REVIEW: GOING HOME AGAIN, BY ABBY CAVANAUGH

 Genre: Contemporary Romance
Publisher: Swoon Romance
Publication Date: 8/27/13
Format: ebook
Pages: 300
Source: Publisher
Rating: 3.5 stars

In high school, it was doubtful Michael Day knew Alyssa Jones existed.

Twenty years later, when the now-famous pop star returns home to coastal North Carolina, Alyssa gets a second chance to make a first impression on Michael.

On sabbatical from his failing marriage, Michael agrees to an interview with Alyssa, a journalist for the local tourist magazine.

When the chemistry between them ignites, Alyssa and Michael are hit with the harsh reality that he isn't yet free to love her.

With Michael's wife and son still very much in the picture, can Alyssa hold out until he ends his marriage for good? Or will she risk it all for a second chance with the one who got away?

First Impression ....A story about a woman who falls in love with her high school crush-turn rock star. I'm in.

The Story... Twenty years after he became her crush, Alyssa gets the chance to interview rock star Michael Day for her magazine when he returns to his home town. Instant chemistry sparks between the two. Good news, considering Alyssa gets to live her long-time fantasy. Bad news, considering  Michael is on a break from his marriage and considering divorce. The attraction is intense, and won't be denied. Michael and Alyssa must struggle through the difficulties of ending a marriage, and beginning something new, all in the media spotlight.

The Characters ... I've struggled with this, and have had a hard time reconciling being objective, and my personal thoughts on Alyssa and Michael's actions. Alyssa and Michael were both likable enough characters, considering their actions. I get that they shared an instant chemistry, but being a wife myself, I'm a hard sell on the cheating part. Yes, I got that Michael's marriage was by all intents over, but his wife didn't know that. And even though she was portrayed as a shrew, I felt more sorry for her than anyone else. I've kind of beaten myself up over my feelings for Michael and Alyssa, but then realized that I have read books in which I've felt more empathy for the cheater. I could feel what drove that character to the actions. I can say from an objective standpoint that it makes for a very interesting story. But from a personal angle, I was never on the either main character's side. Feeling so conflicted makes it difficult to review, but also shows that it was a story that made me think.


The Writing .... Was nice and easy. I will say that the first half of the plot felt rushed. Michael and Alyssa reconnected, began their relationship, and fell in love in the span of under two weeks (I think). I know it's possible, sixteen years ago my friend has married a guy she knew six days, they are still married. I was told it was there, but I didn't feel this intense bond that wouldn't be denied. Besides that, the story is really sweet. And the dual point-of-view provided insight into Michael's life and experiences in his marriage, along with Alyssa's long-held feelings for him. I mean, who among us never dreamed about meeting and falling in love with a famous rocker? So that part, I really enjoyed. It's like a great wish-fulfillment for the teenager in all of us. Besides the whole "wife" bit.

Could I Put Going Home Again Down? ... Because of the nice, fast pace, I never struggled with finishing. I wasn't consumed, but I was curious how it would all go down.

In the End ... I enjoyed Going Home Again, though I struggled with Alyssa and Michael's  actions. It took me back to a time when Jordan Knight was my #1 guy, and that's never a bad thing.


Favorite Quote:

  I slid my fingers into her hair and let my thumbs caress her face as I kissed her again. She fell into me and we held each other tighter. Something about the cold rain drenching us and the warmth of her body next to mine as we literally kissed and made up, made me realize this was one of those moments I was going to remember for the rest of my life. And I silently thanked God once again for bringing Alyssa into my life.    ~79%

Purchase Going Home Again

Amazon  |  Barnes & Noble 

About the author
Abby Cavenaugh is a writer of romantic women's fiction and YA paranormal. She is a newspaper editor by day, but dreams of someday retiring to the North Carolina coast to write books full-time. She lives near Charlotte with her twin sister, also a writer, six-year-old niece and crazy cat, Gus, and is driven by dreams, Diet Coke and chocolate.


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GUEST POST: ABBY CAVENAUGH, AUTHOR OF "GOING HOME AGAIN"

I would like to welcome author Abby Cavenaugh to the blog today, to tell us about her book, Going Home Again. I will be reviewing Going Home Again soon, and am very excited about it.

 

Genre: Contemporary Romance
Publisher: Swoon Romance
Publication Date: 8/27/13

In high school, it was doubtful Michael Day knew Alyssa Jones existed.

Twenty years later, when the now-famous pop star returns home to coastal North Carolina, Alyssa gets a second chance to make a first impression on Michael.

On sabbatical from his failing marriage, Michael agrees to an interview with Alyssa, a journalist for the local tourist magazine.

When the chemistry between them ignites, Alyssa and Michael are hit with the harsh reality that he isn't yet free to love her.

With Michael's wife and son still very much in the picture, can Alyssa hold out until he ends his marriage for good? Or will she risk it all for a second chance with the one who got away?

10 Facts About GOING HOME AGAIN 

The fabulous Andrea Thompson asked that I post a guest blog today, to go along with her review of my debut novel, GOING HOME AGAIN. Whether you've read it or not (and if you haven't, I hope you will soon!!!), hopefully you'll find these 10 facts about my novel interesting and fun! 

1. The novel was inspired by my first fan-girl experience with New Kids on the Block. It may sound crazy, but let me explain. In the late 1980s and early 90s, I was a huuuuuuuge fan of NKOTB, especially Jordan Knight. He was my first love in a way, because I never had a high school or college boyfriend that I fell deeply in love with like most people. I had boyfriends but they just weren't spectacular. (Sorry, guys. LOL) Back in the day, I went to three NKOTB concerts, but I never got the chance to get close to Jordan, and definitely never met him. Fast-forward 20 years to Oct. 30, 2008, when they played Charlotte as part of their reunion tour. I was already back to full Jordan Girl status by the end of the first song because after 20 years of desperately trying to get his attention, he finally saw me and smiled and winked at me. Life= made. Haha! BUT, after the show, there was this crazy moment in which Jordan and Donnie Wahlberg ran toward a bunch of us screaming fans in the parking garage underneath the arena. After the craziness cleared, I was standing off to the side and Jordan came right by me. I fan-girled and was 15 again for a second because I jumped on him and gave him this big hug and exclaimed, "Jordan!" He did this cute little laugh and hugged me and said, "Hey!" Now my life really was made. After a few days, I got to thinking how crazy it was that I spent my life from age 13-21 obsessed with this guy and he finally knew I was alive, if even for a brief moment. Then, I thought how cool would it be if by some miracle, some girl like me got to meet her teenage crush and the two of them actually fell in love? Voila! The idea for GOING HOME AGAIN was born. 

2. Although it's published via Swoon Romance, I didn't originally intend for it to be a romance. I realize that contradicts my whole story idea, but honestly, when I first started the book, I intended it for to be about Alyssa and her three best friends, but Alyssa and Michael's story was too good not to be the entire focal point of the story. Apologies to my best friends who were originally a MUCH larger part of the story. ;) 

3. The secondary characters are based on my real-life friends. My twin sister Amy is the basis for Marissa, and my best friend since kindergarten, Angi, is the basis for Haley. As I mentioned above, there used to be much more of Marissa and Haley's stories in the book, but when I had to cut the story down so agents and editors would even consider it, those side plots had to go! 

4. Michael Day's house is a real house in Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina. When I worked for Wrightsville Beach Magazine (like Alyssa), I wrote occasional stories about homes on the island. This one house stuck out in my mind; it wasn't even my favorite house that I wrote about for the magazine, but once I started writing about Alyssa visiting Mike's house for the first time, I saw this house in my head. I would post a picture of it but I don't want to get sued or something because obviously, it doesn't belong to me!! 

5. Music is a huge part of the story. Not only is Michael Day a pop star in the story, but I also have to have music playing when I am writing. I have a GOING HOME AGAIN playlist on Spotify, which includes some songs I listened to while writing it, but others I became aware of after the book was finished. I would love to have any or all of these songs on the soundtrack if it's ever made into a movie! https://play.spotify.com/user/1297491873/playlist/6fMhYsr60eirbPimVqwcUK (But Tender Love HAS to be on there. If you've read the book, you know why!) 

6. I had massive amounts of input on the cover. I have to give huge kudos to Georgia McBride and Swoon Romance for my cover. Georgia made sure I was 100% happy with the cover before it was approved. In fact, she sent me at least 20 different options, and asked for my yay or nay on each of them. This is something I never thought I'd be able to do as an author and one of the great things about going with a publisher like Swoon. 

7. Married women may not enjoy the story as much as single women. I have been blessed to have mostly five-star reviews, but the four- and three-star reviews are 99% of the time from married women who had a hard time connecting with Alyssa and Mike's motivations at certain parts of the story. I was once married myself (in another galaxy, far, far away...) so I can understand that. But I hope that like most readers seem to have done, those who are married can find themselves rooting for Alyssa and Mike in the end. 

8.The book is dedicated to my cat, Charlie, who passed away Nov. 16, 2011. :( In the book, Alyssa has a chubby black-and-white cat named Charlie. This was my real cat for seven years, and although I was iffy about including my real cat while she was alive, I'm SO glad I did now because this way, she can live on forever through GOING HOME AGAIN's pages. And that's all I'm going to say about that before I burst into tears right now! 

9. My mom still hasn't read GOING HOME AGAIN because I'm a wuss. And also because I'm not sure she understands the concept of eBook. Once it goes to print, I'll have no more excuses and I'll just have to bear That Look when she reads the sex scenes and swearing!!! 

10. Oh, and yes, GOING HOME AGAIN will be available in print soon! No details on the release date yet, but I've been told it will be this month and I am SO EXCITED. :D

 

**Okay, so I am very excited to read Going Home Again! NKOTB was the first band I ever loved, and Jordan was my guy, too. I'll be reading this in the next few days. **

 

 

Purchase Going Home Again

Amazon  |  Barnes & Noble 

About the author
Abby Cavenaugh is a writer of romantic women's fiction and YA paranormal. She is a newspaper editor by day, but dreams of someday retiring to the North Carolina coast to write books full-time. She lives near Charlotte with her twin sister, also a writer, six-year-old niece and crazy cat, Gus, and is driven by dreams, Diet Coke and chocolate.


Website  |  Twitter  |  Facebook  |  Pinterest