I’ve been reading Denise Hunter novels for a long time. A couple of her early novels were a little shaky, but then she found her groove as a writer and has produced consistently readable contemporary Christian romance with consistently likeable characters falling in love. Unfortunately, I didn’t think Riverbend Gap met the standards of her more recent novels.
That’s mostly because it’s an “other man” plot (not my favourite).
Katelyn (also called Katie and Kate) is dating one man (Gavin, a recent divorcee), but accidentally falls for his brother after he saves her life. Oops. To add to the complication, Katelyn is BFFs with their younger sister, Avery, who is also her boss.
Katelyn has moved to the small town of Riverbend Gap and taken the job as nurse in Avery’s medical practice because she wants to reconnect with the mother who abandoned her and her little brother when they were small children. The town is based on the Appalachian Trail, and a lot of townspeople rely on the tourist trade for their livelihoods.
So there is a lot of angst when news comes out that the trail has to be moved for six months to repair a bridge. In true Hallmark movie style, the townspeople decide to host a festival to bring people to the town and hopefully make up for some of the lost income. (As much as I thought this was a cliche, I wish the plot had included more about the festival – it ended up being such a minor plot point that it might have been better without it).
The story has a great opening.
Katelyn is spooked by a deer on the road and has an accident, and Connor saves her life. But it soon turns when it becomes clear that Connor is interested in Katelyn, but finds she’s dating his brother.
Honestly, this was the biggest sticking point for me. I know Katelyn was a foster child who has recently lost her younger brother (another reason she’s come to Riverbend Gap: to scatter his ashes). She longs for connection to a family. But dating Brother #1 while you’re secretly attracted to Brother #2? There is nothing good about that. There is no good way to present it, and the excellent writing and deep questions weren’t enough to change my mind.
And Katelyn keeps dating Gavin for months, long after she should have ended their relationship for both their sakes. Yes, it’s a romance so everything ends nicely, but the ending came too fast (meaning, not enough time between the inevitable awkward reveal and the final chapter for the characters to process all that had gone on), and I can’t say I find that emotionally satisfying as a reader.
Don’t get me wrong: I liked Katelyn. But I didn’t like what she was doing. I especially didn’t like the fact she wasn’t prepared to own up internally to what she was doing, much less do the right thing and stop dating Gavin.
But that’s me, because I don’t like the Other Woman/Other Man plot, because a perfectly nice person inevitably gets hurt. You may think differently.
This is the first book in a new series, and Connor is one of three siblings, so I suppose the next two stories will be Gavin and Avery getting their happy-ever-after endings. I don’t know if I care. There were too many cliches in this book, I didn’t like the way the characters behaved, and it ended on more of a yawn than a bang.
Thanks to Thomas Nelson and NetGalley for providing a free ebook for review.
About Denise Hunter
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 vicarious thrill of falling in love and the promise of a happily-ever-after sigh as they savor the final 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 good coffee, and playing drums. Denise makes her home in Indiana where she and her husband raised three boys and are currently enjoying an empty nest.
Find Denise Hunter online at:
About Riverbend Gap
She came in search of the family she’d always wanted—and found the kind of love she’d never dared imagine.
She wasn’t the only one. But soon Cooper learns that the woman he’s more attracted to than any he’s ever met is his brother’s new girlfriend—and therefore unquestionably off limits. Yet, despite their best efforts, Cooper and Katie can’t seem to avoid running into each other. Or ignore the undeniable chemistry between them.
As they grow closer, Katie shares secrets from her past and the real reason she moved to their small North Carolina town. She also wins over Cooper’s welcoming and bighearted family. But they don’t know that her feelings for Cooper keep growing—all while she’s dating his brother. Soon the stakes of their emotional connection become higher than either could have imagined.
Katie stands to lose the first family she’s ever had, and a scandal could doom Cooper’s campaign for sheriff. Suddenly they find themselves on the edge of another precipice—and they’re forced to make a decision that could change their lives forever.
Find Riverbend Gap online at:
Amazon | BookBub | ChristianBook | Goodreads | Koorong
