Name: Home to Whiskey Creek
ISBN: 9780778315452

Brenda Novak

Adelaide returns to her hometown of Whiskey Creek to care for her aging grandmother and her grandmother's restaurant, but she is less than happy to be back in a place that holds such terrible memories.

Home to Whiskey Creek

Angela Guilherme

*I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

“Home to Whiskey Creek” is the fourth book in a series where its protagonists have all been high school friends. I haven’t read the previous books, but each one is independent, so it wasn't a problem.

The story begins with Noah Rackham finding a woman trapped at the old Whiskey Creek mine. It’s a desperate situation, not only because it’s getting dark and he is all alone and with no way of calling for help, but also because it was on that same mine that Noah’s twin brother Cody died in an accident fifteen years ago, on graduation night.

The woman inside the mine is Adelaide Davies, back in town to help her grandmother, and she didn't end up in the mine by her own will. Addy was kidnapped and thrown into the mine with the warning that if she talks about graduation night, she and her grandmother will be killed.

Graduation night was the night that changed everything. Addy, two years younger than Noah and Cody, was invited to the party that Cody organized at the mine and, disobeying her grandmother, she went hoping that Noah, for whom she had a major crush, would be there. But Noah wasn't at the party and Addy ended up being the victim of a gang rape by Cody and four of his friends, which was why she left town right after her own graduation and has only returned now, fifteen years after.

Addy told no one at the time, and she has no intention of telling anyone now, but obviously at least one of the four men that raped her doesn’t intend to take any risks. After all, fifteen years later, they all have a life, some even a family, and a social status to protect. And there is also the fact that there’s not a statute of limitations for group rapes, so they still risk going to jail.

After rescuing Addy from the mine, Noah is determined to find the identity of the person responsible and to protect her. Addy tries to get Noah to back away, but he doesn't give up and she finds herself discovering that the feelings she had for him as a teenager don’t even compare to the attraction she feels for him now… But Addy carries another secret, one that will never allow her to have a future with Noah…

I really liked this story, with both protagonists being traumatized people that find in each other the support they need to deal and overcome those traumas. I also liked to know some of the protagonists of previous books and, although I won’t be reading them, I’ll read the following for sure!

I already took a peek at who the protagonists are for the next books and I was saddened to see that Baxter (Noah’s best friend) still hasn’t had the right to his own story. I really, really hope that the author writes it, because he also deserves to find his happiness.

I have the next book on my kindle already and, seeing as it takes place during Christmas, I’ll be reading it very soon.

Home to Whiskey Creek

Reviews

Highlights