Not going to lie, I started this book but didn't finish it. The characters were likable enough, and the plot seemed good in theory, it was just boring for me. Once I got about 35% in, it was dragging so much that I never went back to the book.

So can't really speak on it as a whole, other than to say it starts off slow and doesn't ever really pick up speed. Must not be my kind of book.

This was a light easy read without a lot of drama or angst. Some may call it boring, others may call it refreshing. It’s not a real “page turner” because it was very predictable but our main characters are nice normal women. I’d definitely read another from this authors.

ARC received via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I haven’t read anything by this author before and thought this was just ok. It’s a somewhat slow burn romance featuring Rose, who runs a cafe at the college she used to attend and Alison a new professor at the college. They meet through the cafe and strike up a friendship that eventually becomes a romance.

Rose has hang ups about not having gone far in life, due mostly to her ex dumping her. This would have made more sense if this had been recent, but it was 10 years ago and the fact that Rose still clung to it was just sad.

Alison was a more interesting character and I liked the side plot with her TA, but not the homophobic colleague plot. Rose’s sister was also good, if only for pointing out how lame Rose was about her ex. There were some other side characters, but they didn’t add much.

The ‘lapse in judgement’ and subsequent ‘drama’ portion in the book was also mostly eye roll inducing. Overall this was just an average read, nothing overly horrible, but not great either. 3 stars.

I like it when a lesfic book diverts from the usual standard character looks and goes for down-to-earth and diverse.

It's a feel-good story with little to no angst. Rose and Allison don't appear to have anything in common at first, yet they have an instant connection and slowly build up a strong bond. I did feel we are left hanging about Rose's poet skills. She did graduate but never published her poems in any form. While I appreciate she loves her job running the campus cafe, I kinda felt her storyline missed that one detail.

The supporting characters are all well-rounded and add to the story.

The epilogue/last chapter is a very nice addition to the story, One not often done.

'Lead me home is not a bad story, but if you're wanting some action or angst then this isn't your book. It's a very plain romance book, which is perfect when you've had a hectic week and you just want to relax and sit back with a glass or 2 of wine.
The book is about honesty and learning to trust one another. The characters are bubbly and very likable. To be honest, I would like to see a sequel of them in them living in the future.

Rose Pruitt is a familiar face on Jones University campus. Into the first few days of the school year, Rose finds herself cleaning up all kinds of messes, including the new professor known as Allison Chandler. Their first encounter with one another is purely business, the two women discover an attraction that neither one of them can deny. Challenges arise for the pair, But it's up to them to overcome the hurdles and see if they can get through it together.


I've not read anything previous of the author Shannon O'Brien, but really am looking forward to future read by her.
I give 'Lead me home' 3.5.
I was given a copy for an honest review.

Professor Allison Chandler has been given the chance to chair a new course on Landscape Studies, at the all women’s Jones University. This was not going to be an easy task. One hurdle was Professor Mannes, the chair of the Department of Architecture who was of the opinion that her department should be under his department, even though he thought it was a waste of time. Now the bright side was when Toni introduced herself, telling Allison that she was her TA. One other thing makes this adventure more appealing and that was the friendly and attractive manager of the on campus cafe.
Rose Pruitt graduated from Jones University a few years back. Keeping her job was important to Rose. She loved working with the students, even if some were a little messy at first. Another highlight, her sister Iris lived close by. Now this year she gets to meet the very attractive Professor Chandler. Rose and Allison don’t appear to have that much in common but as time goes on they find more and more reasons to be drawn together.
This is just what it meant to be, an easy romance. Nice story. Now some of you might think a nice read isn’t all that interesting but Ms O’Brien tells a story that you can’t walk away from. Characters that hopefully we’ll at some time be able to visit these ladies again.
ARC via NetGalley/ Bella Books

This is a romance story surrounding a 40-something university professor named Allison and Rose, a Black woman who manages the café on the women's college campus. A simple but lovely concept, I was looking forward to a light lesbian romance. To be frank, though, this one seemed to be too light- as in it had no depth.

I couldn't bring myself to finish this one. It was hard for me to get into this book; the story had a pretty slow start. It seemed like there were a lot of menial situations in the story that could have been left out.

My biggest issue with this book was the ways in which characters of colour were written. This, to me, highlights the issues with white authors writing main characters of colour: an issue that I've come to learn much more about thanks to many authors and readers of colour. Despite the intention of wanting to be inclusive, us white folks cannot write authentic or fully-realized characters of colour. This was evident with Lead Me Home, where characters fell flat and the writing entered stereotype territory. Since white authors cannot fully grasp the nuances of racism, and nor can I as a white reader, I would love to hear a Black or Chinese person's opinion on this story.

The writing itself was good, but the storytelling and stereotypical portrayals of characters of colour were disappointing. It's because of these reasons that I didn't enjoy it enough to finish it.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

The cover of Lead Me Home by Shannon O’Brien is the perfect visual for the emotions I felt while reading this novel. It is a beautiful, gentle, easy to read tale that you can’t help but enjoy.

This book tells the love story of Rose Pruitt who is the manager of the Campus Center Café at Jones University, and Professor Allison Chandler, the new department head in the field of Landscape Studies. The two women meet at the café and gradually get to know each other through the fall semester.

At first glance, you wouldn’t think these two characters would fit together as a couple. Rose is a gregarious, talkative person, always laughing and joking around with her workers, customers, family and friends. She is as kind as she is popular. Allison, on the other hand, is more introverted, serious, and empathetic. She is also dedicated to her work and students. Together, though, they have a spark that is undeniable. I connected with both characters immediately, which is good since this is definitely a character-driven story. The small town university setting is perfect for this tale and these characters. This is a fairly low angst tale though there are some hurdles that could bring their budding romance to an end.

I believe this is the perfect novel to settle down with after a hard day, week, or year. This story left me in a happy mood at the end, and I think it might do the same for you.

I received an ARC from NetGalley and Bella Books for an honest review.

This story has been fine, though it stayed in the sort of normal, ordinary romances, for my liking. The two protagonists are nice, maybe Rose a little more than Allison. But there has been something strange throughout the book, a kind of status difference, I just didn’t understand why Rose gave up a career for which she seemed prepared enough, just out of disappointment? When a person has the ability to create, in any form, they should not leave everything behind, as Rose seems to have done here. Maybe that’s why I found this story a little hard to like.

Leaving that aside, once the two meet they seem to be predestined to be together, also perhaps because the women around them are much younger and they are almost the only middle-aged lesbians available.

And the rest of Alisson's fellow university professors don't appear much in the story and when they do it's not for positive things. And to top it all off, the misunderstanding that is the cause of the final drama is almost hilarious and you see it coming.

Therefore, for me has been an average romance.

This was a super cute book that followed Rose, the manager of Jones University Cafe and brand new professor Allison. What starts as professional at first, quickly winds up as a romance. I'm a sucker for books that take place in any sort of educational setting and this was a perfect Sunday afternoon read!

3.75 stars. This is a very sweet romance set in a College environment.

Rose has worked at Jones University ever since she graduated. She’s the cafe manager, enjoying her role, especially working with the students in her employment, but perhaps missing something she can never quite manage to put her finger on.

Allison is a new professor to the University, chairing a new department - landscape studies. She needs to convince studies to major in her area whilst dealing with moving to a new area and being a department chair for the first time.

They hit it off quickly through their interactions at the cafe and the main narrative of the storyline is them getting to know each other and their friendship blossoming into a relationship. There are a few twists and turns along the way that keep things interesting and I really liked the two of them together.

I enjoyed the descriptions of landscape studies and its relevance to things in life that I definitely hadn’t ever considered before.

The humour added to the narrative through the students and the situations at the Cafe added some enjoyment to the book for me, and I appreciated the diversity of the students, even with it being a women’s college.

I hadn’t read O’Brien before but I’m definitely inclined to read her other book set in the same universe as this one. If you’re a contemporary romance fan you should enjoy this one. It doesn’t reinvent the wheel but is an enjoyable way to pass the time.

I received an e-ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

𝗛𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗿𝗼𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝗶𝘁'𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗺𝗲.

This is a rather straightforward romance between a university cafe manager and a new professor. Rose takes an interest in Allison and asks the professor out. Allison reciprocates the interest and they go out. I think Allison wanted casual but got swept into the whole girlfriend thing. Somewhere along the way, there are injects relating to an ex and a homophobic colleague.

This is the type of book that is considered heartwarming and it doesn't evoke much emotions. It also has a set of racially diversed characters, so it's cool for people who like to be inclusive.

Personally, I'm not quite sure I like this one. It's the storytelling that's a little bland for my taste so I wasn't able to get into the story as much as I would have liked to and the characters felt older than they actually were.

Rose also frequently mentions/thinks of her ex and literally blames her for everything she failed to achieve in life. Honestly, I don't think that's fair at all and if that's how she's going to take a breakup for ten whole years, I'm relieved that the ex managed to cut her loose those years ago.

This was an okay read, but definitely not a page-turner. Nothing against the author or the way this was written, but I like my books to have some drama - something that makes your stomach churn or your heart flip, and this book didn't have that.

The characters were down-to-earth and likable, and their romance unfolded nicely. I just needed a bit of angst to make me want to continue reading.

Lead Me Home tells the story of Allison Chandler, a new Professor at Jones University, who is creating a new department called Landscape Studies. She meets Rose Pruitt, who is the Manager of the Campus Cafe, and they begin to bond. This slowly turns into more after Rose gathers her nerve and invites Allison to Thanksgiving dinner. Eventually a full fledged relationship develops between the two women.

The story has limited drama, angst, or action and is pretty exclusively based on character interaction. There is a denouement to the story as a result of a jealous professor who wanted Landscape Studies under his department, but that is the main conflict. A pleasant read that I rate at 3 stars.

I received an ARC from Bella Books in exchange for an honest review.

If you're looking for a character-driven romance without a lot of action or angst, Lead Me Home is a nice Sunday read. The novel focuses on the budding relationship between Rose Pruitt, manager of the Campus Cafe and Professor Allison Chandler, a new arrival at the college who is creating a new department of Landscape Studies.

The relationship and character development is well-paced and I found myself engaged by the two mains and their budding romance. Although the books was told from both women's POV, there's more of Rose and her character arc as she lets go of the self doubt that is making her question her decision to stay at Jones after graduation. There's a natural build from acquaintances to more throughout the story and; once they get the "more", there's more than enough chemistry built up between the two. Even when we get to the dramatic external obstacle, the characters withstand the test and are supportive and communicate. The situation could have been handled with a lot more angst, but the characters felt real and their actions and reactions reflected that.

If anything, I would have enjoyed a bit more on Allison's discipline - I admit that I though Landscape Studies as it sounds like a rather fascinating blend of Humanities and Engineering with more than just studying the gardens of Versailles, but also looking at human's interaction with nature on environmental, economic and other levels. It kind of appealed to the geek in me.

Gentle, low angst romance. At Jones University, an all-girls college, Allison Chandler is the new department head for Landscape Studies. As she gets acclimated to the small college town she meets Rose Pruitt. Rose graduated from Jones 15 years before but never left. She now manages the cafe at the campus center. Rose accidentally invites Allison to the Thanksgiving dinner she hosts for her employees who don't go home for the holiday. After not being in a relationship for years she boldly asks Allison for a date.

I was expecting a little more humor or drama. Instead it's a nice romance of two women becoming friends and then more. I think Allison was originally wanting a bed buddy but she is charmed by Rose's friendliness to everyone. Rose is overcoming insecurities of her past but wants a relationship. I think the jump to being girlfriends and having feelings felt a little abrupt. Overall a pleasant story. It is the second from the author using this setting but the story stands alone. Thank you NetGalley and Bella Books for an ARC ebook in exchange for an honest review.

Rose has been working at the campus cafe for years at Jones University’s she loves her job but she wants more.

Alison is the new Professor at the college she overwhelmed but is determined have her department succeed.

Rose and Alison meet and bond and a friendship is form they turn into a attraction as they both get to know each other there are some hurdles they go through together and apart but they both do overcome them.

This was ok read, I like the relationship Rose has with her sister and even her employers.


I received an ARC copy of this book from the Publisher via Netgalley and voluntarily leaving my review.