The Hometown Hazard Review

Remember Blossom Among Flowers? Remember  #romanceclassbooks? I haven't read much of romance class books too, but I will, soon. I came across this book because of an RT in Twitter. I got a free e-copy of this novella when the author, Dawn Lanuza, gave out 27 copies.

The Hometown Hazard is a chick-lit story set in the Philippines. Jules (Juliana) Coronado goes back to her hometown after years because of distress call from her mother that there was a intruder in their house, in her old room. She sees her childhood best friend's younger brother and neighbor, Kip Villamor scaling up their wall who is not what she remembers him to be.

At first glance, I thought The Hometown Hazard is a sci-fi love story sort because of the cover or am I the only who thought of that? I was thinking of abduction and all of sorts when I hadn't read the summary, but I was dead wrong. It's a chick-lit which is my first when it comes to a Philippines setting.

The Hometown Hazard has this familiar vibe of the countryside since I do live in one. The rooster at mornings, the cockfighting (sabong), the town fiesta, and I admit it was nice to read. Jules is a spunky, intelligent woman, and she has that mysterious aura in her. She lived in the city for years and never came home once after she left for college. That will got you thinking, what the hell happened to her in her hometown? The story has that - mystery and that building up romance between childhood neighbors. I would consider this in the category of older female and younger male even if their age gap isn't much, but it is weird to see a boy you sorta grow up with to turn into this charming young man. 

The story had a nice phasing. It wasn't too slow or fast, and I was just not probably used to reading novellas because I wanted more. The reveal may have been a little anticlimactic, but it seemed right and went well with the flow of the story. It could have use a one more editing but other than that, The Hometown Hazard is a light read and that mystery they are after for and whatever Jules is hiding will keep you reading the book. I came up with my own theories once they were close enough to the truth, and I guessed right, one way or another, so go ahead and check The Hometown Hazard, form your own hunches, and be charmed by the countryside love story.

I'm not sure if this is available in print but it is available in Amazon Kindle for $2.99 and Buqo for P135.

About the author:

Dawn Lanuza started writing stories when she was just a kid (they weren't good or even finished). She's a music elf by day and a meet cute writer by night. 'The Boyfriend Backtrack' is her first book. She currently lives with her family and an adopted dog.

Find her in Twitter: @dawnlanuza || Facebook || Blog || Ask.fm || Goodread