Happy Friday! We’ve made it through another week, and now it’s time for another First Line Friday linkup, hosted by Reading is My Superpower. This week, I’m featuring Denise Hunter’s upcoming release, Harvest Moon.

“It was not the sort of day when bad things happened.”

Harvest Moon by Denise Hunter

The Basics

Title: Harvest Moon

Author: Denise Hunter

Series: A Riverbend Romance (Book 3 of 3)

Publication Date: September 6, 2022

Genre: Contemporary Romance

My Rating: 3.5 Stars

From the Back Cover:

Forever walking the line between passion and conflict, Laurel and Gavin’s relationship ended in divorce after years of miscommunication and unmet expectations. Now pursuing their own separate lives and careers, the two are content . . . though not completely happy.

When their best friends, Mike and Mallory, are killed in a plane crash, Laurel and Gavin are stunned to learn they’ve been named guardians of their friends’ young daughter, Emma. Putting their differences aside, the estranged couple search for a suitable guardian as they care for Emma and manage Mike and Mallory’s apple orchard.

Soon tempers flare—as does the passion they both remember so well. And Laurel and Gavin find themselves working through their past—their mistakes, their miscommunications, and ultimately the tragedy that ended their marriage.

Will the seeds of love, still growing inside them, thrive and flourish? Or will grief and regret strangle the feelings before they can fully blossom?

My Review

Harvest Moon is the third and final book in Denise Hunter’s Riverbend Romance series, set in a small town on the Appalachian Trail. In this book, we finally find out the details of the tragedy that brought Gavin, the third Robinson sibling, home to Riverbend. The story alternates between the present day, when exes Laurel and Gavin are drawn back together after another tragedy, and the backstory of how they first met and fell in love.

The book does deal with several serious topics, including grief, loss, illness, divorce, and parental neglect. However, these issues are deftly handled and show the growth in the characters’ lives. It’s a bit of a slow-moving story, focused on character development more than plot, but is a poignant depiction of real life challenges and joys. Denise Hunter’s fans will enjoy this installment in the Riverbend Romance series.

Now it’s your turn! Please share the first line of the book you’re reading in the comments below. Don’t forget to head to Reading is My Superpower to see what first lines other bloggers are sharing, or to share your own!

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