Reviewed by me for Reader’s Favorite.
If you throw in several tablespoons of romance, friendship, family drama, and a pinch of emotional past in a pan and let it come to boil, the hot dish that would be created as a result of this recipe would be House of Belonging by Andrea Thome. If you are wondering what awakened my inner chef, Laina Ming, the leading lady of the plot, is the reason. Laina is a chef who is passionate about vegan food. Having presented a variety of options to an otherwise limited menu of vegan recipes, she is now expanding her boundaries to other types of food to serve a diverse population. She is beautiful and successful, yet there is a sadness in her psyche that handsome Logan is unable to decipher. He has been smitten by her personality since the very beginning; however, Laina doesn’t seem to reciprocate his feelings. The reason for her apparent ignorance towards every move of Logan has nothing to do with anything that he has said or done; in fact, the roots of her reluctance towards pursuing any romantic interest is the immense emotional abuse that she went through in her past relationship. Nevertheless, when her best friend, Van, insists that it’s about time that she face the light and not remain devoid of any romantic relationship, she decides to give Logan a chance. Although everything looks bright and sunny, can her life be all bed of roses or would her past cloud her present?
House of Belonging by Andrea Thome is a typical chick-lit romance with a good emphasis on the importance of family, friendship, and karma. Logan and Van both have demons that they must make peace with no matter how reluctant they might feel. House of Belonging would force you to reconsider how you walk away from your relationships. If you read closely, you might learn the significance of forgiveness. In order to really move on, sometimes we must forgive the people whom we hated from the bottom of our hearts. The author’s affection towards her friends is reflected clearly in her characters. The dedication with which the characters treasure their friendships truly shows the author’s take on the concept. There are good twists to keep the monotonicity away from the plot, but these are not such big twists that would keep you on the edge of your seat either. Like I said, it is a typical chick-lit romance and it has a good amount of lovemaking scenes to keep erotic lovers excited.
Readers’ Favorite Book Award Contest – Enter Today!
