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Candellanos #1
Finding You
"An absolutely wonderful contemporary romance. A delightful blend of humor and emotion." – Kristin Hannah on Finding You
After tragedy struck, Carla Candellano retreated from an elite search and rescue squad to her hometown, where she's safe from everything except her Italian mama's meddling. When a handsome stranger moves in next door, Carla can't help being drawn to Jackson Wyatt and the silent child at his side.
Reese hasn't spoken since her mother died, so Jackson brought her to Chandler in hopes that the beach-town charm would bring back the laughing little girl she once was. This is not the time for the strongest desire he's ever felt. He should be focused on Reese, not falling for the beautiful woman next door. But how can he stay away when his precious daughter soaks in the affection of Carla and the close-knit Candellanos? And when his own heart begins to feel again for the first time in a very long time?
Over one passionate summer, Carla and Jackson will discover that no matter where you try to hide, destiny has a way of finding you.
After tragedy struck, Carla Candellano retreated from an elite search and rescue squad to her hometown, where she's safe from everything except her Italian mama's meddling. When a handsome stranger moves in next door, Carla can't help being drawn to Jackson Wyatt and the silent child at his side.
Reese hasn't spoken since her mother died, so Jackson brought her to Chandler in hopes that the beach-town charm would bring back the laughing little girl she once was. This is not the time for the strongest desire he's ever felt. He should be focused on Reese, not falling for the beautiful woman next door. But how can he stay away when his precious daughter soaks in the affection of Carla and the close-knit Candellanos? And when his own heart begins to feel again for the first time in a very long time?
Over one passionate summer, Carla and Jackson will discover that no matter where you try to hide, destiny has a way of finding you.
334 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 25, 2015
602 people are currently reading
266 people want to read
About the author
Maureen Child
1,148 books548 followersUSA Today best selling author Maureen Child is the author of more than ninety romance novels and novellas. Maureen is a five time nominee for the prestigious Rita award from Romance Writers of America.
One of her novels, A Pocketful Of Paradise, was made into a CBS-TV movie called The Soul Collector, starring Melissa Gilbert, Bruce Greenwood and Ossie Davis.
Over the years, she’s written under lots of different names and she prefers the term ‘pseudonym’ to ‘alias’. As Ann Carberry, she wrote western historical romances. As Kathleen Kane, she wrote not only Americana romances, but western paranormal romances as well. As Sarah Hart, she wrote one really spectacular western paranormal that is still one of her favorites. And once, Ann Carberry even wrote a Victorian historical which she absolutely loved doing.
Under her own name, Maureen writes short contemporary novels for Silhouette Desire—books she loves to write because of their fast pace and condensed story telling. Maureen is also writing funny, contemporary paranormal romances for NAL and darker paranormal stories for Silhouette Nocturne.
Maureen writes paranormal romance novels under the pesudonym of Regan Hastings
One of her novels, A Pocketful Of Paradise, was made into a CBS-TV movie called The Soul Collector, starring Melissa Gilbert, Bruce Greenwood and Ossie Davis.
Over the years, she’s written under lots of different names and she prefers the term ‘pseudonym’ to ‘alias’. As Ann Carberry, she wrote western historical romances. As Kathleen Kane, she wrote not only Americana romances, but western paranormal romances as well. As Sarah Hart, she wrote one really spectacular western paranormal that is still one of her favorites. And once, Ann Carberry even wrote a Victorian historical which she absolutely loved doing.
Under her own name, Maureen writes short contemporary novels for Silhouette Desire—books she loves to write because of their fast pace and condensed story telling. Maureen is also writing funny, contemporary paranormal romances for NAL and darker paranormal stories for Silhouette Nocturne.
Maureen writes paranormal romance novels under the pesudonym of Regan Hastings
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews
June 16, 2018
This was a nice, enjoyable read. A good start to the series. I liked both MCs and the entire Candellando clan.
The hero, Jackson Wyatt, is a Chicago lawyer who grew up being bounced around in foster care having lost his parents at a very young age. Through dedication and hard work, he managed to become a lawyer and make a small fortune of his own. He lost his wife, Diane, in a fatal car accident a year ago. His five year old daughter, Reese, was with her mother in the car when the accident happened. She was so traumatised seeing her mother die in front of her eyes that she stopped talking and for the past one year Jackson has tried everything --consulting with the best doctors & therapists-- to get her to speak, but it's been all in vain. He is also fighting off interference from his extremely wealthy and influential in-laws for whom appearances were everything, which is why they'd never been happy about their daughter marrying an orphan. Jackson's marriage hadn't been a happy one. Diane and he hadn't been in love when they got married. The fact that she had family roots was what really drew him to her while Diane on the other hand had married him to ruffle her parents feathers. After her death, her parents have been using Reese in a tug-of-war with him first by filing for custody, which they failed, and now believing he's not giving his daughter proper care, they're after him to put Reese in a clinic of their choice. Jackson knows his daughter only needs time to get over her trauma, which prompts him to rent a house at the coastal town of Chandler in North California for three months in a last ditch attempt to reach his daughter. The little girl had her own fears and guilt about the accident which she couldn't tell her father. I loved the interaction between Jackson and his daughter, how well he understood her sign language and how much they both loved each other.
Across the street from the rented place, lives twenty-eight year old Carla Candellando, who used to train search and rescue dogs and worked for a S&R company along with her golden retriever, Abbey. Two years ago, she'd been called in search of a ten year old boy who had gone missing. She was personally close to the boy. However, n account of some delay, when she reached the boy, she found him dead. Overcome with guilt she quit her job and moved back to Chandler where her large Italian family lives.
In her crazy, but loving family there was her widowed mother, Angela, her three older brothers --Tony, the town's sheriff, and twins, Paul, a quiet, reserved, scientist and Nick, who is a professional footballer and town hero. There's also Tony's wife, Beth, who shares a sisterly kind of bond with Carla and Tony's toddler daughter. She lost her dad two years ago. Her mother, is the kind who would love to have her entire brood living with her, but as it was not possible, she's made Sunday dinner with her compulsory for them and would accept no excuses, not even an accident or injury. She also wants her children to marry and provide her with a few grandchildren as soon as possible and on top of the list is Carla. Carla has no intention of marrying anyone. She had a bad break-up a few years back when her fiance decided to return to his ex. With very few eligible men around, the only man Mama thinks eligible is the local Italian butcher, but Carla, Beth, and Carla's brothers are not happy about it. The conversations between Mama and her children over her matchmaking attempts were very funny.
Carla and Jackson meet when he goes in search of his missing daughter and finds her at an enclosure at Carla's backyard where Abbey's little pups are kept. Carla, although attracted to Jackson gets irritated when he ignores her attempt at friendliness and drags his daughter away. His behavior doesn't change when they meet next in town, but she still warns him about overhearing the three elderly gossip queens of the town known as the Terrible Three's intention of invading his place. Also, both cannot deny that they are attracted to each other. Then, as Reese keeps getting drawn to the pups and Jackson sees the change its doing to his daughter, they end up spending more time with each other where they learn a lot about the other and eventually help the other get over their respective past guilt - Jackson had a horrible argument with his wife before her accident. Mama, meanwhile, now has a better prospective groom for her daughter - Jackson. He suddenly finds himself and Reese joining the Candellando dinners, picnics and other town events and moreover, enjoying every moment of it. Mama C is also a loving, cuddly grandmother toward Reese so unlike her real grandparents who are only cold and commanding toward the little girl.
Along with Carla and Jackson's story, we're also given insights about the lives of Carla's brothers like the trouble brewing in Tony and Beth's marriage. I liked the girl-bond Carla and Beth shared and how Carla is supportive of Beth even if it meant going against her own brother leading to that funny moment where she tries to play detective and follows Tony. The family also starts worrying about Nick's sudden excessive drinking and broodiness. He had been seeing Carla's best friend, Stevie, who runs the local barista, but then she broke up with him when she caught him cheating on her two years ago. Although the family is saddened by their break-up, she's still on friendly terms with the family.
It was overall a fun, enjoyable book, with the right amount of romance and sex and family and town dynamics.
The hero, Jackson Wyatt, is a Chicago lawyer who grew up being bounced around in foster care having lost his parents at a very young age. Through dedication and hard work, he managed to become a lawyer and make a small fortune of his own. He lost his wife, Diane, in a fatal car accident a year ago. His five year old daughter, Reese, was with her mother in the car when the accident happened. She was so traumatised seeing her mother die in front of her eyes that she stopped talking and for the past one year Jackson has tried everything --consulting with the best doctors & therapists-- to get her to speak, but it's been all in vain. He is also fighting off interference from his extremely wealthy and influential in-laws for whom appearances were everything, which is why they'd never been happy about their daughter marrying an orphan. Jackson's marriage hadn't been a happy one. Diane and he hadn't been in love when they got married. The fact that she had family roots was what really drew him to her while Diane on the other hand had married him to ruffle her parents feathers. After her death, her parents have been using Reese in a tug-of-war with him first by filing for custody, which they failed, and now believing he's not giving his daughter proper care, they're after him to put Reese in a clinic of their choice. Jackson knows his daughter only needs time to get over her trauma, which prompts him to rent a house at the coastal town of Chandler in North California for three months in a last ditch attempt to reach his daughter. The little girl had her own fears and guilt about the accident which she couldn't tell her father. I loved the interaction between Jackson and his daughter, how well he understood her sign language and how much they both loved each other.
Across the street from the rented place, lives twenty-eight year old Carla Candellando, who used to train search and rescue dogs and worked for a S&R company along with her golden retriever, Abbey. Two years ago, she'd been called in search of a ten year old boy who had gone missing. She was personally close to the boy. However, n account of some delay, when she reached the boy, she found him dead. Overcome with guilt she quit her job and moved back to Chandler where her large Italian family lives.
In her crazy, but loving family there was her widowed mother, Angela, her three older brothers --Tony, the town's sheriff, and twins, Paul, a quiet, reserved, scientist and Nick, who is a professional footballer and town hero. There's also Tony's wife, Beth, who shares a sisterly kind of bond with Carla and Tony's toddler daughter. She lost her dad two years ago. Her mother, is the kind who would love to have her entire brood living with her, but as it was not possible, she's made Sunday dinner with her compulsory for them and would accept no excuses, not even an accident or injury. She also wants her children to marry and provide her with a few grandchildren as soon as possible and on top of the list is Carla. Carla has no intention of marrying anyone. She had a bad break-up a few years back when her fiance decided to return to his ex. With very few eligible men around, the only man Mama thinks eligible is the local Italian butcher, but Carla, Beth, and Carla's brothers are not happy about it. The conversations between Mama and her children over her matchmaking attempts were very funny.
Carla and Jackson meet when he goes in search of his missing daughter and finds her at an enclosure at Carla's backyard where Abbey's little pups are kept. Carla, although attracted to Jackson gets irritated when he ignores her attempt at friendliness and drags his daughter away. His behavior doesn't change when they meet next in town, but she still warns him about overhearing the three elderly gossip queens of the town known as the Terrible Three's intention of invading his place. Also, both cannot deny that they are attracted to each other. Then, as Reese keeps getting drawn to the pups and Jackson sees the change its doing to his daughter, they end up spending more time with each other where they learn a lot about the other and eventually help the other get over their respective past guilt - Jackson had a horrible argument with his wife before her accident. Mama, meanwhile, now has a better prospective groom for her daughter - Jackson. He suddenly finds himself and Reese joining the Candellando dinners, picnics and other town events and moreover, enjoying every moment of it. Mama C is also a loving, cuddly grandmother toward Reese so unlike her real grandparents who are only cold and commanding toward the little girl.
Along with Carla and Jackson's story, we're also given insights about the lives of Carla's brothers like the trouble brewing in Tony and Beth's marriage. I liked the girl-bond Carla and Beth shared and how Carla is supportive of Beth even if it meant going against her own brother leading to that funny moment where she tries to play detective and follows Tony. The family also starts worrying about Nick's sudden excessive drinking and broodiness. He had been seeing Carla's best friend, Stevie, who runs the local barista, but then she broke up with him when she caught him cheating on her two years ago. Although the family is saddened by their break-up, she's still on friendly terms with the family.
It was overall a fun, enjoyable book, with the right amount of romance and sex and family and town dynamics.
June 12, 2018
Two years ago the heroine, Carla, who is 28, dropped out of her job as a rescue tracker, a job which involved travel to disasters all over the world with her highly trained Golden Retriever dog, Abbey. She was too depressed to continue with her previously highly successful career after she failed to save a 7-year-old boy, who got lost during a scouting camping trip in the mountains, and whom she was personally attached to, as a friend of his family. She blamed herself for her failure, quit her job, and has been hiding out ever since, wallowing in guilt, in her hometown, Chandler, a quaint tourist destination by the ocean in Northern California, which is a small, insular community. She has been making a living training and selling Golden Retriever rescue dogs like Abbey to her former employer.
Carla's widowed mother and two of her three older brothers live in Chandler, and the third brother lives 30 miles away. Her mother is a cliche, Italian, Catholic matriarch, who insists that her children come to a huge, home-cooked dinner every Sunday, and whose biggest ambition in life is to see all her children married and producing grandchildren, for whom she is willing to endlessly offer free babysitting. Most especially she is willing to do whatever it takes to get Carla, as her only daughter, married off, even going so far as to suggest that the local, unattractive butcher, who is 20 years Carla's senior, might be a viable catch. She has informed Carla, only half-jokingly, that her life will be ruined if she makes it to her 30th birthday without being married.
Carla's oldest brother Tony is the local sheriff, and he is married to his high school sweetheart Beth. They have a 2-year-old daughter. Carla's best friend Stevie still lives in town and owns and runs a coffee shop. Her other two brothers couldn't be more different even though they are twins. Paul is an IT genius and Nick is a pro football player who just suffered a career-ending knee injury at age 32.
The romantic interest for Carla, Jackson, is a 30-something (his age is never directly stated) attorney from Chicago whose wife died in a car accident a year before. His then five-year-old daughter, Reese, was in the back seat. She has not spoken or even laughed during the entire year since then, in spite of therapy and Jackson constantly hovering over her. His wife was from a very wealthy family, and her parents blame him for her death. He doesn't defend himself against their verbal insults because he has survivor guilt and blames himself for his wife's death, even though he wasn't in the car when she died. His rich in-laws are cold, callous people who have threatened legal action, in the process wielding their enormous economic power and political influence to guarantee an outcome in their favor, to take Reese away from Jackson if she is not speaking by the 1st of September, only three months away. At that time they plan to stash her away in some kind of residential mental institution that is presumably going to help her get her speech back, but which is presented from Jackson's point of view as something out of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.
As a last-ditch effort to save his daughter, Jackson has taken a leave of absence from his big, corporate law firm in Chicago and come for the summer to live in Chandler. He is renting a house across the street from Carla and her mother, who live next door to each other.
Right from the start, Reese is attracted to the litter of Golden Retriever puppies that Carla keeps in a kennel in her backyard. Reese is also attracted to Abbey and to Carla. Jackson is amazed when the puppies cause Reese to laugh, the first sound she has made in a year. Even her frequent, depressed crying has been silent.
In spite of the fact that it is blatantly obvious to Jackson that it is incredibly healing for Reese to be around the dogs, and Carla as well, who is extremely warm and caring, Jackson is rude and unfriendly to her because he resents the fact that he is physically attracted to Carla. He is wearing a hair shirt of guilt, and believes that any experience that feels less than punitive to himself is something he doesn't deserve. Therefore, he initially tries to keep his daughter away from the dogs and Carla. Fortunately, his heart isn't that egocentrically closed off for long, and he soon surrenders to Reese's need to be around the dogs and, eventually, not just Carla, but her loving mother and boisterous family as well.
There is a strong theme in this book of both Jackson and Carla living with guilt and shame. Both have withdrawn from life and are punishing themselves for an imagined failure to save the life of someone close to them. In short, this is a classic, Harlequin, contemporary romance with the theme of redemptive love, in which the relationship of the protagonists with each other, with the pitiful, little child Reese, with Carla's dogs, and with Carla's affectionate and loyal family bring emotional healing to Jackson and Carla.
This book was originally published in 2004 as Book 1 of a trilogy. Book 2 is a romance between Carla's brother Paul and her best friend Stevie. Book 3 is a romance between Carla's brother Nick and the foster mother of an illegitimate 10-year-old son whose existence he was not aware of until the boy takes him to court for paternal support.
This book has the pluses of lots of heartwarming schmaltz, between the cute little girl, the adorable dogs, and the big, loving family of the heroine. It also portrays small-town life in a very positive way, though we only get to know a handful of stock figures in this imaginary town.
Another plus is that this is a slow-burn romance, with only one tender sex scene toward the end of the book.
I also liked that, contrary to an utter cliche of romance novels, the white hero did not have an unearned tan.
On the negative side, and some readers may not find this a negative, there is a lot of head hopping in the story. In addition to the points of view of Carla and Jackson, the author jumps into the points of view of Stevie, Tony, Beth, Carla's mother, and Reese. The shift to these different points of view sometimes happens from one paragraph to the next, with no warning transition, which is rather confusing.
Every romance must have romantic conflict, that is, we are told or shown immediately that these two people are soulmates, but something stands in the way of them leaping wholeheartedly into each other's arms and running off into the sunset. In the case of this particular story, almost the entire romantic conflict comes from Jackson's self-flagellating guilt, which frankly, in my perspective, makes him at times quite irritatingly passive.
Another personal pique of mine is when the author vicariously lives out through her female protagonist what is obviously her own personal fantasy, the ability of the heroine to never exercise and eat enough junk food to make a normal human female enormously overweight and seriously unhealthy while maintaining a gorgeous, slender figure and glowing health. This particular heroine seems to live off cookies, chocolate, ice cream, pizza, and massively fattening Italian pastas.
In a similar, standard cliche of romance novels, that the hero must have a ripped physique, Jackson is certainly described in that way. However, he too has an unearned beautiful body. He also never exercises in any way.
Another irritating, automatic-pilot phrase that far too many romance authors unthinkingly include in their stories unfortunately appears in this novel: Jackson refers to his blond-haired, blue-eyed daughter as an "all-American girl," which is a subtly racist term that I would love to see romance authors (and makers of dolls for children) dump forever. The implication of that obnoxious term is that anyone who is not as white as white can be is only partly American or, worse, not a "real" American.
All in all, though, in spite of these issues, which most readers probably won't even notice, fans of pleasant, lightly dramatic, Harlequin American type romance novels will probably enjoy this book. Because that is not specifically my cup of tea, I am not grading this book down for being what it is. What I see as cliche are classic, expected tropes that fans of this particular genre expect and demand.
I grade this book as follows:
Heroine: 4 stars
Hero: 3 stars
Subcharacters: 4 stars
Setting: 3 stars
Romance Plot: 3 stars
Child Plot: 4 stars
Dog Plot: 5 stars
Writing: 3 stars
Overall: 4 stars
Carla's widowed mother and two of her three older brothers live in Chandler, and the third brother lives 30 miles away. Her mother is a cliche, Italian, Catholic matriarch, who insists that her children come to a huge, home-cooked dinner every Sunday, and whose biggest ambition in life is to see all her children married and producing grandchildren, for whom she is willing to endlessly offer free babysitting. Most especially she is willing to do whatever it takes to get Carla, as her only daughter, married off, even going so far as to suggest that the local, unattractive butcher, who is 20 years Carla's senior, might be a viable catch. She has informed Carla, only half-jokingly, that her life will be ruined if she makes it to her 30th birthday without being married.
Carla's oldest brother Tony is the local sheriff, and he is married to his high school sweetheart Beth. They have a 2-year-old daughter. Carla's best friend Stevie still lives in town and owns and runs a coffee shop. Her other two brothers couldn't be more different even though they are twins. Paul is an IT genius and Nick is a pro football player who just suffered a career-ending knee injury at age 32.
The romantic interest for Carla, Jackson, is a 30-something (his age is never directly stated) attorney from Chicago whose wife died in a car accident a year before. His then five-year-old daughter, Reese, was in the back seat. She has not spoken or even laughed during the entire year since then, in spite of therapy and Jackson constantly hovering over her. His wife was from a very wealthy family, and her parents blame him for her death. He doesn't defend himself against their verbal insults because he has survivor guilt and blames himself for his wife's death, even though he wasn't in the car when she died. His rich in-laws are cold, callous people who have threatened legal action, in the process wielding their enormous economic power and political influence to guarantee an outcome in their favor, to take Reese away from Jackson if she is not speaking by the 1st of September, only three months away. At that time they plan to stash her away in some kind of residential mental institution that is presumably going to help her get her speech back, but which is presented from Jackson's point of view as something out of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.
As a last-ditch effort to save his daughter, Jackson has taken a leave of absence from his big, corporate law firm in Chicago and come for the summer to live in Chandler. He is renting a house across the street from Carla and her mother, who live next door to each other.
Right from the start, Reese is attracted to the litter of Golden Retriever puppies that Carla keeps in a kennel in her backyard. Reese is also attracted to Abbey and to Carla. Jackson is amazed when the puppies cause Reese to laugh, the first sound she has made in a year. Even her frequent, depressed crying has been silent.
In spite of the fact that it is blatantly obvious to Jackson that it is incredibly healing for Reese to be around the dogs, and Carla as well, who is extremely warm and caring, Jackson is rude and unfriendly to her because he resents the fact that he is physically attracted to Carla. He is wearing a hair shirt of guilt, and believes that any experience that feels less than punitive to himself is something he doesn't deserve. Therefore, he initially tries to keep his daughter away from the dogs and Carla. Fortunately, his heart isn't that egocentrically closed off for long, and he soon surrenders to Reese's need to be around the dogs and, eventually, not just Carla, but her loving mother and boisterous family as well.
There is a strong theme in this book of both Jackson and Carla living with guilt and shame. Both have withdrawn from life and are punishing themselves for an imagined failure to save the life of someone close to them. In short, this is a classic, Harlequin, contemporary romance with the theme of redemptive love, in which the relationship of the protagonists with each other, with the pitiful, little child Reese, with Carla's dogs, and with Carla's affectionate and loyal family bring emotional healing to Jackson and Carla.
This book was originally published in 2004 as Book 1 of a trilogy. Book 2 is a romance between Carla's brother Paul and her best friend Stevie. Book 3 is a romance between Carla's brother Nick and the foster mother of an illegitimate 10-year-old son whose existence he was not aware of until the boy takes him to court for paternal support.
This book has the pluses of lots of heartwarming schmaltz, between the cute little girl, the adorable dogs, and the big, loving family of the heroine. It also portrays small-town life in a very positive way, though we only get to know a handful of stock figures in this imaginary town.
Another plus is that this is a slow-burn romance, with only one tender sex scene toward the end of the book.
I also liked that, contrary to an utter cliche of romance novels, the white hero did not have an unearned tan.
On the negative side, and some readers may not find this a negative, there is a lot of head hopping in the story. In addition to the points of view of Carla and Jackson, the author jumps into the points of view of Stevie, Tony, Beth, Carla's mother, and Reese. The shift to these different points of view sometimes happens from one paragraph to the next, with no warning transition, which is rather confusing.
Every romance must have romantic conflict, that is, we are told or shown immediately that these two people are soulmates, but something stands in the way of them leaping wholeheartedly into each other's arms and running off into the sunset. In the case of this particular story, almost the entire romantic conflict comes from Jackson's self-flagellating guilt, which frankly, in my perspective, makes him at times quite irritatingly passive.
Another personal pique of mine is when the author vicariously lives out through her female protagonist what is obviously her own personal fantasy, the ability of the heroine to never exercise and eat enough junk food to make a normal human female enormously overweight and seriously unhealthy while maintaining a gorgeous, slender figure and glowing health. This particular heroine seems to live off cookies, chocolate, ice cream, pizza, and massively fattening Italian pastas.
In a similar, standard cliche of romance novels, that the hero must have a ripped physique, Jackson is certainly described in that way. However, he too has an unearned beautiful body. He also never exercises in any way.
Another irritating, automatic-pilot phrase that far too many romance authors unthinkingly include in their stories unfortunately appears in this novel: Jackson refers to his blond-haired, blue-eyed daughter as an "all-American girl," which is a subtly racist term that I would love to see romance authors (and makers of dolls for children) dump forever. The implication of that obnoxious term is that anyone who is not as white as white can be is only partly American or, worse, not a "real" American.
All in all, though, in spite of these issues, which most readers probably won't even notice, fans of pleasant, lightly dramatic, Harlequin American type romance novels will probably enjoy this book. Because that is not specifically my cup of tea, I am not grading this book down for being what it is. What I see as cliche are classic, expected tropes that fans of this particular genre expect and demand.
I grade this book as follows:
Heroine: 4 stars
Hero: 3 stars
Subcharacters: 4 stars
Setting: 3 stars
Romance Plot: 3 stars
Child Plot: 4 stars
Dog Plot: 5 stars
Writing: 3 stars
Overall: 4 stars
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June 13, 2018
3.4 stars
I enjoyed the Italian family, the romance, the dog, and the small town. I enjoyed the story until the end. The hero was too much of a martyr and the heroine’s sudden insight seemed out of character and made me realize the 2 year separation from her job was not realistic.
This was a new author and except for the ending it was well written. I got this story free but I would try another book to see if the ending was better.
*** Spoiler (As a dog lover I would not be able to listen to a marriage proposal while I was worried about internal injuries with my dog. I would be angry at the insensitive jerk who ignored the dog and me.) End Spoiler ***
I enjoyed the Italian family, the romance, the dog, and the small town. I enjoyed the story until the end. The hero was too much of a martyr and the heroine’s sudden insight seemed out of character and made me realize the 2 year separation from her job was not realistic.
This was a new author and except for the ending it was well written. I got this story free but I would try another book to see if the ending was better.
*** Spoiler (As a dog lover I would not be able to listen to a marriage proposal while I was worried about internal injuries with my dog. I would be angry at the insensitive jerk who ignored the dog and me.) End Spoiler ***
November 14, 2018
Finding You (Candellanos 1) - R
Violence: none
Language: fewer than 290 including deity, one Fbomb
Sex: LOADS of innuendo, roaming hands, descriptive kissing, fade-to-black sex, intimated sex, imagined sex, and after you've totally invested in the characters, descriptive sex. So be prepared to skip ... a lot. There is also a frequent use of erogenous zones as sexual barometer.
This book contains all the makings of a good romance: tortured Hero, tortured heroine, kid, dog, large supporting family, and quirky town characters. I'm super interested in the Candellanos family and their stories, but I really don't love the sexual content.
Returned for content.
Violence: none
Language: fewer than 290 including deity, one Fbomb
Sex: LOADS of innuendo, roaming hands, descriptive kissing, fade-to-black sex, intimated sex, imagined sex, and after you've totally invested in the characters, descriptive sex. So be prepared to skip ... a lot. There is also a frequent use of erogenous zones as sexual barometer.
This book contains all the makings of a good romance: tortured Hero, tortured heroine, kid, dog, large supporting family, and quirky town characters. I'm super interested in the Candellanos family and their stories, but I really don't love the sexual content.
Returned for content.
June 19, 2018
Guilt leads to hiding from reality
A man who blames himself for his daughter’s becoming mute after an auto accident in which her mother died, a woman who couldn’t find a boy who was lost, and a child who was afraid to laugh or speak. This is a story about how hard it is to stop blaming oneself. When a loving family ‘adopts’ the girl and her father, feelings begin to overcome the pain they feel.
A lovely romantic story of small town, caring people and the way love transforms their lives.
A man who blames himself for his daughter’s becoming mute after an auto accident in which her mother died, a woman who couldn’t find a boy who was lost, and a child who was afraid to laugh or speak. This is a story about how hard it is to stop blaming oneself. When a loving family ‘adopts’ the girl and her father, feelings begin to overcome the pain they feel.
A lovely romantic story of small town, caring people and the way love transforms their lives.
August 4, 2021
Can three damaged people heal and help each other? That's the question this book tries to answer, while mixing in humor and romance. It does pretty good with all of it. I'm totally sold on the Candellano family, I would let them adopt me.
I did think the custody situation was ridiculous, especially since the father is a lawyer. I also thought everyone was a little more stubborn and hard-headed than realistic.
I will read the next one in the series.
I did think the custody situation was ridiculous, especially since the father is a lawyer. I also thought everyone was a little more stubborn and hard-headed than realistic.
I will read the next one in the series.
June 8, 2018
Beautiful
This was such a touching story. Jackson brings his little girl Reese to Chandler for the summer to help her heal & talk again after the death of her mom. Carla is not doing her searching after losing a child she was close to. She would train but wasn't looking for love. Until a little girl & her dad and up across the street.
This was such a touching story. Jackson brings his little girl Reese to Chandler for the summer to help her heal & talk again after the death of her mom. Carla is not doing her searching after losing a child she was close to. She would train but wasn't looking for love. Until a little girl & her dad and up across the street.
June 27, 2018
This is my first book by Maureen Child and loved this book. It was a heart warming story about 2 people who felt they couldn’t love again but a 6 year old little girl who brings them together. Jackson is a man whose life revolves around his daughter and Carla, a woman who thinks she can’t and is scared to open her heart until she meets Jackson. A great book to read.
April 21, 2019
Delightful
Really enjoyed this story the hero/heroine are very real characters with plenty of flaws. Mama, Abbey and Reese steel the limelight on more than one occasion but all adds to the warmth, humor and romance of this novel. Hope this peaks your curiosity sufficiently to make you go and get it and read it Highly recommend with 4.5 Stars! Kudos to Ms Child......
Really enjoyed this story the hero/heroine are very real characters with plenty of flaws. Mama, Abbey and Reese steel the limelight on more than one occasion but all adds to the warmth, humor and romance of this novel. Hope this peaks your curiosity sufficiently to make you go and get it and read it Highly recommend with 4.5 Stars! Kudos to Ms Child......
June 7, 2018
Sweet and heartbreaking
What a terrific story!! A single dad and his daughter both suffering hidden guilt, meet up with a headstrong Italian woman who is also suffering from guilt. They seem to make each other stronger. All the characters were lovable and quirky.
What a terrific story!! A single dad and his daughter both suffering hidden guilt, meet up with a headstrong Italian woman who is also suffering from guilt. They seem to make each other stronger. All the characters were lovable and quirky.
June 12, 2018
Really enjoyed this book
Every so often you pick up a book and everything clicks. Wonderful characters with plenty of possibilities for continuing to follow the Candellanos family in sequels. Thanks for a fun read.
Every so often you pick up a book and everything clicks. Wonderful characters with plenty of possibilities for continuing to follow the Candellanos family in sequels. Thanks for a fun read.
June 17, 2018
I like a series
I really liked the story.Especially enjoyed Reese and her relationship with her dad Jackson and then Carla. And looking forward to reading about the rest of the Candellanos family.
I really liked the story.Especially enjoyed Reese and her relationship with her dad Jackson and then Carla. And looking forward to reading about the rest of the Candellanos family.
December 4, 2018
The Candellanos love inspiring family
Great romance. Easy to read. Wonderful loving characters. This book is hard to put down. It's hard for put down. If you love romance,Didn't pass this one up. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Great romance. Easy to read. Wonderful loving characters. This book is hard to put down. It's hard for put down. If you love romance,Didn't pass this one up. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
June 10, 2023
heartwarming book!
This book was hard to put down. All kinds of ups and downs, including pain and heartbreak. The author kept you wondering how everything would turn out and hoping for the best. I really enjoyed reading this book!
This book was hard to put down. All kinds of ups and downs, including pain and heartbreak. The author kept you wondering how everything would turn out and hoping for the best. I really enjoyed reading this book!
June 9, 2018
Sweet
Enjoyed this book. Loved the family. Their inter actions are funny and very believable. Nice to read a happy book.
Enjoyed this book. Loved the family. Their inter actions are funny and very believable. Nice to read a happy book.
June 9, 2018
4.5 stars!!! An epilogue a little further in the future or another chapter seeing them as a couple would e pushed this to 5 stars!!
June 9, 2018
Well written
I enjoyed this book. It lets you see that life is not perfect and sometimes it's hard to know what you feel about yourself inside is right.
I enjoyed this book. It lets you see that life is not perfect and sometimes it's hard to know what you feel about yourself inside is right.
June 11, 2018
Good read
Good read and interesting storyline. Characters were funny and strong and the family were very vocal yet loving. Good read.
Good read and interesting storyline. Characters were funny and strong and the family were very vocal yet loving. Good read.
June 12, 2018
A good, hot, emotional read
Another unexpected find - engaging, fun characters, and protagonists with (mostly) realistic issues. Enjoyed it a lot and am diving into book two.
Another unexpected find - engaging, fun characters, and protagonists with (mostly) realistic issues. Enjoyed it a lot and am diving into book two.
June 12, 2018
Good
I hate having to leave twenty words I really like the book end of story take it for what it’s worth
I hate having to leave twenty words I really like the book end of story take it for what it’s worth
June 13, 2018
Review
This was a story with a good plot along with a love story that will leave you with a good feeling
This was a story with a good plot along with a love story that will leave you with a good feeling
June 16, 2018
Full of Heart
This book full of love, laughter and thought provoking family situations. I recommend this book to everyone who loves a heat warming HEA
This book full of love, laughter and thought provoking family situations. I recommend this book to everyone who loves a heat warming HEA
June 15, 2018
Wow
I couldn't put this book down. Maureen child is one of my favorite author . She can write amazing stories you will ever read. Guaranteed you will love her books.
I couldn't put this book down. Maureen child is one of my favorite author . She can write amazing stories you will ever read. Guaranteed you will love her books.
June 17, 2018
It was an okay read. I would read more on that family.
June 21, 2018
Good story line
Good book was written about how two people who were meant for each other and love Findlay won out in the end
Good book was written about how two people who were meant for each other and love Findlay won out in the end
July 5, 2018
Heartwarming
What a good story. Real characters. Funny. The power of love that pulls you out of your misery. Wonderful happily ever aster.
What a good story. Real characters. Funny. The power of love that pulls you out of your misery. Wonderful happily ever aster.
July 14, 2018
Loved it!
One of those you can't put down! Loved the Italian family and it's dynamic blend of deep love. Makes you laugh, sigh, and cry right up until the happy ending!
One of those you can't put down! Loved the Italian family and it's dynamic blend of deep love. Makes you laugh, sigh, and cry right up until the happy ending!
August 7, 2018
I really enjoyed this book.
August 16, 2018
Carla Candellano is happy, as happy as she can be, living next door to her matchmaking mama, haunted by a tragedy in her past. Enter the summer neighbor, with the troubled little girl who won't talk.
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