Rating: 
Summary: Finding Home
Review: The great Southern writer Thomas Wolfe once noted that you cannot go home again. But Southerner Cassie Madison learns the clay of her native Georgia smalltown does not scrape off easily when she returns after a long absence in the marvelous new book by Karen White, FALLING HOME.Cassie Madison has a successful career and finance in Manhattan, a complete life that has nothing to do with her roots as member of a well-established family in Walton, Georgia. She hasn't been back home for fifteen years, even though she practically raised her younger sister after their mother died of cancer. When that sister and Cassie's own first love married, without Cassie even knowing they particularly liked each other, she was done with the lot of them. Now her sister Harriet has called her home. Their father is dying and wants to see Cassie. At first, she treats her family as another business problem that can be organized and solved. But the death of her beloved father and her sister's large family slowly make her question whether she wants to sell her father's glorious old home and return to New York. And then there's that smalltown doctor who Cassie has known her entire life, the sexy, well-adjusted Sam Parker. Although Sam plays an important role in Cassie's decision, it is her sister, her family, at least two mysteries and a town filled with enchanting characters, from senior citizen Steel Magnolias to the nerdy kid who grew up to be successful, who play at least as central a role. Karen White's storytelling prowess is delightful in showing how Cassie stayed away because of a broken heart but never stopped loving her sister. She shows how family circumstances forced Cassie into being the keeper of her kinfolk's hearts and how she has dealt with that pressure. At first, it appears the rifts are healed too quickly or smoothed over in a hurried fashion. But FALLING HOME is a more subtle, and ultimately more rewarding, work. The healing of old wounds, the need to win at all costs and what makes a home are all addressed within the framework of Cassie deciding what to do with her home and her life while Sam, Harriet and the townfolk wait for her answer. FALLING HOME is a rarity for the demands of today's cookie-cutter marketing practices. It is a fully integrated story that shows how intertwined family, friends and the love of one's life are when a person discovers their true place in the world. FALLING HOME is the kind of book that makes one laugh and cry buckets of tears. It's the kind of book to stay up far too late at night reading because it's too darned hard to put down, dangnabit. It's filled with real people facing real things without resorting to melodrama or phony plot twists. Ms. White's talents that were showcased so engagingly in her historical Gothic, WHISPERS OF GOODBYE, are again shown in their best light in FALLING HOME. Both books would be at home on any keeper shelf. ...
Rating:
Summary: Sterling debut novel! Very highly recommended
Review: The three o'clock in the morning call stuns Cassie Madison when her sister simply states, "It's Daddy. He's dying." The old judge lives long enough for Cassie to leave New York and drive to her hometown of Walton, Georgia. Cassie had sworn she would never set foot in Walton again, and only her father's dying wish lures her back. Indeed, Cassie brings with her fifteen years of buried resentment and heartache. She finds healing, acceptance and love. It does not take long for the south to reestablish its influence. Cassie finds her speech, her clothes and her attitudes radically influenced by the people and place of her roots. But she does not yield easily. Fifteen years is a long time to resent a sister for eloping with her fiancé. Soon, however, Cassie comes to realize her absence denied her not only the sister she had practically raised, but also her nieces and nephew, a town that loves her, and her heritage. Her return also opens the door to Doctor Sam Parker, a man who recalls her vividly even if her memories are centered elsewhere. With great flair, author Karen White captures the nuances that characterize the south in FALLING HOME. Ice tea, grits, magnolia trees and fried okra create an atmosphere of healing for Cassie, despite her old resentments. As she moves beyond her guilt, Cassie discovers the family she had rejected, the possibilities of love, and the pain of grief. Cassie might have thought she had established a new life in New York, but she soon comes to learn running away only buries the old wounds. Sexy doctor Sam has already learns the same lessons with which Cassie struggles, imparting wisdom and patience in equal measure. But Cassie's determination to return to New York, her fiancé, and her carefully controlled life will eventually force a choice in more than just lifestyle. Southern colloquialisms and attitudes and are used to great effect, creating a novel peachy as the state in which it is set. FALLING HOME comes very highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Falling Home
Review: This book is a warm, gentle, read about real people who actually grow and change without artificial motivation and angst. We experience love, death, family disfunction,true misunderstandings, faith and new life in a romance. There is sensuality, love and mystery. More importantly, when you close the cover, you say "Ahhh," and go look for a map that shows the way to Walton, GA.
Rating: 
Summary: If I could give it 0 stars I would
Review: This book was offensive to me as someone who has lived in the north and the south. It hit on every possible cliche regarding behavior. North is bad; south is good. Money is bad; genteel poverty is good. Homemaking good; career woman bad. The heroine was a doormat, the hero a judgmental jerk. The whole thrust of the story is that family should always be forgiven (no matter how awfully they treat you) and you should sublimate your ambition on their behalf. I want my money back.
Rating:
Summary: Run,, don't walk, for this book
Review: Welcome to Walton,Georgia, with all it's quirky, flawed, but, oh so lovable residents.This book is a wonderful mix of southern fiction & romance, with a little mystery thrown in, to keep your fingers turning those pages.
Running away to New York many years ago, because of deep family hurt and betrayal, Cassie Madison now finds herself thrust back in Walton. She has to come to terms with her troubled past and deal with the new set of situations and people that are making it difficult for her to leave the place from which she once fled.
Number one reason making the choice so difficult, is Walton's town doctor,Sam Parker (think Josh Lucas from SWEET HOME ALABAMA).But, I can't tell you all about Sam, or the story. You need to run out right now and get this book, because you deserve this treat!
White, a gifted writer, has the ability to make the reader feel as if they're sipping sweet tea alongside Cassie on her front porch swing. The characters and storyline are plausible. Who hasn't experienced hurt and betrayal, from those we once considered closest?
Falling Home was a pure pleasure to read.I read it at every stop light, while on hold with the doctor's office, while having my eyebrows waxed, etc.. you get my point-couldn't put it down.The story ranges from side splitting hysterical("say sweet tea and fried chicken!")to sad, but, hope filled.
Lucky for us readers, we'll get to visit Walton again in White's next book, AFTER THE RAIN- see you there!
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