BOOKWORM REVIEW: Riverbend Reunion by Carolyn Brown
STEAM: ⭐
This read was a nice change of pace. There is a slow-burn romance between two lovers, but the main focus is on the love and resilience of five friends who have come back to their hometown of Riverbend, TX.
Haley, Jessica, Mary-Nell, Risa, and Wade went to high school together, and after twenty years, they are back in their hometown, dealing with some life struggles. Divorce, eviction, grief, family secrets -- this group had to deal with those and more.
When one of them gets an old church from her inheritance, they decide to work together and convert the space into a bar and grill.
As Stefan from SNL would say, this book had everything: angst, conflict, love, humor, and lots and lots of food. At the core of the book, however, is the friendship, and it was wonderful to see them pull each other up and rise above their individual and collective adversities together.
If you love a small-town read with strong Southern vibes, you will enjoy this book.
** I am voluntarily reviewing an advance copy of this book. Thank you to Carolyn Brown, Montlake, and NetGalley for providing an ARC. **
Riverbend, Texas, doesn’t look like the crossroads of anywhere. But for four high school besties reuniting after twenty years, it’s a place to unpack a lot of baggage.
Risa’s headed for divorce, Mary Nell’s been kicked to the curb by her leech of a boyfriend, and Haley was just blindsided by a shocking family secret. But restless army veteran Jessica Callaway, looking to plant roots, has an idea: corral her fellow former cheerleaders and renovate an abandoned church smack-dab in the middle of three dry counties into a bar. Throw in a grill and Wade Granger—a onetime nerd turned surprisingly crush-worthy investor—and their lives are on tap for a turnaround. Amen to that.
Except for one hitch: the white-clapboard dream is causing a ruckus. With a renewed bond, hard work, and the promise of romance, Jessica and her friends aren’t backing down. For Riverbend, this is going to be a homecoming—and a scandal—to remember.
ABOUT THE BOOK
Back home is the best place to start over in a heart-stirring Texas romance about friendship, second chances, and small-town scandals by New York Times bestselling author Carolyn Brown.Riverbend, Texas, doesn’t look like the crossroads of anywhere. But for four high school besties reuniting after twenty years, it’s a place to unpack a lot of baggage.
Risa’s headed for divorce, Mary Nell’s been kicked to the curb by her leech of a boyfriend, and Haley was just blindsided by a shocking family secret. But restless army veteran Jessica Callaway, looking to plant roots, has an idea: corral her fellow former cheerleaders and renovate an abandoned church smack-dab in the middle of three dry counties into a bar. Throw in a grill and Wade Granger—a onetime nerd turned surprisingly crush-worthy investor—and their lives are on tap for a turnaround. Amen to that.
Except for one hitch: the white-clapboard dream is causing a ruckus. With a renewed bond, hard work, and the promise of romance, Jessica and her friends aren’t backing down. For Riverbend, this is going to be a homecoming—and a scandal—to remember.
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MEET CAROLYN BROWN
Carolyn Brown is a New York Times, USA Today, Wall Street Journal, Publisher’s Weekly and #1 Amazon and #1 Washington Post bestselling author. She is the author of more than 100 novels and several novellas. She’s a recipient of the Bookseller’s Best Award, Montlake Romance’s prestigious Montlake Diamond Award, and also a three-time recipient of the National Reader’s Choice Award. Brown has been published for more than 20 years, and her books have been translated 21 foreign languages.
When she’s not writing, she likes to plot new stories in her backyard with her tom cat, Boots Randolph Terminator Outlaw, who protects the yard from all kinds of wicked varmints like crickets, locusts, and spiders. Visit her at www.carolynbrownbooks.com.