Catherine Boyd will do anything to regain custody of her young son . . . Even reconcile with the husband accused of killing their son’s twin.
Catherine graduates from college, eager to start a new life with her six-year-old son, Drew. But when she tries to bring him home, her parents refuse to relinquish control of the grandson they’d raised.
Wrongly accused of a horrible crime, Thomas Boyd has buried himself in his career, determined to forget his painful past and the family he lost. But now, five years later, Catherine is back, requesting his help to regain custody of their son — custody he thought she had.
Though older and wiser, when courtroom battles reveal lies and secrets and generations of pain, will Thomas and Catherine find more tragedy and loss, or will old wounds finally heal?
**ARC provided in exchange for an honest review**
Reviewed by Dawn ~ 3.5 Stars
Ok so I'll start at the beginning......
This is a book about a young couple going through a custody battle for their young son but it is also more. It covers a lot of big issues and it covers them really well.
I'm gonna cover the characters individually.
This is a book about a young couple going through a custody battle for their young son but it is also more. It covers a lot of big issues and it covers them really well.
I'm gonna cover the characters individually.
Catherine ~ Just graduated and wants to get her son Drew back from her parents. (Horrible horrible people but i'll get to them in a bit!!) They had temporary custody of Drew while she did her degree in California. Catherine wants to stay there rather than go back home to live with him there. But her parent have other plans, they won't let Drew live with her. Did i say they were horrible already? Well they are!!
And the is where Catherine get a shock and the story begins. She has to reconcile her marriage to her estranged husband Thomas (Drew's dad) in order to get him back. That's how simple she thinks it is bit boy is she wrong.
Catherine's character was a hard one, she was tough but we got to see her in her past where she wasn't tough and I'm glad I didn't know her then cause I don't think I would have liked her. I did feel she could have showed more emotion and spoken about her feelings to Thomas a bit more throughout the book.
And the is where Catherine get a shock and the story begins. She has to reconcile her marriage to her estranged husband Thomas (Drew's dad) in order to get him back. That's how simple she thinks it is bit boy is she wrong.
Catherine's character was a hard one, she was tough but we got to see her in her past where she wasn't tough and I'm glad I didn't know her then cause I don't think I would have liked her. I did feel she could have showed more emotion and spoken about her feelings to Thomas a bit more throughout the book.
Thomas ~ This poor guy. He has been dealt a poor hand in life and he is a lovely guy.
He and Catherine got married when they were young and she was pregnant much to her parents disgust. But they loved each other so much they didn't care. They had the twins then one night tragedy struck and one of the twins died. Thomas is accused wrongly of killing him but is later acquitted. When he get out of jail Catherine break of their relationship and he goes off to college leaving his wife and son behind. Then 4 years later Catherine comes back into his life saying they need to reconcile their t get their son back from her parents. This is a shock to him he thought she had Drew. A lot of painful memories surround their relationship, and Thomas and Catherine have been a part ever since he was let out of jail but he agrees to it.
I think he could have done with some therapy as he has a whole bundle of issues he needs to get over.
I found him a little hard to connect with as he was so withdrawn and didn't show a whole lot of emotion.
He and Catherine got married when they were young and she was pregnant much to her parents disgust. But they loved each other so much they didn't care. They had the twins then one night tragedy struck and one of the twins died. Thomas is accused wrongly of killing him but is later acquitted. When he get out of jail Catherine break of their relationship and he goes off to college leaving his wife and son behind. Then 4 years later Catherine comes back into his life saying they need to reconcile their t get their son back from her parents. This is a shock to him he thought she had Drew. A lot of painful memories surround their relationship, and Thomas and Catherine have been a part ever since he was let out of jail but he agrees to it.
I think he could have done with some therapy as he has a whole bundle of issues he needs to get over.
I found him a little hard to connect with as he was so withdrawn and didn't show a whole lot of emotion.
Drew ~ I felt we could have got to know him a bit more what we did see he was a god wee character and I feel if we got to know him better it would have added much more emotion to the book. He a cute little boy and sadly used as a pawn by his grandparents.
The Grandparents (Sarah & Eric) ~ OMG!!!!!! They are horrible, rich, selfish, controlling, manipulative, nasty, unloving and I hated them instantly! They have wronged Catherine on so many things I wouldn't even know where to begin without giving away to much.
As a mum I just couldn't understand how parents could act this way.
During the court case so much was uncovered I really couldn't believe how 2 people could be so nasty to their own child.
Towards the end Sarah made my blood boil for something she did and I ended up feeling sorry for Eric but I didn't forgive him for what he'd put his own children through but felt he had completely different a possibly justified reason where as sarah was just a nasty jealous woman. .
As a mum I just couldn't understand how parents could act this way.
During the court case so much was uncovered I really couldn't believe how 2 people could be so nasty to their own child.
Towards the end Sarah made my blood boil for something she did and I ended up feeling sorry for Eric but I didn't forgive him for what he'd put his own children through but felt he had completely different a possibly justified reason where as sarah was just a nasty jealous woman. .
As I said his book dealt with a few hard topics that should have had me in tears as I watched the family suffer but I felt something was missing that didn't get me connected enough to them to feel the emotion.
The court room had me on the edge of my seat the whole time and some of the things that were uncovered made me say OMG out loud then flick the pages as quick as I could read them to find out about them. The court room also made me hate her mum even more she made me feel sick as a mum at one point I would want this woman looking after my dog let alone my child.
It's hard to round up this book without giving it away. It was a great story but I felt it slightly lacked emotion and communication from Catherine and Thomas and as a romance I felt it focused more on the issues and court battle than the relationship but still an really enjoyable read.
I also would have liked a bit more at the end of the book I felt it just kind of ended. An epilogue a few years down the line would have been really nice
I also would have liked a bit more at the end of the book I felt it just kind of ended. An epilogue a few years down the line would have been really nice
Theresa Rizzo is an award-winning author who writes emotional stories that explore the complexity of relationships and families through real-life trials. Born and raised in Grosse Pointe, Michigan, she currently lives outside of Boulder, Colorado with her husband of thirty years. She’s raised four wonderful children who are now scattered across the country.
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Hi Dawn, Thanks for having me on your blog and for making the time to read and review He Belong to Me! Your thoughts have not gone unheard and in the next year or so I'll write an epilogue and post it on my website to let all my readers know how Thomas, Catherine and the family are doing. Thanks again for the lovely review!
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