Review: A- rating overall
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 06 30, 2014
Overall Rating: A-(entire anthology which is cheaper than buying them individually)Reviewer's Note: These three books are very interwoven, but even with that, it would be very easy to read any one of them as a stand-alone (each book runs about 50,000 words). That being said though, the entire series is excellent and I highly recommend you buy them as a group...plus it will save you money. Note: If you do plan to read them all, you need to read them in order because they do run chronologically in time.Individual story ratings:ONE DOOR CLOSESMy Rating: B+My Review:This book had a really different style to it...almost artsy, or high-literary. There was a lot that wasn't being said in the story...it was just inferred. It's difficult to explain because it was very different. It wasn't a bad different, but it did take a bit of time/reading to get used to.As the reader you know that Cal and Will have a history, but you only get little bits and pieces of the details of that history. Also, Cal has other issues and he can feel his world unraveling as the stress in his life gets higher and higher. Like I said, so much of this is inferred...definitely all secretive and it keeps you guessing about what exactly happened although it's not hard to figure out the general details of the secrets.This is also the first book in the anthology so it's the one setting up the relationships between the brothers vs their relationship to their foster mother and now their conflict within the town. I definitely liked the entire set-up here. The three brothers all grew up within the home, but at different times, so they barely know each other. So not only are they dealing with the loss of a woman who was very dear to all three of them, they are also learning to know each other, and trying to figure out how to save the home because there is a powerful man in town who's determined that these three men will not get to keep the home.Then there is Will and Cal. It took forever to figure out exactly what happened between them, but there's no denying that they both still have feelings.They both just really suck at expressing them. There is so much that needs to be said between the two of them...which means that they both read way too much into the things that aren't said...and of course, they both are always reading things wrong. I liked them and their common goal of saving the house. I liked Will's job as contractor and how that puts him right in the middle of Cal's world, whether he's comfortable with him there or not. This one worked for me.I received a complimentary copy of this book in return for an honest review.THE GROWING SEASONMy Rating: AMy Review:Angst, I love it and Danny absolutely has it in spades, but he's earned it...the hard way. Danny is the youngest of the three brothers. He also had a little bit different background than most the kids that went through the house, coming from a privileged background. So he truly didn't appreciate what he had in the house until it was gone. Danny ran away with his lover when he was only 17. That didn't work out so well for him and he ended up starving on the streets. Eventually that landed him in juvenile hall for stealing food. While there, he was attacked. He's never recovered in the 3 years since that attack. He has nightmares and doesn't get close to anyone...including his two new brothers.But when Sam comes into his world, that begins to change...with a bit of help from his mother's ghost. Danny's situation broke my heart...just in that he is so alone, so unwilling to trust anyone. There were several times throughout the story that I had tears in my eyes for him. But when he connects with Sam, he's there for him. I liked all the threads that tied these two men together...their common interest in the landscaping and the tie between their mothers' cancer/deaths. I also liked the way that this story played out on the drama of the house with the town. Both Sam and Danny were awesome in those scenes...fighting for their rights to keep the house as a foster home.I loved everything about this one. Really, really good story!I received a complimentary copy of this book in return for an honest review.THE LOST YEARMy Rating: A-My Review:Reading through the series, Devon has seemed the most well-adjusted of the three men. He was the oldest and one of the first boys to come through Audrey's house. But looks can hide a lot. Like all the boys who came through, Devon had issues and Audrey saw them. He couldn't handle that and left, never to come back, which broke her heart. He couldn't handle the emotions she made him feel. He didn't want to love her...or anyone.As an adult, Devon has spent his life dealing with incredibly emotional things with the wall of his camera between him and them so that he doesn't have to feel. But when a desperate father shows up needing help to find one of the kids in his photos, it's hard for Devon to maintain that distance, especially as exhaustion and frustration wear down his defenses.There was so much to like about this story. I loved the "images" of what Devon does with his camera. I also really liked his strength that he showed to do what he did. The entire story line about Nicholas and his son worked for me....and made my heart hurt for those runaways that live like that on a daily basis. I loved the way that this one ended with Audrey's ghost and the single call that happened at the end...perfect way to end the series. What these men have built with this house is wonderful and I know it's probably not going to happen, but I'd love to see more stories from the house. I'd love to know what happens with Glenna, Tag, and Wes...and even Robbie...the kids that we got to know through the series.Overall, I am so glad I chose to pick this one up for review. It's an excellent series and I enjoyed every minute of reading it.I received a complimentary copy of this book in return for an honest review.