Another hit in a great series. This one has single mom Phoebe, and her old boyfriend and father of her 20 year old son meeting up back in their hometown. Aidan is back to take care of his grandfather's rental properties, and is blindsided to learn he has a son. A lot of great images here, of what caused the past angst, and good details of side stories. One thing I like about the author's stories is that they build on each other. Not needed to read others, but if you do you find old friends and paths that add a more richer story. Highly recommend this one. Good story, good series, good author.

This is the second book in the series, and like the first I devoured this one in a single sitting. After finishing it, I was desperate for more of the group I had fallen for. I often find authors make us wait for the favorite characters to get their stories, but such was not the case with this series. Although I am desperate to see how all the stories play out, I was most interested in seeing on how this couple plays out.

Sharon Sala's newest book in the Blessings. Georgia series, Come Back to Me, was my least favorite of the series. It was very hard to follow and at times felt convoluted. I had a really hard time finishing this book and found myself putting it down and walking away numerous times.

Come Back To Me review:

Jumping into a series at book 6 felt intimidating, but Sharon Sala made it easy with Come Back to Me. This story features former young lovers who were torn apart by tragedy. When Aidan Payne returns to Blessings, GA to settle his grandfather’s estate, he does not expect to revisit the incident that tore him away from Phoebe Ritter. What Aidan doesn’t expect to find is that Phoebe has been keeping a secret for 19 years and experienced struggles of her own after he left Blessings.

Come Back to Me checked so many boxes for me. Small town, first loves reunited, secret babies, and a tragic unsolved mystery. It has me considering investing in this series from the beginning.

I would rate this book 4/5.

I was provided an advanced copy for review. All opinions expressed are my own.

Oh this book. I love Ms. Sala's books but this one gave me all the feels. It is in a series and I'm not even sure how deep into the series it is but you can read it without reading the previous ones and still love it. Phoebe and Aidan were high school sweethearts until a horrible event that separated them. When Aidan and his father pack up and leave town, that is the end of the sweethearts. Except there is always a possibility of second chances right?

I loved seeing the viewpoints. You get a more 'full' view of what is going on. Phoebe was a strong and determined woman, with a secret. I do wish she had 'done more with life' but at the same time, she had her hands full. Aidan frustrated me but I could see his view point as well. To be run out of town, I can't imagine. The story kept me engrossed start to finish.

Absolutely a 4/5.



Thank you to the publisher for the review copy of this book. I received this book in exchange for an honest review and the opinions stated above are 100% mine.

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Veronica – ☆☆☆☆
It was a pleasure to be back in Blessings, Georgia. Book #6 in this series gives us a second chance romance between childhood sweethearts Aiden and Phoebe. As teenagers they are torn apart by a death and 20 years later, another death brings them back together.

My favourite thing about the love story between Phoebe and Aiden is even after all their time apart, they can put their differences aside for the good of their family. They are both such good people with big hearts. It would have been easy for either of them to hold a grudge, but their love and connection overrides all the troubles.

Sharon Sala has a unique writing style. She writes in the third person in a very matter of fact way that I find can sometimes take a few pages to get used to, but with Come Back to Me it didn’t take long to adjust, and I was tearing up by the end of the Prologue. I found it so satisfying seeing our couple find each other again and to see that the bad guys get what is coming to them.

I'm a big fan of small-town romance and I love Blessings because it is a town full of loving, fun, and interesting characters. Come Back to Me is a wonderful addition to the Blessings series and I look forward to reading more stories from this series.

For me, this was just an okay read I usually love a secret baby romance but this one did not work for me there was no real reason to keep him and his son apart for twenty years it just seemed a little cruel and immature on Phoebe's part it was like she punished him for a daft argument for two decades. Just not my favorite from this author

I usually love coming back to Blessings, Georgia, but this sixth novel in the series just didn't grab me the way the earlier novels did. While some of the series regulars appear and/or are mentioned, the characters in this novel were new to me, and while I like the second chance at love trope, I'm not a huge fan of the secret baby trope, and because Come Back to Me combines the two and starts off with the bang, literally and figuratively, I can only give it a 3 star rating.

At the outset, Aidan and Phoebe are high school sweethearts, but the novel opens with an explosion and fire that destroys the auto parts store owned and operated by Aidan's father. We soon learn that the fire jumps next door to the bakery, owned by Phoebe's dad, who dies in that fire, and her mother and uncle, accuse and blame Aidan's father for the fire and the death, since everyone in town knows that he's nearly bankrupted the family paying for his dying wife's cancer treatments. When the whole town accepts that lie, and when Phoebe, forced to end their relationship by her mother and uncle, tells Aidan she never wants to see him again, and has the whole town believing that Aidan's dad is guilty, the grief-stricken father and son leave Blessings for good, with Phoebe running after their car, begging Aidan not to leave. Why did she wait so long?

Fast forward 20 years, and Aidan is finally back in Blessings, having been the sole beneficiary of his grandfather, Preston's estate, his home, and his real estate interests, even though he didn't bother to attend his grandfather's funeral, and this is where my problems with this novel began. Apparently Phoebe didn't realize that when Aidan and his father left town, she was pregnant with Aidan's child, something she only learned 3 days after their departure. Her mother , Sonja, who was already involved with her uncle, Joe, ordered her to abort the fetus and when Phoebe refused to so so, she woke up one morning to find her 18-year-old self alone, broke, and homeless as well, since Sonja and Joe sold their house before leaving for parts unknown. Preston stepped in, giving Phoebe a rent-free place to live, paid her bills, and supported her and her about-to-be-born son, Lee. My issue is why on earth didn't he tell his grandson, Aidan, that Phoebe was pregnant with his child, missed him and needed him? While Preston is portrayed as having a heart of gold, I simply couldn't understand why he'd allow his great grandchild, Lee, to grow up without his father even knowing he existed. Phoebe raised Lee as a single parent, and didn't turn him against his absentee father, and with Preston's help she managed to scrape by without Aidan, but her reasoning for not contacting him struck me as ridiculous--it was because Aidan didn't come back for her. Did she think the boy she'd loved wouldn't come back for her and support her and his unborn child? Sorry, but I just wasn't buying it. Did she really think the boy she still loved 20 years later wouldn't have cared that he had a son and whose childhood he'd missed completely? Since Lee is the spitting image of his father, everyone in town knew who his father was. Again, why didn't one of them let Aidan know about his son? It just stretched my willing suspension of disbelief a tad too far.

When Aidan finally does meet Lee, he's overjoyed to have a son, and discovering that Lee was his child and that he'd missed the first nineteen years of his life didn't seem anger him in the least. He's never loved anyone but Phoebe, in all his years away from Blessings, and he now has a 4-star restaurant in New Orleans. Phoebe too, has never stopped loving Aidan, but that being the case, I found her keeping his son a secret for all the intervening years was both cruel and heartless, and again, I wasn't buying it. Phoebe had to know that Aidan would have stepped up if he knew he had fathered a child--it wasn't because Aidan was bad person, he wasn't a criminal, and he wasn't abusive, all of which were reasons I could have accepted for keeping Lee a secret, but just the fact that he didn't get in touch with her--sorry, poor excuse for keeping his son a secret.

Of course, there's still a mystery to be solved--who started the fire that destroyed Aidan's father's business 20 years ago, and was responsible for the death of Phoebe's father? Where did Phoebe's mother and uncle go when they left her penniless, homeless, alone and pregnant? Why didn't Preston ever let his grandson know about his child? Why was Aidan so willing to forgive the fact that, thanks to Phoebe and his grandfather, he'd missed his son's entire childhood? While all these questions will be answered, in part, and the arsonist revealed, and while I loved how this story ended, it just was too little, too late for me to love the entire novel.

I voluntarily read an advanced reader copy of this novel. The opinions expressed are my own.

Aidan Payne has not returned to Blessings, Georgia in twenty years and is nervous about encountering his former sweetheart, Phoebe Ritter, after their devastating breakup years ago. He is now a successful businessman but he has never married or had a successful relationship and he is totally unprepared for the secret son that he's going to meet.

I feel in love with this second chance at love romance and cheered for Phoebe, Aidan, and Lee. The people of Blessings came through with a homecoming worthy of a hero and I look forward to reading more of these stories.

Thanks to the publisher and to NetGalley for an ARC; all opinions are my own.

Second chance at love plus secret baby = a moving, realistic, emotional romance. Don't miss this one!

Many thanks to Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for my ARC. All opinions are my own.

A great return to Blessings Georgia, where everyone has flaws and no one is beyond redemption. A few familiar faces supported our new storyline which underscores that life isn’t a straight line, and second chances do come around.

Small town romance at it's best. When a devastating fire burns down a couple of businesses in Blessings Georgia it leaves one dead, two families devastated and a town divided. After 19 years of separation, can there still be a happy ending for once high school sweet hearts Phoebe and Aidan?
Aidan has shaken the dust off Blessings from his feet but has never forgotten his love for Phoebe. Their painful parting has left scars and neither Phoebe nor Aidan have ever managed a meaningful relationship since. Now with his grandfather dead, he reluctantly returns to town to wrap up his grandfather's affairs ready to move on with his life. However it seems that Fate isn't done with him yet.
It turns out that Phoebe was pregnant when he cut her out of his life. Abandoned by her family she has no one to turn to until Aidan's grandfather comes to her rescue. Imagine Aidan's surprise when he finds out that his grandfather had kept secrets from him. As Aidan works on the properties his grandfather left preparing them from sale, he has an opportunity to build a relationship with the amazing young man Lee has grown up to be. Lee is also a match maker wanting to bring his parents together. Clearly since this is Blessings Georgia and Ms. Sala writes beautifully emotional romances, Lee's attempts will bear fruit but the pleasure is in the read.
It's good to catch up with all the familiar characters in the town and watch the romance flourish. Will the truth finally set them free or will it complicate things further? This is a great read! Another winner for the author.

This was my first read by Sharon Sala. I love a second chance romance, and this did not disappoint! If you are looking for a romance that comes together pretty easily and is "clean," you will enjoy Come Back to Me.

Sigh.!!! Small town romances are among my favorite romance genres and Sharon Sala knows how to write said stories better than almost anyone else. This is book 6 in the Blessings, Georgia series and I have read 4 of these books. This particular story revolve around Phoebe and Aidan, high school sweethearts whose lives were drastically changed after a fire. This fire caused the two families to be at war with each other and caused the demise of Phoebe and Aidan's young love. A death in the family brings Aidan back home 20 years later and he is met with a life changing surprise, a nineteen year old son. As you can imagine, tensions run high when Aidan and Phoebe are faced with the mistakes of the past, but can they overcome it and focus on the future?

The writing style of this author is multiple point of views and it allows different characters to contribute to the story. From Aidan to local town folks, the world told through their eyes are riveting and forthcoming and it make this story flow seamlessly. The chemistry between Aidan and Phoebe were strong and electric and after 20 years apart, it was as if they were never apart. I loved Aidan because he was passionate, humble, and most importantly, he was very likable. The same cannot be said of Phoebe because she started off bitter and selfish for the way that she hid their son from Aidan for 19 years, which is a very long time. After the way they broke up, I could understand the intense emotions that Phoebe felt but she came off as very bitter. In contrast, the townsfolk were very interesting and dramatic, which I loved. One major mystery of this story was the culprit behind the fire and it was thrilling as much as it was surprising.

You may be thinking, "well what's with the 4 stars if you like it so much?", and to answer that question, you would have to stick around. Numero uno, the amount of years and age of the couple. Twenty years is quite a long time to wait on someone and Phoebe and Aidan was 38 years old. According to the story, Phoebe has not been with any other man for the whole time and this is not believable. Numero dos, Phoebe was, at times, annoying and her character had to grow on me which wasted so much valuable time. There are no tres or any other numbers because I loved this book. Happy Now?!!

Her stories are magical, surreal and the world that she has created makes me yearn to pack up my life and move to Blessings, Georgia. I do not have the slightest idea of how she manages to create such an extraordinary world and characters, but I do know one thing….It is under the blanket with tea approved. If you are looking for a true romance story or maybe you are just a romantic at heart, Go pick it up.!!!

Sala welcomes readers back to the small town of Blessings, Georgia in her sixth installment with a second chance romance brimming with love, loss, and forgiveness. Two high school sweethearts are torn apart by tragedy only to discover years later that sometimes life gives you what you need when you least expect it. Sala’s small town inspirational saga continues to entertain with multiple subplots that almost flirt with melodrama while offering readers some homegrown truths about religious hypocrisy, double standards, and the ties that bind family. Though I normally enjoy this series, this one felt a little too contrived and overstuffed as Sala attempts to reunite a family, solve a mystery, and offer redemption across the board.

High school sweethearts Phoebe Ritter and Aidan Payne are forced apart when Phoebe’s father is killed in a fire and Aidan’s dad is falsely accused of the crime. Aidan’s family leaves town to never come back. 20 years later, Aidan returns to settle his grandfather’s estate and is shocked to discover he has a son. His anger fades to delight when he meets Lee and discovers he and Phoebe still carry a spark for one another. As they spend more time together, they discover that nothing that happened that fateful night was what it seemed and unless they can solve what happened in the past, they will never have a future.

Grade: C+

A trip back to Blessings, Georgia will change lives of many of the town's residents. A cold case will be solved, a man who thought he had no family left finds he does. A woman has been waiting for 20 years for the man she loves to Come To Me. Finally, a new face in town causes a stir with the ladies. Sharon Sala takes you back to her Blessings, Georgia series (formerly known as Curl Up & Dye) with a story of lost love that pulls at the heartstrings and makes you cheer for a happy ending and a life deserved together for our main characters.

Phoebe Ritter has lived in Blessings all of her life and has been in love with her teenage boyfriend Aidan Payne for over 20 years, A tragedy tears them apart and sends Aidan and his father from the only home they've ever known. When Aidan and his father leave town Phoebe runs to apologize but its too late to help their torn apart relationship. Fast forward twenty years and Aidan is returning to take care of his recently deceased grandfather's estate. Aidan meets the unique neighbor next door and gets a warning that the past will be resolved. He sees Phoebe working at the local grocery and when a young man shows up to surprise her he figures she's married and that's her son. As he's leaving the boy comes up to talk to him and takes a picture. Lee takes the photo home and compares it to the photo on his mom's nightstand. When Phoebe gets home from work he tells her about who he saw and shows her the photo, They make a plan to go tell Aidan about his son Lee, the next morning. Aidan is shocked and over joyed to learn about Lee. Phoebe to protect herself from being hurt again tells him the only relationship they can have is for their son's sake. Aidan finds a photo album that his grandfather left behind for him, As Lee talks with both parents he realizes that they still love each other so he works situations to put them together, which brings out the truth about what Phoebe went through being a single parent. They realize that their feelings haven't changed and that they need to start from now and not the past. Aidan goes to church with Phoebe and Lee as support. They start hanging out as a family and Aidan shows Phoebe how he really feels about her. They receive another warning from the neighbor and Phoebe and Lee take him seriously. Meanwhile a dying man's troubled son comes back into his life and is told never to come back. Also Phoebe's mother and uncle come back to Blessings to reconnect with her. Phoebe warns Lee and Aidan and a confrontation takes place. Phoebe is warned her mother is coming to see her and another confrontation takes place. A storm comes into town and Phoebe is on the phone with Aidan when her house is struck by lightning and he saves her from the fire. Lee and Phoebe move in with Aidan and a proposal is made and accepted. The dying man talks to the police chief about what happened 20 years ago and finds a cell number for his son. They devise a plan to get him back to Blessings. A call is made to the son and to Aidan. The next day the trap is sprung and a murderer is caught and a mystery is solved. A stranger comes to Blessings and causes a stir with the ladies. He likes Blessings so much he's thinking of staying. Aidan recognizes him. The newcomer takes a tour of the grandfather's business and is thinking of buying. Phoebe comes up with a plan to use her old car and her repaired house. She goes to a newly arrived resident in need and tells her of her story and gives her the start given to Phoebe. Lee, Phoebe and Aidan go to New Orleans and the two get married. After a party celebrating the marriage a secret is revealed and a chance is given for a family to start over.

Sharon Sala has been a favorite author for years and the wit and suspense and emotion she puts in her books is greatly appreciated and always capture and keep my attention. I always look forward to her next book whether it be a series or a single title are welcome and immediately a favorite. I look forward to the next story in the Blessings, Georgia series and hope it continues for a long time to come. Ms. Sharon Sala is always a great read.

I love returning to Blessings. Seeing how each life is coming together and seeing old friends along the way. This book was heartbreaking and sweet at the same time. A true page turner by an amazing author.

I always enjoy reading a book by Sharon Sala because I know I can look forward to interesting and sympathetic characters and a compelling storyline that will engage my heart and this book does that and so much more. I love reading stories about small towns, but in this case I hated the prejudice and malicious gossip that chased Aiden and his father out of Blessings, Georgia 20 years ago. Aiden reluctantly returns to his hometown to deal with his late grandfather’s estate and he’s absolutely flabbergasted to see a young man that looks exactly like him walking down the street. What I absolutely loved about this book is the heartwarming way this family comes together and celebrates the blessings in their lives, rather than dwelling on the past. The very best part of reading this book is finding out that there are five previous books in the Blessings series and I can’t wait to read them all. I read an early copy of this book provided by NetGalley and all opinions expressed in my voluntary review are completely my own.

This book takes you back to Blessings Georgia, and begins with a high school romance that is shattered one night when Aiden Payne’s father’s auto parts store goes up in flames. Also catching fire was a bakery and Phoebe Ritter’s father was inside and passed away. Phoebe’s mother and uncle start accusing Aiden’s father of starting the fire in order to get money for insurance and though it is proven false, because the money went for medical bills for his mother you passed shortly after the fire it does not matter. People in the town and at the school still look and treat both Aiden and his father differently. Now leaving town Phoebe hears of their move and realizes her mistake and rushes to his house to say she was sorry, but he says it was too late and they away. Now twenty years later Aiden is back in Blessings because his grandfather has passed away and he has been asked by the lawyer to take care of property and other matters. Phoebe still living in town does not see him when he goes into the piggly wiggly, but he does notice a boy talking to her that must be her son. Leaving quickly he does not know that Lee took a picture of him. Later that night Lee shows her the photo and her heart still and confirms that yes that is his father. The next day the two of them go to the house so he can meet his son that the grandfather knew about but figured it was up to Aiden to come back home to find out himself. The rest of the story is about people working through twenty years of hurt and seeing if there is anything their between them. You find out that her mother and uncle were awful to her and that the grandfather helped her from day one. You also find out who started the fire and that came as a surprise. Overall this was a good book with good characters, and I believe sets you up for the next book at the end.

Ah yes, I do love this writer’s style, the world of small town Blessings, Georgia she created, the heartwarming romances and friendships, and the engaging people. I’ve laughed and cried and sighed with happiness over nearly every book I’ve picked up.

So, why the sudden need to DNF (do not finish) a book in the series?
Well, this is on me. The whole trouble I’m going to relate is personal preference- at least, I’m pretty sure it is. I apologize to author and others for not just skipping this one knowing my preferences. The blurb does a good job of telling the reader what they can expect. I pressed forward because of all the things I mentioned in the first paragraph, but it wasn’t enough to overcome a hot button issue that is my own taste.

One of my big nope to the tropes is secret baby. Unless that guy is an ax murderer or has left no way of finding him, I will never be okay with a mother hiding the fact that a guy has a kid. It’s not fair to the kid and not fair to the guy.

At first, I thought this one was going to be okay. The guy’s family sold up and left town so I figured it would be one of those where she couldn’t find him, but it wasn’t like that. I let myself get really steamed before I closed the book and knew that, no, I wasn’t going to be good with her reasoning.

Instead of telling you to stay away or that I can’t recommend the book. I’ll just share my synopsis on what I read and let you decide since I know this trope doesn’t bug some people or doesn’t bug them to the same extent. No worries if you love it and this makes you want to dash out and grab it as soon as it hits the stands.

There was an arson fire in the town and the hero, Aiden’s dad gets blamed for setting it for the insurance money and at the same time, accidentally killing the heroine, Phoebe’s dad who was next door at his own business. There’s no evidence, but the town and Phoebe do a judge, jury, execution and make it pretty rough on Aiden’s dad and Aiden.

Meanwhile, the Aiden’s mom dies of cancer and evidence comes in that his dad was innocent. The Aiden begs Phoebe to let him comfort her and help, but she tells him to never speak to her again and leave her alone. She keeps it up for weeks when he tries a few more times even through his own grief for her dad, her family, his own mom is dying and the stress on his own family. People (Phoebe) know they were wrong, but its gone on too long and they won’t apologize and ask forgiveness.

Just as Aiden and his dad, grieving and hurt, are leaving, Phoebe gets her head on straight enough from her own grief to realize that he’s really leaving. Now, she tries to get him to stay or at least come back with teary-eyed ‘I’m sorries’. It’s too late and his dad needs him and he was still stinging from the betrayal of knowing that she’d known his family for years and claimed to love him, but never gave him the benefit of the doubt especially since there was no evidence. So, he leaves and moves on with his life with one glance back of regret.

Twenty years later, Aiden comes back to settle his granddad’s estate and discovers he has a son that Phoebe kept quiet about and the granddad agreed to keep quiet about too. They had decided between them that Aiden would only get to know about his son if he tried to check on her- come back for her like she begged, in other words. Phoebe raised the boy to believe his dad was a great guy and the son accepts this arrangement because he loves his mom and hopes for the best with his dad. She’s never going to love anyone else and he’s never found anyone else. Ahhhh… but no.

Phoebe’s a cutie and a hard worker and a great single mom, as described. She’s sacrificed and endured to raise a good kid. Bless her heart. Yes, I’m being a little facetious because it didn’t have to be like this. There are tons of single moms who would boot her in the butt for living on little because of that sort of unwarranted hurt pride that wore well on a teen girl, but not a thirty-something. She chose it because she makes this rule that he has to come back for her before he gets to know that he has a son. She took 20 years from them because of her stubborn insistence that he had to come back to her or at least ask about her. And the grandfather went along with this even while coming out to visit him and not allowing him to know about his own dying or funeral until afterward to keep him from spending his granddad’s last days with his grandson because the secret. Sorry, I couldn’t get on board with her reasoning and it didn’t strike me as romantic at all. She claims all along that she loved him. That behavior is not love for Aiden or their son. It was selfish and all about her even if she didn’t badmouth him and turn his son against him. Then I have to deal with her acting all mad and self-righteous when she springs Lee on him, conveniently forgets about all those weeks twenty years back of denying the guy until he’s pulling out of the driveway, and still spouting her ‘you never came back for me’ one-trick pony act.

Lee is well adjusted and Aiden is thrilled. Shocked, hurt that she did this, but he doesn’t lose it on her or toward the boy when she just shows up spitting nails at him ‘you have a son and he wanted to meet you, but I don’t ever want to see you’. He’s generous and kind and wants to be around them both. He regrets and tells her so, but she’s not having it and stays angry. Why is he the one doing all the bending and apologizing here????

And, then yeah, her dander’s up so when some jerk lips off to her, she punches him and breaks his nose. Now, I got no issues with a jerk getting a comeuppance, but she’d already poured beer on the guy and told him off. The hitting was just one more thing.

So, that’s about it. I stopped at that point. A couple of teens have tragedy enter their lives and they are too young to weather it as a couple, but now they get a second chance as adults. Go for it or don’t. No worries.

My thanks to Sourcebooks Casablanca for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.