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Sisters, Lovers & Second Chances #3
Going Home, At Your Age?: A Better Late Romance
Her hidden past is about to explode!
Sara returns to her hometown for Christmas, to face her sisters—and the man she left behind—with a stunning secret. The baby she gave up for adoption years ago is having her own baby, and wants her to be the grandma.
Young, pregnant and feeling abandoned, Sara rebelled against everyone she knew, including the man she secretly loved. Now, about to celebrate her 50th birthday, can she finally claim the family that should have been hers, right old wrongs, and find the home she believed lost forever?
A compulsively readable tale of love and redemption packed with heartwarming surprises, this is the third book in the Sisters, Lovers & Second Chances series by USA Today bestselling author Jacqueline Diamond. Set in a small California town, the Better Late Romance collection is written by a group of established authors who are also friends.
Sara returns to her hometown for Christmas, to face her sisters—and the man she left behind—with a stunning secret. The baby she gave up for adoption years ago is having her own baby, and wants her to be the grandma.
Young, pregnant and feeling abandoned, Sara rebelled against everyone she knew, including the man she secretly loved. Now, about to celebrate her 50th birthday, can she finally claim the family that should have been hers, right old wrongs, and find the home she believed lost forever?
A compulsively readable tale of love and redemption packed with heartwarming surprises, this is the third book in the Sisters, Lovers & Second Chances series by USA Today bestselling author Jacqueline Diamond. Set in a small California town, the Better Late Romance collection is written by a group of established authors who are also friends.
252 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2022
2 people are currently reading
5 people want to read
About the author
Jacqueline Diamond
249 books173 followersUSA Today bestselling author Jacqueline Diamond has more than 100 novels to her name! A former Associated Press reporter and TV columnist, Jackie is best known for her Safe Harbor Medical romances and mysteries, as well as her traditional Regency romances.
Her newest exciting venture is the Forgotten Village Magical Mystery series, beginning with A Cat's Garden of Secrets. Other recent works include the Sisters, Lovers & Second Chances series, featuring couples over age 50.
Jackie has been honored with a Romantic Times Career Achievement Award. She and her husband, who have two grown sons, live in Southern California. You can learn more about her books at www.jacquelinediamond.net or at JacquelineDiamondAuthor on Facebook.
Her newest exciting venture is the Forgotten Village Magical Mystery series, beginning with A Cat's Garden of Secrets. Other recent works include the Sisters, Lovers & Second Chances series, featuring couples over age 50.
Jackie has been honored with a Romantic Times Career Achievement Award. She and her husband, who have two grown sons, live in Southern California. You can learn more about her books at www.jacquelinediamond.net or at JacquelineDiamondAuthor on Facebook.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
August 11, 2022
It took a lot for Sara to return to her hometown after alienating her friends and sisters when she left years ago. But nothing could stop her from attending her aunt's wedding. While she was worried about seeing her old friends, she was looking forward to seeing Nate. They had been best friends in their youth and she had always loved him. When she saw him again, all the old feelings came back. Could he possibly feel the same?
Sara was shocked when the daughter she gave up for adoption reached out to her, wanting to meet. Things did not go smoothly for them when they first reunited.
I admired Sara coming out with her head up after going through so many nasty events in her life. Granted, many she brought on herself with her impetuous behaviour but she still had lots of bad things happen. Getting pregnant, placing her baby for adoption, losing her friends (her own doing), quickly marrying an older man, stepdaughters who hated her, divorced, and a daughter resurfacing (but getting a granddaughter) who told Sara's secrets on her vlog. And the list goes on but she did have a good life after all those things happened.
If you enjoy seasoned romances with HEA, this book is for you.
I am so happy to have received a copy of Going Home, At Your Age in exchange for my honest thoughts.
Sara was shocked when the daughter she gave up for adoption reached out to her, wanting to meet. Things did not go smoothly for them when they first reunited.
I admired Sara coming out with her head up after going through so many nasty events in her life. Granted, many she brought on herself with her impetuous behaviour but she still had lots of bad things happen. Getting pregnant, placing her baby for adoption, losing her friends (her own doing), quickly marrying an older man, stepdaughters who hated her, divorced, and a daughter resurfacing (but getting a granddaughter) who told Sara's secrets on her vlog. And the list goes on but she did have a good life after all those things happened.
If you enjoy seasoned romances with HEA, this book is for you.
I am so happy to have received a copy of Going Home, At Your Age in exchange for my honest thoughts.
August 12, 2022
It’s never too late to fall in love.
I loved the realistic and nuanced way the narrator handled the adoption storyline. Adoption can be a complex topic even under the best circumstances. Some of the most interesting scenes to me were the ones that explored Sara’s memories of the past and the lifelong grief she felt at not being able to raise her daughter while still believing that choosing adoption was ultimately the right decision for both of them. It was also fascinating to see how Sara and Melina created their relationship once they were reunited. Of course sharing DNA with someone is part of what makes a family, but the emotional intimacy and deep bonds between a parent and child need to be slowly built up over time in cases such as these.
There were some times when I struggled to keep track of the large cast of characters even though I was already familiar with the majority of them. It would have been helpful for me as a reader to dive more deeply into the lives of a smaller number of characters instead of getting brief updates on everyone. In my opinion, there simply wasn’t enough space to show character development in most cases due to how many folks the narrator needed to reintroduce to the audience and explain what, if anything, had changed in their lives since she’d last seen them.
Just like in Don’t Be Silly! At My Age?, Ms. Diamond once again captured the essence of small-town life perfectly. Most of the characters had known each other for decades, and their shared histories popped up in all sorts of delightful ways. Sometimes old grudges resurfaced, while in other scenes they briefly remembered funny or touching moments from their youth that still affected how they interacted with each other in the present. I also appreciated the author’s willingness to explore the difficult portions of being surrounded by folks who have known each other since childhood. For example, it’s more difficult for people to reinvent themselves when they are constantly reminded of choices, they made many years ago. This is one of many reasons why I enjoy these characters so much, and I’m curious to see what might happen to them next if more is written about them.
This is the third instalment in a series. It can be read as a standalone work, but I’d wholeheartedly recommend going back and checking out the first two books if you enjoy this one and want to dig deeper into the backstory.
Going Home, At Your Age? was a heartwarming read.
I loved the realistic and nuanced way the narrator handled the adoption storyline. Adoption can be a complex topic even under the best circumstances. Some of the most interesting scenes to me were the ones that explored Sara’s memories of the past and the lifelong grief she felt at not being able to raise her daughter while still believing that choosing adoption was ultimately the right decision for both of them. It was also fascinating to see how Sara and Melina created their relationship once they were reunited. Of course sharing DNA with someone is part of what makes a family, but the emotional intimacy and deep bonds between a parent and child need to be slowly built up over time in cases such as these.
There were some times when I struggled to keep track of the large cast of characters even though I was already familiar with the majority of them. It would have been helpful for me as a reader to dive more deeply into the lives of a smaller number of characters instead of getting brief updates on everyone. In my opinion, there simply wasn’t enough space to show character development in most cases due to how many folks the narrator needed to reintroduce to the audience and explain what, if anything, had changed in their lives since she’d last seen them.
Just like in Don’t Be Silly! At My Age?, Ms. Diamond once again captured the essence of small-town life perfectly. Most of the characters had known each other for decades, and their shared histories popped up in all sorts of delightful ways. Sometimes old grudges resurfaced, while in other scenes they briefly remembered funny or touching moments from their youth that still affected how they interacted with each other in the present. I also appreciated the author’s willingness to explore the difficult portions of being surrounded by folks who have known each other since childhood. For example, it’s more difficult for people to reinvent themselves when they are constantly reminded of choices, they made many years ago. This is one of many reasons why I enjoy these characters so much, and I’m curious to see what might happen to them next if more is written about them.
This is the third instalment in a series. It can be read as a standalone work, but I’d wholeheartedly recommend going back and checking out the first two books if you enjoy this one and want to dig deeper into the backstory.
Going Home, At Your Age? was a heartwarming read.
September 17, 2022
While this book fits the basic plot that all books classified in the romance genre are expected to conform to, it illustrates how much the specifics used to make up that story can vary from the norm and still make for a comfortable fit. The premise of the story, that the protagonist, Sara, had put a newborn baby up for adoption and, due to conflict with much of her family fled her hometown decades ago, having only minimal communication with them and not returning to visit is certainly not a typical romance setup.
However, through the current state of the art in DNA testing and DNA databanks, Sara is now headed home to meet the daughter she gave birth to, who had a great childhood, but is now pregnant herself and wants to give Sara a chance to step in as the grandmother in place of her adoptive parents who are both deceased. Of course, for this to work Sara is also going to need to make some contact with her estranged family, old friends, which includes the guy who got away who some incorrectly thought was the father of her baby. I’ll give you one guess who the potential romantic partner will be.
Yeah, I said potential in the last paragraph, but if you know anything about the romance genre you know how it is going to end up. That’s part of the definition of the genre. But the journey is the reward and, in the case of this book the route the journey is going to take is much harder to guess and much more complex than a typical romance novel since we’ve got the family, friends, and the guy in question with 30-ish years of connections, baggage, and history that has been built while Sara was out of the picture. It makes for a unique story with more complications and difficulties than you’ll typically see in a romance, yet I found it easy to believe something like this could happen in real life. Probably already has.
**Originally written for "Books and Pals" book blog. May have received a free review copy. **
However, through the current state of the art in DNA testing and DNA databanks, Sara is now headed home to meet the daughter she gave birth to, who had a great childhood, but is now pregnant herself and wants to give Sara a chance to step in as the grandmother in place of her adoptive parents who are both deceased. Of course, for this to work Sara is also going to need to make some contact with her estranged family, old friends, which includes the guy who got away who some incorrectly thought was the father of her baby. I’ll give you one guess who the potential romantic partner will be.
Yeah, I said potential in the last paragraph, but if you know anything about the romance genre you know how it is going to end up. That’s part of the definition of the genre. But the journey is the reward and, in the case of this book the route the journey is going to take is much harder to guess and much more complex than a typical romance novel since we’ve got the family, friends, and the guy in question with 30-ish years of connections, baggage, and history that has been built while Sara was out of the picture. It makes for a unique story with more complications and difficulties than you’ll typically see in a romance, yet I found it easy to believe something like this could happen in real life. Probably already has.
**Originally written for "Books and Pals" book blog. May have received a free review copy. **
October 22, 2022
I found this novel witty, and entertaining but also somewhat tragic. Sara Matchett is a magnet for trouble. Even when she's innocent, she still gets blamed for causing an upset. After having stormed out of town thirty years before, leaving an open letter full of recriminations for her family and friends, Sara is returning with both fear and anticipation in her heart. She discovers that her two most stalwart supporters live next door to each other, namely her precious Aunt Jewell who loves and accepts her despite her failings, and Dr. Nate Patton who had stood by her in her darkest hour and given her the support she most needed. The moment comes when she has to finally face her family once again, and as she anticipated, there is an explosion although not from the source she expected. Revealing the truth about why she left leaves everyone astounded, especially when Sara lets them know she has a daughter who wants to meet her. However, in the words of Sara's aunt, “the past is casting a long shadow”, as old scandals unravel and bubble to the surface. Nevertheless, the novel comes to a heartwarming conclusion, and old hurts are soothed and receive healing. I received this book for free from eBook Discovery. I voluntarily post this review. This is my honest review.
November 21, 2022
Sara has a great secret. Subsequently, she left her hometown angry, and hastily three decades passed, a letter of accusations left to household and friends. She goes back to her home turf for Christmas, and she has to deal with her sisters and her former beau regarding her past and the child she gave up for adoption.
About to celebrate her 50th birthday, Sara recollects her defiant past. Now she desires a fresh start and to hopefully receive what she feels was hers all along. She pursues to go separate ways with her regretful past that left her only wounded and unhappy.
“Going Home, At Your Age?” is an inimitable tale with snags and problems that are true to the reality of life. Not a characteristic love story, which makes it relatable and intriguing. Bravo to Jacqueline Diamond!
About to celebrate her 50th birthday, Sara recollects her defiant past. Now she desires a fresh start and to hopefully receive what she feels was hers all along. She pursues to go separate ways with her regretful past that left her only wounded and unhappy.
“Going Home, At Your Age?” is an inimitable tale with snags and problems that are true to the reality of life. Not a characteristic love story, which makes it relatable and intriguing. Bravo to Jacqueline Diamond!
July 30, 2022
Engaging family and friends drama. Second chance at not only romance, but for former friend and family relationships to be healed. Cover and blurb seem slightly misleading. This was a visit for a wedding. I don't remember Christmas being the reason. Whatever. It is an enjoyable story. Thanks to the author for providing a copy. My review is voluntary.
October 21, 2022
This is my favorite book in the series. I love how maturely Sara handles different situations when she runs into old frenemies. I also love this book is focused on older romances. I received this book for free from eBook Discovery. I voluntarily post this review. This is my honest review.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews