This RITA® Reader Challenge 2015 review was written by ReneeG. This story was nominated for the RITA® in the Long Contemporary category.

Here is ReneeG's review:

The Place I Belong is the third volume of Herkness’ Whisper Horse series (I can’t call it a trilogy as there is a novella winding up another character’s arc).  This book involves many secrets and a few lies and I really enjoyed it.  Although it is part of a series, it can easily be read as a stand-alone book.

The thread running through the series is the idea of a Whisper Horse – that there is a special horse for every person and that relationship will help heal both the horse and the person (you whisper what you need to the horse).  I sometimes wish I had a Whisper Horse, although it sounds like they can be a bit pricey.

The main thread running through this book is secrets.  All our main characters have at least one secret and they have negatively impacted the secret-holder.  However, refreshingly, people tell their secrets and communicate about their damage (not that the communication has fixed the damage, but at least there are no lurking relationship holes).

Our first two main characters are the Hero, world-famous chef Adam Bosch (who has layered secrets), and the Heroine, new-to-town veterinarian Hannah Linden (she only has the one secret).  Their secrets and the resolutions thereof drive the story line.  The book realistically shows how important it is to take care of yourself when involved in a relationship with someone who is wallowing in their pain.

Another main character is Adam’s son, Matt.  Can you count a young teenage boy as a plot moppet?  Although, since he is the lucky one who gets the Whisper Horse in this book, he probably doesn’t count as a plot moppet (in the other books, the heroines get the Whisper Horse).  His secret reveals some of the issues Adam has and the reveal itself seems very natural.

There are some additional side characters who add some spice to the mix.  We also get to see some of the characters from the other books again, but they come into the story organically and help advance the plot.  There aren’t any loose threads left hanging at the end, which is nice.

I enjoy the animals in the series and especially in this book – the horse and some nice dogs and cats.  Of course, you have to have a horse in a series named “Whisper Horse” and Satchmo is the one here (actually, he is a Whisper Pony).  In a way, Satchmo also has a secret (I’m telling you this book is FULL of them!).  Satchmo and Matt’s relationship also matures during the book.

The plot is tight and realistic.  It focuses on resolving the issues surrounding the secrets – lancing the boils, if you will – and moving our characters towards their happy ending. Choices from the resolutions are handled well, without a lot of angsty circle-guilting (except where it added the final conflict to the story), and each conflict resolution ratchets the tension up to the final denouement.  Our characters show growth and don’t make you want to strangle them for not seeing the truth right in front of their noses.  Ok, I did want to strangle Adam a couple of times, and Hannah too, but not really in a mean way, just to get their attention.

I liked the love story overall and the sexytimes were nicely written (some involved food other than chocolate!).  The couple hung together well – their issues were understandable and Hannah took care of herself instead of acting like a door mat. There was Insta-Lust, to get us going, but the love portion seemed to grow naturally (for a fast romance).  It was very enjoyable.  I have to say that it was pretty vanilla sexytimes, but that is nice, too.

Of course, with a main character that is a chef, food plays a big role.  There are no recipes in the back (bummer!), but the food porn is nicely done.  It just slips right in until you wonder why you have chicken curry on the brain.

The writing flows well and there aren’t a lot of errors to toss you out of the story.  There are some tearful moments and the ending was a “gotcha” (but in a good way).  The backstories from the other two books were slipped into place without a noticeable DATA DUMP HERE flashing sign.  I am not enamoured with the name of the town (Sanctuary, West Virginia) where our series takes place, but the books have made the place seem so real that I would have liked to visit.

I thought The Place I Belong was the strongest book of the trilogy, and I actually liked that the heroine didn’t get the Whisper Horse.  The plot moved briskly and the love stories plucked at my heart strings without wallowing in goo.  There is a hint of a TGTBT world running thru the series, but what can you expect from a town called Sanctuary.  I was surprised at how well this book stands on its own and how the author didn’t over-dump the data and really kept it to what was needed for this story.

This isn’t a book that I can’t put down or get out of my mind, but it is a relaxing and enjoyable read that doesn’t encourage any book or Kindle throwing.