Going Home, At Your Age? A Better Late Romance by Jacqueline Diamond

Going Home, At Your Age? A Better Late Romance by Jacqueline Diamond
Sisters, Lovers & Second Chances Book 3
Publisher: K. Loren Wilson
Genre: Romance, Contemporary
Rating: 4 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Her hidden past is about to explode!

Sara returns to her hometown for Christmas, to face her sisters—and the man she left behind—with a stunning secret. The baby she gave up for adoption years ago is having her own baby, and wants her to be the grandma.

Young, pregnant and feeling abandoned, Sara rebelled against everyone she knew, including the man she secretly loved. Now, about to celebrate her 50th birthday, can she finally claim the family that should have been hers, right old wrongs, and find the home she believed lost forever?

It’s never too late to fall in love.

I loved the realistic and nuanced way the narrator handled the adoption storyline. Adoption can be a complex topic even under the best circumstances. Some of the most interesting scenes to me were the ones that explored Sara’s memories of the past and the lifelong grief she felt at not being able to raise her daughter while still believing that choosing adoption was ultimately the right decision for both of them. It was also fascinating to see how Sara and Melina created their relationship once they were reunited. Of course sharing DNA with someone is part of what makes a family, but the emotional intimacy and deep bonds between a parent and child need to be slowly built up over time in cases such as these.

There were some times when I struggled to keep track of the large cast of characters even though I was already familiar with the majority of them. It would have been helpful for me as a reader to dive more deeply into the lives of a smaller number of characters instead of getting brief updates on everyone. In my opinion, there simply wasn’t enough space to show character development in most cases due to how many folks the narrator needed to reintroduce to the audience and explain what, if anything, had changed in their lives since she’d last seen them.

Just like in Don’t Be Silly! At My Age?, Ms. Diamond once again captured the essence of small-town life perfectly. Most of the characters had known each other for decades, and their shared histories popped up in all sorts of delightful ways. Sometimes old grudges resurfaced, while in other scenes they briefly remembered funny or touching moments from their youth that still affected how they interacted with each other in the present. I also appreciated the author’s willingness to explore the difficult portions of being surrounded by folks who have known each other since childhood. For example, it’s more difficult for people to reinvent themselves when they are constantly reminded of choices, they made many years ago. This is one of many reasons why I enjoy these characters so much, and I’m curious to see what might happen to them next if more is written about them.

This is the third instalment in a series. It can be read as a standalone work, but I’d wholeheartedly recommend going back and checking out the first two books if you enjoy this one and want to dig deeper into the backstory.

Going Home, At Your Age? was a heartwarming read.