Rather sweet, but probably unrealistic, romance about family. ( )

Good book. Cora was adopted, and though she never doubted that she was loved, she always felt that something was missing. As an adult, she put time and effort into finding out who her birth mother was. Though not yet ready to reveal the truth, Cora took a job as an art teacher at the boys school that Aiyana founded and runs. That gives her the chance to get to know her mother. What she didn't count on was the irresistible Elijah.

Elijah is the oldest of Aiyana's adopted sons. He came to New Horizons after being rescued from a horrific home situation. He now helps Aiyana run New Horizons, and is the one who hired Cora as the art teacher. He was drawn to her from the moment they met.

I enjoyed the development of Cora and Elijah's relationship. Both tried to ignore the attraction at first. For Elijah, there is the employer/employee relationship, but more than that, he doesn't do relationships. He's had too many that have ended because he has his emotions closed off. For Cora, she's only planning to be there for a year, but her biggest obstacle is the secret she's keeping about her relationship to Aiyana. Keeping their distance doesn't last long, and they enter a "physical only" relationship. Yeah, we all know how those work out. Pretty soon, Eli and Cora spend as much time together as they can, and those "physical only" lines begin to blur. I really liked how sensitive they each were to the other's pain. Cora got past Eli's walls very quickly, mostly because she was sensitive enough not to push on those occasions when he would open up. It was fun to see Eli's disbelief at how all his beliefs about relationships fall by the wayside. Meanwhile, Cora falls just as hard for Eli but feels guilty that she hasn't told him about Aiyana's connection to her. I loved Eli's big moment, and his belief in and support of Cora.

A big part of the story is Cora's reason for being at New Horizons to start with. I loved Aiyana and what she does for the boys in her care. I liked how easily the two women became friends and ached for Cora and her doubts over the best course of action. Eli's support of Cora at the end was fantastic, as was the thoughtful way he went about helping Cora with her decision. I liked the confession scene, though it felt slightly anti-climactic after all the buildup. The epilogue was sweet.

I liked Eli's brothers and the close relationships among them all. I enjoyed seeing them jerk Eli's chain about his sudden change in attitude. It was sweet to see how they accepted her into their circle, along with their subtle teasing about the bar scene. I hope that there will be stories for them, too. ( )

It's been a while since I read a Harlequin that wasn't in the Love Inspired line and I remember why now.

Cora's found her birth mother and found that she runs a ranch for troubled boys. Cora applies for an art teacher opening they have and gets hired. Her intent is to scope out her biological mom and decide if she wants to have a relationship with her.

Cora is a bit confused because her biological mother has adopted 8 boys over the years--why would she do that and not want her own child? Cora doesn't count on falling in love with the oldest adopted son.

I was surprised that Cora would agree to a "purely physical" relationship with Eli. In fact, I'm surprised either of them managed to get any work done given how much they dwelt on each other. I didn't like that aspect of this book.

I also didn't like that Cora didn't tell Eli about Aiyana when it became obvious that their relationship was going to be more than just friends with benefits. She makes a deliberate choice not to tell him several times. When she does finally tell him, I thought his reaction to the news was a bit unrealistic. At best, she's committed a lie of omission--some would even say she'd deceived him. ( )

Finding Our Forever by Brenda Novak

Adoption. Are the children instinctively wired to try to find their birth mothers?
While this is a beautiful and touching romance, it was also tense waiting for the unfortunate time when secrets are revealed. We don't want people to be hurt by our actions, but lies and secrets are often the catalyst for pain.
Superbly written covering all the family dynamics of adoption and abuse. And romance.

I'm looking forced to more of this series.

Excerpt:
“As promised, in a short time, he had her vehicle completely unloaded.
“Thank you,” she said as he put down the last box.
“See you later.” His conscience appeased, he started toward his truck.
“Eli?"
He stopped again. “Yes?”
“I—I have a boyfriend. Sort of.”
He felt his eyebrows slide up. Then he almost laughed. She was assuming he had an ulterior motive for helping her. “I’m sorry if I gave you the wrong impression,” he said. “I was only trying to make your move a little easier.”
Her cheeks bloomed red. “Right. Of course you were. I’m sorry.”

Cora’s face burned as she watched Eli drive off. “What’s wrong with you?” she muttered to herself. “Of course he was just trying to help. It’s not as if he asked for your number.”
That blunder actually said more about her than it did him, she realized. He hadn’t been anything but circumspect. She was the one who’d had a difficult time keeping her eyes off him. She was so aware of him on a sexual level that it was hard to act as if she wasn’t, which was odd. She couldn’t remember having such a strong reaction to any other man. That was the reason she’d suddenly tried to throw up a barrier. She’d been hoping to give him a reason to look at her differently—or stay away entirely—and wound up making a fool of herself instead.
“I told you I didn’t need your help,” she grumbled to him even though he was gone, and cringed at the prospect of having to face him at the staff meeting in a few hours.
“You had to do that on your first day here, Cora?” she said as she started to unpack.”
Excerpt From: Novak, Brenda. “Finding Our Forever.” ( )