Acquired Book By: I started hosting with Prism Book Tours at the end of [2017], having noticed the badge on Tressa’s blog (Wishful Endings) whilst I was visiting as we would partake in the same blog tours and/or book blogosphere memes. I had to put the memes on hold for several months (until I started to resume them (with Top Ten Tuesday) in January 2018). When I enquiried about hosting for Prism, I found I liked the niche of authors and stories they were featuring regularly. This is how I came to love discovering the Harlequin Heartwarming authors & series as much as it has been an honour to regularly request INSPY stories and authors. Whenever I host for Prism, I know I am in for an uplifting read and a journey into the stories which give me a lot of joy to find in my readerly queue of #nextreads. It is an honour to be a part of their team of book bloggers.
I received a complimentary copy of “An Alaskan Homecoming” direct from the author Beth Carpenter in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.
Hallo, Hallo dear hearts,
Every Summer, I am vexed and plagued with severe storms and *every!* Summer, I try to divert the angst of storm season by being better prepared to dodge the agony of riding out the worst of them from affecting or rather in this instance *disrupting!* my readerly life and blog schedule. However, there are a few years which stand out in my mind where despite your plans to circumvent issues before they happen, nature has a way of surprising you ahead of time! Such is why I had to cut back this review to a preview review rather than a full-length review – as my intentions were to read this lovely novel ahead of the storms rather than being short-changed in time due to their imminent arrival into my life.
Such a simple plan and yet, as soon as June began – the storms not only affected the internet connectivity I enjoy using but it also started to affect my work life as well. The hours I would normally have to spare to read after or before work were lost to lightning and last week in particular, I was without the internet completely for nearly the full week. Considering of course that particular circumstance left me with a full system failure which required the service provider to switch out all the equipment as nothing was working at one point! Oy.
Thereby, the one wench in my plans this June is when I was able to begin reading this lovely novel which would also be the kick-off of one of my secreted readerly plans for Summer!
Let me share with you what I’ve sorted out – as I have plans to celebrate #MyYASummer with you from June through September, whilst I also have another little idea to make me a wicked happy Romance reader: A Harlequin Heartwarming Summer!! Mostly as I’ve been sitting on a bit of a BIG secret – not to long ago, a few months back now, I came across a lovely resource for buying these lovelies second-hand wherein I could ‘add’ some #newtomeauthors onto my shelves whilst picking up books by authors I have come to know through the Heartwarming line – either as a reader and/or as a chat hostess via @SatBookChat!
I purchased 7x novels – combined with the EPIC LOVELY Butterfly Harbour novels Ms Stewart graced my life with this Spring and the four remaining stories of the #BlackwellSisters series those authors sent to me as well — you could say, my Summer is going to be brilliantly EPIC all the way round!! I’ve been wanting to jump dive back into reading Heartwarming novels but betwixt life, work and storms (ie. the intensely driven ones with heaps of lightning & flooding rains most of us are contending with right now) – you could say, I had to put a lot of my #currentreads on hold!
I struggled with moving past the last of my Harlequin Suspense reads as I read a few jarring stories which sort of messed with my headspace. I *knew!* I wanted to resume from whence I’ve left off but like most things in our lives, when it comes to our readerly lives, patience is KEY. I decided despite the frequent imbalances between work and life, I refuse to give in the towel. I just have to continue to be more proactively creative when it comes to when I can binge read my favourites and when I can snack on stories which enrich my heart and give me heaps of readerly blissitude to be read. And, that dear hearts is why I’m spending Summer anchoured into both Young Adult Reads and Harlequin Heartwarming!
Soon I’ll be talking about another sweet find I made recently and how it ties into a birthday project wherein all of us (Mum, Da & I) are journeying together into a new series where faith, romance and a hospital set the backdrop of a new Cosy Mystery series wherein as a family we’re doing something new together.
For now, let’s celebrate my continued joys in reading the Heartwarming novelists who give me #wickedgoodreads and endeavour me to have more cuppa love moments as I seek out their stories and series. Not to mention its the PURFECT way to unwind after work – with my tux by my side and a Heartwarming novel in my hands – queuing Spotify into my ears and I’m one delightfully happy book blogger!
Why I loved the Northern Lights series coming into it at Book Eight:
What I love most about travelling to such an wicked adventurous state like Alaska through the series I am reading by Heartwarming novelists like Carpenter are the awesome depictions of the wild Alaska residents and the impressively majestic observations you can get from just ‘being still’ somewhere in the natural world therein. Carpenter treats us straight-off the bat with a moose sighting as Natalie takes the train to Anchorage – which next to their ferry system, the trains I felt would provide the most wonderment of JOY to a visitor or local resident because of what can be seen ashore and just outside the windows. I know one day I’ll get to visit and adventure in and out of the cities, townes and villages of our most northern state one day but for now, I am happily content in ‘being there’ rapt in the same joy of mirth these lovely authors are giving me through their stories!!
The kind of synthesis of plotting Carpenter used is one that I personally love – because it enables you to see the plot from different perspectives not merely limited to the two key characters you might presume are at the forefront of the novel! This allows for heartier depth, keen observation of the evolving threads of underlying suspense (as this refers to the twist) and a lovely bounce and volley watching the characters react and respond to everything in their purview! Honestly – it is a seriously awesome installment for this series because it tackles a story from a different starting point than the others in the series yet gives you the added benefit of having four characters to chase after into the thickening plot than merely two! And, that dear hearts is all I’ll say as it sneaks close enough to a spoiler and its too much of an enjoyable novel to even nibble off a telling hint about the overall plot for you!
I fell hard for this family and for the warmth Carpenter brought into how she told this story – reading it was such a refreshing balm to my soul after such a long hard fight to get my health realigned recently. Curling inside the beauty of how Carpenter took two strangers and a Wintry backdrop situated in a state I have held such a fond affection for from afar is what I loved most about reading An Alaskan Family Christmas. In the end, all that matters is the family we love, the memories we create and the willingness to be open to the unexpected – to fully embrace life in whichever way it alights in our lives and to give ourselves the chance to welcome into our lives a relationship we never expected would arrive the day we were thinking about everything else but our own dreams for the future. This is the kind of heart-lifting romance to give yourself a treat during the holiday season – fully enraptured in the mirth of how serendipity and a bit of Christmas magic can sometimes give you the present you need at a time where you felt you couldn’t be surprised anymore!
If Ms Carpenter is on the fence about writing more installments for this series – I hope she extends it out to a rounded eight, ten or twelve novels all told because she could seriously keep penning these lovelies as I wickedly keep devouring them! Time to see if my favourite used book shoppe which carries Harlequin Heartwarming novels has the first four which I never had the pleasure of reading before arriving inside the fifth!
-quoted from my book review for An Alaskan Family Christmas
An Alaskan Homecoming
by Beth Carpenter
Source: Author via Prism Book Tours
“Ever after” wasn’t the plan…
Until now!Rowan O'Shea's intention was just to visit her family in the small Alaskan town she calls home. Now she's not sure she wants to leave, given the romantic mess she's left behind. A temporary fake marriage to gorgeous veterinarian Zack Vogel might be the perfect solution, if she can convince Zack. But Rowan's marriage of convenience has a seriously inconvenient snag—she's falling for her new fake husband!
Places to find the book:
ISBN: 978-1335179876
Also by this author: Sweet Home Alaska, Alaskan Dreams, An Alaskan Family Christmas
Published by Harlequin Heartwarming
on 25th May, 2021
Format: Trade Paperback
The Northern Lights series:
The Alaskan Catch (book one)
A Gift for Santa (book two)
Alaskan Hideaway (book three)
An Alaskan Proposal (book four)
→ Sweet Home Alaska (book five) ← *where I began the series! (see also Review)
Alaskan Dreams (book six) ← review forthcoming this Summer!
An Alaskan Family Christmas (book seven) (see also Review)
An Alaskan Homecoming (book eight) ← review forthcoming this Summer!
Published by: Harlequin Heartwarming (@HarlequinBooks) | imprint of Harlequin Books
Formats Available: Paperback* and Ebook
*Harlequin has the luxury of offering Regular, Large & Larger Print editions which I personally can attest are lovely to be reading! Especially after a migraine or when my eyes are fatigued.
Converse via: #BethCarpenter and #HarlequinHeartwarming
About Beth Carpenter
Once upon a time ...
when Beth Carpenter was a little girl, she read everything she could get her hands on, and entertained herself on the school bus by making up stories in her head. Not a lot has changed. She's still consuming books like M&Ms, and spends her days creating happily-ever-afters for her imaginary friends.
She lives in Alaska and Arizona with her husband and an aggressively affectionate fifty-pound lap dog. She loves to hear from readers.
| An Alaskan Homecoming | by Beth Carpenter
I have to admit, when it comes to facing conflict and/or confrontation, I’ve never shied away from it – however, I can see the appeal of why someone like Rowan might opt for a third option when it comes to dealing with both her mother who seems to want to own the directional course of her life and her boyfriend (a bloke of whom she isn’t truly in love with); sometimes, a change of direction you can dictate yourself is a better way to go than to constantly feel as if you’ve been dragged into an undertow of situations where you never get to have your own voice to affect the change you dearly need in your life.
When it comes to Alaska – I’ve oft questioned moving there myself – as it is truly one of the states which still holds a lot of appeal for someone who lives in the lower 48. I could rightly see why someone who is aching for a ‘fresh start’ in their lives might take-off to Alaska and carve out their own path into a future they’d rather live than the tomorrow they’d rather avoid elsewhere. It is a state which has such a girth of wilderness and art and a setting which is as enchanting as the Northern Lights this series is named after — hence why whenever I return into a series set in Alaska, I personally feel as if I’ve been blessed to take up residence there if only for a short while and see Alaska through the eyes of someone who knows the state best.
I understood Rowan’s angst in trying to sort out world time zones – as a letter-writer in my youth and twenties, I used to find myself all betwixt the zones and knowing when today was really tomorrow as some of my friends lived across the International Time Zone barriers. This is what prompted me to device a spreadsheet and iron out all the zones themselves countered to the time zones of my country and thereby giving me a handy resource to use whenever I wanted to ring someone on the phone. Of course, I technically still made a few blunders along the way – such as ringing in the middle of the night or forgetting about daylight sayings altogether – but for the most part, that spreadsheet rocked for knowing when and where everyone was enjoying their mornings, afternoons and evenings! If I had a copy on hand, I would have mailed one to Rowan!
I was wicked happy to find goats in the story! Ever since Hallmark Channel’s film series “All of My Heart” featured goats, it re-started a conversation about goats with Mum and I. We oft muse it would be lovely to have a small farm and whenever we were considering which livestock to have on said farm, goats were among the top contenders! I saw a pair of goats recently actually and they have such kind eyes and gentle souls. No wonder Rowan felt at peace at the farm and felt her soul rejuvenating just for removing herself from where she had come to drink in this kind of atmosphere! I oft felt I’d never exchange the city for a slower pace but there is something to be said for the natural environments and the ways in which the natural world can be their own clock to how life is meant to be lived.
On the other side of the story, Zack runs a wildlife rescue and rehab outfit which takes in wild animals and ensures they can be re-released into the wild once they’ve healed from their afflictions. I have a soft spot for wildlife in general, and I prefer rescues to zoos (except of the Australia Zoo which does both – rescue, rehab, release and for those who cannot return, they can stay at the zoo in open enclosures) and it is lovely to see a wildlife rescue organisation at the heart of this novel. I could sympathise to how Zack was trying to make the best choices he could for the child he was the guardian of – sometimes, when custody isn’t a defined line in your life – where there are questions on your character looming over you, such as in this instance with Zack – you could definitely understand the weight that took a toll on him. He wanted to be the best father he could but how do you define boundaries and accept that sometimes you can’t control everything in life at the same time? I felt he had the hardest path in that moment – sorting out how best to raise a daughter but also by outward appearances show he had the confidence and capability to raise her without others questioning his motives and choices, too.
I was enjoying the ways in which Carpenter was aligning me into this story – how she was moving between Rowan and Zack’s lives and how everything was starting to find foundation in how both of them would start to interact with each other as well. Plus, there is something to be said for how whenever someone sets plans in their life, life has a way of giving them something else to chew on to see if those premade plans are truly what they want out of their life! I love finding stories which curate a path where characters can muse about another route to take and to see their lives from a different perspective – I have a feeling I’m going to enjoy my time spent in this novel and seeing how Carpenter ties it all together in the end.
On the Contemporary Romantic styling of Beth Carpenter:
I personally love how she entreats you to find rooting in her stories by giving you a strong impression of her characters straight-off the bat! You get to find out her character’s motivations and what has caused this new change in their lives — or what they might want to work through as the story progresses forward. In this instance, it did not take too long to see the overbearing presence of Rowan’s Mum in her daughter’s life – as she barely gets to re-adjust to being back on the ground after a long flight when her Mum is hounding all phones and methods of communication to intersect a moment of time to speak to Rowan. Just reading about it made me feel a migraine emerging because goodness, what kind of mother does that?! Seriously! Even when I was on long-haul flights or had multi-flight exchanges – my parents were especially kind and patient to wait for me to ‘catch-up’ to where I arrived especially as its harder the more time zones you crossover!
Carpenter also brought in some trivia about Japan and how the life Rowan leads in Japan re-relates back into her time spent in Alaska. I must admit, all that talk about cheese had me hankering for some myself – as two vices in my life are always cheese and bread! I mean, who wouldn’t crave either one of those on any given day?! Laughs. I can’t wait to see how we continue to insert our feet into Rowan and Zack’s lives whilst sorting out the lengths Rowan’s Mum is going to go to ensure she oversteps her own interests by causing more grief in her daughter’s life. I already knew she rubbed me the wrong way but of course, I couldn’t help but remain curious to see how far she’d take her need to control Rowan’s life and if at some point, Rowan might find her own voice to quell the control her mother takes over her and her affairs. As that to me would be a wicked good scene!
I can’t wait to back-read the one novel in this series I couldn’t get to previously which is Alaskan Derams whilst moving forward with An Alaskan Homecoming! Stay tuned as I explore this series and others throughout Summer here on Jorie Loves A Story! And, pray for me the storms won’t make this Summer a fury of angst and anguish as I try to soak into the joys of reading both Contemporary Romance and Young Adult Fiction!
This blog tour was courtesy of: Prism Book Tours
By clicking this badge you can find the tour route when this blog tour was actively travelling through the book blogosphere – for more insights into this story and reader reactions as well as guest posts by the author. All book bloggers love whenever you can visit and comment and share the joy of the content they are writing expressing their readerly journey.
readers who gravitate towards the same stories to read.
{SOURCES: Cover art of “An Alaskan Homecoming” as well as the rest of the Northern Light series (Books 1-7), synopsis and biography of the author Beth Carpenter as well as the blog tour banner and The Prism Book Tours badge were all provided by Prism Book Tours and used with permission. Post dividers by Fun Stuff for Your Blog via Pure Imagination. Tweets embedded by codes provided by Twitter. Blog graphics created by Jorie via Canva: #RomanceTuesdays banner, #25PagePreview banner and the Comment Box Banner.}
Copyright © Jorie Loves A Story, 2021.
I’m a social reader | I tweet my reading life
.@joriestory NEW #25PagePreview!
feat. Northern Lights #HarlequinHeartwarming series I LOVE to be #amreading!😉Sometimes lightning has a way of interrupting your readerly life *but!* in this #blogtour post you'll see why I love Ms Carpenter's series!
📖💜https://t.co/QXFaOegAjI pic.twitter.com/wat63bHmLc
— Jorie Story 📖🎧 (@joriestory) June 22, 2021
My goodness, Jorie, those storms sound terrible! No internet for a week, thunder and lighting, I can certainly see why your reading was disrupted. Thanks so much for finding a way to still participate on the tour with your first impressions, and for all the lovely thoughts. While I enjoy a good lightning storm, enough is enough. I hope the rest of your summer is less eventful, weather-wise, and that you can sink into your Heartwarming summer. Thanks again!