Member Reviews
Anyone who reads Debbie Macomber would love Shirlee McCoy. Her books are a pure delight and have some of the most wonderful characters in the romance game. I loved Home with You and highly recommend it!!
*received ARC from Zebra** thank you
Home with You by Shirlee McCoy is book one in the Bradshaws series. In this book, a family is in turmoil after a car accident and an uncle is suddenly left organzing and caring for a large family. He searches for a housekeeper/nanny and finds one. Everything changes after that. This is a cute story with interesting child characters. I have long been a fan of Ms McCoy's writing with the Love Inspired series. This book is very different from those books. I was surprised to find quite a bit of language in a book like this. I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher with no obligations. These opinions are entirely my own.
I received an arc from Netgalley. While I liked parts of this book it just did not draw me in like I would expect. I definitely will try more from this author but this wasn’t five star for me.
Sullivan Bradshaw had need of a cook, housekeeper, babysitter, nanny . . . His brother had been killed in a bad accident and his sister-in-law was lying in a coma in the hospital. They had six children that needed to be taken care of, not to mention the family farm. Sullivan was completely out of his element and needed help.
Rumer had taken a leave of absence from her teaching job to help her grandmother who had suffered a heart attack. She was really only needed on the weekends, so when she saw the ad, she felt it was an opportunity to help her grandmother financially, too.
Once Rumor met Sullivan and the six Bradshaw children, she wasn't sure it had been such a great idea after all. They were all a hot mess but endearing and she could see some of her insecurities in them, also. She couldn't seem to tear herself away, even though, she felt sure she would have her heart broken. They were beginning to get under her skin and worm their way to her heart.
This was a sweet story about healing scars from a bad childhood and making life better for those who had suffered, as well. I loved how Rumer and Sullivan worked together to take care of the children, even when they were exhausted and didn't really know what to do. They tried to do their best and built a little family in the process. There was a smattering of foul language in the book, but no sex scenes.
I was given a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Home With You
Shirlee McCoy
HOME WITH YOU is the first book in the Bradshaws series as well as the first book I’ve read by Shirlee McCoy but it won’t be my last. Once I started reading, I was emotionally invested in all of the characters and what they were going through. Sullivan Bradshaw finds himself taking care of his brother’s six children since his brother died in a car accident. Their mother is in a coma and these kids have no one except for him and his two brothers. The kids are all adopted and Sullivan isn’t the only one carrying around some baggage. Rumer Truehart answers a help wanted ad for a housekeeper and basically, a jack of all trades. Poor Rumer, her heart and her life will never be the same.
HOME WITH YOU is filled with friendship, forgiveness, family, mystery, humor, and romance. The spotlight isn’t really on Rumer and Sullivan though. It is all on the children and how they are dealing with their mom, Sunday, in the hospital in a coma. The kids will have you giggling out loud as you read about their antics. Then you have Rumer trying to ignore her attraction to Sully, as all the Truehart women seem to have all made heart breaking choices when it comes to men. Sully is afraid of taking care of the kids because he is single and has no kids of his own so no experience. The only father experience he has ever seen is his own father who was very mean and abusive and Sully is afraid he will turnout the same way.
I enjoyed every minute I spent reading HOME WITH YOU and am looking forward to spending more time with this heart warming family. Shirlee McCoy knows just how to make you fall in love with this mixed up family in a small town. It reminds us that a house is just a house and a family is not about being blood related but about the loved ones you care for. I can’t wait to see which Bradshaw brother will be in the next story. Shirlee McCoy stirred up every one of my emotions and did it with humor that kept me giggling. I’m so excited to read her previous books and anything new she writes. That’s how much I loved HOME WITH YOU.
Home with You by Shirlee McCoy
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
____________________________________________________________________________________________
Story Notes
This was a pretty cute story that illustrated how real life goes on after a tragedy happens. Life is messy every day and when the pieces of a person’s world falls apart it becomes all the more messy and chaotic. Rumer Truehart has come home to care for her ailing aunt and discovers there is little money to spare after all the medical bills and the recent necessary updates to the house. Knowing it’s up to her to find a job to help pay the upcoming bills, Rumer finds an ad requesting a housekeeper/nanny for a family near her aunt’s horse ranch. Applying in person seems ideal but Rumer will have to make a careful decision once she sees the craziness of the Bradshaw household. With six adopted children from age 12 to 2 years, Sullivan Bradshaw is hard put to be the stand in parent for his brother and sister in law. As bachelor with little interaction or experience with anyone younger than himself, Sullivan is desperate to find someone to help him manage the multiple schedules and keep everyone fed and clothed. Rumer is not quite what he expected when he had discussed a housekeeper/nanny with his other brothers but she seems to know just what each child needs and even makes them smile. And the fact that she is also quite pretty helps his decision immensely. Rumer is reluctant to agree as she is not certain she can be all that the children need, which in all honesty is their mother. But as Sunday Bradshaw remains in a coma, there is little Rumer can do outside of agreeing to help Sullivan keep everyone under control. Together they will have to learn how to care for the children and not lose their minds. And with children who love to push every last button they will find that their days will be filled with amazing laughter and oceans of tears. Along the way they might even find themselves discovering the true love they were looking for all their lives is working right beside them. Shirlee McCoy has been a favorite author of mine for several years. I have enjoyed reading multiple mystery/suspense stories of hers as well as some romances. I was a bit shocked with this story to find the inclusion of so much language – and it was completely unnecessary to the plot to include it. Yes, it makes the story a little more “edgy” I guess if you include that but I would have preferred the writing she usually provides which is excellent. For this reason, I could only give the book 3.5 stars when I really wanted to give it 4.5 based on the actual plot. Ms. McCoy wrote a heartbreaking and heart healing story that showed the raw and real pain that a family endures when tragedy strikes. Children especially take death hard and will lash out if not given a chance to grieve properly. They have to find a new balance for their new way of life and sometimes that means they will push the boundaries and break all the rules to find where they can comfortably come to rest. Ms. McCoy shared every emotion and did it with humor that made me laugh out loud. I truly enjoyed the book and the lessons to be shared. I am hopeful Ms. McCoy will bring out another book soon and will leave the unnecessary language out so I can recommend it to more people. As this one is I will be adding a warning to go along with this book as I don’t believe it will be enjoyed by everyone. Please bring back your other stories and better writing so I can share it with others!!
I received this E-book free of charge from Zebra/Kensington books via NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review. I will receive no fiscal compensation from either company for this review.
Rumer knew she had to get a job- she had already emptied put her savings and cashed in her 401K but there were still medical bills to pay. Rumer would be back in Seattle teaching once Lu who was her grandmother had recovered enough from her triple bypass surgery. Lu was worried about money and that wasn’t good. Rumer decided to get a job or two and put all her money into the remaining medical bills. When Rumer returned to Seattle she wanted to know Lu would be okay both physically and mentally. Rumer went to inquire about a job and had about three seconds to prevent hitting a little girl who had darted out in front of her. Rumer ended up in the ditch but did not hit the little girl. The little girl was Moisey and had three other sisters Heavenly , Twila and Oya - the baby and two twin brothers. Her uncle Sullivan was helping out since his sister in law and brother had been in an accident his brother had died and his sister in law Sunday was in a coma.Sullivan had never wanted kids, he wasn’t sure he even liked them. He definitely didn’t know what to do with them. Yet he had ended up with his brother’s Matthias’s crazy crew of kids- foster kids adopted except for Oya who the adopted when she was a couple days old and the kids had the scars and anger to prove it. Sullivan had been on sabbatical as he was writing a research paper on the influence of the 18th century women artists. Sullivan was a art history professor. So he was free to go to the farm and take care of the kids. Moisey said her uncle was helping out since her daddy was dead. Moisey said her mother was in the hospital but she was making magic with the flowers and then her mother would wake up. Rumer seen her teenage self in the twelve year old Heavenly who looked sixteen. Rumer was lucky Lu had tames some of the wild out of her or she might have ended up like her mother - a burned out druggy living on the streets. Lu had gotten custody of a very angry fourteen year old rumer. Sullivan showed up with heavenly by his side. Sullivan named an amount that would really help - it would pay all Lu’s medical bills, enough to hire someone to paint the barn, and buy food for the horses for a year, and pay someone to plant alfalfa on Lu’s sixty acre farm. But Rumer felt Sullivan was too much of everything she told herself she would avoid. After helping clean up the kitchen and the kids and making Twila a birthday cake Rumer left. Sullivan showed up at the homestead with the yellow jacket Rumer had been wearing and put over Moisey and he offered her a thousand dollars more a week if she would agree to the housekeeper job then and there and Rumer agreed.
This was an absolutely awesome read. I didn’t want to put it down and only did when I had to. It kept my interest from the first page until the last. I loved Sullivan and Rumer together each slightly broken from a troubled childhood. Rumer gave so much of herself and Sullivan learned to become a parent slowly- a man who never wanted any kids- but it was just great to see and you did feel like you were there with everyone. The kids all added so much to this book. There was so much beauty yet so much heartbreak. Sometimes I choked up while reading this and sometimes I chuckled. I found nothing to criticize in this book and that is always great with me. I loved the characters and the ups and downs of this book and I highly recommend
Home with You by Shirlee McCoy is the story of the Bradshaw brothers coming home. It has Ms. McCoy’s charming characters that I come to love. This time it is Sullivan Bradshaw and Rumer Truehart. Both of these characters know about family responsibility. While it is out of their normal routine, they step up to the plate. I liked for that from the very beginning. It is their growth as the story progresses that make this such a charming story. The beginning drew me in as Rumer weighs her options, going on an unusual trip to a job interview, keeping my interest to the very end.
The tragedies that they face are ones in which any of us could find ourselves. The realistic plot has wonderful supporting characters to round out the story. Set in Benevolence, Washington like where the Home Sweet Home trilogy is also set. Ms. McCoy again gives us the theme of home. Delightful, heartwarming and remarkable story that show it is never too late to find home.
An ARC of the book was given to me by the publisher through Net Galley which I voluntarily chose to read and reviewed. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
I will admit that this book wasn't for me. I really couldn't get into it right from the beginning. I've decided not to review since it would be such a unfair review this me not liking it.
This was a wonderful sweet romance that was heartwarming and entertaining. It is excellently written with touches of humor and characters (especially the children) that will grip your heart and hold on tight.
After a car accident leaves their brother dead and their sister-in-law in a coma, the Bradshaw brothers finds themselves as temporary guardians to six adopted children. Since Sullivan had the bad luck of taking his sabbatical at this time he first up in the primary care department. Luckily for him Rumer Truehart responds to the help wanted ad his brothers placed in the local newspaper. This is the story of the journey Sullivan and Rumer travel as they muddle their way through this parenting thing. All the while they are falling for each and this crazy mixed up family.
I highly recommend this one.
Wow! This was an incredible experience to read this book! I am so glad that Kensington sent me this book for an honest review!❤❤ This book is so much more than what meets the eyes. Reading the premise and looking at the cover, you think it will be a sweet romance but what you get is so much more. This story is heartfelt yet heart-wrenching! Shirlee McCoy's desrciptions and writing style was immaculate. I was so excited when I realized I owned 3 of her other books! I am anxiously waiting for the sequel already and don't think it could be released soon enough!!!❤❤❤ I highly recommend this story! It's so much wrapped into one book!😁
Home With You by Shirlee McCoy is the first book in her new The Bradshaws series. This story takes place mostly in the town of Benevolence, Washington, which was the setting of her previous (Home Sweet Home) series.
Rumer Trueheart, our heroine, has returned home to help her grandmother recover from a heart attack. They live on a farm, with horses and Rumer takes care of all the chores. Money is tight, so when she sees an ad in the newspaper for a nanny, Rumer decides to check it out.
Sullivan Bradshaw, hasn’t been home to Benevolence in many years. When his brother is killed and his sister in law is in a coma, he and his other two brothers decide to let Sully take care of the children until the sister in law Sunday recovers. Sully is not really a family man, has no idea how to take care of 6 young children, the oldest being 12, but he barely survives. Enter Rumer….
Rumer comes to visit Sully and the children to see what kind of job was advertised, and though she tries to help straighten out some things, she feels this might be too much for her, and goes home without applying for the job. Rumer is very good at what she does, having a degree in ?????. When Sully goes to visit her to beg her to take the job, he offers a lot of money and Rumer caves in, and accepts the job.
Rumer is also worried; not about the children, which she is very good at, but she feels an attraction to Sully, and all Trueheart women always gravitate to bad men. Life in the Bradshaw house is crazy, but with Rumer’s strong ability to get through to the kids, things begin to settle. Sully will also come to depend on Rumer, also feeling his growing attachment; but he has sworn himself to never committing to anything or anyone. His defenses in time will slowly crumble, as he begins to fall for Rumer. But can he change her mind about him being the perfect man for her?
What follows is a slow build sweet romance between Sully and Rumer, and the beautiful bringing 6 children together with hope. It isn’t easy, as the children have lost their father, and their mother may not be back. I truly loved Rumer, Sully and all the children made this such a wonderful emotional and heartwarming story for each other. It was great to be back in Benevelence, as we meet some people from the previous books. What also makes this such a great series is that all of the characters are so likeable.
Shirlee McCoy gives us another wonderful story, surrounded by a great family that is deeply in turmoil and the lovely atmosphere of a small town. The ending left things open for the next book, especially since there are two more brothers to have their story told. If you enjoy small town romances, family atmosphere, young children, sweet likeable couple, as well a nice story line; I suggest you start this series.
Another winner by McCoy. Even tho the premise of the book was sad, watching them all come together and find love was a wonderful thing to read. Really liked this book
Home with You shows the angst that goes hand-in-hand with the stresses anyone would experience in the situation that Sullivan and Rumer find themselves in after taking on unexpected family responsibilities; being overwhelmed, financial crisis, and personal chaos. As one would imagine, taking care of the crisis comes before personal desire, but that is hard when Sullivan and Rumer begin to experience a closeness and attraction to each other.
I found myself experiencing my own issue with the story: it was really hard to follow at times, and at others it was hard to stay interested. McCoy seemed to throw in any sort of action that would add to the chaos, but that only made the story harder to follow instead of illustrating what the characters were experiencing. Instead of empathizing with the characters, I really just wanted the resolution.
What a beautiful story! Full of emotion, laughter, tears, frustration, hopelessness, hopefulness, and plenty of love. Rumer, afraid to love because she's sure it won't work out. Sullivan, afraid to be in a position to raise his brother's kids because of the poor example his own father was. The children, afraid of what their future held. All learning that you have to risk failure to be able to have the love and future you dream of. I look forward to more stories about the Bradshaw brothers so that I can revisit these wonderful characters!
Sullivan is back in town to take care of his nieces and nephews after a car accident kills his brother and puts his sister-in-law in a comma.
Feeling overwhelmed he hires a reluctant Rumer to help around the house and with the kids. Rumer needs the extra work to make money to help her grandmother with hospital bills and farm upkeep. Slowly but surely Rumer finds herself bonding not only with Sullivan but the whole family.
While romance and attraction between Rumer and Sullivan play a part in the plot, the story really centers around family bonds, love, and being there for each other when life gets difficult.
I am looking forward to the books about the other two brothers!
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Nice start for a new series. Sullivan has hired Rumor to help with his six nieces and nephews when his brother is killed and his sister in law is severely injured. Ok, let's all admit we know what's going to happen but also admit that if we've picked this book, we're softies. Some of this is a tad chaotic (there are lots of kids) but there's a good heart. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. Try this one for a satisfying light read that pulls at emotions.
This book was perfect, now one of my all time favorites. The romance, love and challenges were so beautifully written it was like poetry in some cases. I love this family, and all the people that surround them, as they have touched my heart. If I could ever double my stars I would in the case of 'Home with You'. Please give yourself a gift and read it.
Rumer has returned home to help take care of her Gram Lu who is recovering from heart troubles. They are in debt so she takes a temporary job as a nanny to Sullivan who is taking care of his six nieces and nephews. Their father was killed and their mom is still in the hospital for a long healing time. The story is emotional, some of the kids were adopted and are feeling scared. While I enjoyed the story, it read more like woman's fiction and less of a romance which I was expecting, especially since it take place in Benevolence, Washington where the previous Home Sweet Home trilogy took place.