I love a good slow burn romance.

I love a good age gap romance.

This book had both! What else could I ask for? Turns out not much more. I had read other books by Black before, but it had been a while... I will not male the mistake of letting her future novels slip by!

Ronica writes great stories. The chemistry between these two characters leaves you with an ache and you want them to figure out a way to make it work despite the challenges from family and friendship. A happy ending makes the slow burn worthwhile.

I love all books by this author, can highly recommend. Just wonderful. The main characters are well developed and its so well written you feel personally involved in the journey.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books for the egalley of this one!

High School teacher Carla Sims has been living her best life since she came out three years ago. Except, her ex cheated, and her beloved grandmother is dying. When she gets the news that the death is imminent, she packs up and heads home to North Carolina. Close friend of the family, Janice Carpenter, recently divorced from her husband, has always been fascinated by Carla, and ever since Carla came out, she’s had a bit of a fantasy crush on her. When Carla returns home to a crowded family home, Janice offers Carla a place to stay, and sparks fly, but Carla’s convinced Janice is straight, and Janice isn’t exactly ready to leap out of the closet. Plus, Carla never planned on sticking around, and Janice has never lived anywhere but their hometown. Both women will have to make some pretty tough decisions if they want to make a relationship work.

The highest praise I can give this book is that I finished it in, oh, approximately 4 hours. I started it yesterday (slow work day), late in the afternoon, and I was finished by bedtime. My anxiety-riddled, unable to focus mind devoured this book in basically an afternoon. It was just what I needed.

It’s straight up romance. You get exactly what you think you get, but I got so caught up in the tension, I both wanted it to break and never wanted it to end. I loved both characters and was fascinated with their draw to each other, even when I thought it didn’t seem like reality. That’s not why I picked up this book. I picked it up because I needed sap and sexual tension and women who weren’t 18 still figuring themselves out. I loved it.

I’ve read Black’s work before and always enjoyed it, and in fact, this book made me immediately pick up another, which I am sure I’ll be ready to review in the next day or two. Also, you won’t find a lot of chasteness here, so be warned. The sex scenes are hot, and you know what, we all need a little bit of that right about now, I’d say. Luckily, this book is out now, so you don’t even have to wait. If you’re staying in this weekend or stockpiling for the holidays, toss this one on that TBR pile.

A lesbian novel, which I didn't like at all.
Carla returns home because of her grandmother's death and finds Janice, her aunt's best friend. Carla is openly Gay and Janice since she knew it, has not stopped thinking about Carla and the feelings and desires that started to appear in her. This desire for another woman is new and she is afraid of them. Janice invites Carla to stay at her house, because Carla's family home is full of family members because of the funeral. With this proximity it will be very difficult to hide the attraction between them.

The story didn't attract me, because it doesn't exist. The whole plot of the book is the romance and just that.

I recommend this book only if you are interested in a romance with two women and one discovering and facing your fears of coming out gay and being happy being yourself with your loved one.

Ronica Black is an author that I usually enjoy but this one didn't work for me and I don't know what the problem was other than probably not what I was in the mood for.

ARC received via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was was a nice enough romance. This features Carla, a teacher who has to go home when her grandmother dies, and Janice a family friend. Janice is best friends with Carla’s aunt (who is only about 7 years older than Carla) and I had assumed from the blurb that Carla would be younger for some reason, so was surprised to find out she’s 37. The age gap isn’t particularly large, nor does it play much of a role. Janice offers her spare room to Carla while she’s in town, which allows them to spend lots of time together.

Janice, who is a straight divorcee, has been fascinated by Carla since she came out a few years before. So much so that she’s kind of cyber stalked her. Carla has also long fancied Janice. This leads to endless pages of them waxing poetic (in their minds) about how sexy the other one is. They also spend a lot of time wearing tank tops and other items of clothing that allow them to ogle each other. This is the very definition of a slow burn, with mutual pining for most of the first half of the book.

There’s a few subplots involving the rest of Carla’s family and Janice’s great aunt, Mamie, who was one of the best characters in the book. But I found the burn a bit too slow, the story doesn’t really pick up til about the 65% mark, and then there’s the obligatory drama at the 80% mark, which I didn’t really enjoy. I also thought the end was a bit unrealistic, I thought it would have been much more likely that Carla would find it easier to relocate than Janice.

I’d give this 3.5, rounded down.

Carla and Janice are the main characters of this book. One is openly gay and the other is in the closet. Carla is Janice's best friend's daughter. When Carla came out, Janice began to wonder is she too was a lesbian. And she began to have feelings for Carla. Then Carla left town and she buried those feelings.
Now Carla is back in town to take care of her ailing grandmother. She is not willing to stay with her mother, Carla offers her a place to stay. Both women are aware of their feelings for one another. However, Janice is terrified of the feelings and what will happen if she allows herself to let Carla know.
This book read a bit slow for my liking and there is a lot of will she, won't she.
I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is my first time reading a book by Ronica Black and I did enjoy it, I just think the style wasn't for me.

It took me a while to get into these characters, mostly because I was expecting a lot of romance since the beggining and it was more about how two women found themselves and the other, but not so much about their actual love story because we only got to see the "start" of it. I would've loved to see more about their relationship and how it grew, but I feel the author spent too much time building the romance and only showing it to us in the last 20% of the book.

This felt a little different from Black’s other works but looking back on what I’ve read I realized I’ve only reviewed a fraction of her books that I’ve read (and that’s only because I read them before I started reviewing) so it’s hard to tell if my feelings are accurate. Carla Sims, a high school teacher in Arizona, is called to her small-town home to the bedside of her dying grandmother. It’s just before summer break so there’s no need for her to rush back to school. Staying at her aunt Maurine’s house is cramped and the couch is uncomfortable so she jumps at the opportunity to stay in her aunt’s best friend’s spare room. With only a seven-year age gap, Carla has been more like friends with her aunt and Janice Carpenter. Carla has always felt a little more for Janice than friendship but it was irrelevant because Janice was married and straight. Now she’s divorced and there is an unmistakable attraction in the air.

Janice and Carla have a lovely tension between them and it is well-sustained for most of this slow-burn romance. Besides the building attraction, there are a few other story arcs like the funeral, the reading of the will and the family dissension. I would have liked these to have been more in the foreground than just the romance because it would have added richness that was lacking. I enjoyed Janice’s realization and reticence to come out. The reticence of both main characters had quite clear reasons and there were times I wanted to yell at them to “just say it!” but I could see why they didn’t. Often in romances these reasons are a little flimsy but I didn’t find that here.

Black writes really hot sex scenes and, although long, the wait was worth it. The intimate scenes are gentler than many of Black’s earlier novels so if that was something that put you off, this is a good novel to read.

Book received from Netgalley and Bold Strokes Books for an honest review

This is by no means a bad book, just one that feels familiar.
Carla Sims returns to her hometown after her grandmother dies, and is reunited with Janice, her aunt's best friend, and the more time they spend together, the more they realise they need each other.
This book felt very similar to the secret of you and me, both set in the south, both about returning to a town long left behind and falling for someone from that past life, while also dealing with grief. I truly believe if I hadn't essentially read these books back to back that A Love that leads home might have got 4 stars. However, I didn't necessarily like the characters or the conflict very much either, so i can't be sure.
This was such a slow burn, but once they first get together it moves quite fast. However, since the main plot of the book is the romance, it feels like not much is happening for the first 65/70%, which is a shame.

I would still recommend this if you are fairly new to sapphic romance, or if you enjoy slow burn romances. Thank you Netgalley and Bold Strokes Books for this copy for review.

This is an interesting story of two women who are very different from each other but yet there’s somehow it’s a bond between them. Carla is a teacher in Arizona and travels to her hometown in North Carolina to be with her grandmother as she passes. Carla is overwhelmed with the amount of family and friends that show up for the funeral and stay several days after they were so Many people which was more than she could handle especially since she was sleeping on the couch. She needed to find another place to stay and a dear family friend, Janice offers her a private room in her home and gives her the peace that she needs. Janice has been fascinated by Carla when Carla came out to her family as a lesbian. It made Janice begin to think that she too could be a lesbian As horrifying as that Thought is to Janice as she is definitely afraid to have anybody know that she might be a lesbian. At least two women spend more time together they both realize that they are very attracted to one another but both are afraid to say anything about it for fear that it would change the relationship. There is a lot of erotic tension between these two women. Both realize there could not be a relationship between them as Carla is an out lesbian and Janice would never let anyone know that she could be a lesbian. A potential relationship between these two seems doomed, or is it?

Thank you NetGalley, Bold Strokes Books and Ronica Black for gifting me an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review!
This was my first Ronica Black book so I went into this one not sure what to expect. There was a little bit of something in A Love That Leads To Home, angst drama, steamy chemistry and sweet romance. This didn’t feel like your typical romance, instead feeling relatable for anyone struggling to come to terms with their sexuality. I liked that this plot opened up the conversation regarding age and coming out/discovering your sexuality.
The ending wrapped up nicely and leaves you with a HEA. Ronica Black is an author to read!

Carla Sims' grandmother is very sick and hasn't long to live so Carla rushes across the other side of the country to be with her. With the passing of her grandmother and the ensuing funeral, Carla just needs some space and a comfortable bed after crashing on her Aunt's uncomfortable sofa. Her Aunt's best friend, Janice Carpenter, comes to the rescue. Janice, inspired by Carla coming out a few years earlier is enamoured by Carla but is also trying to deal with her own feelings.
I really enjoyed this book. The chemistry between Carla and Janice was off the charts but it was such a slow burn and there's nothing like angst to keep you turning pages! This book also touched on a bit of discrimination with the characters and that just made the story a bit more real which I loved. Great sex scenes too.
Another good book from Ronica.

This book brings Janice, a divorced professor who is deciding how to come out of the closet.

"A love that leads to home" also portraits an age gap between the characters. Not a really big one, but still.

I say that because I know it might be of interest for some readers.

For me this is an ok book. I don't really like the non spoken in my life, so I tend to get annoyed when problems arise due to lack of communication and it kind of happens between Janice and Clara and between Clara and her family.

This story has seemed a bit slow overall, repetitive and sometimes difficult to understand.

These feelings may be my fault, since I do not usually like stories with heterosexual women who doubt and entangle everything with their indecisions. Because in this case, the other part of the couple, Carla, the openly lesbian woman, also contributes a lot to the slowness of the plot, in turn with her doubts. Because deep down I have come to appreciate the straight woman Janice more, despite my prejudices.

Then, at the end, as always, after the consummation and supposed acceptance, comes the drama that threatened to end everything, mixing friendships and family fights. This brought down the good feelings he was having.

So for me it stayed in an average story.

The cover is slightly cheesy, but I love it, as I do most of this book.

Carla lives in Phoenix, away from her family, when she is out protesting against government funding for schools she gets a call from her aunt. Her grandmother is dying, Carla rushes home to the country to be at her grandmother's side. While at the funeral Carla needs someone to offer her some mental support, her aunt's best friend turns out to be the friendly face that does just that. Janice has known Carla all her life, but ever since Carla came out a couple of years ago she can't get her out of her mind and has been on a sort of exploration of her own. With all that's going on at Carla's aunt's house, Janice offers Carla a quiet place to stay as long as she needs. While under the same roof their friendship deepens and evolves in mutual attraction, but both are afraid to act. Janice struggles with what her feelings mean and Carla doesn't want to stay in the country, nor does she want another broken heart.

This book was definitely a slow burn, it takes the characters forever to even admit their feelings, but when they finally get together it's fireworks. I guess that's where the cover comes from, or that certain events coincide with the 4th of July. The characters are well developed and the reaction of the supporting characters, although harsh and shocking, seems realistic as well. Because of the slow development in the relationship, the ending seems to fit as well. Overall I really enjoyed this read. One minor flaw for me, the name Janice, I don't know why but it didn't seem to fit and it annoyed me.

I received this book as an ARC from Bold Strokes Books and NetGalley in Exchange for an honest review.

This is the story of Carla and Janice. Carla is a teacher and so is Janice and this story takes place in a conservative town in North Carolina. Carla had grown up there and went back for the funeral of her grandmother who also raised her. This story was cute and interesting, it is an age gap romance I think, I cannot remember how old the characters were supposed to be. The problem I had with this book was the sterotypical reactions to someone coming out as gay from the people around them, there was nothing new or different or interesting at all about Carla and Janice's journeys to get their family members to accept them. There is a secondary story line about inheritance that gets resolved way too quickly.

The love story between Janice and Carla seemed odd, I don't know of it was because Janice had spent time basically stalking Arizona a place she had never been just because Carla was there and an out lesbian, I dunno it just seemed kind of stalkerish. Janice eventually moving to Arizona and quitting a professorship also seemed crazy since we all know how difficult it is to get a job in college academia and I am not sure anyone would leave a job like that so they can follow their much younger get girlfriend who is a public school teacher making almost no money in Arizona to Arizona.

The story was a slow burn which is not something that Ronica is known for writing, but it was a nice departure form her other books. Overall this was an okay read.

A great age-gap romance novel from Black. Much more if a slow burn than I’m used to but I liked it none the less. A novel focusing on being your true self even if your scared. Carla and Janice’s slow burn romance was so sincere and well thought out.

I did enjoy this book but it felt very slow going. Neither of the main characters seemed particularly exciting and as such their love affair wasn’t exciting either. It seemed to take forever for them to get together but then the end was crazy fast.

An easy read but not one i couldn’t put down