Sweet Haven

Home Sweet Home, Book 1

By: Shirlee McCoy

Narrated by: Vanessa Daniels

In Benevolence, Washington, the Lamont family's irresistible handmade chocolates are a cherished tradition - and always a reason to celebrate. And now they're giving the three Lamont sisters, one by one, delicious chances to start again, make a change, and have their sweetest dreams come true....

Neighbors who care, a peaceful routine - accountant Adeline Lamont is glad some things about her beloved hometown never change. But when her grandfather is injured, she has to run the family store, Chocolate Haven, and make its legendary fudge. Trouble is, she can't get the recipe right to save her life - or Chocolate Haven. And she doesn't need her ornery new tenant, Sinclair Jefferson, stirring up the pot with his help - and daring Addie to taste her wild side....

Once Sinclair gets his hapless brother back on track, he's leaving Benevolence for good this time. He's made his life far away from his irresponsible family and their scandals. Trouble is, he can't quite stay away from Addie's optimism, enticing plus-size curves, and kindness to those who need it most. But they don't seem to have a thing in common - except that Addie's passion for chocolate, and for Benevolence, is just as contagious as Sinclair's passion for her. Maybe small-town life has its charms after all....

©2016 Shirlee McCoy (P)2017 Tantor

Well Written

This story is well written. There humor and a lot of interesting characters. The sentences and words are well chosen. The pace of the plot is very good with a lot of great good sentiments.

McCoy ‘s books follow a pattern of women who have had bad relationships and are now attracted to a great guy. They share kisses and attraction only to have the woman pull away out of fear. The whole romance is based on feelings rather than real love born of character. The women carry their love angst until the last 10 minutes of each book. This just isn’t the type of romance I enjoy because character growth is artificially delayed until the a huge bump at the end, and the text’s meaning and lexicon are unnecessarily repetitive which gets boring.

This is sad because there are other elements of the story that I genuinely enjoy including the extended familial relationships in each book. McCoy writes some rascally and funny characters, especially older grandparents, aunts, and uncles. The storyline is layered and rich that it is enjoyable on a lot of levels.

I have to add that there is some swearing (h—, d—, sh—, G—). The book is not explicit but physical attraction is referred to a lot.

everyone likes chocolate :)

I felt this story was sometimes all over the place and I felt like the romance was weak. The narrator was enjoyable to listen to.

Narrator cannot pronounce Spokane.

Narrators really should be able to pronounce the name of the towns frequently mentioned in the book they are reading. I am two hours into the book. As a Washington resident, I am not sure I will be able to listen to her mispronounce Spokane for another nine hours!

Ok, but thought this was a Christian author?

Contains bad language and takes God's name in vain😥 if you want a Christian novel, this is not it.

Profanity profuse from page one

This author cleaned up her books in more recent years, but these earlier books are profane.