Lavender Blue by Donna Kauffman
Blue Hollow Falls #3

I love Blue Hollow Falls and the community that lives there. I can see it, feel it and want to be a member of it as I read the stories that take place within it. This was a book that warmed my heart and made me happy even though the heavy topic of loss, grieving and making one’s way forward with life after a great loss was central to this book. It was healing, good and provided a HEA...I thoroughly enjoyed it!

Hannah Montgomery and three of her friends, met at a grief group, have gone together to purchase a lavender farm in Blue Hollow Falls. Each of the women have suffered loss and bring special talents to their joint business venture. I look forward to finding out what will happen to Chey, Avery & Vivi in future books. Hannah is an artist and illustrator who lost her son and is divorced from her husband. Her way of living through the pain warmed my heart and as she shared her thoughts with others I grew to like her more and more. She was comfortable in her skin, knew what she wanted, was a good friend, willing to give and to share, enjoyed life and found humor and beauty around her.

Wilson “Will” McCall was a hunk and a half but a quiet deep sort of man. He is a widow and single parent of a fourteen year old son. In the previous book I liked him and hoped he would be able to deal with his grief and in this book he does just that...and opens himself up to what life again. I loved the way he interacted with his son and how that relationship grew, too. Will and Hannah were perfect for one another and I liked the slow growth to their relationship and the fire that entered it when they finally opened up to one another.

I loved this book and hope that this series will continue long enough for Will’s son Jake to grow up and choose what he wants to do with his life and also to find out what will happen to Bailey – she is someone I would love to see as an adult in the future.

Thank you to NetGalley and Kensginton-Zebra for the ARC – This is my honest review.

5 Stars

“Lavender Blue” is a heartwarming story, with likeable characters, about deep loss, grieving and healing and then constituting a new family of tree.
It’s great to have an older romantic couple. Will is a guarded hero, all silent and strong, and I already loved him from the first book. His and Hannah’s frankness with each other makes him loose some of his aura of mystery, but the honesty is refreshing. And perhaps the pinning for the late wife was a bit exaggerated?
All the talk and psychoanalysis, especially between the female characters but involving Will too, was a bit redundant and brought too much telling for my taste, but all in all this was a pleasant read about love, friendship, family and parenting, set against the backdrop of the beautiful lavender fields, in Blue Hollow Falls, Virginia.

Wonderfully sweet and heartwarming. It's a story of two lost souls who have suffered great loss and are trying to find their way through the grief. Hannah Montgomery has come to Blue Hollow Falls to start over along with three friends. Together they have bought a lavender farm Wilson McCall is working on the farm when he meets Hannah for the first time. He's a widower left to raise his teenage son on his own. It's been years since he lost his wife but he's never moved on. Now Hannah is stirring his heart back to life. These two quickly form a friendship but it's not long before they are both yearning for more. Trusting and loving again may be more than either of them can handle though.

Beautifully written with many emotional highs and lows. Don't miss this must read. I highly recommend it.

Review featured at www.books-n-kisses.com

How could I not enjoy this story when it is set in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mtns, where I live, and also has my newly married last name. It was written for me.

Ok maybe not but it was written beautifully. Kauffman is one of the best for contemporary romance. She brings in real life places and true to life people.

Hannah is a great female lead. I can imagine becoming friends with her in real life. And Wilson is just a quiet sweet teddy bear. I found myself just wanting to see them hug because they both seemed to need it.

This is a great story that pulls you in from chapter one into a sweet romance. Great curl up, read and enjoy kind of book.

Disclaimer:
I received a complimentary copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Lavender Blue by Donna Kauffman .... This is the 3rd book in the Blue Hollow Falls series and I want to thank the publisher and #NetGalley for letting me preview and review this book. Will ( a widower who came back to Blue Hollow Falls to raise his son Jake) Hannah ( a mother who is dealing with the loss of her young son Liam.. and starting a new business with three friends..on a lavender farm) Donna does a great job of pulling you into the book and keeping you there. There are tears, laughter, angst, some steamy stuff all leading to a very HEA. I can't wait for the next book in this series.

Reasons I enjoyed this book:
Steamy Funny Happily Ever After Romantic Entertaining Page-turner Wonderful characters Tear-jerker Easy-to-read Original Great world building

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. You will laugh and you may cry but you will definitely enjoy this book by Donna Kauffman. Wonderfully written with fantastic, lovable characters. Can you start over or continue to move on after a tragedy?? Maybe if you meet the right person. Enjoy! 📚

After reading Seth and Pippa's love story in Bluestone & Vine, I was madly in love with the hope that Will and Jacob would get their own story. Kauffman told such a soothing and realistic story with Seth and Pippa's love, I was definitely up for more. I was not disappointed. Kauffman weaved a beautiful story of tragedy, grief, and redemptive love with passion, friendship and joy. Readers were treated to an honest, open, deeply moving friendship turned romance built on mutual understand of loss, laughter, and a willingness to do the hard work for something worth fighting for.

I really enjoyed this story. It was unique and I loved the way it dealt with grief and relationships. Well written. There really wasn't anything that was a negative for me.

I have never read a book of Donna Kauffman's that I have not loved and this one is no exception. What I will tell you is that this story brought with it a lot of really strong emotions and at times I just kept the Puffs right next to me!

Hannah Montgomery, along with her 3 friends, decide to buy a lavender farm in Blue Hollow Falls. Each of them have things from their past that they are trying to put behind them and thought this new adventure just might do the trick. Hannah's past involved her teenage son that she lost way too young.

The ladies hire Wilson "Will" McCall to help fix up the old farm. Hannah is strongly drawn to Will and quickly realizes that Will has lost someone very close to him....his wife. Will also has a 14 year old son, Jake, who just happens to be the same age that her son, Liam, would have been. As Hannah and Will bond over their grief, the normally quiet Will is in awe of how Hannah handles the past. He would very much like to move on with his life because it has been 10 years since Zoey died but he just isn't sure how. For once Will is ready to try and move on with his life but as Hannah gets closer to Will and Jake, she is not sure if she will really be able to handle a teenage boy in her life that reminds her a lot of Liam.

As Will and Hannah navigate through this emotional roller coaster ride, they both have to figure out how to honor their past while at the same time embracing these new feelings that they have for each other.

I just adored these characters. They were both so real that I felt like I could really be friends with either of them. Will seemed like the perfect guy that you would want loving you because when he finally does give his heart, he gives it 110%! Hannah on the other hand didn't need much encouragement when it came to Will...she was ready to jump head first into that hunk of a man! I loved Hannah's fresh, uplifting way of life. I wish more people in the world were like her. Overall this book was perfect! This was another great addition to this series and I hope we get to read Hannah's friends stories in the near future! ;)

A town of artisans, craftsmen, farmers and ranchers didn't grab your attention, then Kauffman’s ability to pen characters that you want as your friends and neighbors, children you can’t help but love and some interesting livestock that puts the icing on the cake.

Lavender Blue brings us back to the Blue Ridge Mountains where Hannah Montgomery, a co-owner of a new lavender farm is looking for a new start. When she meets Wilson McCall, the relationship is a bit rocky by Wilson’s emotional scars. Hannah does have her own emotional scars, but I found her outlook refreshing and cathartic and not debilitating as in Wilson’s mindset.

Don’t be surprised if you are pulled through the emotional gambit, Lavender Blue slowly peels Wilson’s and Hannah’s heart-wrenching circumstances to the surface but it sure made for some marvelous reading.

I received this ARC copy of Lavender Blue from Kensington Books - Zebra. This is my honest and voluntary review. Lavender Blue is set for publication Jan. 29, 2019.

My Rating: 4 stars
Written by: Donna Kauffman
Series: Blue Hollow Falls
Sequence in Series: Book 3
Mass Market Paperback: 368 pages
Publisher: Zebra
Publication Date: January 29, 2019
ISBN-10: 1420145495
ISBN-13: 978-1420145496
Genre: Contemporary Romance

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Lavender-Blue-...
Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/lave...
Itunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/lave...

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Lavender Blue by Donna Kauffman is next story in the Blue Hollow Falls series. This was an excellent story about two people grieving in much different ways and how they worked through the process to open themselves up to loving again. Hannah and Will are the main characters, but all the previous characters from earlier in the series also were present in this story. The story has a beautiful setting and is very well written. It takes place in the very close community setting and everyone seems to know everyone else’s business. I loved the story and highly recommend it. Donna Kauffman is an excellent writer and one of my favorite authors.

Lavender Blue is the fifth book in Donna Kauffman’s Blue Hollow Falls series. Hannah Montgomery and three dear friends have bought a lavender farm just outside of Blue Hollow Falls in Virginia. Each of the four women come from a past of deep loss, and part of their healing process has brought them to this point. Vivienne Baudin actually inherited the farm, but the others have bought in to the venture.

Their plans are to open a tea shop and produce products that center around lavender, be it tea, cookies, soaps, or essential oils. But first there are many repairs and much restoration to be done. One major project is the restoration and rebuilding of the four large chimneys. Stone mason and widower Wilson McCall has been at the farm for a few weeks working on the chimneys.

On the day Hannah makes his close up acquaintance, it happens as he grabs her and holds her up against the outside porch wall as bricks come crashing down from a chimney that had not been restored as per the architectural plans that were on file. From that time on there is a deeper connection between them. Hannah also makes a connection with Will’s 14 year old son, Jacob. He is the same age her son Liam would have been if he were still here.

Both Hannah and Will are working through their grief, having lost their ways when they lost their loved ones. Even though they tentatively move forward in a relationship, it takes a severe storm to bring the three of them together.

This is a very good novel filled with rich characters, beautiful scenery, and a wonderful story. I enjoyed this book very much and look forward to the next book in this series. I do recommend this book!

This is the third book in series, I have read one of the books previously so had met some of the main characters before. The book contains a variety of different emotions, as we follow Hannah and Will through the journey to finding new love after heartbreaking losses in the past. I found the book a little slow in the beginning, but once I did get caught up in the storyline I truly enjoyed the book. You may need too keep a box of kleenex close, because you will shed a few tears. I would certainly recommend this book to others. I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

What an enjoyable and endearing ride of a story this book is. Having never read Donna Kauffman before,I found this book a really great read. The characters were not only relatable, but they seemed so real. This book is a romance, but even so much more then that. Both lead characters had, had profound losses in their life, one a spouse the other a child. The author was able to not only bring me the reader into their grief, but also see the beauty in continuing to live after someone as love is gone. This was a beautiful and sweet story of not only a couple falling in love, but finding a way to build a life after a horrible loss. I loved every part of this story and would recommend you anyone looking for a feel good story.

I have to admit this book started off slow for me, but quickly because a page turner. It's packed with emotion, love and anger. The chemistry was great. Characters were all easy to follow and felt like they served a purpose.
I love Hannah and Will together, they were easy to fall in love with. They had both suffered losses in their lives and were still not over it..

This book will literally make you laugh, then cry. What an emotional roller coaster. (In a good way). All I can say is don't give up on the first pages..the slow start is worth it!

ARC was provided by netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Kauffman brings us back to Blue Hollow Falls with the story of two people who have suffered big looses in their lives. What drives the story is how they reacted in a very different way. I loved both Hannah Montgomery and Will McCall. While the story is about life after loss it is not that dark. In fact there are some entertaining moments that brought a nice laugh. A very nice addition to the series and an introduction to several characters who seem ripe for their own story and HEA.

I received a free copy of the book in return for an honest review.

As a young widow myself I spent the entirety of this book weeping. The advice and the growth and the words used to express how Hannah and Will coped with tragedy were unbelievably beautiful. There was so much goodness in these people, and I want to be with them more. My only objection was the graphic sex, which took away from the perfection of the 'Lavender Blue'. Anyone who has ever suffered a loss should read this book. It is hopeful and edifying.


I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This is the third in the Blue Hollow series, and the only one that has left me smiling through tears!

Hannah Montgomery moved to Blue Hollow Falls with 3 female friends, hoping to create a life that would honor her son who she'd lost in a car accident several years earlier. The four women bought a lavender farm and plan on selling various products made with lavender. Hannah has finally decided that it's time to start living again.

Will McCall is a stonemason whom the women hired to fix up their crumbling 'mansion'. He too is struggling with grief, and is raising a 14-year old son, Jake. He and Hannah strike up a friendship that quickly heats up; Jake is a big part of their friendship, a friendship that makes both of them realize that there's more to life than grief, that their lost people would want them to be happy.

I hope there are more books to come in the series, the other three women and their issues are touched upon but not totally fleshed out -- I can't wait!

I received a copy from NetGalley for an honest review.

It's about time!!!! If you have been wondering when Will will FINALLY find love again, the time is now. I had personally e-mailed the author asking when and was THRILLED to find out she had already planned this beautiful love story and Will was getting his own book.

I loved that this is not the typical 'two people find love with minimal baggage' or emotional trauma behind them story. No. This story deals with loss of a spouse, a child, and how to grieve while still allowing yourself the chance at being happy again. And letting yourself know you deserve to feel that happiness again. It really touched me. The character growth in this book is some of the best Donna has written. I found myself crying with them, cheering for them, groaning when they didn't just come out and SAY it.

This book is a must read for anyone who loves romance with depth. A real masterpiece!

4.5 - "Here is my truth..." Stars!

We return to Blue Hollow Falls for the third book in the series; Lavender Blue. Donna finally gives the readers widower Will McCall’s story, this is a guy who has intrigued from the beginning, and the author has kept the information release in regard to him and his son Jake, at more of a slow trickle rather than a steady flow. Which essentially means I have been itching to read this book since before it was even written!

"It’s hard… Asking for help."

I knew before starting that Lavender Blue would be an emotional read. The one thing you do get to know about Will if you have read the previous books in the series, is that apart from his apparent love for his son, this is a man that keeps his emotions about everything firmly on lockdown. Not one to waste breath on words either, so if one word will suffice as an answer you won’t find him spilling unnecessary sentences if the conversation doesn’t require it.

They were not going to be wallowers. They were going to be warriors… Life warriors.

Hannah Montgomery, and her friends Vivi, Avery and Chey are new to the area, having bought a rundown farmhouse and the surrounding lavender fields, the four women are looking for a fresh start, opening new businesses and moving on with their lives. The one thing that binds them all – Grief, each of them has suffered loss, and they have built the foundations of their friendship by giving each other the strength they need when they are struggling with their losses. Something that also draws Hannah to Will, and vice versa.

His one baby step forward today had turned into a full on marathon and he wasn’t quite sure how he felt about any of it…

Although a romance, this is also a story about learning to live with loss, and move on from grief. Hannah you could almost say has embraced hers, while Will has locked it away in a box, and refused to deal with it. But it’s starting to now have an effect on his relationship with his son, and seeing how Hannah deals with her loss gives him hope and the push that he needs to open up and try to deal with the loss of his wife all those years ago. This can always be a tricky subject in relation to writing a romance where a dead spouse plays a part, but I think because the author touched upon Will’s guilt for having feelings for another woman other than his wife, it wasn’t overplayed, I think the length of time passed also helped in that regard as well, because although the grief for him is still fresh the loss of his relationship isn’t.

The whole thing had felt healthy, natural, and very real…

Not the fluffiest of reads, but then I wasn’t expecting it to be, Jake added the light to Will’s dark, and Hannah’s openness made it easier to digest the loss she was dealing with too. The romance isn’t heavy in this one, but when it came, it was touching, sweet, emotional and Will was everything I expected him to be in regards to how he treated Hannah.

"Sometimes three really is the perfect size crowd…"

According to Amazon Lavender & Mistletoe is the next book due for release from the series, which is in September, I am hoping that we do get to return to Blue Hollow Falls before then though, because this is a series I am coming to love more and more with each new addition to it.