REVIEW: Coming Home for Christmas by RaeAnne Thayne

In Coming Home for Christmas (Haven Point #10) by RaeAnne Thayne, For the past seven years Elizabeth Hamilton has been dealing with the emotional and physical scars that came from a decision she made in the depths of despair. Having lost her parents and then suffering from severe postpartum depression, she was not in her right mind. Otherwise she never would have walked away from her husband Luke and their children, Cassie and Bridger. Now that Elizabeth has regained her memories, she’s dreamed of reuniting with them. But she never dreamed Luke would just show up randomly on her doorstep, demanding she come back to Haven Point with him to clear his name in her alleged murder! Elizabeth would do anything to make things right with him and their beautiful children. But will they want her in their lives again once the legal issues are sorted out? Or did she cause too much damage to their lives to try again?

‘She lived with it every single day, haunting her every waking moment. Luke. Cassie. Bridger. They were etched on her heart.’

Luke has grieved every day for the past seven years, not knowing what happened to his beloved wife Elizabeth. He’s kept his chin up and has done his best taking care of his kids, even with the rumors in town about his supposed hand in Elizabeth’s disappearance. Then after years of searching, he finds out she’s living in Oregon. The rumor mill and a local DA with something to prove pushes Luke to confront Elizabeth and bring her back to Haven Point. He tells himself it is only to clear up his name and to end things between them. But when he finally learns of the horrific events that happened to Elizabeth, everything shifts and things begin to make sense. Luke finds himself wanting to be able to forgive her and to possibly look to their future. But he’s not sure it’s the right thing for their children…or for them after so many years of grief and anger.

‘He didn’t quite know how to bridge the chasm between them made up of all those years without her.’

Coming Home for Christmas will have even the naysayers believing in second chances. Here, RaeAnne Thayne gifted us with a couple’s heart-wrenching past that led to one of the most convincing, heartwarming Christmas reunion stories I’ve ever read.

‘He had missed her every single day of the past seven years. She was here, right now, in his arms, and he felt as if he had been waiting for this moment forever.’

You all know by now that I’m a *huge* fan of RaeAnne Thayne’s work. What I love most about it is how relatable and real her cast of characters are…to the point that they are not just two-dimensional characters on a page. To me, they seem like real people. Elizabeth and Luke were definitely a heroine and hero who nearly leapt off the pages in their realness and with the gut-wrenching emotions they went through in this story. Because believe me, Thayne didn’t make things easy on them. But everything Luke and Elizabeth went through ended up so worth it in the end.

Now, I know I’m not the only one who has been looking forward to Elizabeth and Luke’s second chance at romance. I will admit, though, that I went into this book with some trepidation. I had no idea how Thayne was going to make me (let alone Luke!!) forgive Elizabeth for abandoning her family, or how it would all end happily. But I shouldn’t have had any doubts that Thayne would make it work–and all of it was wrapped up in the magic and spirit of the holiday, no less.

I really loved getting to know Luke better, along with his two lovely children, Bridger and Cassie. What a tight-knit group they were. We saw how wonderful a dad Luke was even though he didn’t have great role models growing up. He was a down-to-earth, thoughtful man who had been through his fair share of hardship but somehow remained kind and even-keeled.

Elizabeth’s part of the story. Wow. I won’t spoil it and give more details than the synopsis revealed, but suffice it to say she paid dearly for a moment of doubt. I truly wasn’t sure if I could warm up to her after the lead up to this book, having seen the fallout Luke dealt with (along with help from his sister Megan whose story was in The Cottages on Silver Beach). But Thayne somehow made me not only understand where Elizabeth was coming from, but she also made me root for her and Luke to patch things up. What happened to her was terrifying, life-changing, dramatic, yet showed Elizabeth’s amazing strength and courage.

A gorgeous book cover, achingly raw emotions, and touching, poignant holiday-inspired moments had this reader sniffling and smiling through my tears as RaeAnne Thayne once again proved why she is one of the best contemporary romance authors today.

Book Info:

Publication: Published September 24th 2019 | HQN Books | Haven Point #10

Hearts are lighter and wishes burn a little brighter at Christmas…

Elizabeth Hamilton has been lost. Trapped in a tangle of postpartum depression and grief after the death of her beloved parents, she couldn’t quite see the way back to her husband and their two beautiful kids…until a car accident stole away her memories and changed her life. And when she finally remembered the sound of little Cassie’s laugh, the baby powder smell of Bridger and the feel of her husband’s hand in hers, Elizabeth worried that they’d moved on without her. That she’d missed too much. That perhaps she wasn’t the right mother for her kids or wife for Luke, no matter how much she loved them.

But now, seven years later, Luke finds her in a nearby town and brings Elizabeth back home to the family she loves, just in time for Christmas. And being reunited with Luke and her children is better than anything Elizabeth could have imagined. As they all trim the tree and bake cookies, making new holiday memories, Elizabeth and Luke are drawn ever closer. Can the hurt of the past seven years be healed over the course of one Christmas season and bring the Hamiltons the gift of a new beginning?