Sunday, January 30, 2011

Harvest Moon

Harvest Moon


Those of you who are regular readers know that I made my way through Robyn Carr's Virgin River series last summer, and that I've recently reviewed Promise Canyon and Wildman Creek, two books that came out this month.  Harvest Moon will be released February 22 and in some ways is a follow-up to Wildman Creek.

About the Book:

Rising sous-chef Kelly Matlock's sudden collapse at work is a wake-up call. Disillusioned and burned out, she's retreated to her sister Jillian's house in Virgin River to rest and reevaluate.

Puttering in Jill's garden and cooking with her heirloom vegetables is wonderful, but Virgin River is a far cry from San Francisco. Kelly's starting to feel a little too unmotivated…until she meets Lief Holbrook. The handsome widower looks more like a lumberjack than a sophisticated screenwriter—a combination Kelly finds irresistible. But less appealing is Lief's rebellious stepdaughter, Courtney. She's the reason they moved from L.A., but Courtney's finding plenty of trouble even in Virgin River.

Kelly's never fallen for a guy with such serious baggage, but some things are worth fighting for. Besides, a bratty teenager can't be any worse than a histrionic chef…right?

My Comments:

If you've read my reviews of these books, you'll know that I have found them to be a mixed bag.  Some are very much like the other--only the names change.  Others seem to have so many useless characters.  Others are really good stories that, while heavy on the romance, manage to incorporate other sub-plots so as to make the books more than just romances.   I think Harvest Moon is a winner.  While the relationship between Kelly and Lief is always there, so is Courtney, his (step) daughter.  We watch her grow from a young woman who is mad at the world and who knows (or at least thinks she knows) that no one loves her to a young woman of whom any parent could be proud.  

I also liked Kelly.  She's a woman who has dedicated her life to a job that pretty much precluded a normal social life and, when it fell apart on her, realized she didn't want to go back to that lifestyle.  She was attracted to Lief, and liked him, but was able to be realistic, and to stand up for what she needed in a relationship.  

If you like the Virgin River books, I think you'll like this one.  If you hate them, its probably not different enough from the others to give you  a different view.  It's mass-market romance with out-of-wedlock intimate scenes.  They aren't the most graphic I've seen, but they aren't G rated either.

I'd like to thank the publisher for making a galley available via NetGalleys.  Grade:  B+


1 comment:

  1. I've read the entire series and think that some are stronger than others. I'm glad this is one you liked!

    ReplyDelete


View My Stats