Close to Home will have you sitting with your feelings all night long. It’s tenderly emotive; the layout of the plot gorgeously engaging.
A second chance romance built on a rich history, provides the perfect fuel by which to feed a slow burn relationship between the main characters.
Eli Thomas goes home once a year for Christmas. A twenty four hour round trip that she hates, because it fills her every sense with the love she lost, and the broken family that’s never been the same. But when Eli’s Grandma suddenly dies, and the reading of her will gets complicated, Eli looks set to be staying for much more than her usual twenty four hour stint.
Twenty years of avoidance is a lot to deal with, and as Eli makes a start there is one person she didn’t bargain on seeing again. Aracely Hernandez was the teenage love of Eli’s life, but when Aracely made a devastating choice for the both of them, the abandonment ripped Eli apart, leaving a hole she’s never been able to fill. As Aracely tries to make amends, it’s down to Eli to decide whether she can risk her heart and the place she calls home for second time.
So many aspects of this story deeply resonated with me, particularly the loss of a parent at a young age and exactly how that continues to impact Eli even as an adult.
“Dad’s death had knocked our lives so far off course that I don’t know if Tommy or I ever fully processed the trauma. He was young and it was a shock…I rarely think about my father because I never wanted to think about the what-ifs had he not died.”
Allisa Bahney, Close to Home
Alongside the devastating aftermath, the kind that wreaks havoc with your idea of happily ever after, when the person you had unwavering belief in abandons you for the “greater good”.
The story really is an exploration in second chances, not just when it come to romantic love, but also that of the family unit. It’s equally difficult and fulfilling to watch Eli’s journey with both her and her brother Tommy. To see each of them begin to understand how the past continues to impact their present and their relationships with each other. I loved how Eli and Tommy’s Grandma’s death and will, is used as the catalyst for change. An opportunity for their Grandma to remind them of what’s important, even from the grave!
As Close to Home is a December release you won’t be surprised to find plenty of festive spirit sprinkled throughout the book. The description of Santa Day, complete with parade, memorial tree, snowman building, and sugary snacks is exactly how I’d imagine small town holiday celebrations to be.
As far as I’m aware this is Bahney’s first solo story, having previously co-authored the Badlands series, and I genuinely hope it won’t be the last. The author clearly has a knack for painting a picture that weaves an abundance of depth and feeling, where each colour palette is a different snippet of the story, and when taken as a whole the result is breathtakingly beautiful.
An excellent slow burn romance that exposes the many vulnerabilities required of giving, and receiving, second chances. I can’t wait to see what Allisa Bahney writes next.
I received an ARC of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Purchase from:
#QueerLitLoft 
Leave a comment