Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher, and author for the copy of this eARC/audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

This was a good addition to the series!

This book was amazing. The story telling was top notch. Matt and Brooklyn's story is so layered. I also enjoyed the audiobook narration. The narrators sounded how I thought the characters did in my head.

This was a good book! I've really enjoyed a lot of Ivy Smokes book. I happy to add this one to the list.

Empire High Homecoming. I did not realize that I needed to read previous books to understand this one - I did not rate on my lack of confusion just on the writing a lone.

This was my first Ivy Smoak book - I would like to start these from the beginning as I really enjoyed the writing style, character builds and the page turner interest.
I mean - I had no idea what was going on and I still kept listening. The book is very well written.

Brooklyn is back in New York.

We've been waiting for this moment since the end of book 3 and we finally have it.

Again, before we go any further this post will contain spoilers from the previous books, so if you have not read all of the previous books, you might need to stop reading now.

If you remember at the end of Matchmaker, Matt  wants to propose to Kennedy and we know someone was back to New York as for the last chapter of the book.

In Runaway we learn what Brooklyn had been doing for the past 16 years and how her life continued to be a dumpster fire. Just when she finally had a life she was happy with, a family and a loving husband, her old life came knocking on the door once more and drove her back to New York.

I honestly didn't know if I even wanted Brooklyn and Matt to be together again after reading Runaway. Brooklyn was happy, Miller was amazing, and they had a kid! Their life was moving on amazingly.

We start Homecoming with Matt talking about how he is ready to propose to Kennedy and it feels right for him.

On the other side of the city we have Brooklyn talking and explaining things to Kennedy and going after her father for ruining her life once more.

In short she is back for revenge and she needs her friend back if only to take care of her kid if something were to happen to her.

But now that she is in NYC all the people she left behind and the new people in those people's lives seem to be everywhere she is and there is no way for her to escape what is coming.

She has to make peace with everything and everyone she left behind. Of course some people are easier than others and not as challenging for her. She has to face those daemons even if she doesn't want to.

Yet reunions happened and I'm happy to say, most of them went great!

Her reunion with James was my favorite. It was so perfect!

My main issue with Matchmaker was the miscommunication. There is so much miscommunication throughout the book and it felt very juvenile.

I completely understand Brooklyn not wanting to talk to Matt right away, but the way it happened when it finally happened was just... it just felt rushed.

I am very happy she is back and things are moving in a direction where Matt and Brooklyn will be patching things up for good or bad and then they will be able to move on, but that reunion wasn't my favorite.

I can't say more other than I really enjoyed the story even if there were moments I found a bit too dramatic for my liking.

There are so many amazing moments in this book, moments that made me laugh and be so sad for the characters. Smoak has managed to keep me so invested in this story and I cannot way for how things will develop between Mattlyn!

The audiobook enriches the experience of this story. Reading it is amazing, but listening to it just brings it to a whole new level. If you have a chance to listen to this book instead of reading it, I totally recommend it!

I really love this series. I don't think its necessarily good for teens but I love it for older teens or young adults. it is so full of drama and suspense. I can't get enough. I highly recommend.

Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for the audiobook version of this book. It is written by by Ivy Smoak and Narrated by Connor Crais and Laurie West. I am in no way affiliated with Dreamscape Media or the author, I am not compensated in any way for my review. Everything I write is of my own thoughts feeling and opinions.
So when I saw that Ivy Smoak had a audiobook on NetGalley I was super excited as I have read many of her books and I have never been dissapointed. For one thing they should have said this was book six in a series so I was lost coming into the book in the way that I now knew it was part of a series had I not known that this book absolutely can be read as a standalone. This is told from Brooklyn and Matts POV.- they were once a couple but 16 years ago Brookly was kidnapped but everyone thought she was dead. She moves on with life has a child - he has a harder time. as all books go they end of finding each other again.

Homecoming is the sixth book in the Empire High Series. I wish NetGalley (or publishers) would make note of what books are part of a series in their listings, I was so excited to see that Ivy Smoak had an audiobook on NetGalley that I didn't cross reference it with goodreads to see if this was a stand alone or part of a series. The reason I was excited was because I have read several of Ivy Smoak's books (series) and enjoyed them. I enjoy her writing and her many characters. Her books have always been fast reads for me as I do not want to put them down.

This book is told through the POV's of Brooklyn and Matt. Brooklyn and Matt were once a couple but then Brooklyn was kidnapped, and everyone thought that she was dead. Believing that Matt forgot about her, Brooklyn went on to get married and have a child. Matt has mourned Brooklyn but wants things in life - to be happy, have children, etc.

Even though I did not know the backstory and other characters (but yay! I did know James and Penny!) I enjoyed this book. I though the narrators did a fantastic job. Kudos to them!

There is a lot of angst and hurt feelings in this book with the repeated statement that Matt didn't keep his promises but neither did Brooklyn. Am I the only one who was annoyed with Brooklyn? Granted, I have not read the other books but, come on. When someone thinks/believes you are dead, they do get to keep living and have a life. My soap box rant: both were hurt, both lost out of not having the other person in their lives, but all this time later, to still be complaining about it after you go on and have a happy marriage and a child was a little much for me. Both deserved to be happy and live full lives. There is nothing wrong with that. Plus, all the other characters told her how much Matt suffered while Brooklyn kept saying no, he didn't because I saw....... But then again, there would not have been this book if that hurt, and belief was not there.


Now that my soap box rant is over, I did enjoy the book it didn't make me want to know more or go back to the beginning. I can't fault Ivy Smoak for that. This is part of a series and I have not read the other books. But I will keep reading Ivy Smoak books because she is awesome and has written some fantastic books.

In a way this book had me reflecting back on the other books I have read of hers and it does have me wanting to read more of her work.

Please read the reviews of other reviews who have read all the books in this series, as they will have more insight about the characters than I did. Ivy is a great writer, so don't let this review discourage you from reading her books, just make sure you are starting at the beginning.


Thank you to Dreamscape Media and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.

I have been waiting for this book to come out. I love the characters, with the exception of a couple. I was so excited to listen to this book, I wasn't disappointed. I love this series, this book was just so dang good. I like Matt and Kennedy together, they seem so good together. I can't wait for the next book to come out.

This was a DNF unfortunately. The narrators are great and not the issue/problem. The beginning was difficult to follow and seemed to jump to an entirely different story. Did some research and turns out that this is a serial story so you must have read/listened to the previous books in the series to "understand' what's going on. If I would have known that I wouldn't have requested the title to review.

Unfortunately this one wasn’t for me. Found confusing and need to read series didn’t realize it was part of a series when requested

Predictable, but good nonetheless. Sweet story of high school sweethearts reuniting due to meddling friends. I wanted the story to move faster and the end left me wanting more.

Like many of you I’ve been patiently waiting for the very moment that Matt finds out Brooklyn is alive. This book had me sitting on pins and needles waiting for it to finally happen. Ivy built the stage and when it finally happens it’s what I always hoped it would be but it was over too fast. I just wish it would have happened sooner in the book so we could get more of Matt Brooklyn time. We all know Ivy is the queen of killer cliffhangers and she killed me with this one and left me wanting so much more!

I enjoyed seeing all the interactions with characters from Brooklyn’s past but also the new ones with Penny and Tanner, he really went all out to support Brooklyn and be the best friend Matt needs. Once he knew Brooklyn was alive he wanted to undo the damage he set in motion by bringing Kennedy back. He goes to great lengths to get Matt and Brooklyn reunited. I still don’t have a clue who or what Tanner is but his actions spoke volumes about his love for Matt and wanting him to be happy.

Jacob was such a little fireball and when he meets Scarlett I think my heart melted! He also meets and bonds with the others along the way. His and Tanners interactions were adorable. I can’t wait to see him with Matt and hopefully it’s not the same reaction he had to meeting his grandfather Mr Pruitt. I laughed so hard imagining that scene.

Brooklyn struggles in this one, dealing with her heartache over losing Miller, trying to find out what happened and why he was killed then to her avoidance of letting Matt know she’s alive. She didn’t want to hear that he was broken and hurting the last 16 years, she wanted to pretend she didn’t care that he was ready to move on and encouraged it. I wanted to shake her to pieces so many times but she’s not the only one.

All through this fate or the cosmos was trying to get through to Matt that he was rushing into something that wasn’t right. He was trying to force it and was ignoring Tanner and all of his friends advice. This one will have your heartstrings believing in true love and what is meant to be will always find a way.

Homecoming I feel was the calm before the storm and Exposed will bring the wind, rain, thunder and lightning along with a rainbow I hope(fingers crossed). We are one step closer to the end and I can’t wait. It’s time to see the closure of this series.

Connor Crais and Laurie West did a wonderful job with all of the rollercoaster of emotions that this story brings. The only thing that I didn’t like was the voice of Jacob it made me cringe at times.

Brooklyn is back in this 6th instalment of the Empire High series, 16 years later and with Miller having been killed at the end of book 5. As the group welcomes her back into the fold, and she and Matt reuinite, Brooklyn has to figure out where she fits in. Once again we are left hanging with a cliffhanger at the end and I must admit, having always been team Miller, I am hoping for a resurrection in book 7.

I have conflicting feelings , part of me wants to rate a 2 star and part of me wants to rate it 4 star so I settled in the middle. This book ( book 6 in the series, 2 more to come after) gave me some answers I needed from questions in books 4 & 5 and we got some misunderstandings cleared up. I loved Brooklyn's interactions with her son, seeing her as a mother makes my heart happy and it absolutely looks good on her. I was not a huge Tanner fan in book 4, but I have to say I agree with a lot of other readers that he really redeems himself in this book and is exactly what Brooklyn needs at the moment. I did like some of the scenes with Nigel, but I feel like his weirdness is pushed too far in others and its just not necessary. Overall this book is what I expected, it didn't take us much further into the storyline (1 week), and was mostly her reunions with the untouchables. I have spoilers and specific thoughts listed below.

SPOILERS BELOW***





Matt really drove me crazy in this book with his incessant internal dialogue of wanting to propose to Kennedy. Its way too soon for that, all his friends (bar Rob) agree that he needs to slow things down. I really don't like Kennedy and that continues in this book. She knows Brooklyn's alive and yet continues going on dates with Matt and kissing him , all the while being so "distraught" that Matt doesn't know and continues this behavior. She knows if Matt knew, this wouldn't be happening for her, so seems like a selfish move to continue the "non-relationship". Throughout the book Matt believes he and Kennedy are dating, so does Brooklyn, at the end when Matt gives Kennedy his Jersey to wear at the homecoming game, she hugs and kisses him several times out in public and as soon as Matt glimpses Brooklyn, Kennedy may as well be invisible. He all but stiff arms her to get away and run after Brooklyn and then immediately has sex with Brooklyn. The author has said there's no cheating in this series, but Matts thoughts are literally "what the F have I done, I'm dating Kennedy". I'm not sure how anyone can see what happened as not cheating.. its splitting hairs at best.

So now I feel like Matt and Brooklyn's reunion is even more tainted because now they are the bad guys for betraying Kennedy.

The things I was disappointed in:
-Rob's reaction to Brooklyn- was basically a "hey what's up" like she hasn't been dead for 16 years.
-Mrs. Alcaraz has no conversations about the Matt situation with neither Kennedy nor Brooklyn, even though she had plenty to say about it in Matchmaker (book 4).
-Matt doesn't believe there's a "true love" and no longer "cares about the past"
- None of the untouchables had much happiness or relief that B was still alive, it was mostly confusion and then anger (with James and Mason).
- How Matt can be wanting to propose to Kennedy and telling her he loves her and within a couple hours he's literally having sex with someone else. There's no excuse for that. Even though I hate Kennedy, it now makes Matt and Brooklyn the crappy people in the story.

I don't feel like this is a love story, no matter how it ends or who ends up with who at this point. Its all been heartache, the entire series has turned into a toxic story and I feel no matter how it ends, it'll put a bad taste in my mouth. With the Hunted series, even though there was so much drama and craziness, there was also so much love and glimpses into their relationship were a huge focus. We don't get that with this series. It basically went from a YA/NA Romance, to a thriller/drama and can't make it's way back to romance.

It's all been tainted at this point. And unfortunately with how unnecessarily drawn out this series has been coupled with the long waits in between the books, I no longer care much about what happens to any of them. I feel like books 4 and 5 should have been in the same book with dual perspectives. I have very low expectations moving forward, I don't see any reason thus far why the series needed to be 8 books. I lost my connection to these characters in book 4 and I haven't been able to get it back yet.

I am hopeful that somehow the next 2 books are a majority of happiness, hopefully between Matt and Brooklyn. We don't need anymore drama with these 2, there's been enough and we need some good solid happiness. It's already hard to get over the fact that whatever occurs, Matt is married within a 6 month window of this book. Please please Ivy just give us their HEA in the next books.

As always, Ivy can weave a great web, she is obviously a great writer for making me experience such intense emotions and how deeply invested I am in this series at this point. That's why part of me wants to give 4 stars. My disappointment is what brought it to the 3 instead.

I truly wish I would've waited until the series was complete to read, the cliffhangers and emotional turmoil are killers with how long the wait is between each book.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

This was an interesting and gripping book. I do wish I would have known it was part of a series when I went into it, but I do plan to read all of the other books as I enjoyed this author.

Empire High Homecoming is a book at the end of a series that is a splinter of yet another series. When reading romance I like to be able to just pick up at whatever book I feel like, and this really can’t be read as a stand-alone. The characters seemed complex and interesting, but it was an awkward place to start the story.

This book was incredibly more deep and emotional than I was prepared for. I’m not complaining because it was light enough to be able to handle the depth and emotions without causing me to cry. Because I hate it when books make me cry. Yes, I’m a weird one, moving on.

This is part of a series and I kinda missed that memo before diving in. I didn’t find it hard to keep up with the storyline at all so I’d say it could be a standalone, or at the very least you can start here if it works out that way.

Thanks to NetGalley, I was able to listen to the audiobook and I loved it! The book is written in dual POV and comes complete with two different narrators! No complaints about that. The two narrators really brought the characters to life.

I enjoyed this book. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ absolutely recommend.

I have been waiting for this book to come out. I love the characters, with the exception of a couple. I was so excited to listen to this book, I wasn't disappointed. I love this series, this book was just so dang good. I like Matt and Kennedy together, they seem so good together. I can't wait for the next book to come out.

Wow, just wow! Ivy Smoak had written an incredible series. It is not my usual go to buy, it out excellent none the less. I'm read for book 7 to find out what happens next. Honestly, I have more questions than answers after book 6.