Take Me Home

February 1, 2024

DEBUT Psychology PhD student Hazel Elliot has a love-hate relationship with the Living Room Caf�. She loves the homey space and caffeinated drinks as she writes her papers, but she hates the forced interactions with aloof Ash Campbell, who works at the caf� part-time--in between stealing her favorite chair and working through his internship and architecture program. There's no love lost between them, though they hail from the same small town; it's mortifying to have someone so close who remembers all of Hazel's high school mistakes, including her ex-boyfriend, Ash's best friend. Hazel is not looking forward to the holiday break back home, where an appearance at her distant father's wedding is mandatory. When Ash's ancient car breaks down, Hazel takes pity on him and agrees to let him tag along on the drive so he can see his close-knit family, with one caveat--nothing can change between them. VERDICT Sweeney's strikingly realistic tangle of family dynamics and forced proximity between two believable characters overcoming past presumptions about each other, along with sexy love scenes, make this a must-read.--Nicole J. Suarez

Copyright 2024 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 27, 2024
Debut author Sweeney sparkles in this emotionally nuanced contemporary. After leaving Lockett Prairie, Tex., for college halfway across the state, Hazel Elliot swears she’s done with her hometown—and her divorced parents’ drama—entirely. But then her always distant, father announces he’s getting married again. To make her angsty road trip home even more uncomfortable, Ash Campbell, the guy who’d been her sort-of nemesis in high school, needs a ride back to Lockett Prairie as well. After the antagonistic pair get stranded in a snowstorm, they form a tentative alliance— which quickly turns to love. When they arrive back in Lockett Prairie, Hazel feels like an outsider among her father’s fiancée and her young children, who receive all the attention that Hazel never did growing up. Determined to make the best of it, she puts on a brave face. But when family tensions boil over, Hazel runs fast and far. Will Ash be able to catch her? Sweeney skillfully portrays the psyche of a heroine who grew up feeling that no one wanted her and a hero trying to bear all his family’s burdens in the face of his father’s multiple sclerosis. Add in a fun road trip and some deliciously dirty love scenes, and Sweeney’s stirring romance impresses.

Starred review from June 15, 2024
A last-minute road trip leads to a resurgence of long-denied feelings for two rivals. When Hazel Elliot decides she's done with something--a class, a friendship, a romantic attachment--she shuts the door on it forever. The trouble is that this week, she's been summoned back to her hometown for her father's wintertime wedding, and that means returning to a place she hasn't set foot in since leaving for college--and now she's working on a Ph.D. It turns out she's not the only one heading toward Lockett Prairie, Texas. Ash Campbell, her high school boyfriend's former best friend--who's now a barista at her favorite coffee shop when he isn't studying for his architecture degree and battling her for the best chair in the place--suddenly finds himself in need of a ride. With his car in the shop and no way to get home this close to Christmas, he's forced to rely on the girl he's harbored a secret crush on for years. Setting off on a long road trip isn't something these frenemies envisioned for themselves, especially when bad weather sends them off the road for the night--and into the only bed left at a local B&B. The more time they spend together, though, the more difficult it becomes to deny the fact that their healthy rivalry is rooted in a visceral attraction, and once they're both home in Lockett Prairie, Hazel realizes that Ash is the one person she can call on to rescue her from spending time with her dad's new family. Sweeney's romance debut is a phenomenal achievement, with a perfect blend of humor and angst. While most of the book is devoted to growing its main couple's dynamic, Sweeney gives equal weight to the familial relationships that define them and explores the meaning of truly growing up emotionally. Sometimes, the scariest thing anyone can do is fall in love, and although there are some bumps and stalls along the way, Hazel and Ash's journey to choosing each other makes for a lovely ride. A heartwarming contemporary romance that will keep readers hooked until the last page.

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