Rating: Very Good
Source: NetGalley
Description: Dr. Leigh Culver loves practicing medicine in Timberlake, Colorado. It is a much-needed change of pace from her stressful life in Chicago. The only drawback is she misses her aunt Helen, the woman who raised her. But it’s time that Leigh has her independence, and she hopes the beauty of the Colorado wilderness will entice her aunt to visit often.
Helen Culver is an independent woman who lovingly raised her sister’s orphaned child. Now, with Leigh grown, it’s time for her to live life for herself. The retired teacher has become a successful mystery writer who loves to travel and intends to never experience winter again.
When Helen visits Leigh, she is surprised to find her niece still needs her, especially when it comes to sorting out her love life. But the biggest surprise comes when Leigh takes Helen out to Sullivan’s Crossing and Helen finds herself falling for the place and one special person. Helen and Leigh will each have to decide if they can open themselves up to love neither expected to find and seize the opportunity to live their best lives.
Helen Culver is an independent woman who lovingly raised her sister’s orphaned child. Now, with Leigh grown, it’s time for her to live life for herself. The retired teacher has become a successful mystery writer who loves to travel and intends to never experience winter again.
When Helen visits Leigh, she is surprised to find her niece still needs her, especially when it comes to sorting out her love life. But the biggest surprise comes when Leigh takes Helen out to Sullivan’s Crossing and Helen finds herself falling for the place and one special person. Helen and Leigh will each have to decide if they can open themselves up to love neither expected to find and seize the opportunity to live their best lives.
Genre: Romance - Contemporary
Why I Picked This Book: I've really enjoyed the previous books in the Sullivan's Crossing series so I couldn't resist this one.
My Impression: I've really enjoyed my visits to Sullivan's Crossing and while I was a little sad to be away from the Jones family I was thrilled to be back - and especially thrilled to spend more time with Sully. Leigh is an interesting character. She has a bad relationship in her past but while she definitely has trust issues regarding it she doesn't have a chip on her shoulder. Rob had a good marriage and takes his responsibilities regarding his sons very seriously. I loved seeing his interactions with the boys and with Leigh. Carr has a gift for creating genuine and authentic feeling relationships and this book positively glowed with that. While I wouldn't classify Rob and Leigh's relationship as a slow burn the evolution of feelings and intensity felt very realistic and was lovely to watch. I also really enjoyed the storyline involving Helen. I like the different relationships Carr weaves into the story. It really makes the little town feel like a real place.
What kept me from absolutely loving this one is pretty much the opposite of what I just said. While I do like the secondary relationships that are woven throughout the book. I didn't care for the romance between Rob's son and his girlfriend. I liked both the kids but I don't really enjoy teenage romance so I could have happily done without it. This is purely personal and it's well done so I suspect this complaint won't bother most people.
This is a nice romance with mature characters, strong family bonds, and an established community feel. It's a fast read with that's got a bit of heart and a solid helping of warm and fuzzy.
Would I Read More of this Series/Author? Absolutely! Carr has become an autoread for me.
Would I Recommend this Book? If you enjoy contemporary romance or women's fiction than I think you'd enjoy this book.
* I received this book in exchange for an honest review. As always my opinions and impressions are completely my own. *
Robyn Carr can definitely write a good story or series. I've not started this one yet, but I think I read all of her Virgin River books. And a couple of her standalones.
ReplyDeleteAs you know the teen relationship didn't bother me and I really liked how Finn took on the responsibility when things got tough. I guess with the teen relationship I just saw it as something intense sure, but not yet ready to go the full ocmmited distance.
ReplyDeleteI haven't read any Robyn Carr books for years, but your review made me want to pick this one up, Katherine! My library has the audio version of this book, so I'm going to try that. Thanks for a good review!
ReplyDeleteI haven't read the author for a long time. Time I looked out for her books.
ReplyDeleteI am pretty sure that I have a couple of her books but have never read Carr for some reason. It sounds like this is a series that I should take a look at.
ReplyDeleteSounds great! I've only read the first in this series & enjoyed it. It's hard to keep up with Robyn Carr! Love her books though...
ReplyDeleteI hope to give Robyn Carr a try one of these days. Your review of these books makes me want to read them even more each time you write a new one. I love that Helen is a mystery writer. :-)
ReplyDeleteMy favorite part of the book was Sully and Helen's friendship. I hope RC will write more mature characters into her novels. She did a great job with them. I totally see your point about the teen couple. I have an aversion to younger kids in books (and I love kids!). I wonder if this series will continue. It seems that all of the main characters have had their time in the spotlight. Or am I forgetting a few?
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