Contemporary Romance published by Thomas Nelson 19 Oct 21
In my journey to find some new authors to read, I ran across Denise Hunter and her new series, Riverbend. So I figured this would be a great place to start for a good introduction to her work. Sometimes when you’re right, you’re right!
I thoroughly enjoyed the beginning of this book. Kate is on her way to Riverbend Gap when she ends up literally hanging, wheels barely touching the ground, on the edge of a cliff. Believing help will not come in time on this scarcely traveled road, it’s first a sigh of relief when Sheriff Deputy Cooper Robinson finds her, and she then experiences a sigh of a different kind when, despite the circumstances, there’s an arc of electricity between them as Cooper keeps her talking while waiting for more help to arrive.
Thinking they’ll never see each other again after Kate is taken away by ambulance, it’s a punch to the gut when they do meet up at his parents’ home, where Kate was headed when her accident happened. Seems her new boyfriend is Cooper’s brother, Gavin. So they both try to bury blossoming feelings, especially because Gavin is finally deciding to live again after the tragedy in his life. Doing that, however, is not easy. They’re thrown together time and again and they can only take so many punches before they begin to break.
I like the family aspect of this series. The Robinsons are descendants of the pioneers of Riverbend, a close-knit family that gets thrown back on its heels when all is revealed, in a very public way, between Kate and Cooper. They each have shared secrets with the other that they’ve never told anyone else. This causes more friction, and Kate is on the verge of losing everything she’s ever wanted. Cooper is a stellar hero in trying not to betray his brother.
My only small nitpick is I do like a bit more heat in my romance. While I’d have preferred more steam, that doesn’t take away from the story that is full of heart and emotion and won’t keep me from reading Mulberry Hollow when it hits the shelves next April. In the meantime, Denise Hunter has a nice backlist of books to choose from when the mood strikes.
Grade: B
Summary:
She came in search of the family she’d always wanted—and found the kind of love she’d never dared imagine.
When Katelyn Loveland’s car veered off a winding Appalachian Mountain road, she thought she was done for. That is until Cooper Robinson, local sheriff’s deputy, came to her rescue. And though Katie narrowly escaped her brush with death, she still fell. Hard.
She wasn’t the only one. But soon Cooper learns that the woman he’s more attracted to than any he’s ever met is his brother’s new girlfriend—and therefore unquestionably off limits. Yet, despite their best efforts, Cooper and Katie can’t seem to avoid running into each other. Or ignore the undeniable chemistry between them.
As they grow closer, Katie shares secrets from her past and the real reason she moved to their small North Carolina town. She also wins over Cooper’s welcoming and bighearted family. But they don’t know that her feelings for Cooper keep growing—all while she’s dating his brother. Soon the stakes of their emotional connection become higher than either could have imagined.
Katie stands to lose the first family she’s ever had, and a scandal could doom Cooper’s campaign for sheriff. Suddenly they find themselves on the edge of another precipice—and they’re forced to make a decision that could change their lives forever.
Read an excerpt.
Other books in this series:
