Carolina Home by Virginia Kantra (Dare Island #1)
Contemporary Romance
July 3, 2012
Berkley

Reviewed by Helyce

Carolina home is the type of contemporary romance I really enjoy. It was easy to fall into it, the characters and the story playing like a movie in my head. It had just the right amount of angst without going overboard. While the individual character’s situations were not new, Ms. Kantra did a great job of pulling me into these people’s lives.

Matt Fletcher grew up on Dare Island. His plans as a young man did not have him making a life there. He went away to college and had hoped to do something other than running a boat charter and inn; but he fell in love with a girl and when she became pregnant and decided motherhood was not for her, Matt returns to Dare Island with his infant son. Now 16 years later, he’s kind of stuck in his ways. He doesn’t date seriously, preferring to steer clear of any emotional ties.

Allison Carter grew up in a very wealthy family with many advantages. Her parents had an idea of who Allison should be and what she should do and did everything in their power to steer her down that path. But Allison was nothing like the person that her parents expected her to be. She chose her own path. She became a teacher and then spent a few years volunteering and serving in underprivileged areas. A calling she answered wholeheartedly. When that ended, she specifically looked for a teaching job in a small town to further escape her parents and their expectations. That’s how Allison comes to Dare Island.

Allison is Matt’s son Josh’s teacher. When she requests a meeting with Matt to discuss Josh and his schoolwork, there are sparks, but neither plans to do anything about it. But circumstances keep put Matt and Allison in each other’s path. When Matt’s brother Luke shows up unexpectedly with a young daughter he never knew about, Matt finds himself struggling with new feelings and responsibilities. He’ll have to learn to open up his heart again, or lose everything.

I really love a contemporary set in a small town like Dare Island. While everyone knows each other and small town gossip leads most conversations, it’s that small town mentality that actually draws me into these stories. I love that people come together and do what needs to be done when someone needs help and I enjoy that close knit bond that small towns have. Allison may have grown up rich and proper and some of that persona still sticks to her on the outside, but on the inside she is generous and kind and truly wants to make a difference. She takes her teaching seriously. She really wants to make a difference.

Matt and Allison cannot deny their attraction to each other. And because she a teacher, she worries how it will be perceived if she begins seeing a student’s father. She’s also heard the rumors about Matt and his women and she really doesn’t want to be another notch in his belt. But Allison is also of the mind to take what she wants and experience it. She knows that it may not go anywhere, and she accepts that. I really enjoyed how these two slowly get together. Matt knows that he feels more for Allison than he wants to and initially he doesn’t fight it but as his feelings get stronger, he starts putting up walls and trying to deny what’s in his heart.

Matt is dealing with a lot as well. His son is 16 and doing normal teenager type stuff. Then Luke comes home with an 8 year old daughter who he did not know about. Luke is a soldier serving in Afghanistan when he learns that an old girlfriend has died and that she’s named him her daughter’s guardian. What else can he do but collect her and bring her home to his parents and Matt before heading back leaving her in their custody. This brings a whole different level of emotion to this story. This young girl, Taylor, is as much a stranger to them and they are to her, but they welcome her into the family. We don’t get too much back story here, but there are hints and while I was a bit frustrated by the fact that there were no answers to those hints, I’m sure they will be handled in Luke’s book at some point.

I really enjoyed Allison’s character. She’s torn between being respectful to her parents while at the same time standing up for herself and doing what she wants; not what they want and this comes across very well. She always stays true to herself, even as Matt tries to push her away. She never changes herself to try and be what the other people in her life expect her to be. Matt, on the other hand, goes through many changes as he deals with the reality that he might be falling for Allison. While his instincts are to end it, his heart just won’t let him.

I felt the end was much too rushed and it really left me wanting. I’m talking a few pretty words between Matt and Allison and then turn the page and END. While we expect an HEA in our romances, I would have preferred just a tad more here even though an HEA was the expected outcome. It didn’t ruin the book for me but I seriously sat there looking at the pages and was like, “Is that it?” Having said that, I’d like to read book two, Carolina Girl, which is Matt’s sister Megan’s story. We only meet Megan briefly in this book, as she doesn’t live on the island, but I have a feeling that’s about to change.

Rating: B-

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