Homecoming (Sweet Hearts of Sweet Creek #1) by Carolyne Aarsen

Homecoming (Sweet Hearts of Sweet Creek #1) Reviews

• 
  Brittany

  4 Stars ✨
  
  “In weakness is strength, she thought I sought strength and found weakness. I sought independence and found a home.”
  
  Genre : Christian Romance
  
  I really enjoyed this one! Such a great story. On the surface it’s pretty simple but the main themes are what made this book special. Focusing on forgiveness and healing. I love when authors take a simple story but dive deeper into the depths of the spiritual side of things - getting to the roots of why people are the way they are, and proving throughout the story until they pull up the weeds and roots of their problems - they will never grow.
• 
  Joan

  I downloaded this without realising that it is 'Christian Inspirational'
  
  Dnf'd at 36% when I read this:
  
  She was completely the wrong person for him, and she made that very clear with each word she spoke in anger against God.
  
  I thought 'Christians' were supposed to forgive other people. Meh
  
  I couldn't understand who Benjamin was. In chapter 3 he is introduced as the baby - held in his father's arms, then later in the same chapter, Benjamin appears in the living room, 'blanket tucked under one arm, book under the other' and demands that Sheryl reads a book to him.
  
  Then in Chapter 4 he is back to being a baby again, chubby hand reaching out to grab her hair while he gurgles in pleasure.
  
  Not rating this. I'd have a lot more respect for Christian Inspirational books if the characters behaved like Christians and were tolerant of other people's beliefs.
• 
  LINDA BOURG

  Homecoming is the first in this series. Sheryl left her family ranch when she was younger with a rough and no good guy. She went back home to see her stepfather who was very ill. She stayed on the ranch that she was raised on with her stepbrother and his wife. She meets Mark and falls for him but is to afraid to pursue a relationship because of her past with an abusive husband. As usual Carolyne Aarsen has written another good read, i truly enjoyed it. Will be reading the others in this series.
• 
  Christy

  I enjoyed this sweet romance with characters that have earned some bumps and bruises along the way. Sheryl finds it hard to trust anyone, much less a new man that has dropped into her life. Mark has been rejected, but finds fulfillment working the ranch land around him.
  
  The vivid imagery of the ranch with the mountains surrounding them pulled me into their environment, and it was easy to see why Mark wanted nothing more than to live and work that land for the rest of his life. The romantic elements were slow to enter, but when they did...whoo, a little bit steamier than I expected!
  
  I've read several books by this author over the years, and this is one of her better ones. I wish I could give it a rating higher than 3 stars, but the audiobook version was hard to follow because there were so many characters. I'm thinking most of those extra characters are going to show up in the remaining books of the series, but it's a pet peeve of mine for there to be so many in the initial installment. I'd like to read the rest of the series, but maybe in print instead of audio.
• 
  Jamie (The Kansan Reader)

  Sheryl’s husband just died and she is working to keep her apartment while going to school. Mark shows up telling her that her stepfather needs to see her due to him dying. Sheryl is conflicted about this because her relationship with her stepfather was not a good one. Sheryl loses her job leaving her with no excuse not to go back to the place of many hurt memories.
  
  First of all, this book needs some editing done to it. Second, I think this was a good story. It portrays different types of Christians. For example, her stepfather and stepbrother who strict religious, then there’s Mark and his family who are loving and forgiving. I like that it shows not every Christian is the same.
  
  Sheryl was a hard character for me to like but this is her healing story. She ends up being a very different person than she was at the beginning of the book. I’m still on the fence about Mark and how I feel about him and his family. I like them but at the same time, I wanted more time with them. If that makes sense.
  
  This was a good story of healing and love. Both characters had a bit of depth, though Sheryl had a bit more. I will plan on reading the rest of the series in the future but as of right now I’m going to move on.
• 
  Sarah

  This just wasn't my type of story. I made it to 20% but it hadn't grabbed me. Nothing bad (although I'm guessing abuse is going to be a topic that will be gone into later on) just not for me.
• 
  Abbie

  A sweetly crafted book
  
  A book with a champion for a young women in need of hope along with emotional healing and set in an amazing ranch that once was home as a backdrop for this sweet book. It's easy to recommend this wholesome love story.
• 
  Sharon Paavola

  The spiritual battles that are fought in this novel pull at your heart. It’s a fascinating read.
• 
  Coco.V

  🎁 FREE on Amazon today (7/8/2019)! 🎁
• 
  Jane

  I borrowed Homecoming from the Kindle Unlimited program.
  
  In Homecoming Sheryl Kyle comes home to a difficult reconciliation with her stepfather and stepbrother. She has trouble trusting people, especially men and keeps her emotions bottled up tight to protect herself from getting hurt. After the way she grew up and her abusive marriage, she has lost her faith in God and people.
  
  Mark Andrews finds Sheryl working in a bar in Edmonton, gets her fired and the next day drives her back to Sweet Creek and the reunion with her family. Mark's sister is married to her stepbrother Nate and she meets two of the cutest little girls and a chubby baby boy, her nieces and nephew. They are welcoming, demanding attention in the cutest way and start the long process of breaking down the shell around Sheryl's heart.
  
  Homecoming is full of emotion, Christian strength, reunion, reconciliation, humor, family dynamics and finally a happy ending.
• 
  Tandie

  The Christianity was a bit heavy handed; I prefer a little subtlety. I felt the story had a lot of loose ends. If her stepfather was a changed man, why did he wait until he was dying to reach out and apologize? I didn’t like the reason her step bro was so mean to her, it felt ew. Eww. The female MC, in flashbacks of her abusive husband, mentions the car accident a lot. Like, did he try to kill them both or something? It was never explained.
  
  Overall, I was kind of underwhelmed.
• 
  ☆☆Hannah☆☆

  I was given a copy of this to review.
  
  This was a decent book. I will admit that I had a hard time liking Sheryl. i get that she had a rough time with her husband. He was a complete loser. I understand that it made it hard for her to trust. However, she wouldn't open up to anyone and that drove me nuts. Thankfully she got it together in the end.
• 
  Dee/ bookworm

  Clean, sweet romance.
• 
  Jaycee Weaver

  Great story, needs correcting
  
  I enjoyed the emotional connections and character development. Sheryl has a lot of baggage that gets beautifully worked on throughout the story. Mark is a wonderful hero, willing to show repeatedly what true, real love looks like. I loved the vivid scenery and crystal illustrations of ranch life.
  
  Unfortunately, incorrectly used ellipses, funky breaks, and chronically missing periods were very distracting. Because I didn’t find any major misspellings or improper word use, I’m inclined to think it may just be a formatting issue with some software along the line. In any case, it needs proofing/correcting for full enjoyment of the story, which as I’ve said, was quite enjoyable and deserving of a full four stars.
• 
  Michelle

  Okay...so, there was this good-looking, tall cowboy with "long" hair (probably long for a boy, but not girl-long...described as falling down to his collar...sounds pretty sexy). He walks into a bar and walks up to this woman. "I've come to take you home," he said. Yeah, right, you say...every woman's fantasy...a guy comes and sweeps a damsel in distress up in his arms and whooes her away to his fancy ranch!
  
  Ah, but the girl doesn't want to go. She left her home for a reason, and the thought of facing her step-father and step-brother after eight long years was the furtherest thing from her mind...but her dad was dying and was asking for her...
  
  Oh, and this cowboy...Mark...he has this huge family, all of whom are very close to God. He's also related to the girl, Sheryl, in a way as well, right? Her brother is married to his sister. Yep, that's right! It's all in the family!
  
  And once Sheryl arrives, she quickly falls in love with the family. She begins working the ranch alongside Mark and they fall for each other. Ah, but there's the problem: Sheryl is afraid of him! That's right, she is so afraid of him!
  
  Now, if Mark had professed his love to me and kissed me like he did Sheryl, I'd say "forget going back there to that smoky bar scene and run down apartment...I'll stay here for the rest of my life!" Ah, but I'm not Sheryl! Even after he begged her to stay, she ran away...back to the safety...
  
  So here's the reason you have to read this book: You have to find out if she ever returns to her home town. Does Mark ever see hr again? Will she ever be able to resolve her family issues? Will she and Mark ever get married and live happily ever after?
  
  The final chapter gives all these answers. I cried so hard as I read the way it all transpired. I was trying to figure how his head in her lap while driving thing worked, but other than that, I thought it was truly romantic!!!
  
  I will say that it took me awhile to get into this book, but about 1/3 of the way through, it got so good that I couldn't put it down!!! Go read it for yourself to learn how this cowboy swept this damsel up in his arms and they drove off into the sunset...
• 
  Kathryn Holden

  I wanted to like this more than I did. I wavered - it’s 2.5 stars rounded down. The editing was terrible- so many grammatical and punctuation errors. Confusion around names and ages of various characters, I found myself scrolling around trying to remember who was who. To top it off, what the summary doesn’t tell you, is this was not what expected as a romance novel - it was religious. I’m all for love and forgiveness. And I believe in God and attend church and have a faith - but it’s not what I would choose to read. I had God and religion forced on me as a child and quite frankly, don’t need God forced into a romance novel.
• 
  CE

  I really wanted to really like this book because it came so highly recommended, but I had a really hard time getting into it and finding it believable. I was turned off by the fact that they fell so desperately in love with each other within a week. I didn’t connect with the main character, Sheryl, at all. Felt like the author tried to cram as many issues into the book as possible. The whole stepbrother/stepsister triangle thing was flat out weird. I did like the messages of forgiveness throughout, but other than that there wasn’t really any redeeming factors.
• 
  Carol Andrade | _carolcabrita

  If you don't mind insta-love romance then that's fine but I do. Mid-way I thought this would be 2.5 stars book but the end... No. I wanted to like but the "I'm completely in love with you after 10 days" thing it's very trick and usually doesn't work for me. I almost DNFed in the last 10% because instead of swooning I was rolling my eyes at the MCs.
  
  I guess I've watched too much kdramas and love the angst. 🤷
• 
  Catherine Brusk

  This book came so highly recommended, but I had a really hard time enjoying it. It lacked a believability. I had no connection with the MC, Sheryl, at all. The MCs fell so desperately in love with each other within a week. There was so many social justice issues crammed into the book that I felt like it was bouncing from one issue to the next. I did like the messages of forgiveness throughout, but otherwise I didn't find a whole lot of connection with this story.
• 
  Debra

  Homecoming
  
  The story is about two people who met and feel in love. But it wasn't that easy. She had a difficult time in trusting men. And being afraid of commitment didn't help. But with his patience and the scriptures he was able to convince her to try. This was a sweet Christian romance.
• 
  Gabi

  Cute book... It’s not my first Christian romance, but I think it’s the first that talks a lot about God and faith... the plot it’s good and the characters have cool personalities, just didn’t really like the whole Jesus and God talk... I’m Christian but I don’t feel like I need to talk about it all the time.
• 
  Missie Twitchell

  The storyline of this book was good. The book needs some serious editing, which detracted from the enjoyment of the story. I also felt the book was very wordy and at times seemed to drag. I do like the theme of forgiveness that was woven throughout the book. It also speaks to our perceptions of events and how they differ from person to person.
• 
  Sherri

  A sweet story of forgiveness and finding home.
  
  Carolyne Aarsen’s Homecoming is a sweet story of forgiveness and finding home. There were a few too many typos but the story was sound.
• 
  Lillie

  A beautiful story of love, faith, forgiveness, and redemption
• 
  Kayla Conover

  TBH I stopped reading as soon as I realized it was a Christian romance. Not my cup of tea but I'm sure readers of that specific genre might like it.
• 
  Jennifer Rodewald

  Sweet Christian romance with a message of forgiveness and of new beginnings. Enjoyed listening to the audible version, which was well narrated.
• 
  Karen

  I loved this author. She really drew you in and with her descriptions of the mountains and the valleys, you felt like you were there living the ranch life right along with the family. Also, she made you feel the pain Sheryl was going through. She had such a rough life - with a step-father and step-brother that were not nice to her, her having to work on the farm at 11 yrs old solidifying her terrible relationship with her step-father, and then her abuse from her husband. She had not know love and had her walls of protection pretty high. Mark was able to penetrate those walls slowly and Sheryl was able to forgive her dying step-father, which lead her to go back to church and eventually forgive her step-brother. Mark was willing to give up working on the ranch if Sheryl took the buyout the will offered. Sheryl knew he loved her then because he loved his ranch and hated working in the city. That's why he bought his ranch. Great story of forgiveness and seeing Sheryl slowly begin to trust Mark and watching how their love took off. Mark had a firm faith in God, which helped Sheryl with her healing process. Just the right amount of romance to not be too mushy. The scenes of the mountains that are talked about made me wish to move out of the city!!