Reviews

Woodrose Mountain by RaeAnne Thayne

connie_a's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

jbarr5's review against another edition

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5.0


read 1/27 pub 3/27 Woodrose Mountain by RaeAnne Thayne

Last we left Hope's Crossing Taryn had been in a severe car accident and she's

still recovering and is impatient. Her dad won't give up.

Evie who was a therapist that he doesn't care for can help and he's willing to do

anything to help his daughter. She is not sure she wants to continue in the therapy

field because the pain of getting close to someone and then leaving them is too much

to bear. Evie's dog is also very patient and helps along the way, among other surprises.

Hope's Crossing is a town where the Angel of Hope often visits to help the less fortunatewith anything they need, anonymously.

Evie has agreed to help out for a few weeks, she has a lot of old secrets that she doesn'twant to share with others as to why she's in Hope's Crossing and that she had a daughter once.

Evie and Brodie are always on opposite ends of things in town. They just rub each other the wrong way.

Love how the descriptions are very detailed about the scenery, mountains, wild flowers on herruns, views throughout town. On her trip to lose herself she found the glassblowers on the island of Murano doing their craft. Although I've not worked with beads, my mother in law has and I've helped her set up a few necklace patterns on her board. It's soothing, like knitting is to me.

She collected other things on her travels, trinkets, shells etc and knew when she arrived back in the US that her new passion would be beading and not physical therapy.

Nice to catch up with what the other people in the series are doing. Even if this is your first book in the series the author brings you up to date with what they are doing and some of their past and it's not confusing at all.

Brodie and Evie opened up to one another and told of their past, secrets and what they hoped for therapy for Taryn.

He is not always agreeing to how the therapy is to be done and that almost breaks the whole thing apart, hopefully they can work through it for the sake of Taryn???

Heartbreaking to listen to what she has to go through after coming out of the coma and then Taryn wants to go to court to give a statement.

bookloverchelle's review against another edition

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3.0

Unfortunately this romance story just wasn’t for me. It was very well written, there was definite character development that added to the plot. I liked the characters and was a little sad I jumped in on book two of the series because I wish I understood some of the secondary characters better. But unfortunately I just didn’t like the romance aspect very much, it was a little too sweet for me. There was really no relationship between the hero and heroine until about 250 pages in. There was a lot of internal conflict they both needed to work through so that they could build a relationship, it just dragged a little for me. I wish I could have seen more of them trying to make it work. Good story, just not for me.

colorfulleo92's review against another edition

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3.0

I liked that this wasn't just a romance but also about a teen getting back on track by physical therapy by the main character after a car crash. The love was cute to read about.

scoutmomskf's review against another edition

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5.0

Very emotional book. Evie left Los Angeles and her job as a physical therapist when the emotions involved in one of her cases got too hard to handle. She came to Hope's Crossing at the urging of a friend and has found a sense of peace while she works at the local bead store. She has put her life as a physical therapist behind her until Brodie comes to her asking for help with his daughter. Taryn was in a terrible accident that left her unable to move or speak easily, and has been refusing to cooperate in therapy. Brodie is desperate and will do anything he can to convince Evie to help.

Evie tries hard to refuse to help. She knows that she can't handle getting emotionally involved with Tayn or Brodie. But something about Taryn compels her to help, though she tries to protect herself. It isn't long before she is as emotionally invested as she'd feared. To top it off, Brodie isn't as much of an arrogant jerk as she had thought he was, and she sees past the attitude to the worried father. Evie is determined to do whatever is necessary for Taryn and this sometimes puts her at odds with Brodie. She stands up for her methods and things start to look up for Taryn.

Brodie is a man with a mission. He wants Evie's help and he will do whatever he has to in order to get it. It doesn't help that he doesn't like her much, her free spirit knocking up against his need for control and order in his life. Being around her as much as he is, he starts to see a different side to her. Soon he is fighting an unwilling attraction to her, and finding that being with her brings him a sense of calm that he hasn't experienced with anyone else.

Things don't always go very smoothly between them as they find themselves on opposite sides of one particular therapy issue. Evie has discovered that Taryn's therapy is more successful when assisted by friends. One of those friends is the young man who caused the accident that injured Taryn. Brodie is furious at his presence, but Evie stands up for what she feels is best for Taryn. The romance itself is slow building as they get to know each other and open up about their own issues. Brodie comes to the realization of his feelings before Evie does, and tries to get her to agree to pursue them. Evie has to find the courage to risk her heart again.

Taryn's story is emotional in itself. She has gone from a vivacious teenager to a girl who needs help with the most basic of needs. She wants to get better, but she also feels that she may deserve everything she is going through. Throughout the book there are indications there may have been more to the accident than everyone believes. Taryn's emotional ups and downs seem to be tied to the blame everyone places on Charlie. There's an extremely emotional scene at the end when Taryn attends Charlie's hearing and speaks in his defense.

shannon_cocktailsandbooks's review against another edition

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3.0

This was a book that I wanted to love. Generally small town romances where the most eligible bachelor somehow ends up with the most unlikely woman in town appeal to me. But this one, despite the excellent storyline, left me wanting a bit more.

Evie Blanchard left a thriving physical therapy practice in California and is rebuilding her life in Hope's Crossing as a beader. She's quirky and loves the slower paced, outdoorsy life that she now has. Hope's Crossing is helping to heal her wounded heart. But the strides she taken to get that peaceful place are soon tested when her good friend uses her influence to talk Evie into help her son with the physical therapy of his daughter, Taryn.

Brodie Thorne will do whatever it takes to make sure his daughter can recover from a tragic car accident to the best of her ability. That mean getting her the best therapist money can buy. It also means working closely with the one woman that manages to irritate him and attract him at the same time.

While working with Taryn and fighting their mutual attraction, they soon discover that there is much more to the other person and find that they may be what the other needs.

As I said above, I loved the storyline with Evie working with Taryn as her Physical Therapist. The author was able to capture both Evie and Taryn's frustrations and joys as they worked together to rehab Taryn. Add in the Brodie element and how he effects the therapy and it was quite an engaging story.

Where the story fell flat for me was in the romance department. While not the main part of the book, it still there to make an impression and it fell short (in my opinion). Evie and Brodie couldn't stand the other. Great. They are forced to work together for the benefit of Taryn. Even better. A few stolen (and somewhat tame) kisses later, they were swearing each other off. Days later, declaring their love. It felt like the romance was just thrown in there so there was one. I couldn't connect with Evie and Brodie as a couple and would rather have had them fighting over Taryn's care then getting romantic with each other.

For anyone that likes to read sweet, small town romance stories, this would probably be a book that you thoroughly enjoy. For me, it fell short in the romance department, but I still enjoyed the premise.

asalters's review against another edition

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4.0

This was my first book by this author and I really enjoyed it! It made me laugh and cry and that is my definition of a good book. If I could say anything about it, some of the prose needs to be corrected especially in cases where the reference is to a he but the actual written word says her. Lastly i would have liked to see more from the epilogue in regards to Brodie and Evie and the development of their relationship. I dId enjoy the book and will most likely pick up more from her....she reminds me a bit of the author Robyn Carr and her Vrgin River series;)

kdf_333's review against another edition

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3.0

soooo i read [b:Sugar Pine Trail|32905317|Sugar Pine Trail (Haven Point, #7)|RaeAnne Thayne|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1491134897s/32905317.jpg|53521775] and thought it was cute and wanted to read the start of the series. turns out the Caine's started in the hope's crossing series and not the haven point series.

ok the entire hope's crossing series was like a hallmark movie with a lil nicholas sparks thrown in. cuz in hallmark there is not as much bad stuff going like folks dying and whatnot, nick sparks likes death or dismemberment or some awful tragedy.
i enjoyed the hope's crossing series for that hallmark feel.
they were cute. they are good lil romances. no graphic sex, a lil bit of violence. a lot of dogs, kids, and family members. and nothing was mysterious. oh she tried, but nope. she tried to be all nicholas sparks and throw in some twists but nope it was hallmark. you saw the "surprises" coming a mile away. i really liked the big family and small picturesque town aspect. so hallmark.
even though i read them all one after another, the stories and characters were sufficiently different that i could enjoy each one.



not so with the haven point series. they have all the same stuff yet the no hallmark feels. except for the first one in the series([b:Snow Angel Cove|20821540|Snow Angel Cove (Haven Point, #1)|RaeAnne Thayne|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1406525511s/20821540.jpg|40167366])and the last one[b:Sugar Pine Trail|32905317|Sugar Pine Trail (Haven Point, #7)|RaeAnne Thayne|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1491134897s/32905317.jpg|53521775]). (both of which have Caine's in them- like everyone of the hope crossing series does.) i am almost done with that series and it sucks. it started out very good with adian caine but it went downhill form there. why? cuz every book was VERY similar to the first one. i am literally recognizing entire phrasing. (like i am positive she used some of the exact sentences in all the books!) the lead characters all remind me of the previous leads. and they are so very quick to judge. like how can you be attracted to a person and feel this "hunger" (she uses that word A LOT) when you think they are mean or nasty or uptight or something else very unpleasant? the situations are even similar (crutches for everyone!) also every book is i really NEED help but i don't want your help but i guess i'll take it and try to be grateful and oh now i am in love.

i am saddened by this since i really enjoyed hope's crossing and the first and last book in the haven point series. oh welll...

loverofromance's review against another edition

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4.0

Woodrose Mountain is a book that I have been meaning to read, I have only read a couple books from this series so far, but I was randomly browsing my libraries catalog and the cover just made such an impression. I was so intrigued to see what this book would have, but as always RaeAnne Thayne never disappoints and she definitely satisfied me with this piece of work. I will say that her books now are fade to black/closed door, so if you struggle with that or need more steam, I don't recommend them. She writes a little chemistry build up but there isn't much more than that, so fair warning.

The story starts off with our hero, whose daughter was in a accident and she suffered a brain injury and he wants to bring her home and so he goes to the one person that lives in the area that has returned to Hope's Crossing to get her help with the rehabilitation of his daughter and help her recover. At first, Evie refuses as she is still healing from a trauma of losing her daughter, but through a set of events, reluctantly agrees. She slowly works her way into the Thorne household and falling in love with both the daughter and father while also helping the town to heal. But the journey is an emotional one.

There was such a beautiful journey in seeing this family truly come together and man my heart when everything is revealed. I really felt for the daughter and what she went through but also her friend whom the town blames for everything when there is much more to the story that people know. I really loved seeing how everything gets resolved in the end. The romance is poignant and sweet but slow built. I really enjoyed the relationship that Evie builds with both the father and the daughter. The setting was so picturesque for Autumn and just seemed like the perfect book to kick off my Autumn reading with! The only issue I had is with the heroine. Even though in the beginning we don't know about her daughter, I struggled with her because of how cold and unfeeling she seemed to be toward the father and his daughter. Even if she was rejecting the offer, she could have been kinder about it.

Overall I found this story to be a solid delightful read that worked my emotions in all the ways that RaeAnne Thayne does best!

bookmarklit's review against another edition

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4.0

Cute! Took me forever for some reason but really good. I love her writing even though it gets repetitive...and frankly the same goes for the characters and backstories. Everyone in this town has an incredibly tragic history and I don’t think she’s done AS good of a job fleshing those out like she did in the Haven Point series. However, I did like Brodie and Evie and Taryn. Solid story overall! I’m spacing these out a bit more so I don’t get burnt out like I started to with the last series.