In Returning Home by Kelly Elliott, Adelaide “Addie” Bradley is finally at a point in her career as a 
labor & delivery nurse in Boston where she’s ready for something new. Or, something old in this case, as her heart is constantly pushing her to move back to her tiny hometown of Seaside, Maine. Her first love, Gannon Wilson is living there again after several years in the Navy. And Addie is ready to see if they can make up for lost time. Because no matter who she dated or where she went over the past eight years, Gannon was always there in her mind and in her heart.
‘I’m yours Addie.
Oh, how I loved hearing that again. All those years of pretending there wasn’t a hole in my heart were gone. Gannon was mine, and I was his. Nothing would ever change that.’
Gannon knew Addie would come home at some point, but the years apart were pretty much torture. Traveling the world with his stint in the Navy and now working on the ocean in beautiful Penobscot Bay has kept him busy. But it hasn’t been enough to keep his mind off of Addie. Now Gannon hears she’s returning to Seaside. And the gossip mill is churning with the speculation of if they’ll reunite for good. He certainly hopes this is the sign he’s been looking for, that Addie is ready to start their lives together and focus on a happy future in their own slice of coastal heaven.
“Sweetheart, I knew when I was ten years old that I would love you for eternity. I know I’m the man I am today because of you. It doesn’t matter that we spent so much time apart, because you never left my heart. You’ve always been here.”
Returning Home was a sweet and sexy second chance romance with minimal drama as it was an introduction to Kelly Elliott’s new Seaside Chronicles series. Set in a dreamy, small town in coastal Maine, we got to meet the locals and fall into the history of not only the town itself, but also the characters we’ll be following.
“We’ve lived our lives and always said we would see where our paths took us. They brought us right back here. To Seaside. To each other.”
Kelly Elliott’s character-driven stories seem to forever capture my heart beginning with the first page. Returning Home did exactly that. From the prologue where we learned why Addie and Gannon broke things off at the end of high school to the present day when their worlds collided again in their hometown, their love for each other couldn’t have been more sincere. As I’ve come to expect from Elliott, theirs was a sweepingly romantic relationship. The smoldering looks and touches, the flirty banter, the depth of their emotions, it was all crystal clear on the page and was enough to make a reader swoon.
While there wasn’t a huge plot twist or tons of melodrama happening in Gannon and Addie’s lives, this first book of the series set the stage for the couples that will follow. (You won’t believe the teaser for Sutton & Brody’s book up next!) And it felt *right* somehow that when this former high school power duo got back together, everything would slowly but surely fall in place for them. Addie and Gannon earned their HEA through years of hard work and fulfilling their individual dreams before settling back down in Seaside–together. *happy sigh*
QOTD: Do you prefer a romance with a good bit of drama or are you satisfied with a sweet (but still sexy) feel-good kind of a story?
Book Info:
Publication: Published July 12th 2022 | Pub: K. Elliott Enterprises, INC | The Seaside Chronicles #1
The Seaside Chronicle
July 12, 2022
Buzz Bait
Seasiders,
News on the docks is Adelaide Bradley is back in Seaside, and rumor has it she’s here to stay! (No ring was spotted on her finger, I might add!) After eight long years of living in the big city and working for Massachusetts General, she has decided to return to the shores. One can only imagine how thrilled Barbara and Keegan are to have their oldest daughter back.
But it makes you wonder if Adelaide will continue to peruse her nursing career or is she here to help at her family’s restaurant, The Seaside Grill.
A little seagull has planted in my ear that Gannon Wilson is taking the news rather well, considering Adelaide broke his heart all those years ago. I did notice Gannon has been working more than usual, piloting that precious cargo through our ship channel. Maybe he is picking up extra hours to purchase a piece of jewelry, considering he was seen in Reef Jewelers only days ago.
We’re rooting for the two of them to reunite at least as friends. Everyone knows the former homecoming king and queen had a bright future ahead of them until…well…that’s another story for another issue, Seasiders!
Fair winds and following seas!
