Riverbend Gap (#01 in Riverbend Romance Series)

It's been a while since I've read anything from Denise Hunter, and I enjoyed the calmness I found within the pages of Riverbend Gap. Not that it was slow, or devoid of rich characters, plenty of drama, a few laughs, and parallel plots, but there was a familiarity, a peace in the small town community, the strength of family ties, and the endurance of faith, hope and love. There were flaws in the main characters e. g. why did Katie continue to date Gavin for so long after she felt a romantic attraction to his brother, Connor? But I guess flaws make characters real, and facing the consequences of bad choices happens to us all. I found myself wanting to like Gavin, as the injured party, all the while rooting for Connor. In the end, it's well handled and I see we get to root for Gavin later in the Riverbend Romance Series when he gets to feature in the third book. Thanks for doing small town romance so well, Denise. I recommend this book, and the series.

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. \\n\\nThat'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. \\n\\nThe 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. \\n\\nHonestly, 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. There were too many cliches in this book, I didn't like the way the characters behaved, and it ended on…