Review: Harvest Moon by Robyn Carr

Harvest Moon
Robyn Carr {Facebook}
Series: Virgin River #13
Publisher: Mira
Publication Date: February 22, 2011
Mass Market Paperback {p.359}
Source: Personal Library
Genre: Contemporary
Characters: Kelly Matlock, Lief Holbrook
Challenge: 100+, Contemporary
My Rating:

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?

Kelly comes to Virgin River to stay with her sister after quitting her job. She meets the handsome Lief Holbrook upon arriving, and they immediately hit it off. But both Lief and Kelly have baggage that may keep them apart.

The chemistry between these two came alive on the pages. Lief and Kelly were always enjoying each other’s company with laughter and love. But for a time there, it looked like that might not have been enough when Lief’s stepdaughter Courtney didn’t want her around.

Courtney was a troubled teen who lost her mother way too early, and had a father who couldn’t be bothered to care for her. That is unless he needed her to paint the picture of the perfect family man. I truly hated her biological father in this book and the way he treated her. It helped you to understand why she was such a troubled individual.

Carr has an amazing way of making you fall in love with her characters and absolutely hate the ones you’re suppose to dislike.

I always hate to see the end of Carr’s Virgin River novels, and this one was no different. Watching Courtney blossom into a more emotionally mature and stable being was a delight and a laugh a minute. Some of the scenes with Courtney and her counselor were among my favorites.

Kelly and Lief had a tender love affair that grows from a friendship and mutual respect of the other. It was truly believable because it wasn’t some hot and heavy affair that they jumped into five minutes after meeting. They were both real people with real problems.

As always the rest of the Virgin River played a big part. Of course Harvest Moon featured a lot of her sister, Jillian, and Colin but also Jack and Preacher as well. Also appearances from the Promise Canyon main players, which was nice since I didn’t really feel they were a part of the community in their book. But one character who was notably absence was Jack’s wife, Mel. It doesn’t deter from the overall story, in fact I didn’t notice her absence until I finished the book.

Harvest Moon has the right balance of humor and tearjerker moments to keep you enthralled. All the characters are amazing and offer enough spark to keep you coming back for more.