Follow Me Home

Once considered too proud, when Alcea O'Malley hits a rough spot in life, some note that fall from grace with glee. Cheated on and divorced by her husband, she has little money and less self esteem. Losing her home to foreclosure is the icing on the cake. Then, she runs into the man who was once the boy she loved, Dakota Jones, or Dak. With his help, she is able to begin putting her life back together, but within his family lies the secret behind her downfall, and Dak himself is haunted by his less than ideal past. Though the road to happiness is rocky, Alcea can navigate it, if Dak is willing to go with her, but he might realize how much she needs him and vice versa too late. **** Both quirky and heartwarming, Follow Me Home speaks to any one who has had the rug yanked out from beneath them. Characters come across in a balanced way, no one is lily white, and few are all bad. Yet, despite being realistic, it is never harsh, only hopeful. ****

Alcea O'Malley knows how biblical Job felt as she believes her life cannot get much worse. The once proud woman learned the hard way that her ex-spouse cheated on her when they were married. Their divorce left her with little money and now she has lost her home. Back in Cordelia, Missouri, a depressed Alcea meets Dakota "Dak" Jones, whom she loved years ago. He helps her begin the climb out of rock bottom. As he assists her overcome her woes, their youthful love reignites and blossoms into an adult forever love. However, he has hid his feelings of guilt that coaxed him into helping her because his family is a prime reason for her downward spiral and he has his own demonic shortcomings that make him feel unworthy of Alcea. She realizes she must surmount his feelings of inadequacy by doing for him what he did for her. FOLLOW ME HOME is an intriguing contemporary romance starring a woman whose life fell apart at every turn (initially has a soap opera feel of trauma following disaster, etc.), but she comes back with the help of the man she loves. The story line contains a solid cast, but belongs predominantly to the beleaguered heroine. As she recovers her equilibrium, Alcea brings the message of hope to Dak and to readers that even when life seems at its darkest believe in your self worth and you can do anything. Harriet Klausner