Finding Home by Jacqueline Ramsden

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I’ve learned that I have a soft spot for fake dating romances where one of the mains rescues the other from her awful family. I think it’s because I dealt with my awful parents for so many years before I finally cut ties with them. My wife was my knight in shining armor and I love to see others – even pretend others – find someone who will stand up for them and protect their hearts. Finding Home knocked it out of the park in this respect.

Here’s the blurb:

Can fake dating the wrong woman lead you to the right one?

When Hallie Fuller’s colleague, River, needs a pretend date for her family’s annual Christmas tree week, she’s happy to help out—at least until a chance encounter with River’s cousin, Audrey, makes her question who she really wants to spend the holidays with.

Audrey is dreading heading back to Michigan for her family’s annual gathering. Having sworn off dating—and with zero interest in bringing anyone around the Sinclairs—she’s definitely an outsider. However, an unexpected meeting with a beautiful woman might have things looking up—at least until she discovers that the woman in question is her cousin’s new girlfriend.

As sparks fly and tensions rise, the pair find themselves drawn together, and Audrey can’t deny that Hallie is the only place she’s ever felt safe—no matter how forbidden it might be. And, if they give in to the feelings growing between them, maybe she’ll find that home is more than just a place.

Finding Home is a hurt-comfort Christmas romance featuring a forensic entomologist and fake dating the wrong person. Content warnings for OCD rep, family trauma, discussion of forensic work, and open-door sex scenes.

I’ve enjoyed Ramsden’s books previously but this one hit me in the feels pretty hard. It wasn’t perfect. There were a few moments when I called mental bullshit and there were some small editing/proofreading issues. A few places where it seemed that we went from using American terms and phrasing to British or European phrasing. But nothing that yanked me too badly from the story.

Ultimately, I’m putting Finding Home on my funk-read list. Because it gave me warm mental hugs and don’t we all need that sometimes?

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.



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