Homeward Bound

Pine Cove, Book 3

By: H. J. Welch

Narrated by: Nick J. Russo

After Micha Perkins finds himself wrongly implicated in a crime, the last person he wants coming to his rescue is his secret crush, Swift, his older brother’s best friend. But when Micha returns to the town that never felt like home, he discovers Swift’s young daughter is in trouble as well. If Micha can help them both in any way, he knows he will.

Self-defense coach Swift Coal never realized he was a father until he gets custody of five-year-old Imogen and her cranky cat. His neat and tidy life is about to come crashing down, but to his surprise, Micha Perkins is there to save the day. He’s so damn good with kids, and just as cute as Swift remembers. When Micha moves in to help look after Imogen, Swift struggles to repress the feelings he’s kept hidden.

Micha’s always been a misfit, and Swift’s life was always orderly. Micha may have taken the fall to protect those more vulnerable than him, but who will save him when his past comes back to haunt him? Was Swift a fool to risk the safety of his daughter around a bad element like Micha? When their chaotic worlds collide, perhaps love and family are the middle ground they both need to become stronger together.

Book three in Pine Cove. Homeward Bound is a steamy stand-alone MM romance novel with a guaranteed HEA and absolutely no cliffhanger.

©2019 H. J. Welch (P)2019 H. J. Welch

Loved this story!

I would sit in my car when I should have been going into work just to hear another chapter! the story of Swift and Micah made me laugh and cry. A beautiful story with wonderful narration.

Absolutely amazing!

I love this series so much! Swift and Micah are just so sweet and lovable! I just want to hug Micah so much. It is great to how their relationship grows and how they become a family with Imogen. Nick J Russo does a fabulous job with this one. He seem to always pulls me more into the story and I just absolutely love it.

A great reunion romance

I really enjoy this series. And while this technically could be read/listened to as a standalone, I highly recommend you listen to the series in order.

This is the story of Micha, the youngest of the Perkins kids, and the one who has never found peace. He moved to the big city in order to protect his secret shame...a shame brought on by the past, but exasberated by his behavior as a youth. Unfortunately, trusting the wrong people can also lead to bad situations, and this book starts with Micha landing himself in jail.

Swift is Micha's older brother's best friend. He's done pretty well so far; he's a self-defense trainer and a bit of a neat freak, but all that is about to change. It's not until he gets a call from DHS that he finds out he has a daughter. A cute little 5 year old daughter named Imogen, and her cat Butter. I can't wait for you to hear about Butter.

When Swift brings Imogen to the Perkins's for help, he finds it in the last place he expects it...Micha. Eventually, after calling Micha for help above family and other friends, and realizing Micha might need a break from the family home, Swift invites him to stay with him and Imogen. They hit it off right away, and Imogen adores Micha. It's a slow burn between the two men, but oh, so worth it.

But, after sharing their hopes, fears, and deepest secrets, Micha is put in an untenable situation. You'll have to listen to the story to find out how everything works out with that, but I will tell you this. This story is about facing your past, your fears, and your truths, and coming out stronger than when you started. Like the others in the series, family is an important part of the dynamics of the story, and the beautiful happy ending is definitely worth the listen.

Nick J. Russo is the perfect narrator for this series. He really brings the characters to life in my mind, and for a while, I have my own movie playing in my head.

* I received a free copy of this audiobook and I am leaving my honest review. *

- 4.25 stars -

Continuing through the series some time after I listened and read book 2, I will honestly say that I kind of struggled with staying focused on reading and listening to this book. I was really excited when I realized book three was out on audio and immediately picked it up and started reading/listening to it, but the further I progressed through the story the more I started losing interest. I was originally going to give it 4 stars, but the ending was really cute and raised my rating. Once again, it is a bit hard to gather my thoughts about this book.


(Spoilers)


- Storyline -
I liked the beginning and the plot of the story, but I guess I was expecting to have the same kind of excitement I had when reading book 2, with the anticipation that things could change at any moment, but that feeling wasn't there. Which I can understand that each book is probably supposed to have a different kind of vibe, but that is just what I had expected after reading book 2. And that expectation is probably why I feel like there was something missing in the story as I was comparing this book with book 2. It also could be the fact that in book 2, I had no idea who the stalker was, but in this book it was pretty clear who would be coming to mess things up for Micah and Swift, but it was also the same thing with book 1 as well.
In the beginning, I really did like Swift and Micah as individuals and especially as a couple, but as the story went on I realized there was just something about them I just didn't like. For Swift, it could have just been how he was portrayed or how he spoke that made me like him a bit less as the story went on. I also felt like he was kind of missing something compared to Micah, but I'm not sure what. I will also say that Swift was different than what I thought he would be as I wasn't expecting him to be so focused on everything to be clean and also his awkward dorky quirks, which I liked the unexpected sides of his character. Except maybe not his awkwardness at times. With Micah, even though I understood his situation and everything, the amount he cried and got himself into serious trouble just didn't sit well with me. I do like them as characters in general but they aren't my all time favorite and I don't really understand why I didn't like them as much as I thought I would. Also, somehow by the end of the book I completely forgot who Amy was and had to go back through the book to remember who she was, even though she literally was present in the chapter before the epilogue. I don't know if that was because I wasn't paying attention or what, but I'm not exactly sure how I forgot about her existence in the story.
There were moments in the story that I really did enjoy such as the sweet moments between Swift and Micah, when previous characters from book 1 and 2 showed up, and the ending was really cute.

- Narration -
I think with this book, I preferred listening to it compared to reading it, as reading it gave me the opportunity to skim ahead, while listening to it had me stay more focused on the story. I thought Nick J. Russo did a nice job with narrating. I especially liked how he voiced Dale as he portrayed him perfectly, especially when he was really angry. I've heard how he portrayed Swift before in books 1 and 2, but at times it slightly bothered me for some reason and I have no idea why. It could be that upward lilt/tone he uses towards the end of a sentence and maybe hearing it more since the book is focused on him made me feel slightly bothered by it. It's only at certain moments and I understand that that is just who Swift is as it fits his character. I didn't have any issue with how he portrayed Micah or any of the other characters.

Overall, I thought it was a good book despite everything that I said and I would recommend it to other people to read and listen to.

Wonderful

Not gonna lie, I picked this up because of Nick Russo, I haven’t listened to one of his narrations in a while and it made me want to jump on this one. And as usual he did an absolutely wonderful job.

Oh, poor Micah, my heart broke for him through most of this story. He just can’t forgive himself for his actions as a child and has trouble letting go of his fear of abandonment. I hated that he felt he had to hurt himself to save others but was glad that Swift was finally able to break through that final wall.

I liked that Swift was such a sweetheart and that be took his daughter in without a second thought and Micah ended up being an answer to his prayers. I thought this was such a sweet story and loved seeing Swift and Micah form a family.

I received a copy of this book and am giving an honest review.

Great story and great narrator

Loved this story! It was engaging and the narrator had my attention from beginning to end. Smoothing you’re the ears and then some.

Brilliant

Story: This has got to be the cutest found family story I have encountered! The whole host of characters in it, including the MCs, are just a wonderful example of what an inclusive and loving family should be! The plot of the story and the complexity of the MCs was an icing on the cake, making it a really great book to read! Another good one, HJ Welch!

Narration: I mean, c'mon! As if Nick could do bad. Great as always and a pleasure to listen to!

Entertaining

This is the third book in The Pine Cove Series. I would read/listen to the first books before this one to fully enjoy this book. The story and plot was entertaining and it was steady throughout the book. I found the story and characters written well. The characters were developed and thought out. The characters were charming and very likeable. Micha and Swift are the MC’s of this book. The narration was done well and made the listening more enjoyable. He wasn’t monotone and there were different voices for each character. I can recommend this book as a good read/listen. I voluntarily read an advance copy of this book for an honest review.

Good addition to the series

Swift and Micha were the 2 main characters of this book, and their romance and the build up to their first time together was nicely done. Micha was a little too insecure for me and I wanted to yell a few times at the things that he dwelled on that held him back from being all in with Swift. Swift was a solid, dependable guy that I liked. Imogen and Butter, a 5 year old girl and a crazy cat, stole the show for me! There was a back story drama that played nicely into the overall plot. There were a crazy amount of family members that were hard to keep straight, but Michas Dad and Pops were great!
Nick Russo does a great job, as usual, narrating this story. I would have liked his voice for Micha to have been a little more grown up and a little less whiny, but he is still one of my favorite narrators and did a great job here!

HJ Welch's writing is fresh & engrossing as always

We’re brought back to Pine Cove, where Swift (the older of the Coles’ siblings, and supposedly the only straight one), suddenly finds out he has a 5-year-old daughter he never met.
He’s helped out in the first insane days by Micha, his best friend’s younger brother, back in town after a rough time in the city.
Micha’s always had a crush for Swift, and Swift’s always been kind of bi-curios, but the situation seems to be all wrong, what with the little girl t concentrate on and the best friend’s thing…
Also, we’re being accustomed to some action in this series, so there’s something (or rather someone) from Micha’s past threatening to ruin their blossoming relationship.
My heart ached for poor Micha, so burdened with a sense of not belonging and being a screw-up that threatens to break him. Luckily Swift’s steady affection and unwillingness to let him go will help Micha find his sense of family and belonging!