-You had to deal with all the backlash that came with dating the town's golden boy when you were trailer trash girl.
-And then one night, you just left.
It’s been seven years, and you’ve moved on - or so you thought - then you come home and find your boyfriend in bed with his secretary. You come back to your hometown to start over again to the same place you swore you’d never return.
That boy you left behind? He’s all grown up, and he acts like you are nothing. And worst of all, he’s marrying the girl that tried to come between the two of you. But then, a few weeks before he gets married, the truth comes out…
Claudia lives in the Chicagoland suburbs, and when she's not busy chasing after her adorable little spawn, she's fighting with the characters in her head. After not being able to keep up with them, she decided enough was enough and wrote her first novel.
Claudia writes both sweet and dark romances that will give you all the feels. Her other talents include binge watching shows on Netflix and eating all kinds of chips.
Got engaged to a girl that was mean to the heroine.
Cheated on fiance with heroine. Cheating is disgusting anyvway you play it. Break it off before you sleep with someone. If you can cheat on a previous partner, you can cheat on hero/heroine. Your integrity is ruined after cheating.
Basic communication skills would have prevented all of this mess to begin with.
Good emotional and angsty, second chance story ruined by the way the author decided to tell it -with annoying flashbacks every fucking chapter. Every chapter!
Also there are so many errors in the book.
Goods: Strong AF, orphaned h with a colorful personality. she’s mouthy and takes no shits from her bullies for having a mom who was the town trainer park whore. She had no friends growing up, except her grandpa and a neighbor.
No weak, naive idiot or a stuttering, shy h in this book. - h was a virgin with the H.
Lots of safety reader spoilers below
Both not celibate during their 7yr separation, both got engaged to op, but H fell in love with the ow, and h never did. No cheating (grey area) between the MCs, but he had a fiancée - the h’s nemesis from high school - when she came back, and he did cheat on the ow with the h. He was still sleeping on the same bed with the fiancée during most of the book. They weren’t living together but the ow spent the night over. It doesn’t mention rather they were having sex..Since it doesn’t say he wasn’t having sex with the Ow, I would assume they were. Why else would she spend the night? For safety readers, I should mention after having sex with the h, the same night the fiancée spent the night at his apt, and he doesn’t break it off with the ow right way. He does kiss and sleeps on the same bed with the ow after he had sex(once) with the h, hence my grey area notation.
- H did fall in love with the ow. The fiancée was the only girl who made him forget the h, and start living. - H does describe his sexual acts with the ow that I found gross. How many dates until he fingered the ow or how many dates he went with her before he was eating her out. How exciting he found the ow. Just gross shit I didn’t need to know. Honestly after hearing this I wanted the h to move on to someone else.😂
What he said about the ow: “It was the first time in years that anything excited me. So, I took her on more dates. On the fourth date, she let me finger her to oblivion. On the sixth date, I had my head between her legs, and she screamed my name. On the seventh date, she sucked me off in my office, and on the eighth date, she invited me to stay the night.”
Since he did fall in love with the ow, while the h never got over him, I felt like the h loved him more than he did her. Yea, even though he says he wasn’t over the h, he sure did seem over the h.
If he hadn’t genuinely loved the ow, or given part of his heart to the ow, I would’ve reread this in the future and given it 4 stars even with the annoying flashbacks.
My type of a H’s loves his h with his whole heart. His heart isn’t broken into pies where’s it’s given to ow left and right. 🙄
Spoiler
Reason for their breakup is
She was blackmailed into leaving him. His rich father threatened to disown him, take away his trust fund, etc. also threatened to kick her poor grandfather, who lived in a trailer out of his property. So she left the H a note saying she was leaving him to be with om, and the H turned into a drunk manwhore after that, and the ow is who saves him.
Better than usual second chance romance set in a small town with an usptairs/downstairs couple.
My favorite line in the book was,
“Tell me that’s not the man you left behind,” he grumbled.
“Ew, he’s old. He could be my father.”
My Grandpa made a noise, completely ignoring my cringing. “Well, you never know. What do you call them—candy daddies?”
“You mean a sugar daddy? You should really go out more.” I pinched Gramps’s cheek before grabbing his hand to take him to meet Victor—you know, so he could make sure he wasn’t my “candy daddy.”
Got a kick out of candy daddy. Anyhoo, back to the story. True love finds a way, and I almost, almost, felt sorry for the OW until I remembered what a complete and utter bitch she was to almost everyone not her fiancee.
This is a beautiful well written second chance romance that would melt your heart and it will wake you up many emotions.. The author did a pretty good job in this debut novel. You're gonna laugh, but feel angsty also. Main characters are likable, including the secondary ones. In this small town romance you could find some drama, steamy scenes, the beautiful story of the first love, how they split and found each other again. With a happy ending. If you like second chances you will love this one and will not dissappoint you.
Spanish: “It’s Not Home Without You” de C.Lymari Perteneciente a la serie “Homecoming”. Es el primer libro de la autora y por ello el primero que leo y estoy muy orgullosa del trabajo que ha hecho y ha sido perfecto. Es un romance contemporáneo con segundas oportunidades incluidas y una historia súper bonita.
Freya Pratt, 25, estaba viviendo una vida acomodada hasta que pillo a su novio engañándola, y por ello vuelve a su ciudad natal. Pero ese regreso no será fácil después de haberse marchado y dejado atrás al amor de su vida. Maximiliam Dunnet está a pocas semanas de casarse y con la reciente llegada de la mujer que le rompió el corazón años atrás hará que se plantee y se pregunte el porqué de lo que paso.
Freya fue increíble en todo el libro, sus sentimientos estaban claros, pero no podía expresarse como quería y debía, pero es que teniendo a Max como tu crush también es comprensible. Porque Max es de los protagonistas que te roban el aliento solo con una frase, porque además de ser un personaje muy sexy, tenía un corazón de oro, aunque un poco roto, y es super dulce. La historia de estos protagonistas me hizo emocionarme en cada momento. Los capítulos con ambos protagonistas siendo jóvenes y el amor que se tenían, me enamoraban. También me sentí frustrada en el rencuentro y me daban ganas de llorar, y no entendía cómo podrían haber terminado. Pero después cuando todo sale a la luz sentí mucho alivio. ⚜Rate: ★★★★★
English: "It's Not Home Without You" by C.Lymari from the series "Homecoming". It's the author's first book, and therefore the first one I've read and I'm very proud of the work she's done, and it was perfect. It's a contemporary romance with second opportunities included and a very nice story.
Freya Pratt, 25, was living a comfortable life until she found her boyfriend cheating and returned to her hometown. But that return won't be easy after she's gone and left her beloved boyfriend behind. Maximiliam Dunnet is just a few weeks away from getting married and the recent arrival of the woman who broke her heart years ago will make him wonder why.
Freya was incredible in the whole book, her feelings were clear, but she couldn't express herself as she wanted and should, but having Max as your crush is also understandable. Because Max is one of the protagonists who steal your breath with just one sentence, because being a very sexy character, had a golden heart but a bit broken, and he is super sweet. The protagonists' story moved me every moment. The chapters with both protagonists being young and the love they had, made me fall in love. I also felt frustrated at the reunion, and I wanted to cry because they were so cute, and I didn't understand how they could have ended. But then, when everything came to light, I was relieved. ⚜Rate: ★★★★★
*****A FIVE STAR READ***** INHWY...what can I say? This book completely blew me away. A stunning début novel, which put me through the whole range of emotions from laughing, to crying, to rage, to swooning, to happiness. A beautifully-written book, it follows the story of Freya and Max, once teenage sweethearts who were torn apart. Seeing each other again, years later, what will happen? I really felt Max and Freya's pain and heartache, and I got so caught up in their story that I read it from start to finish in one go-I had to know what was going to happen! A solid 5 stars! Read it! One of my very favourite quotes in the book:
I was lucky enough to be given the opportunity to read an early copy of this debut Novel by C. Lymari.
Wow is all I can say! This is a beautifully written, heartfelt story. Written in Nonlinear narrative it is an engaging, entertaining, sweet, sexy second chance romance. With great character development and relatable characters.
Definitely recommend reading this one.
Keep an eye out for this author we are definitely going to be seeing brilliant things from her.
Max and Freya are EVERYTHING. I’ve never felt so connected to a character before. C. Lymari makes you feel like you know the people. I felt like I was apart of their world. I wanted to hug Freya and punch Abbigail. I laughed so hard I woke my husband... woops. Also I cried so hard I was shaking. She gave me shivers with the way she described things so well. I highly recommend this book!
➥ Tbh I liked Abigail (OW) more than Freya (h). She was a bitch but at least she wasn't an idiot.
➥ I don't like the way the cheating trope was done here. Maybe it's cause I wasn't really rooting for the main couple, so the way they carelessly hurt everyone around them annoyed me.
I had a few issues with this book (like the abrupt ending) but one of the most frustrating was the time jumps from present to past. I have no patience for that so I ended up reading all the past chapters first then read the present. I need to remember to do that for any future books with this annoying time line.
This is one of those fake strong heroine books. She comes back to a small town and her ex and best friend are engaged/married to girls who use to bully her. Yet she's expected to be fine with it. She doesn't even confront or question the hero about his poor choice. She's supposed to be "sassy" yet the whole book people talk down to her and she does nothing. Oh but it's OK because she "doesn't care" because "sticks and stones". Give me a break. She even gets slapped by one girl and doesn't do anything because she "deserved it" 🙄.
Then we have the hero. Marrying a woman who's a total snobby b*tch but doesn't seem to care. Apparently she brings him "calm" so it doesn't matter that she looks down on others, especially the heroine who she bullied. She even plans on building a house where the h's grandpa and a bunch of other people live in trailers and the H doesn't question what kind of person she is. I don't like MC's who can love horrible people. What does that say about them. He was a yellow bellied fool.
“You know how hard it was to move on? I saw you in every single thing I did and all the woman I slept with, and it was never enough because they never compared." How swoon worthy 🙄🤮.
Some of the writing style was kind of cringe and read like a YA/NA. Like the h and H referring to each other as "my boy" and "my girl" :
'My boy never got me flowers.' 'I pulled my boy’s head down so I could kiss him... ' 'I loved my boy, but I would not leave Frankie high and dry...' "My girl was not having it. She hated being cooped up."
I cringed every time 😩. Why not just say Max or Fraya?
And ew, realising Dex is Fraya's half brother and remembering how she tried to flirt with him when they met 🤮 sick!
Finally, what's with the abrupt ending? So we don't get to see Fraya confronting her dad who was a mystery and the whole reason her mum went off the rails and died? We don't get to know what happened or why he left the woman he supposedly loved behind? What about Max's family? I feel like I'm in limbo with everything because the book just ended. I think I should have gone with my gut and abandoned this book in the beginning.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
There are so many good things about this read that I have been going over in my head and I realised after all the amazing points I could right, it was the realisation that when it comes to fantasy romance that’s exactly what it is Fantasy and we love the romance of if it could happen. Well Claudia Lymari wrote this novel and made me believe just maybe this could happen. Small town, first love, Rich family vs Poor. Broken hearts and a return to see what one had let go. But then throw in all the what’s if’s and the hurt and those people you left behind, good and bad, still all being exactly where you left them. But had they changed and how did you cope when the love of your life had moved on and moved on with someone who had been one of those people whom had never let you think you were good enough. At times I was so frustrated with both our main characters I would scream at them to wake up to themselves, I went from highs to lows and laughing and heartbreak and it just made me want to keep reading. I wanted to immerse myself in this town be a part of the amazing characters and relationships with each other. I wanted to know the reasons why Max had moved on and how, how could Freya had let him go. I read something today that made me understand Freya’s reasoning on leaving It’s not realising you can fight for what you love But being able to let that love go because you think at the time it’s the better thing to do. C Lymari I thank you for the most amazing book to come out of the author in you, you left us with so many other reasons to continue reading the stories of characters besides Freya and Max we were introduced to throughout. This book makes me want to keep reading and reading it and not want to stop. Every town should have a coffee shop like Emma’s with a quote board ..... My quote? Do yourself a bloody favour and read this book It’s worth the time spent doing so. 🥰
MY RATING: 4.5 Stars TITLE: It's Not Home Without You AUTHOR: C. Lymari SERIES: Hoco #1 RELEASE DATE: 22 July 2019 CLIFFHANGER: No
This is one of the best feel good books I’ve read in a long time. Obviously it’s not hard to find a second chance romance to read. But finding one that takes your breath away and has you wrapped around its fingers from page one; now those are few and far between. I have to say, this book is head and shoulders above a lot of books of this genre and it made me feel deep in the feels. I’ve never read C. Lymari’s books before and she’s definitely going into my auto-buy list. She tells a story of two people from opposite sides of the tracks – dealing with the bitterness of their failed relationship, the heartbreak, betrayal, regrets, bravery, forgiveness and redemption without missing the romance at all. I won’t be forgetting this book in a hurry.
“I stood in a mantle of darkness with nothing but stars to shine a light on me when grandpa opened the door. Welcome home, sweet girl And for the first time since I left San Francisco, I cried because the “perfect” life I had built for myself turned out to be a lie.”
At 25 years old, Freya Pratt finds herself back in her home town of Sunny Pines. When she left 7 years ago, she left a trail of broken hearts and heaps of regrets. Now here she is, financially secure, but emotionally beat down and broken. She has no choice but to go back home and try pick herself up again. But she knows what awaits her; wonders what became of the mess she left behind, how she would even begin to fix it, how she’d begin to explain it to him.
“Why didn’t anyone tell me she would come back?”
Maximilan Dunnett is a man now. For 7 years, he’s been chased by the ghost of her; seen her in everything and everywhere. Tried to drown himself in alcohol and women but the memory of her was too strong. But he’s not that 19 year old boy anymore. He’s picked himself up, dusted that shit off, built himself an empire, found himself a girl and is about to walk down the isle. But alas, fate has other plans. All is well until she walks in again, tilting his world at its axis. He’s angry at her, confused as to what happened, a part of him wants an explanation but a bigger part of him knows to let sleeping dogs lie. Whatever he may think, he can’t deny how alive and awake he suddenly feels at her sight; all this time he thought he’d moved on, turns out he wasn’t living at all.
“She took all of me. All the pieces that make me happy, she took with her. You got what she left behind.”
Try as they might to stay away from each other and a piss poor attempt to have platonic relationship, Freya and Max can’t deny the chemistry between them. Max can’t risk acknowledging his feelings for her; afterall he’s an engaged man. While Freya, well she claims to only want Max to be happy- even if it’s not with her. Before long, secrets are revealed and they can’t deny themselves anymore.
“It’s you, Freya. It’s only ever been you, and it will always be you, baby.”
Freya was an absolutely loveable and relatable heroine. She had a rough childhood being bullied and I loved how well she handled herself. She was tough and held her head high despite living in a town that continuously beat her down. I loved seeing her grow from that young girl with abandonment and inadequacy issues, snagged the most handsome boy in town and bloomed into a successful and beautiful woman. Her love for Max was undeniable, the sacrifice she made for his benefit, painful as it was, was quite something.
The story was written first POV. Although it was written in both Max and Freya’s narrative, we spent too much time in Freya’s head. I wish we had spent a bit more time with Max and his thoughts. The author wrote a mawkish heart-warming story that left me wanting to tell everybody about it before it was even finished. However there are some parts particularly towards the end, where it started to feel a bit rushed e.g. the reason for Ashton’s cheating. Juliet and Prescott’s marital issues were inferred as some sort of business arrangement but I wish their stories were a bit more elaborated. Similarly how Russell and Jada came to get together, and how Prescott fit into that picture. I still wasn’t clear what the fuck happened there. But it didn’t take away from our love birds
This is a debut novel?! Wowza! I adore small-town, second-chance romances. This one totally fit the bill. Although Freya was a hot mess & I rolled my eyes during some of her antics, her character worked in the story. High school sweethearts, Freya & Max - she’s from the wrong side of the tracks, and he’s popular & rich. (On more than one occasion, this story reminded me of the classic 80s movie, Mystic Pizza.) I loved Max! Both characters were willing to give up everything, & I mean EVERYTHING for the incredible love they shared. A well-written story with plenty of scorching heat. You’ll need a fan & an ice-cold cocktail for this one. Congrats on your debut! 4.5 stars!
This book is FANTASTIC! The characters are realistic and perfectly flawed so you can truly relate to their struggles.
Freya and Max have explosive chemistry! I love Freya’s personality and spirit.
This book takes you on a journey through their history in unexpected ways. The storyline is full of emotional roller coasters and keeps you invested throughout. I couldn’t put it down! I look forward to reading more books by this talented author.
I absolutely loved this story from start to finish. I was really surprised that this was the authors debut novel because it was really well written and had a very beautiful storyline that was filled with so much emotion. I really loved the characters within the story and the way the author wrote about the two characters past and present. It gave me a deeper look at how the characters got together and what caused their break down of their relationship.
Freya was a fiercely strong and independent character that constantly had people looking down on her becauseof where she lived but i loved the way that she did not let it matter to her. She only cared about what the people she loved thought about her.
Max I completely adored from the start of the book when he was introduced. He was incredible sweet and loving towards Freya even though they are only young he still continues to shows her how much he loves her. Despite the way that she hurt him I still felt that he still loved her thought the years they were separated.
This is a second chance romance that was told in dual point of view providing readers with an insight into the feelings that both charactershave for each other. I found that these two characters were completely different form each other but they were perfect for each other. I also enjoyed the secondary characters within the story. I cant wait to read more from this author.
Jessica’s
There’s a lot that I could say about this book. There were things I liked and things that weren’t my favorite but I can see why they needed to be done that way. I liked Max and Freya. They were super cute and I liked seeing the connection they had. This story had some great secondary characters that helped the main characters and then the plot was cute and sweet. I love a good second chance romance and that’s what this was. It was pretty straight forward and not a lot of unnecessary drama. Being this authors first book, you could see how thought out it was. I would be willing to read more in the future and look forward to seeing Emma’s novella. 4 stars #2OCCjD
Well if this book won't break your freaking heart! Freya and Max were the thing that people aspired to be, they were completely in love and found their forever person when they were just in HS that is until outside forces come between then. FF years later and Freya is back home and nothing at all is how she left it and this new normal is not ok with her heart or sanity.
This book absolutely gutted me. I adored Freya and how this tiny thing has so much energy and character wrapped up in such a small body and then it is just gone. This kind of reminded me a little bit of Sweet Home Alabama and going home and finding yourself, not in the situations but just in the girl herself. The secondary characters are AMAZING and I absolutely love Emma and Rusty. The POVs with Max and Freya was enlightening as well as the ones that were shown in the past that help you FEEL what is happening and not just recollecting it years later.
All in all I could feel all of the emotions between Freya and Max and even the other characters and I freaking adored it. I highly recommend checking out this book because it is an extremely enjoyable second chance romance and finding your person. You might think you know how this is going to go down in the beginning, but it is filled with delightful twists and turns!
Thank you to C Lymari and Give Me Books for allowing me an advanced copy that I voluntarily and honestly reviewed!
"Be careful with your words. Once they are said, they can only be forgiven, not forgotten."
C. Lymari chose her words very carefully because after reading an ARC of this book, I can not forget it. It's Not Home Without You is full of love, angst, drama and OMG the sexy men. There were times when I just wasn't sure how I should be feeling so overwhelmed with emotion. Lymari's words speak to you in a way that you feel the pain as the characters hurt and feel the love when they are happy, you even feel silly when they are drunk.
Max and Freya come from opposite ends of social class, but they don't let that stop their love from blossoming. We watch their love move mountains and crash cars but sometimes life doesn't work out the way we planned and we watch them both live a new life. Upon Freya's return from her new life, we learn that everything has changed and life must go on. Every character is lovable and relatable...okay maybe you will hate some of them.
This will be a book that I know I will reread for years to come, as will anyone that reads it. C. Lymari is going to take the writing world by storm and I can't wait to see what else she her mind will bring us.
Oh wow this book literally gave me all the feels, and completely blew me away! It was such a page turner. I didn't want to put it down, and read within a day! The chemistry between both main characters was something else 😍 C.Lymari really sucks you into this story and makes you feel connected to the characters. I loved reading the characters past and present, as it makes you get a proper understanding of their history and relationship.
I really enjoyed all the little quotes throughout the book too (once you read it, you'll know what I mean) 😏
This story is entertaining, sweet, full of drama, suspense and sexy scenes. 💋
This book was so beautifully written. I can't believe it's her debut novel!!! Bring on the rest of her books! Because this one was just WOW. C.Lymari is definitely one to watch out for 👀
*I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.*
I abso-freakin-lutely LOVED this story! I could stay in this fictional town for forever!
Freya and Max - these two had my emotions all over the place! Freya is returning home after leaving it all behind without any notice. She's got fences to mend and people to avoid. Max was left heartbroken when Freya left. Now she's back, right before he's about to get married.
The story goes back and forth from present and past and it's told from both points of views. The author lures you in by withholding facts here and there. Some are comical and some are heart wrenching. The side characters are FANTASTIC! You will love some of them and possibly hate the others but they are all part of the community and gives this story its balance and so much potential for future stories.
I'm amazed that this is the author's debut novel! I loved this story, the way it was written, and I can't wait for her next book!
How can I start? I was lucky enough to have been given this as an ARC. Completely new author to me, but definitely one I will be reading again. My favourite kind of book. Draws you in with the characters. Yes you have your main characters that the story revolves around, but it also embroils you in the lives of those around them, the supporting characters, leaving you wanting more. I aren’t going to spoil it for you. So no spoiler alert. BUT if you want to feel the angst, camaraderie, innocent and then not so innocent love, feel your heart stop and turn over then don’t hesitate in grabbing this book. I for one can’t wait to see what happens next with these characters To anyone that reads this after I did, I long ago staked my claim on Jake, aka Bear, long before he hit anyone else’s radar as the next most wanted book boyfriend. Be warned 😘
It's Not Home Without You is the first book within the Homecoming series. It honestly took me a while to find my groove with this one. Once everything clicked, man - I was hooked. Especially towards the end when everything falls into place.
The questions and second chance at romance were entertaining for the most part. It also didn't hurt that I liked the characters either. Sure, I rolled my eyes at them for the most part and was annoyed when certain people acted a certain way towards others. I still somehow ended up enjoying this book and look forward to the next one. Whenever I find the time to eventually jump into it.
If I could change one thing, it would be to have better communication between the characters. Seriously, everything would have been resolved way sooner if these two actually talked to one another about their damn feelings.
This book just blew my heart away! I didn’t know what to expect while reading this book.
This book was so well written that I felt every emotion that they were feeling😭 When I hit the half way mark I had already cried 5 times and cried 5 more by the way I was finished with this book.
Freya was such a strong person who didn’t let much bother her. She went for what she wanted and loved with all her heart.
Max had my heart from the very first page and he didn’t let it go. Max was angry, sad, devastated, and just didn’t know what to do when he still loved his Freya.
This book has my emotions going in circles from anger to sadness, and devastation. Every chapter had me hooked and didn’t let go.
C. Lymari is a new to me author, but I have fell in love with her writing style in It’s Not Home without you. She has a very expressive writing style that drags right into the pages and the world just slips away the more you read, oh how I wish I could give this more than 5 stars but also I can’t wait to see if there is more to this book and the characters she has created.
Its not home without you is the story of Max & Freya. Two people from different worlds, both only want love and freedom, but more than that they want the love of each other as well as acceptance from the world around them. Can Max & Freya find solace in one another again? Can a broken heart be mended, so they can become the home to one another? To find out more I highly recommend this book as well as this author