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Finding Home
Luca is a first year med student at the University of Gothenburg. He is following in his father’s footsteps, something he’d been programmed to do all his life. He lives a sheltered and still life, with no real friends. Luca would love to change that but doesn’t know how, since he always feels so odd around other people, like he doesn’t quite fit in. There’s so much inside him that wants out, like wanting to become a veterinarian more than a doctor. And the fact that he likes boys and not girls. But he doesn’t tell anyone about that—not even himself.
In comes Kai, an American cowboy in Gothenburg. He’s doing his thesis overseas to broadens his horizons before he does what he has always wanted to do, which is to go back home and run the family ranch. He just happens to see Luca one day leaving class and can’t stop watching the shy guy as he waded his way through the crowd with quick, silent steps, and his head down to avoid eye contact with anyone. For weeks Kai watches him from a distance, trying to figure out how to approach him.
Had he known that spilled coffee and slippery, awkward book bags would have gotten him close to the guy, he might have physically bumped into him a long time ago.
Finding Home is a book with star-crossed lovers meeting and the evil mind of the wicked witch in the west threatening to crush young love’s every dream!
In comes Kai, an American cowboy in Gothenburg. He’s doing his thesis overseas to broadens his horizons before he does what he has always wanted to do, which is to go back home and run the family ranch. He just happens to see Luca one day leaving class and can’t stop watching the shy guy as he waded his way through the crowd with quick, silent steps, and his head down to avoid eye contact with anyone. For weeks Kai watches him from a distance, trying to figure out how to approach him.
Had he known that spilled coffee and slippery, awkward book bags would have gotten him close to the guy, he might have physically bumped into him a long time ago.
Finding Home is a book with star-crossed lovers meeting and the evil mind of the wicked witch in the west threatening to crush young love’s every dream!
169 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 15, 2015
33 people want to read
About the author
Phetra Hedlund
11 books79 followersPhetra often refers to herself as the odd man out, the dorky book nerd. She’d rather spend time with a good book or making up fantastic stories with even more fantastic characters, than live in the real world dealing with real people.
The real world is strange, in a very non-humorous way, and people in it complicate it to the point of wearing you out. In the written word world, whether it’s someone else's words or her own, things might get busy, complicated, and even downright painful, but somewhere along the line, a heroes always on the horizon. He’s probably not a prim and proper, church-going pretty-boy since the author prefers rebellious men and women who don't follow the protocols of society.
One of her favorite saying is that “Only dead fish follow the stream,” and well she ain't no dead fish.
Phetra lives with her family—two children, a domestic partner, and their two cats in Gothenburg, Sweden. When reading her books, you’ll notice she always finds a way to bring her own culture into her books.
The joy of reading and writing comes from her childhood and is something she has always loved, and been passionate to share with others. Phetra loves hearing from her readers, even with ideas of what they’d like to come next.
If you are looking for her, the best place to start looking is at home in the quietest corner of the house, where she'll be curled up with either her Kindle reading or with her laptop typing away.
The real world is strange, in a very non-humorous way, and people in it complicate it to the point of wearing you out. In the written word world, whether it’s someone else's words or her own, things might get busy, complicated, and even downright painful, but somewhere along the line, a heroes always on the horizon. He’s probably not a prim and proper, church-going pretty-boy since the author prefers rebellious men and women who don't follow the protocols of society.
One of her favorite saying is that “Only dead fish follow the stream,” and well she ain't no dead fish.
Phetra lives with her family—two children, a domestic partner, and their two cats in Gothenburg, Sweden. When reading her books, you’ll notice she always finds a way to bring her own culture into her books.
The joy of reading and writing comes from her childhood and is something she has always loved, and been passionate to share with others. Phetra loves hearing from her readers, even with ideas of what they’d like to come next.
If you are looking for her, the best place to start looking is at home in the quietest corner of the house, where she'll be curled up with either her Kindle reading or with her laptop typing away.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
May 4, 2016
What a unique story! It's very Swedish (because, obviously, spending three days in the place makes me an authority), and that is one of its greatest strengths. Like that odd sort-of-American accent that plagues rock and rap music, most authors, regardless of their geographical origin / affiliation, write stories that are Americanised in terms of the characters, setting, interactions, values, social situations, and so on.
This is not the case with 'Finding Home'. The story is set in Gothenburg, and Luca - the main character - is very 'Swedish'. Indeed, I'd go as far as to say he's very 'Gothenburgian' or whatever it's called, which makes Finding Home not only a great story in its own right, but a culturally significant contribution to LGBTQ literature.
Is it an MM Romance? Well, it's about two young men who build a friendship and a romantic relationship, but it's much more than this. It's a story of personal growth, self-acceptance, and standing up to those who should be our closest allies but sadly sometimes are not. To my mind, the romance, whilst being the driver for Luca's growth, is not the driver of the story, but it is integral to the plot, which builds towards a happy ending.
Ultimately, there were a few ways the story could have concluded, and the way it did wasn't entirely surprising, although I did expect it to happen differently. I was with Luca every step of the way - I'm still trying to decide if he's got mild autism - and I adored Kit and Soren. As for Anders... Give me his address, and I'll gladly have 'a word' with him.
All in all, this is a story that will read as 'quirky' to many, because the culture shines through in every way, including the language used to tell the story. It's grammatically correct, and I know the author has worked with a few native English speakers to iron out the bigger creases, but different languages lead to different ways of structuring thought, and I sensed this as I read, which was actually rather cool!
I really enjoyed this novel, so much so, I woke up this morning far too excited to leave the final 20% until bedtime, so I had a lie-in and finished it. :)
This is not the case with 'Finding Home'. The story is set in Gothenburg, and Luca - the main character - is very 'Swedish'. Indeed, I'd go as far as to say he's very 'Gothenburgian' or whatever it's called, which makes Finding Home not only a great story in its own right, but a culturally significant contribution to LGBTQ literature.
Is it an MM Romance? Well, it's about two young men who build a friendship and a romantic relationship, but it's much more than this. It's a story of personal growth, self-acceptance, and standing up to those who should be our closest allies but sadly sometimes are not. To my mind, the romance, whilst being the driver for Luca's growth, is not the driver of the story, but it is integral to the plot, which builds towards a happy ending.
Ultimately, there were a few ways the story could have concluded, and the way it did wasn't entirely surprising, although I did expect it to happen differently. I was with Luca every step of the way - I'm still trying to decide if he's got mild autism - and I adored Kit and Soren. As for Anders... Give me his address, and I'll gladly have 'a word' with him.
All in all, this is a story that will read as 'quirky' to many, because the culture shines through in every way, including the language used to tell the story. It's grammatically correct, and I know the author has worked with a few native English speakers to iron out the bigger creases, but different languages lead to different ways of structuring thought, and I sensed this as I read, which was actually rather cool!
I really enjoyed this novel, so much so, I woke up this morning far too excited to leave the final 20% until bedtime, so I had a lie-in and finished it. :)
June 12, 2016
This was such a beautiful story .
You could see that there was a beautiful romance happening .
Their love grew then who comes first Kai or family..
Loved all of this book
Written as Pat Jay
You could see that there was a beautiful romance happening .
Their love grew then who comes first Kai or family..
Loved all of this book
Written as Pat Jay
March 29, 2016
First of all, I loved the setting of the book. Sweden has always been this amazingly mysterious place that I have always wanted to visit and the author made it seem so wonderful that I only want to visit more after finishing Finding Home.
The 2 MCs, Kai Kelly, a young, gay cowboy from a completely supportive family in Texas going to college in Sweden and Luca Von Bergendahl, a painfully shy Swedish student going to college to reluctantly follow in his surgeon father's footsteps, are complete opposites. Luca is so far in the closet, he himself doesn't even realize that he is gay. He just knows that he reacts so strongly to Kai when they meet that the feelings he has are not normal for him. As the two begin a sweet friendship, both know there are more than friendly feelings involved. But Luca's struggle is very real and very intense because he knows beyond a doubt that his rigid father and emotionally absent mother would never support him even were he to take that monumental step out into the light and so he finds it almost impossible to be honest, even with himself.
There is alot of back and forth by Luca and even at times by Kai as the both struggle to make everything work all the while ignoring the fact that nothing would work until Luca was honest. My heart went out to the young man as he fought against his very nature in order to keep Kai in his life.
I will say no more in order not to give any spoilers out, but this book is well worth purchasing and experiencing as a first time gay relationship novel. I look forward to more of Ms. Novak's work because she has a life long fan in me.
The 2 MCs, Kai Kelly, a young, gay cowboy from a completely supportive family in Texas going to college in Sweden and Luca Von Bergendahl, a painfully shy Swedish student going to college to reluctantly follow in his surgeon father's footsteps, are complete opposites. Luca is so far in the closet, he himself doesn't even realize that he is gay. He just knows that he reacts so strongly to Kai when they meet that the feelings he has are not normal for him. As the two begin a sweet friendship, both know there are more than friendly feelings involved. But Luca's struggle is very real and very intense because he knows beyond a doubt that his rigid father and emotionally absent mother would never support him even were he to take that monumental step out into the light and so he finds it almost impossible to be honest, even with himself.
There is alot of back and forth by Luca and even at times by Kai as the both struggle to make everything work all the while ignoring the fact that nothing would work until Luca was honest. My heart went out to the young man as he fought against his very nature in order to keep Kai in his life.
I will say no more in order not to give any spoilers out, but this book is well worth purchasing and experiencing as a first time gay relationship novel. I look forward to more of Ms. Novak's work because she has a life long fan in me.
December 17, 2015
Finding Home is a tale of two young men trying to find where they belong... but there are no guarantees in life. Reading this, I don't feel there was one character who was the focus of the story. While Luca definitely has more challenges, Kai has a lot of learning to do as well. Both of them grow a lot through the story, moving beyond the oblivious selfishness of youth and growing into adulthood. One of the biggest challenges? Kai is an exchange student living in Sweden for a limited time.
Unfortunately, life lessons often come with bumps and bruises. Kai has to learn that his outlook in life, earned through circumstances not everyone is lucky enough to life, leads him to push and make assumptions that can damage the one he loves. Luca has to learn that who he is inside can't stay hidden forever—no matter how much he wishes it could.
I enjoyed reading this book, and I found the characters engaging. The secondary characters were well-fleshed out, though there weren't many. Some of the "solutions" felt too convenient at the end of the story, but for the most part the story was realistic which is key in a contemporary novel. I've never been to Europe, so the foreign feel of the story was fun to read about. While the spelling typos were kept to a minimum, which is impressive for an author who is probably writing in a non-native language, the editing was definitely lacking when it came to punctuation which affected the flow.
Commas appeared where they shouldn't, breaking sentences into choppy phrases that didn't work, and were missing where they should often be as well. There were other issues, but those leapt off the page since it does change how the sentences are read. There was also a rather significant plot hole where Luca was reading Sean Michael's book, Opening Moves, which is in the Chess series but later in the book Kai picks up the box set of the series, but it's suddenly been switched to Cut and Run, which is by Abigail Roux. No, these types of mistakes don't ruin the story, but they are ones an experienced editor would pick up on, improving the overall quality of the book.
Unfortunately, life lessons often come with bumps and bruises. Kai has to learn that his outlook in life, earned through circumstances not everyone is lucky enough to life, leads him to push and make assumptions that can damage the one he loves. Luca has to learn that who he is inside can't stay hidden forever—no matter how much he wishes it could.
I enjoyed reading this book, and I found the characters engaging. The secondary characters were well-fleshed out, though there weren't many. Some of the "solutions" felt too convenient at the end of the story, but for the most part the story was realistic which is key in a contemporary novel. I've never been to Europe, so the foreign feel of the story was fun to read about. While the spelling typos were kept to a minimum, which is impressive for an author who is probably writing in a non-native language, the editing was definitely lacking when it came to punctuation which affected the flow.
Commas appeared where they shouldn't, breaking sentences into choppy phrases that didn't work, and were missing where they should often be as well. There were other issues, but those leapt off the page since it does change how the sentences are read. There was also a rather significant plot hole where Luca was reading Sean Michael's book, Opening Moves, which is in the Chess series but later in the book Kai picks up the box set of the series, but it's suddenly been switched to Cut and Run, which is by Abigail Roux. No, these types of mistakes don't ruin the story, but they are ones an experienced editor would pick up on, improving the overall quality of the book.
April 4, 2016
4 Heart Review by Dennis
Luca is living the hopes and dreams of his parents, going to medical school and living the life they have put in front of him. But in doing so he’s been lying to his family, the few friends he has, and also he has been lying to himself. His dream is to be a veterinarian and fall in love, with a guy. Yes, Luca is gay but has yet to tell anyone including himself. Luca feels left out and awkward around people and doesn’t like to be the center of attention.
Kai is the total opposite of Luca. Kai is openly gay, and living the life he wants with the full support of his family. His secret is that he is totally infatuated with Luca to the point that he has been kind of stalking him from afar… and maybe sometimes not so afar.
When Luca and Kai finally have their chance meeting, it’s not Luca’s best moment but Kai being the utmost gentleman doesn’t allow Luca to feel bad and turns what might be Luca’s most embarrassing moment into maybe the best day of his life, so far.
Love at first stalk, at least on Kai’s side. Finding Home is just that, finding yourself and discovering where you truly feel at home. Phetra did a wonderful job in creating such different characters who are actually looking for the same thing, love. The journey of discovery of one’s true self and embracing it is all in this story, from denial to acceptance. Luca and Kai might come from two different worlds but when they are together nothing else matters but each other and that’s what love and true acceptance should be.
I would recommend reading this if finding love is what you’re looking for.
This book was provided free in exchange for a fair and honest review for Love Bytes. Go there to check out other reviews, author interviews, and all those awesome giveaways. Click below.
Luca is living the hopes and dreams of his parents, going to medical school and living the life they have put in front of him. But in doing so he’s been lying to his family, the few friends he has, and also he has been lying to himself. His dream is to be a veterinarian and fall in love, with a guy. Yes, Luca is gay but has yet to tell anyone including himself. Luca feels left out and awkward around people and doesn’t like to be the center of attention.
Kai is the total opposite of Luca. Kai is openly gay, and living the life he wants with the full support of his family. His secret is that he is totally infatuated with Luca to the point that he has been kind of stalking him from afar… and maybe sometimes not so afar.
When Luca and Kai finally have their chance meeting, it’s not Luca’s best moment but Kai being the utmost gentleman doesn’t allow Luca to feel bad and turns what might be Luca’s most embarrassing moment into maybe the best day of his life, so far.
Love at first stalk, at least on Kai’s side. Finding Home is just that, finding yourself and discovering where you truly feel at home. Phetra did a wonderful job in creating such different characters who are actually looking for the same thing, love. The journey of discovery of one’s true self and embracing it is all in this story, from denial to acceptance. Luca and Kai might come from two different worlds but when they are together nothing else matters but each other and that’s what love and true acceptance should be.
I would recommend reading this if finding love is what you’re looking for.
This book was provided free in exchange for a fair and honest review for Love Bytes. Go there to check out other reviews, author interviews, and all those awesome giveaways. Click below.
April 16, 2016
It was a story about two very charming likeable guys that I rooted for the entire time to get their heads out of their nether regions and find the love that waited so obviously right in front of their eyes. It was creditable. It was funny. It was heartbreaking. It was full of ugly nasty hateful people that it was wonderful to hate. And it was, for its faults, worth slogging thru. Phaetra is a new author to me… and one whom I’d be willing to give another shot at entertaining me.
It wasn’t a page turner. It wasn’t a thriller compelling me deeper into the story.
It wasn’t an earthshattering plot … knowing early on what the pitfalls and tragedies would be and that they would happen rather close to the 70% mark. There were too many typos that a good editor should have caught. It is presented in a very difficult to read typeface that made reading the story much longer than 210 pages should have taken.
I received this book free in exchange for an honest review.
It wasn’t a page turner. It wasn’t a thriller compelling me deeper into the story.
It wasn’t an earthshattering plot … knowing early on what the pitfalls and tragedies would be and that they would happen rather close to the 70% mark. There were too many typos that a good editor should have caught. It is presented in a very difficult to read typeface that made reading the story much longer than 210 pages should have taken.
I received this book free in exchange for an honest review.
March 29, 2016
I received this book free for an honest review.
The story was good. It built naturally and it didn't feel rushed or stilted at all. The book is pretty much just about these two young men. There are a few supporting characters and these support and bring realism to the story.
I'm glad the couple don't rush and not everything is smooth sailing for them. I'm also glad that Luca decided to go alone for some of the story.
I really enjoyed this book by the New to me author and will definitely be looking for more of her books.
The story was good. It built naturally and it didn't feel rushed or stilted at all. The book is pretty much just about these two young men. There are a few supporting characters and these support and bring realism to the story.
I'm glad the couple don't rush and not everything is smooth sailing for them. I'm also glad that Luca decided to go alone for some of the story.
I really enjoyed this book by the New to me author and will definitely be looking for more of her books.
March 28, 2016
***Note the grammatical issues and continuity issues were corrected in the copy I read.
Finding Home By Phetra Novak
4 Stars
Main Characters: Kai--a US exchange student attending a school in Sweden for a semester and Luca--a Swedish medical student
Trope: Coming Out, Love at First Sight
Pros: 2nd half moves a bit faster, lots of build up
Cons: slow, a lot of tell instead of show,
I received a free book in return for an honest review
Finding Home By Phetra Novak
4 Stars
Main Characters: Kai--a US exchange student attending a school in Sweden for a semester and Luca--a Swedish medical student
Trope: Coming Out, Love at First Sight
Pros: 2nd half moves a bit faster, lots of build up
Cons: slow, a lot of tell instead of show,
I received a free book in return for an honest review
July 19, 2016
hew..., what a story! Is it that easy what is called life? Nevertheless a smooth and easy reading story. Needed some hankies in the end.
August 27, 2017
sometimes you just want to throw your kindle or smack a character up top their head.. that was me during this.. haha.. it was amazing though.. i loved the characters even when i wanted to smack them.. i loved the writing and the storyline.. both were amazingly written. i am glad i got to review it
April 26, 2016
Sweet, touching romance
5 stars for this touching, sweet romance between Luca and Kai. Luca is Swedish--reserved--yet open to love when he meets Kai, a transplanted Texan studying in Gothenburg. Sparks fly in their first meeting and as their relationship deepens, the reader is taken along, with the romance sharing a stage with the love of a Swedish city and a blending of different thoughts and ideas.
5 stars for this touching, sweet romance between Luca and Kai. Luca is Swedish--reserved--yet open to love when he meets Kai, a transplanted Texan studying in Gothenburg. Sparks fly in their first meeting and as their relationship deepens, the reader is taken along, with the romance sharing a stage with the love of a Swedish city and a blending of different thoughts and ideas.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews