Jasmine A. (jasmineflower88) reviewed Here to Stay (Where Love Begins, Bk 2) on + 51 more book reviews
Melissa Tagg does it again!
A wonderful sequel to Made To Last! I loved getting to hear more about Blake, or maybe as he is better known, Blaze. I enjoyed the quirky romance of the first book and Melissa Tagg serves more of the same delicious writing in Here To Stay.
Humor is lovingly balanced with the harder issues in life. Both Autumn and Blake have things in their pasts, things they need to forgive others for, things they need to forgive each other for, and things they need to forgive themselves for.
An entertaining and thoughtful read, Here To Stay is another winner from Melissa Tagg. If you love contemporary romance with humor and some poignant moments definitely check out Melissa Tagg's Here To Stay!
(I received a copy of this book from the publisher through TBCN in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are entirely my own.)
A wonderful sequel to Made To Last! I loved getting to hear more about Blake, or maybe as he is better known, Blaze. I enjoyed the quirky romance of the first book and Melissa Tagg serves more of the same delicious writing in Here To Stay.
Humor is lovingly balanced with the harder issues in life. Both Autumn and Blake have things in their pasts, things they need to forgive others for, things they need to forgive each other for, and things they need to forgive themselves for.
An entertaining and thoughtful read, Here To Stay is another winner from Melissa Tagg. If you love contemporary romance with humor and some poignant moments definitely check out Melissa Tagg's Here To Stay!
(I received a copy of this book from the publisher through TBCN in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are entirely my own.)
My Comments
What a great book! Even though I didnt connect with the story right away, I was eager to know how things worked out for Blake and he really surprised me in a good way. He totally was my hero in Here To Stay and I simply loved his heart. He's done being a nomad/wanderer.This is the kind of guy with strength, grace, and a true gentleman who just needs the chance to start over (I also loved the way he spoke, dude).
Autumn Kingsley is doing everything she can to repair and maintain the inn that was passed down to her as a gift she never wanted. However, it seems the harder she works, the more things go wrong. Shes also waiting for a job offer that has been her dream since she was a kid, working in Paris! When she gets the letter, she refuses to open it until the next day when shes hanging out with her best friend, Ellie (everyone needs a best friend like her).
I simply loved the characters in this book! Autumn really loves her staff and wants to make sure theyre all have secure jobs with the inn before she moves on. I didnt enjoy seeing how stressed she was over certain dilemmas, but wow did she go above and beyond to make things right with those she cared for. I really enjoyed Harrison in this book, reminded me of Harrison Ford in name only as Red kept calling him, Harry. I didnt get tired of that debate :)
One of my favorite parts of the book is the beginning when Blake first comes home. Just LOOOOVED the reception he received from his family, it was nothing like he anticipated and I believe that was the beginning of the healing process for him. It was utterly sweet how supportive his parents had become of him and letting the past go. Autumns mom and sister are not so supportive at first, but that changes in beautiful ways.
Another favorite scene of mine is when Blake rescues Autumn in front of her ex-boyfriend and his new fiancé, that was a treat and made me smile BIG!! Blake starts counting how many times he has rescued Red in a joking manner and I just loved his sense of humor. Even though these are small ways to rescue someone, they are perfectly timed and very needed. Examples of Reds clumsiness include nearly falling off a roof, hurting herself when she literally collides with Blake (not cool about losing her ice cream cone), and she gets stung by a wasp. Also loved how something goes terribly wrong in the hotel on a special evening and Blake does everything possible to make her laugh since no one got hurt. Oh my, that man is a hoot!!
And to my great delight, Miranda Woodruff from the first book, Made to Last, makes a guest appearance!! Tagg brilliantly incorporates this beloved character and she becomes instant friends with Autumn.
Autumn is a perfectly flawed character who is charming, clumsy, endearing, works hard, is determined to do the right thing even while pursuing her dream, genuine, feisty, and utterly lovable. Shes also very passionate and stubborn, but I didnt consider those flaws. Her and Blake know how to bring out the fun from one another no matter how stressed their day mightve been. Blake only walks away from her once because of a frustrating moment, but he makes it up to her later.
The scenes with Autumn and Blake were very special to me. They laugh, they almost kiss several times, they support one another, they make a good team putting together the festival for the town, and they comfort one another at the appropriate times. I loved how much Autumn trusted Blake every time she got nervous and I loved that he never let her down. Their families are in a long time feud that reminded me of Romeo & Juliet, which I was eager to see closure on, but of course their ending is much more enjoyable. The new fiancé even refers to Romeo & Juliet, but it was comical how Blake responded.
Also loved this scene with Autumn and her sister, Ava.. Autumn fingered the narrow silver plate, read the inscription out loud. Hope does not disappoint. Romans 5:5.
She looked up. Mom sent this?
Yeah and I think she was trying to send me a message. Wasnt really ready to hear it then, but I did look up the verses. I read them again recently, this time in The Message paraphrase. Talks about being alert for whatever God is going to do next. She handed the bracelet to Autumn and pulled out her phone. Here, read it on my phone.
In alert expectancy such as this, were never left feeling shortchanged. Quite the contrarywe cant round up enough containers to hold everything God generously pours into our lives through the Holy Spirit.
That scene spoke to me in a strong way. For anyone who is trying to decide what the next step in their journey is based on Gods guidance, that scripture resonates and encourages at the same time. God wont let us miss out as we seek Him and He continues to generously pour upon us regardless of our situation.
All in all, Here To Stay, is such a great read!! Even though I didnt laugh while reading it, the story humored me and touched me more than once as Blaze and Red learn to get past hurts and division their families began. I didnt think it was cool how certain people in town judged Blake, but I so enjoyed his humbleness. He never lost his temper or ran away even though he was tempted to do both. I almost cried in a good way during three scenes, each time Blake gets closure he desperately needs and finally makes peace with himself. Im grateful for authors like Tagg who write about forgiveness, compassion, and starting over when the unthinkable happens. She brought a small town to life with these great characters and even though Im a city girl, she even made me have the desire to be Here To Stay with fullness and depth.
I want to thank the author and publisher for the review copy received. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions expressed are my own.
What a great book! Even though I didnt connect with the story right away, I was eager to know how things worked out for Blake and he really surprised me in a good way. He totally was my hero in Here To Stay and I simply loved his heart. He's done being a nomad/wanderer.This is the kind of guy with strength, grace, and a true gentleman who just needs the chance to start over (I also loved the way he spoke, dude).
Autumn Kingsley is doing everything she can to repair and maintain the inn that was passed down to her as a gift she never wanted. However, it seems the harder she works, the more things go wrong. Shes also waiting for a job offer that has been her dream since she was a kid, working in Paris! When she gets the letter, she refuses to open it until the next day when shes hanging out with her best friend, Ellie (everyone needs a best friend like her).
I simply loved the characters in this book! Autumn really loves her staff and wants to make sure theyre all have secure jobs with the inn before she moves on. I didnt enjoy seeing how stressed she was over certain dilemmas, but wow did she go above and beyond to make things right with those she cared for. I really enjoyed Harrison in this book, reminded me of Harrison Ford in name only as Red kept calling him, Harry. I didnt get tired of that debate :)
One of my favorite parts of the book is the beginning when Blake first comes home. Just LOOOOVED the reception he received from his family, it was nothing like he anticipated and I believe that was the beginning of the healing process for him. It was utterly sweet how supportive his parents had become of him and letting the past go. Autumns mom and sister are not so supportive at first, but that changes in beautiful ways.
Another favorite scene of mine is when Blake rescues Autumn in front of her ex-boyfriend and his new fiancé, that was a treat and made me smile BIG!! Blake starts counting how many times he has rescued Red in a joking manner and I just loved his sense of humor. Even though these are small ways to rescue someone, they are perfectly timed and very needed. Examples of Reds clumsiness include nearly falling off a roof, hurting herself when she literally collides with Blake (not cool about losing her ice cream cone), and she gets stung by a wasp. Also loved how something goes terribly wrong in the hotel on a special evening and Blake does everything possible to make her laugh since no one got hurt. Oh my, that man is a hoot!!
And to my great delight, Miranda Woodruff from the first book, Made to Last, makes a guest appearance!! Tagg brilliantly incorporates this beloved character and she becomes instant friends with Autumn.
Autumn is a perfectly flawed character who is charming, clumsy, endearing, works hard, is determined to do the right thing even while pursuing her dream, genuine, feisty, and utterly lovable. Shes also very passionate and stubborn, but I didnt consider those flaws. Her and Blake know how to bring out the fun from one another no matter how stressed their day mightve been. Blake only walks away from her once because of a frustrating moment, but he makes it up to her later.
The scenes with Autumn and Blake were very special to me. They laugh, they almost kiss several times, they support one another, they make a good team putting together the festival for the town, and they comfort one another at the appropriate times. I loved how much Autumn trusted Blake every time she got nervous and I loved that he never let her down. Their families are in a long time feud that reminded me of Romeo & Juliet, which I was eager to see closure on, but of course their ending is much more enjoyable. The new fiancé even refers to Romeo & Juliet, but it was comical how Blake responded.
Also loved this scene with Autumn and her sister, Ava.. Autumn fingered the narrow silver plate, read the inscription out loud. Hope does not disappoint. Romans 5:5.
She looked up. Mom sent this?
Yeah and I think she was trying to send me a message. Wasnt really ready to hear it then, but I did look up the verses. I read them again recently, this time in The Message paraphrase. Talks about being alert for whatever God is going to do next. She handed the bracelet to Autumn and pulled out her phone. Here, read it on my phone.
In alert expectancy such as this, were never left feeling shortchanged. Quite the contrarywe cant round up enough containers to hold everything God generously pours into our lives through the Holy Spirit.
That scene spoke to me in a strong way. For anyone who is trying to decide what the next step in their journey is based on Gods guidance, that scripture resonates and encourages at the same time. God wont let us miss out as we seek Him and He continues to generously pour upon us regardless of our situation.
All in all, Here To Stay, is such a great read!! Even though I didnt laugh while reading it, the story humored me and touched me more than once as Blaze and Red learn to get past hurts and division their families began. I didnt think it was cool how certain people in town judged Blake, but I so enjoyed his humbleness. He never lost his temper or ran away even though he was tempted to do both. I almost cried in a good way during three scenes, each time Blake gets closure he desperately needs and finally makes peace with himself. Im grateful for authors like Tagg who write about forgiveness, compassion, and starting over when the unthinkable happens. She brought a small town to life with these great characters and even though Im a city girl, she even made me have the desire to be Here To Stay with fullness and depth.
I want to thank the author and publisher for the review copy received. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions expressed are my own.
