. These is mention of God and praying, but it is not preaching--their faith is part of their lives.
I especially enjoyed this novel. The story is clean, moves right along so you are not bored, and the characters are delightful.
They were brought up is a loving Christian home with unconditional love, guidance, and faith. Now they are all young men, each with a story of his own. This book is about Blue and Sarah. It deals with love, faith, forgiveness, acceptance, and second chances. These is mention of God and praying, but it is not preaching--their faith is part of their lives.
I especially enjoyed this novel. The story is clean, moves right along so you are not bored, and the characters are delightful.
Read
September 22, 2014I really enjoyed this heartwarming reunion story. The Way Home is the 1st book in Belle Calhoune's Seven Brides Seven Brothers series. The premise revolves around a family formed when a loving couple adopted boys, some from difficult situations. Now, all grown, the brothers are looking for love. Belle Calhoune's story is filled with emotion, deep faith, and a satisfying ending. I look forward to reading about the six other brothers in this series.
February 22, 2015
A good story. The resolution between Blue and Sarah seemed a little quick to me. Maybe it just takes someone saying the right thing at the right time to make one realize what s/he needs to do and maybe for Sarah it was Lilah's words that made Sarah think about her own role in her relationship with Blue. This part required a bit of suspension of reality only because of the speed at which it occurred. However, since thing happen in God's time and not ours, it is certainly possible.
October 21, 2015
PG -
Language: no swears,
Sex: no sex, some kissing.
This is a novella-sized story (about 155 pages). I wanted to like it more than I did, but the "big misunderstanding" was Not Believable At All, not for the love that the H and h professed for each other. Additionally, there was a lot of filler - constant recapping of why someone felt the way s/he did and the reasons they should not be together. I'm not going to read the rest of the books in the series.
Language: no swears,
Sex: no sex, some kissing.
This is a novella-sized story (about 155 pages). I wanted to like it more than I did, but the "big misunderstanding" was Not Believable At All, not for the love that the H and h professed for each other. Additionally, there was a lot of filler - constant recapping of why someone felt the way s/he did and the reasons they should not be together. I'm not going to read the rest of the books in the series.
February 4, 2016
Blue and Sarah's story is sad but beautiful. When Blue's comes back for his parents anniversary party he didn't expect to run into Sarah. When his father gets rushed into the hospital the family is scared to death that they may loose him. Sarah is shocked when she sees Blue hurrying through the hospital to get to his dad. The way Sarah helps the Donahue family is truly amazing. Watching Blue and Sarah try to get there relationship back is beautiful. You won't be able to stop reading this book.
June 25, 2016
I like the no sex/Lang part
I believe a story can be told without graphic sex details and leave out the cuss words too! If I had the money I would get the entire series and I will tell you that it is high honors indeed. I usually just read the free one and don't bother with the rest of the series. It is Christian based so if that bothers you, don't read it. It's so refreshing though to read something that someone wrote that isn't afraid to use the word Jesus.
I believe a story can be told without graphic sex details and leave out the cuss words too! If I had the money I would get the entire series and I will tell you that it is high honors indeed. I usually just read the free one and don't bother with the rest of the series. It is Christian based so if that bothers you, don't read it. It's so refreshing though to read something that someone wrote that isn't afraid to use the word Jesus.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 55 reviews