Jeanette Hornby

I won this book though the Goodreads giveaway. Thank you!

I'd rate this 2 and 3/4 stars.

This is the story of six years in the life of Millie Garcia.

There were some things I didn't really like about the way this novel was written, but with some additional editing I think it could be even better.

I didn't like the way that Millie's thought were continuously written as if she was speaking them. I found it very distracting. I also felt it was a little disjointed when jumping periods of time. Millie's paranormal experiences didn't seem to add to the story at all.
And lastly, reference points to some national and world events were made, but they didn't seem to have any relevance to the story.

I would have liked to get a bit more into Millie's head. To find out how she felt about some of the big things happening around her. I would have also liked to know a bit more about what happened during those gaps in time and to have delved a little deeper into how Millie dealt with Patty's death and it's effect on her life.

I think Jeanette Hornby shows a lot of promise as an author and I hope she keeps writing.
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Eighteen year old Daniela Santé returns to her home in Waroona, Australia, from Perth, where she had been staying at a friend's house while attending secretarial college. Breaking up from her boyfriend, Darren, Daniela thought that by coming home she would find peace and comfort; but little did she know that her life back home would be anything but comforting.

Once home, Dani discovers that there was a stranger living at home...a good-looking Italian Chef named Antonio. Antonio was a house guest of her parents who had lost his parents recently in Italy. Dani finds Antonio pleasantly annoying. Being Italian herself and loathing her heritage, she finds Antonio representing all she loathes about being Italian. Not only did this stranger take her old room, but it seems that, like her father, he tells her what to do. Besides this nuisance, Dani faces the unprecedented realization that her life in Perth was anything but safe. The underlying theme of the book is "Home is where the heart is" Antonio repeats this saying several times. Being accepted is very important to people and Antonio Bartolini came to call Waroona , Australia, home. Dani, always felt out of place with her Italian heritage, but Antonio and Navid helped her settle down and accept her true heritage.

I found the book to be well-written and interesting. I couldn't put the book down. I kind of knew whom Dani would end up with in the end, but Navid's character threw me off that scent in places; I thought Dani would end up with Navid as she found him to be easy to talk to and she grew very fond of him. This book has drama, romance, gossip, and even crime. I did wonder in places why Dani's parents were so strict. I mean, come on, an eighteen year old girl whose parents questioned whom she went out with and held a tight grip on the girl seemed quite unreal; but, after thinking about it, Italians, like the Cubans, are quite over-protective of their daughters. My parents were quite over-protective of me. My parents were Cuban and they over-protected me, even to the point as not letting me go out with anyone or even go out on my own without questioning and interrogating me....even when I was in my thirties! Yikes! Never-the-Less, They did it out of love, concern and because of their heritage.… (más)