Thank you Netgalley for the ARC of this book. This is an updated version that was previously released 20 years ago and it held up very well. Barbara O'Neal is one of my go to authors for a heartfelt book. This was no different! Lovely family driven storyline and memorable characters. Definitely recommend

This novel will definitely be one of my favourites this year!
I got lost in this wonderful story that is beautifully written. It had my emotions going in every direction.
A multigenerational family saga, love story, and deeply moving novel about love and loss, and the bonds of family and friends.
Highly Recommended!

Thank you to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for an arc of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

I always enjoy books by this author - they’re nice to get lost in. This was another good one, I enjoyed it.

"No Place Like Home" tells the story of Jewel, who left her traditional Italian Catholic family in Pueblo at 17 to follow her rock-star partner, Billy, and her best friend, Michael, to New York. After two decades and various challenges, including raising her son Shane, she returns to Pueblo to seek reconciliation and rebuild connections with her estranged family. The book explores themes of personal growth, redemption, and the enduring strength of family ties, with richly detailed settings and believable characters. Through heartfelt moments and emotional struggles, Jewel finds new love and a sense of belonging, making it a journey of forgiveness and healing.

A gorgeous tale about the complex nature of love, both platonic & romantic, & with family. O'Neal really captures the difficulty of parental relationships in particular & the confusing nature of pride vs wanting to let things go. She describes the protagonist's home town so richly, it was really easy to feel like you were there with her.

My only criticism was Jewel's constant references to being unhappy with her body size. It felt very dated & she was clearly a relatively slim woman & very attractive; she put herself down so frequently & that got tiring.

The ending of the book was beautiful though - it was so poignant & hopeful.

Love, family drama, and a little bit of food thrown in. I always enjoy Barbara O'Neal's books and this one wasn't any different. While the plot isn't something amazing, it is still a solid, entertaining read.

Jewel is going home. Aunt Sylvia passed and left her a home and some sizable acreage in her hometown. She is taking her best friend Michael who is dying of AIDS, and her son a fledgling musician who gets his talent from his dead father. It is a tough move. She hasn't been there in over twenty years and is estranged from her father who opposed her leaving with a tough guy musician just after high school graduation. Jewel, after all, had so much potential. She grew up immersed in cooking in the family restaurant surrounded by noisy Italians who loved and lived large. Food is big in this book. The plot is interesting and the characters are appealing but the food and recipes are a large part of the lives of the characters and are in the book as well. Michael, the AIDS afflicted friend has a very appealing younger brother who shows up to spend time with his brother in his last days. He too has father problems. Jewel and he bond but the bond is fragile and depends on the healing of the heart. Loved this book and Barbara O'Neal's storytelling as always is fantastic. Thanks to #NetGalley#NoPlaceLIkeHome for the opportunity to read and review this book. Find my review on https://www.facebook.com/thereadingandwritingsentinel/

A heartbreaking story, and so grounding. Moving back to her childhood hometown of Pueblo after over 20 years, Jewel faces reality head on. Having left Pueblo as a tear-away teenager on the back of her boyfriend’s motorcycle, Jewel leads a full life over the years with her musician partner before his death. and their son. She inherits her Great Aunt’s house back in her hometown and makes the momentous decision to return, taking with her Shane her son, and her very dearest friend Michael who is dying of AIDS.

This is a novel about the strength of family ties and the saying ‘blood is thicker than water’ is so true, where past discretions are forgiven and families reunited at times of turmoil, both happy and sad. It’s also a story of the meaning of love and how it can flourish in unlikely circumstances. A very engaging book; once started, hard to put down. The only thing I would change would be to stop before the last few pages - I like the idea that there is always hope for the future!

My thanks to NetGalley and the publishers Lake Union for this e-copy in exchange for a review

One of my favorite things about Barbara O’Neal’s books is how much depth she gives her characters. Her stories are about the people, with storylines weaved in rather than the opposite. With this, at times the morals within the story can be a bit grating, but this is all a part of the characters depth. This story weaves together the lives of a family, biological and chosen, and the way they navigate illness and loss.

A re-release in 2024, No Place Like Home, is about connecting back to one's own self and connecting again to your family. It's also about found family and knowing what's important in the long run.

Jewel left her home with a musician irrespective of her father's wishes a while ago. Now, she comes back to a home left to her by her aunt with a teenage son and her best friend who is dying. She has to set up herself in a new place and reconnect with her family. Apart from that, she needs to accept herself the way she is, wrinkles, and all. Enters Malachi and her new adventure begins.

The story starts a little bit sluggish, and I was not sure at the beginning about this book. But, by the end, I definitely had some tears ready to flow. It's a beautiful story, and the characters are so wonderful. They are imperfectly perfect, and I like them that way.

Thank you, Lake Union Publishing, for this book.

Twenty Year Old Book Holds Up Well. First off, to be clear: This new (2024) edition is an updated and revised (with apparently *some* new content) version of a book originally released over 20 years ago. So some of you may have already own/ have read this, and I know there are at least some out there who "only read new releases". But for everyone *else*... this is still a damn good story, 20 years later.

In at least some ways, it is actually a callback to a different era, the era of RENT when friends dying of AIDS was still a major zeitgeist moment and a reality for many, particularly many in urban areas. (I say this because growing up in the exurbs of Atlanta in the era the book was originally published, this just wasn't a reality that was seen much in my area.) This plotline provides both some of the gravitas of the book - addiction being the primary other source - and the meetcute - the male lead is the brother of the friend dying of AIDS.

The romance side of the book is also well done, granted with a lot of lust and pent up sexual frustration as its start and with quite a bit of bedroom action (not always in the bedroom) throughout - once things get going there. Which, again, will be a turn off for some and a selling point for others.

Ultimately, this is a story of a lot of flawed individuals making their way through life as best they can in the situations they find themselves, and this is where the story particularly shines.

Very much recommended.

I’m pretty stingy with five star reviews. This one has everything I want in a book - the love and conflict of family, luscious sexual tension, true love of dear friends, and recipes. Oh, and it made me cry.

This is a revised edition previously issued under O’Neal’s pen name, Barbara Samuels. I’m so glad it was brought to my attention this way, because I thought I had read all of her books.

I especially loved how Jewel, the main character, experienced life through all her senses, with beautiful descriptions of scents (especially as the scents pertained to each person), food, weather, and light.

Family, recipes, good sexual tension - yes, please

I love Barbara O’Neal … she has a way of telling a beautiful story with excellent character development . “No Place Like Home” is a wonderful story about family , found family , and the dynamics that bind us .. it’s a beautiful story that will keep you intrigued until the very end .

Very enjoyable read about love, loss and the importance of family. It kept me captivated until the last page.

This is my first book of the author’s and was very impressed with how easy it was to follow.

Thank you for the advanced reader’s copy.

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
I read When We Believed in Mermaids almost 2 years ago and loved jt so when I saw Barbara was re-releasing a bunch of her older books I got them all on NetGalley and set a goal to finish each before the release date (we’ll see how I do)
I didn’t LOVE this book all throughout and felt it was fairly predictable but I loved the ending which made me change to a 5 star rating 🩷 I am the Jewel of my family. Luckily my dad still loves me and I didn’t make all the mistakes she did but I live far away while my siblings and parents live in the same state. I’m the oldest of 3 and single, no kids, while my siblings are all settled down. All that to say I really had an emotional connection to this book. I loved how Jewel and Shane had a found family with Michael, love how she comes home and realizes how much she missed it, love her reconnecting with her dad when she needed and oh my gosh do I love her with Malachi. Very excited for the rest of the re-releases!

I really enjoyed this book. It was different than anything else I've read recently. I couldn't put it down! I will keep an eye out for this author's future work!

This was a well-written, wonderful book. It's about family, love, forgiveness, being yourself, and returning home after a long time away. While reading this book, I laughed, I cried, and I fell in love. This was an amazing book.

Can you go home again? Jewel Sabatino is going to find out. Jewel has been estranged from her father for over 20 years, according to him, Jewel disgraced and dishonored him and her family when she ran off with a musician, Billy, when she was 17 years old. She has had minimal contact with her mother and three sisters, however she has not seen them. It's time to return home when Jewel inherits her Aunt's home and her friend Michael needs a place with fresh air and peace to cope with his terminal illness. Jewel, Michael and Jewel's 17 year old son, Shane pack up, leaving behind the City and moving to Pueblo, Colorado.
No Place Like Home by Barbara O'Neal is a lovely book about families, friendships, reconciliations and love. There were times I laughed out loud, and times when I cried. I highly recommend No Place Like Home, and thank NetGalley, Lake Union Publishing and Barbara O'Neal for the opportunity to read an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Jewel Sabatino ran away from home when she was seventeen, and went to New York, all because of a boy. Now, her son is seventeen, that boy she fell head-over-heels in love with is dead, and her best friend Michael is dying. When she receives a surprising inheritance - her aunt’s Pueblo farm and one hundred acres of land - Jewel knows it is time to return home, and bring Michael with her so he can live out his final days somewhere comfortable and serene. The only sticking point is Jewel's father. He still hasn't forgiven her for running away all those years ago, and he may never forgive her. Jewel isn't sure she is ready to face him, either. When Michael's brother Malachi rides into town to be with Michael during his final days, Jewel finds that he may be the one to heal her heart as well.

I adored Jewel. I really rooted for her, and wanted her entire family to accept her back into the fold. It broke my heart the way her father treated her once she came back home. My heart hurt for Michael as well. He was dying from AIDS and it was especially hard to read about his not wanting to die in a hospital, as he was hooked up to a respirator when he had pneumonia. This book is perfect for fans of Nora Roberts and Adriana Trigiani.

No Place Like Home is a story of returning home after leaving as a teenager some twenty years before. Barbara O'Neal gives the reader a rich emotional story of forgiveness, reconnections for the older, connections for the younger, personal growth and remembering not only the difficult times growing up but the many good times too. Jewel comes home to Colorado with teenage son in tow, mostly because a late aunt left her a farm and land. Her close friend Michael needs care and a peaceful place now. So home she goes.

Family reunited and created family is so much a part of this story with traditions, sisters, loving mother. Father is a different story but in life isn’t there usually one or two suborn ones. Jewel’s story will touch your heart, remind you of your own journey in life and inspire you to continue growing. Read today.