Two tragic pasts. An awkward connection. Can they create a future together?Nurse Shannon Deacon’s hope for love flatlined at the altar. And living in a small community where shameful secrets are the talk of the town isn’t helping her heal. Worse still her old feelings flare up all over again when her ex’s big-city brother moves in next door… Ben Brouwer has had enough of saving lives. Grief-stricken after the woman he loves died while he was treating a murderer, he heads to his mother’s place to rebuild both his life and her house.
But when his brother’s former fiancé needs repair help of her own, the caregiver in him can’t bear to turn the attractive neighbor away.
As they spend time together painting and patching, Shannon and Ben’s hearts begin to beat in sync. But just as their wounded souls seem headed for a recovery, a figure from their past threatens to demolish everything they’ve built.
Will their relationship end before it begins, or will love offer healing hope?
Choosing Home is the second standalone novel in the sweet Family Bonds romance series. If you like second chances, matchmakers and quaint small-town settings, then you’ll adore Carolyne Aarsen’s inspirational courtship.
Buy Choosing Home to experience the healing power of love today!
Family Bonds – the second series in the Rockview Romance collection
1. Seeking Home
2. Choosing Home
3. Coming Home
4. Finding Home
Family Ties – the first series in the Rockyview Romance Collection
1. A Cowboy’s Reunion
2. The Cowboy’s Family
3. Taming the Cowboy
4. The Cowboy Returns
more
Choosing Home was a fantastic read by Ms. Aarsen. Even though this is the second book in a new-ish series, it reads as a stand-alone, giving the reader a brief summary of what happened previously, while fully focusing on the main characters, in this case, Ben and Shannon. I loved that this was a nurse-doctor romance, but more than that, I loved how the author managed to bring the characters to life (not just the mains, but the secondary as well. Talk about a true community), as well as transport the reader to this mountain town (Rockyview) from the very first page.
As for the things I didn’t enjoy so much, it’s mainly the meddling/ matchmaking of Nana and Ben’s mother, which made me consider dropping my rating a bit, yet what changed my mind was the ending, and how they both figured out things on their own (and not with the intervention of those two ladies). Still, I can’t wait to read Garrett’s story, as well as the ones from the other cousins that are still left. Of course, it was also great getting to see some of the previous characters from the Family Ties series 🙂
This was so good. Two souls broken from last loves. One in a small town where everyone knows the story, the other runs back to the very same town trying to find a new calling. I felt such a close bond to both of these characters. I wanted to be their friends and tell them you will get through this. If you like clean stories with struggles but triumphant in the end, I highly recommend ‘Choosing Home’.
Choosing Home by Carolyne Aarsen
Family Bonds Series Book Two
Shannon Deacon is leaving Rockyview. She loved her life growing up there since she was eight. Had loved her time on Nana and Papa’s ranch, and loved her nursing job at Rockyview Hospital. But…Rockyview was a small town with a long memory. And when a woman is jilted a week before her wedding…it sticks with her. Time to start over.
Ben Brouwer is burned out. As an ER doctor, he’s seen too much death. As a husband, he had failed his wife. He just feels that he’s lost too much. So, he takes time off to help his mother in Rockyview. And, it seems, her new neighbor needs his help too. It’s no hardship helping either lady…especially when he gets to see Shannon so often.
Two people who’ve been hurt by life. Ben had turned his back on God instead of turning to Him. Shannon struggles with men abandoning her…first her father and then Arthur…who happens to be Ben’s brother. Wonderful story!
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Choosing Home is a wonderful story of two hurting people who find love in a small town when they turn to God for healing. I really empathized with Shannon and Ben. By the end of the book they felt like people I would want to know . If you enjoy clean, heart warming romance you will not want to miss this book – and the others in the series.
Shannon loves her small-town hometown but she feels that everyone views her as the jilted bride and so she is planning to move to Chicago to escape her past. Ben, brother to Shannon’s ex, is divorced from a cheating wife but when she dies Ben feels guilty whether or not he should so he leaves his profession as a doctor–maybe permanently? Shannon and Ben wind up living with relatives next door to one another. They slowly and reluctantly get to know one another. Their journey to finding peace with their pasts is full of obstacles–and that is what makes this story sooo good! The author, Carolyne Aarsen, is one of my go-to writers; she writes wonderful characters and brings them through many growing experiences on their way to their happily-ever-afters. Highly recommend! (I received a complimentary ARC and this voluntary review expresses my honest opinion.
What a nice, romantic story of two hearts finding each other in a small town and healing with God’s help. The characters of Shannon and Ben had been through so much but were eventually able to move on from their past and not let the past define who they were today. I also enjoyed how Ben’s mom and Shannon’s grandmother were hopeless matchmakers. I am really enjoying this series and I cannot wait to read the next book because I really like the stories and the characters. I received an advance copy of this book and I willingly chose to write an honest review.
She felt “like Alice in Wonderland tumbling down the rabbit hole” or was that tingle something else. Were they trying to run her life? Shannon, Ben, her Nana and his Mom — confusion, reluctance, suggestions and all working at the same time to bring tension. I enjoyed all this banter and the story-line moved along. This book is a comfortable sweet read about second chances and home. It made me smile and think of family. Loved it! Thanks to the author for the ARC so I could enjoy this book
Tired of feeling like the jilted bride, Shannon is look forward to moving to Chicago. Unfortunately her grandmother has decided on a new home right next door to her ex-fiance’s mother. Shannon is surprised when Ben, her ex-fiance’s brother, moves in with his mother. Ben is taking a break from being an ER doctor and helping fix up his mother’s home and yard. Soon he is roped into doing Shannon’s grandmother as well. I received a free copy of this ebook from the author. This is my honest and voluntarily given review. This is another wonderful and sweet Christian romance. I like how Shannon and Ben had to separate their images of themselves from who they really are. I love this book.