Blue Ridge Sunrise by Denise Hunter
Published by Thomas Nelson on November 7, 2017
Genres: Christian, Fiction, Literary, Small Town & Rural, Women
Pages: 336
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Former free spirit Zoe Collins swore she’d never again set foot in Copper Creek or speak to the man who broke her heart. But return she must when her beloved Granny dies, leaving the family legacy to Zoe–a peach orchard nestled at the base of the Blue Ridge Mountains.
When Zoe returns home with her daughter and boyfriend Kyle, she finds that she’s the only person in town who doesn’t expect her to give up the life she’s established far away from Copper Creek. Everyone believes she was born to run the orchard, but how can she make it her home after so many years?
Cruz Huntley never quite got over his first love Zoe Collins, the little sister of his best friend Brady. Not when she cheated on him during their “break,” not when she took off to parts unknown with good-for-nothing Kyle Jenkins, and not even now—five years later.
As life-changing decisions and a history with Cruz hang over Zoe’s head, tensions rise between her and Kyle. Even as she comes to terms with the shifting relationships in her life, Zoe still isn’t sure if she can remain in Copper Creek with her new responsibilities . . . and her first love.
I’m a blogger with the Fiction Guild’s Elite Reader Program, and I am very fortunate to be able to receive a lot of books that my mother and I love to read. Today’s book is exactly one of those books by one of our favorite authors, Denise Hunter! I loved the front cover and I am so happy that I received Blue Ridge Sunrise to read. It is the first in her Blue Ridge Romance series. After reading Sweetbriar Cottage you already have an idea of how this series is going. The main characters are Zoe Collins, Cruz Huntley and Kyle Jenkins with Brady Collins and Hope as strong second. The setting for this story is a small town Copper Creek, Georgia.
This story centers on the relationship of Zoe and Cruz who loved each other very much in their young years and have been separated for the past five years. Zoe is the little sister of Cruz’s best friend Brady. When Zoe and Cruz took a “break “from each other Zoe cheated on Cruz and left her small town hurting and pregnant to become the back-up singer in a band with Kyle Jenkins.
Zoe returns home when she inherited her grandmother’s peach orchard with her daughter Gracie and boyfriend Kyle. Cruz is the orchard manager. Kyle does not want to stay in Copper Creek and wants Zoe to quickly sell the peach orchard and return with him to their music in Nashville. Controlling Kyle has manipulated her for years and now she has choices. Maybe she is not ready to leave Copper Creek. Working with Cruz is something she is not sure of especially with the secret she has kept from him. They must find a way to work together. Will Zoe stay?
This descriptive three-way love triangle contains suspense, betrayal, secrets, family drama, forgiveness, and second chances with plenty of twists and turns to make it a very good book. The characters were so real that you felt their happiness and their pain. I could almost smell the peaches too!!
Faith plays a small part in the story, and the book also raises the very important topic of domestic violence and abusive relationships, which I really appreciate. I’m so looking forward to the next book in this series as Hope and Brady’s story really promises to be interesting. There are a few appearances in this book of characters from the author’s most recent book, Sweetbriar Cottage. I’m certain the Blue Ridge Romance series is going to give readers lots more romance and sweet stories to come!
Denise Hunter is the internationally published bestselling author of more than 30 books, including “The Convenient Groom” and “A December Bride” which have been made into Hallmark movies. She has appeared on the The 700 club and won awards such as The Holt Medallion Award, The Carol Award, The Reader’s Choice Award, The Foreword Book of the Year Award, and is a RITA finalist.
Denise writes heartwarming, small-town love stories. Her readers enjoy the experience of falling in love vicariously through her characters and can expect a happily-ever-after sigh as they close the pages of her books.
In 1996, inspired by the death of her grandfather, Denise began her first book, writing while her children napped. Two years later it was published, and she’s been writing ever since. Her husband says he inspires all her romantic stories, but Denise insists a good imagination helps too! When Denise isn’t orchestrating love lives on the written page, she enjoys traveling with her family, drinking coffee, and playing drums. Denise makes her home in Indiana where she and her husband are currently enjoying an empty nest. You can learn more about Denise by visiting her FaceBook page.
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