REVIEW: When Harriet Came Home by Coleen Kwan

 

Author: Coleen Kwan

Pages: eBook (5,2000 words)

Genre: Romance - Contemporary

Publisher: Carina Press

Amazon: When Harriet Came Home

Synopsis. (Goodreads)

After ten years of exile, Harriet Brown is back in town. Things have definitely changed, but so has she. Now the confident owner of a catering business, she's no longer the shy, overweight girl everyone—including her hot teenage crush—used to ignore. In fact, she's determined to make peace with Adam Blackstone for her part in exposing his father's secret affairs and corrupt behavior as mayor.

But Adam has changed as well. No longer a pampered, rich pinup boy, he just wants to reestablish his family's good name. He reluctantly agrees to a truce with Harriet, and is surprised by how changed she is. He doesn't want to be drawn to her, but he can't seem to resist her allure.

As Harriet struggles to come to terms with her past, her adolescent infatuation with Adam morphs into something more serious... Will she ever be accepted again? Or will ancient history ruin the chance of a future full of possibilities? 

REVIEW: 3 out of 5 stars

When Harriet Came Home was kindly provided to me by Netgalley for Carina Press.

Harriet Brown has returned to her childhood home after her father is injured in a car accident, she hasn’t been back to the small town of Wilmot, Australia in ten years due to an incident where she blew the whistle on the mayors dirty dealings.

Harriet has changed a lot in the time she has been away, she is no longer the over-weight, shy with mousy hair girl she once was, she now runs a successful catering business in Sydney but she has never forgotten the past as well as her teenage crush, Adam who now seems to despise her.

Adam Blackstone is the towns golden child and also the son of the mayor who Harriet disgraced, it forced his family into upheaval and he has never forgiven Harriet for what she had done. Adam is organizing the towns Harvest Ball and is in need of a caterer – since Harriet’s father was meant to do this job he has volunteered Harriet to take over.

I enjoyed how working together formed a truce between Adam and Harriet and they learned to let go of the past and forgive, it was enjoyable to see them get along and slowly form a bond. The attraction has always been there on Harriet’s part but Adam was certainly attracted to the new Harriet which at times made me feel bad for her, she had crushed on him since she was 16 years old but back then he didn’t look twice.

The thing which let the book down for me was the length of time it took Adam & Harriet to form some kind of common ground and actually get along, and when they did it seemed very sudden. I didn’t expect them to forgive or forget instantly but I feel this aspect dragged on when it was a short book at only 52,000 words.

Also, Harriet went from being a strong and confident character in the beginning to being insecure and weak, I liked her initial sass but she started to doubt herself and her abilities along the way.

I enjoyed all the characters and found even the secondary characters interesting.

Being from Australia, I absolutely loved the location and small town setting and although I have never heard of Wilmot, I enjoyed the imagery provided which was perfectly detailed.

When Harriet Came Home is a quick and engaging read; I always enjoy a cute small town romance. I liked Ms Kwan’s writing and although it didn’t capture my interest as much as I had hoped, it was still an enjoyable read.

Obtained: Netgalley