Another great romance by Denise Hunter!

Zoe and Cruz's story isn't a smooth path to their happily ever after. Zoe is her own worst enemy. She is full of doubts and fears. Cruz is the perfect hero for her. Someone to help her believe in herself again.

The story is fantastic, but the characters are even better.

Looking for a good clean romance? Give this one a try, you won't be sorry.

Denise Hunter has long been one of my favorite authors. The way she is able to draw me into a story—and a group—is a gift. Blue Ridge Sunrise, the first book in the Blue Ridge Romance series, is no exception.
When Zoe returns to town and learns she has inherited her grandmother’s peach orchard, for the first time in a long time, she has options in her life. No longer will she have to rely on a man who has manipulated her for years. But working in close proximity to Cruz Huntley is more than she bargained for, especially with the secret she’s kept from him.
Zoe is an interesting character. As a teenager, she’s fearless and carefree. As an adult, she’s stifled and unsure.
This is a book about second chances. About finding yourself again when you’ve lost your way. Second chances at love and friendship. Second chances with family. And while not all of those second chances work out exactly like Zoe would like them to, she lives a better, more fulfilling life by the final pages of Blue Ridge Sunrise.
***I receive complimentary books for review from publishers, publicists, and/or authors, including NetGalley. I am not required to write positive reviews. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.

I never met a Denise Hunter book I didn't love! This book fell right in line. I loved the action, suspense and romance of the book. But truly loved how she brought it all back to God and we should depend on Him for all we need. And for him to guide our steps!

I received a copy from Thomas Nelson, via Net Gallery. Thank you for allowing me to read this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Fantastic book by Denise Hunter! This book is set in the Blue Ridge Mountains where she introduces you to Zoe and Cruz. Ms. Hunter’s previous novel, Sweetbriar Cottage, was set in this same town (if you prefer to read in order). This Christian romance novel is an enjoyable read with some suspense included as well. I read this through in one sitting it was so entertaining! I enjoy Ms. Hunter’s books because of her ability to provide the reader with a detailed description of her characters’ lives. When reading, it seems as if you are right there and you know the characters. After learning about some of the secondary characters in this book, I am looking forward to the next book in this series. Another aspect I like about her novels is that they are clean romances. I highly recommend this book! You will not be disappointed!
***I was given a free electronic copy of this book from the publisher. This is my honest opinion. Even though I received this copy free, I have purchased her books before.

Always a good read. Author is well-established and writes well. Recommend to adult readers.

This is a wonderful book. I enjoyed the story from the very beginning to the very end. I greatly enjoyed the cleanliness of the book. The story is full of family tragedy, love and learning how to taking care of each other. I enjoyed that the book also included faith in God in some of the characters. The love between Crus and Zoe was a beautiful story that had many good and bad events that made it very difficult for them to finally get together. I will gladly read more from Denise Hunter in the future.

My review of Blue Ridge Sunrise A Blue Ridge Romance
By Denise Hunter


I was looking forward to reading this book. I have read many Denise Hunter’s books and enjoyed them. I was very disappointed in Blue Ridge Sunrise A Blue Ridge Romance. The main reason was it was a retread on many other books by a number of other authors. That in and of itself is not necessarily a bad thing. There are only so many scenarios available. But when there are no likeable characters, at least one new interesting plot twist, or a surprise ending, then it is just not “recommend worthy.”

I do not think that I am giving anything away when I say that given the content of the book, I was quite surprised that Thomas Nelson-Fiction is offering this title. I spent some time on their web site to see if they are going away from Christian fiction in their fiction offerings. There is no statement of what they consider either genre, but given the storyline of Blue Ridge Sunrise A Blue Ridge Romance, I would not label it Christian.

I received a free copy of the book from NetGalley in exchanged for my honest review. Thank you.

Pub Date: 11.07.17
Pub: Thomas Nelson--FICTION

Such a good book! I read it in one night! I just couldn't put it down.

Absolutely loved this book from the very first chapter. I have never read anything by Denise Hunter before but now I am trying to find any title of hers that I can get my hands on. Her writing style is so easy to get captured in and you can no read the book fast enough but at the same time do not want it to end. Now waiting for the next book in spring 2018! Will link reviews to this post closer to the release.

Blue Ridge Sunrise is a story that tugs at the heartstrings .Zoe Collins has returned home to Copper Creek for the first time in five years to attend her grandmother's funeral. She's been living in the city and singing in her boyfriend Kyle's band.

Zoe's grandmother leaves her the family peach orchard and Zoe must decide whether she will run the orchard or return to the city with Kyle. But complicating matters is her attraction to her old love, Cruz Huntley. The story gradually reveals why she left home. Now Zoe has a decision to make.

It is a predicable story but enjoyable read. There is premarital sex but the situation is resolved positively.

Since a friend introduced me to Denise Hunter a while back, I have been a fan. Her books are clean but still have the sexy appeal to them. Although I will continue to read her novels, this one didn't become a favorite. I just didn't connect with Zoe and Cruz. I felt the relationship was rushed and not really established on permanent feelings. They both had personal issues to deal with and communication was a big deterrent. Like I mentioned, I will continue to read her novels, this just didn't work for me. 3.5 Stars.
Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for the opportunity to review this book.

Story Line: 4 Stars
Depth: 3 Stars
Faith: 2 Stars
Love Story: 4 Stars
Overall: 3 Stars


Zoe left Copper Creek five years ago with no intentions of returning. However, now that her beloved grandmother has passed away, she ventures home with a boyfriend and her four year old daughter in tow. Her plan is to stay for the funeral and then get out of there - but she didn't expect to inherit the family peach orchard. She is now faced with the difficult decision to leave behind her career and success in the country music industry to run the struggling business. And to make matters more complicated, her old flame Cruz Huntley is the orchard's manager - not only do they need to work together, but there's a whole lotta baggage and history for them to delicately work through.

When us two chicks see a Denise Hunter book coming out, we get all giddy inside! She is one of our favorite authors who has brought us so many wonderful reads. However, this one fell a little short for us. The faith was very light; we would have liked to see more depth to their relationships with the Lord and more redemption for the characters. The chemistry between Cruz and Zoe sizzles at times, but felt a little shallow; some deeper conversations would have been the cherry on top for these two.

However, we do enjoy this series and we look forward to the next one being released!

Denise Hunter is one talented author whose wonderfully descriptive prose immediately assaults the readers' senses as we journey to the foothills of Copper Creek, Georgia—with its fresh air, pine forests, the glorious aroma of hyacinths, and small hometown feel. After five years of being gone, Zoe Collins returns for her grandmother's funeral with her jerk of a boyfriend, Kyle, and I emphasize the word JERK! Cruz Huntley, Zoe's first love, notices her spunk and zest for life has dissipated and the fact that she lets herself be controlled by Kyle is disturbing.

Zoe makes some of the worst decisions ever, but I totally "get" her. Sometimes when a young woman grows up with a controlling, cold father figure she tends to make a lot of misjudgments in her life. When the hunky (and I emphasize the word HUNKY) Cruz learns Zoe's secret, will the tension rise between them even more? And will another of Zoe's foolish decisions put her life and those around her at risk?

This book got many mixed reviews mainly because of a lack of a spiritual thread and so I kept my eyes peeled for that while reading. God is mentioned many times and reconciliation with Him is found for one of the characters. Cruz also makes mention of the fact that he didn't know where he would be without God. I wonder if these reviewers read the same book as I because I found it heartrending, funny, romantic, suspenseful...all the things that make up a wonderful "I can't put down" novel! I read this in two short evenings and loved it! Denise Hunter has written another winner in my book! (Pun intended!)

I can’t think of a book that I have gone back and forth so much on as I did this book. For awhile I was really loving it. Then I was really annoyed at a turn of events. Then I loved it again. Then I was annoyed again. Then it picked up a little bit again at the end.

I was immediately drawn in to Zoe and Cruz and their second-chance romance storyline. As with most of Hunter’s leading ladies, I found Zoe kind of hard to like, but she did grow throughout the story. I, of course, loved Cruz. I also liked Zoe’s brother, Brady, and her best friend, Hope (I’m anticipating them to be lead characters in a future book in this series). The second part of the book is a flash back to when Zoe and Cruz started dating. I’m a big fan of multiple timeline storytelling and I loved watching those two get together.
As I mentioned above, after loving the book for awhile, something happened that really annoyed me. This is just personal preference, but I really, really dislike any romance trope that involves babies/kids. It just brings my whole enjoyment of a book way down. Another thing that I really dislike in books is when one small miscommunication is the main source of conflict and just one honest conversation would clear everything up. It drives me crazy to read a whole book like that.

Thankfully, the miscommunication was cleared up much more quickly than I anticipated. I was able to get back on the Cruz and Zoe ship and enjoy myself again. I liked watching them grow closer as they worked together to get the peach market up and running. However, Zoe’s old boyfriend Kyle is still not entirely out of the picture. Zoe decides to do something so annoyingly frustrating to remedy that and I found my enjoyment disappearing again. Things did work out in the end, though, with a nice lesson in faith tacked on.

Overall, Blue Ridge Sunrise was just a little uneven for me. While I did really enjoy Zoe and Cruz’s relationship, some romance tropes that I don’t really like were employed and kind of dampened my experience. I know that some people really love those type of storylines though, so I can see many readers eating the whole thing up with a smile. I also thought that for being Christian Fiction it was really light on the Christian. Again, not something that will bother everybody. This wasn’t my favorite Denise Hunter book, but it wasn’t my least favorite either. I liked it enough that I want to continue the series.

Overall Rating (out of 5): 3 Stars

I love Denise Hunter's books and this one was very good. You see the themes of redemption and grace running through it. I did wish the main character had made more of a confession of faith, but it was still very good.

Tess O’Rourke dreams of becoming the first female chief of police in Long Beach, California. As commander of the East Division, she is well on her way . . . until the night she responds to an officer-needs-assistance call and fatally shoots an unarmed teenager. Despite being cleared of wrongdoing by a grand jury, Tess is so hounded by the public that she takes a job in Oregon to escape the bad press.

Winning over the residents of Rogue’s Hollow might be more difficult than adjusting to her new role as police chief in the small, backwater town. Especially when her closest friend, the pastor’s wife, goes missing and the woman’s cousin is found shot. Tess finds an ally in sheriff’s deputy Steve Logan, but as they track down Rogue’s Hollow’s first murderer, she worries that she’s breaking one of her rules and getting too close to him.

The varied cast of character makes it easy for the reader to find someone to root for throughout the book. Gracie is adorable, and she truly makes the story. Descriptions make it easy for the reader to feel a part of the story. A bit more attention could have been given to consequences for past mistakes, but the fact that sin can be a destructive force in one's life is apparent in the overall message and lives of the characters. The book is lighter on the Christian themes than many inspirational books, but this could add to the appeal for a wider audience. .

Always eager to dive into a new Denise Hunter novel, I must admit this one missed the mark for me. Reunion romances are all well and good, and this one had all the usual sizzle and heat readers expect from Hunter, but the faith element -- or lack thereof -- left this story feeling very lopsided. The characters purported to be Christian, yet showed no qualms or regrets about their premarital relations. I get that Thomas Nelson is trying to publish "edgier" stories, but the faith is so glossed over in this story that the sex comes across as perfectly natural and acceptable for these so-called Christian characters. I also get that Christians are human and make mistakes that God can and will redeem, by His grace -- and I even get that that may be the spiritual message this story was trying to convey. But nothing in the text even hinted that the characters' premarital sex WAS a mistake, and in fact it was hinted that both hero and heroine had had sex with other characters during their years of separation, and that that was okay, too. In all, there was just too much spiritual grey and not enough black-and-white truth to make this story a keeper for me. Sadly, I don't recommend this one.