Member Reviews

Donna Kauffman does it again. Few authors draw you into a community as well as she does. Oh how I wish Blue Hollow Falls was a real place. I'd be on my way there as soon as I could. By the end the cast of characters felt like family. Addie as the grandma and friend I would want, Bailey as the strong and brave little sister, Seth as the fun loving friend next door. And Sawyer and Sunny, drawn together through bizarre circumstances. Both brave and strong with plans for their future that didn't include each other. If you are looking for a summer escape to a place that will make you smile, and laugh and maybe even shed a happy tear or two, look no further than Blue Hollow Falls. I'm happy to be part of Team Blue Hollow Falls and can't wait for the next story.

I received an ARC of this book for an honest review.

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4.5 Stars! Great book and character development. A lot of varying emotions and intricate details helps draw you in and keeps you wanting more! I love stories that continue and can't wait for the next one in this series. I received an ARC in exchange for a fair review.

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Such a great start to this series! It is a slow-burn romance, and that makes a lot of sense because the characters have a lot to work out. Plus, we have to get to know them all. This is the kind of story that depends on a good number of secondary characters, and they came through beautifully. In fact, Seth tries to steal the book! Bailey was amazing, too, as well as Stevie and Wilson and... Yeah, I am ready for all of their stories!
But this story is about Sawyer and Sunny. I thought that they were very realistic in their feelings, and I respected that they were so honest with one another. (None of this silly misunderstanding stuff!) So when they finally get together, it is explosive. I loved their dialogue, too. It was very funny and reminded me of conversations my husband and I have had over the years.
I loved the setting, too. I live a few hours south of the story's location, and I love the mountains. The area is beautifully portrayed.
I voluntarily received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

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I received an advanced reader copy of this delightful book. And I loved it! The characters are introduced and developed in the right pace to keep you reading until the last word and the descriptions of the beautiful Blue Hollow Falls community make me want to live there! The descriptions of the mill and the greenhouse are very well written. Looking forward to the next book in the series!

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I'm in love with a fictional town and it's people! I wish I could move to Blue Hollow Falls. Blue Hollow Falls is the first book in a wonderful new series by Donna Kauffman, set in the Blue Ridge Mountains.
This story is for Sunny and Sawyer with Bailey and Addie in the mix. You'll feel like you're right there with them.
Thank you for a great new story!

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This quote from USA Today, sums up the way I felt about this book.
“We all know where there's Donna Kauffman, there's a rollicking, sexy read chock‑full of charm and sparkle. Kauffman's characters are adorably human and so very magnetic.” —USAToday.com

When Sonny's mother dies, she believes she is now alone, that is until she finds out that her biological father has died and she has been left a part of an old silk mill and relatives. Sonny heads off to Blue Hollow Falls to meet family she never knew about. Bailey is her 10 year old half sister, Sawyer, her half brother, and Addie, her father's ex-wife. Along with them comes a small town full of artisans who are working on restoring the old mill that she is a part owner of. As the story unfolds, I loved seeing how these relationships grew and were fleshed out. Of course finding out that Sawyer is adopted and not blood opens up a whole new direction in that relationship. The wasy Sunny feels about Bailey is so sweet and to see Bailey open up was another endearing quality to this book. I enjoyed the story line and the plot was entertaining throughout the book. All the characters were likable, relatable and everyone, even the secondary characters, added to my overall enjoyment of this story. Many reviewers commented on the details and thought some could have been cut out, but with this being a first in a new series, I enjoyed finding out about the place and the characters. I am definitely looking forward to reading the next one in this series.

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Sunny had never really had a family, other than her mother, who was a hippie and had been ill all of Sunny's life. Sunny had spent her entire life taking care of her mother's needs. Not it was time for her live her life on her terms. She had a great job in Alexandria, Virginia and she had a home. . . what more could she ask for? She received a summons to attend the reading of her father's will in Blue Hollow Falls, Virginia. She had never met her father and didn't know anything about him but she found she had a younger sister, Bailey, and an older "stepbrother", Sawyer, and a former wife of her father's, Addie. Now she was part of a family and as she began to spend more time in Blue Hollow Falls and with her new family, she began to want more than she had wanted before.

She wanted Bailey to know she was cared for and lacked for nothing. She had feelings for Sawyer that were confusing to her and made her want things with him that she never had before. Addie was like a grandmother to her and she enjoyed all the new, confusing feelings. Could she allow herself to have this new family? Could she open her heart to the possibilities or protect it from the pain she knew had to be coming?

I enjoyed this book very much. This story is rich with descriptions about the local area and the people involved. I am not a fan of the descriptive sex scenes and could have done without that. But, for the most part, the scenes were quick and not drawn out, descriptively.

I was given an arc copy of this book and I enthusiastically offer my review.

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A good story overall, and I did like Sunny and Sawyer together. At times though, seemed to drift along, and was easy to skim a bit, but could have just been me. Still, I enjoyed the story, and liked Sunny meeting her little sister and her father's ex-wife. Interesting concept. Would recommend this story and author.

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4.5 stars

I found myself charmed by Blue Hollow Falls. The cover drew me to the story first. Plus I have enjoyed many stories by Ms Kauffman before. This story was a quietly romantic story, the romance slow building with a lyrical quality to me. I enjoyed watching Sunny, daughter of a free spirited mother come to terms with inheriting an old mill and greenhouse, but a half-sister as well. She was at a loss at first, her life was 3 hours away after all. But the greenhouse, the mill, a little girl and an ex soldier named Sawyer kept calling to her and proving that home and family are what matters, even if unexpected.

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This book is so good. I couldn't wait to read the next one in the series I bought it right away. The next one does it come out until June. Wow that is a looooooong time away. I loved this title and cannot wait for the next one. I went to know who my new found friends fall in love with and catch up with the ones in the previous books.

Sunny did not know who her father was until he leaves her a 3rd of an old mill and she finds a half sister and an adopted brother. Sawyer did not know his adopted father had other children. Read this you will be so very happy you did.

Thank you netgalley and Zebra for allowi g me to read this so earful book for an honest review.

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Oh, this book. I had heard such good things about this author and was excited to get in at the start of a new series, But early on, the heroine was lusting after the hero whom she believed to be her half brother. He believed she was his stepsister. It took the author much too long to clarify their exact familial relationship. And by way, they are not stepsiblings but legal siblings. That's gross and disgusting even though they didn't grow up together.

What finally pushed me over the edge though was an insanely careless error on the art of the author and editors. Supposedly the heroine is a botanist, a plant expert. Yet, when the author bizarrely has tree leaves in the mountains changing colors later than the lower elevations, the allegedly expert botanist sees nothing wrong with this. How the fuck did the author, the editor, copy editor and the proofreader all fail to catch that? The heroine (and the author) lost all credibility with that piece of stupidity. I ended up DNFIng at 32%.

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This book struck me as more Chick Lit than straight up romance. The characters, Sunny and Sawyer, are mature and really seem to work stuff out in their heads to make mature decisions about each other instead of jumping each other's bones right away. The secondary characters almost stole the show. The grandmotherly figure who plots and plans her interferences into the others' lives, the ten year old girl who at times seems like she's going on forty and at other times is just a precious little girl and the military friend of Sawyer who is his best buddy all have major roles in the book.
I loved the setting of the Blue Ridge Mountains. I loved that the characters aren't perfect. They all have their little oddities caused by their backgrounds. I absolutely adored Sunny's given name of Sunshine Meadow Aquarius Morrison Goodwin, given to her by her hippie mother ( I worked in healthcare and have run across such names, so it does happen). That name cracked me up every time I read it. Kauffman weaves a family of a bunch of very different people where previously there was none. In Blue Hollow Falls, Kauffman shows that caring makes the family and teaches us a lesson in love. I can't wait for the next book in the series!
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A charming new series from Donna Kauffman. I absolutely adore her writing style. This is the first book in the new Blue Hollow Falls series, where we meet Sunny, a woman who had a very interesting childhood and finds herself recently orphaned, by both the mother she took care of and the father she never knew. When she attends the reading of the will of her newly discovered father, she also discovers a half-sister she didn't know and she now has a part-ownership in an old abandoned mill in the small mountain town of Blue Hollow Falls. This was a warm and cozy story, where Sunny doesn't just find love, but a new family. The characters we met were completely adorable and funny and I can't wait to get to know them better in the next story. I'm completely hooked on this fantastic new series.

I received a copy of this title from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

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Absolutely a book you can talk in love with! great story of love, family, and life changes. perfectly described charecters, beautiful setting, and ao many little stories woven into this first book. I am looking forward to reading more about the characters and the beautiful place called Blue Hollow Falls!

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Loved this book! This was a delightful read, full of interesting and endearing characters. Interesting information about silk production in the early days of our country and rare orchids add a fascinating element to the love story of Sunny and Sawyer. Add to that the developing family relationship of Addie, Bailey, Sunny, and Sawyer, as well as the charming town of Blue Hollow Falls, and you get a heartwarming story with depth and emotion. I am eager to read more books in this series!

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Kauffman’s newest is just as much women’s fiction as it is romance, which works so-very-well.  While Sunny and Sawyer dance around their attraction, there is an entire group of adorable characters who are finding their way in a new family dynamic. 

Shortly after losing her mother and finding herself pretty much alone in the world, Sunny discovers that she actually has a family and inherited a share of an old silk mill.  She’s spent most of her life being a care-giver to her mother and now she’s finally (and guiltily) exploring her freedom.  With the addition of siblings and assorted non-blood family, though, she’s got to decide whether she’s ready to get involved again. 

Sawyer may find himself drawn to Sunny but she’s dealing with so much and her life is a few hours away.  Getting involved can only lead to complications … but he’s finding her hard to resist. 

As appealing as these two are, though, it’s the secondary characters that tend to steal the show.  I love seeing Bailey, Sunny’s half-sister, reveal her too cute middle-aged woman in a little girl’s body personality.  And it’s obvious that both Sawyer’s and Sunny’s delightful best friends are due for their own story (not sure yet if it is together or separate). 

As the start of a new series there is a good amount of description and quite a few characters introduced, which may be a bit much for some.  But those who enjoy stories with small-town romances and family-dynamics will appreciate the world that Kauffman creates and look forward to what comes next.

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Another amazing story from this author. This is the first book in his series by this author. The characters in this story will grab you by the heart, you will fall in love with them from the first page. You wont want to put this book down till you've finished it. This is a fantastic romantic story great summer read. I can't wait to read more from this author in the future.
Highly recommended
I voluntarily reviewed an advance reader copy of this book

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As a new Donna Kauffman fan, I am impressed by her ability to paint such a vivid picture I can breathe the mountain air. I can drive the winding road and stare up at the clear night sky.

Sunny hasn't had a very stable upbringing. He recently deseased mother was loving but free spirited. It took hard work and determination to finish her horticulture degree while caring for her ailing mother. This sudden and unexpected inheritance could throw a wrench into her plans. Sunny's attraction to her new step-brother is enough to consider signing away her claim to anything, but her new half-sister deserves better than the foster care system.

Sawyer has started renovating his historical mill only to discover he isn't the only owner. Will these newcomers rush in to ruin his plans or will they share his vision of what could be. Maybe his best friend has a point and he should welcome these changes instead of only seeing the potential burden.

I am excited to read the next book about Seth. He is such a large part of this story he has earned his own happily ever after. My hope is that someone meddles just as much in his romance as he does here.

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Blue Hollow Falls by Donna Kauffman
Blue Hollow Falls #1

This introduction to a new small town romance series starts with Sunny Goodwin finding out she has family she had never heard of and an inheritance that she would need to deal with. Many characters are introduced for future books in the series but the main love interest for Sunny is Sawyer Hartwell. Their romance’s biggest issue to overcome is the distance between where she lives in DC and his home and the inherited sawmill in Turtle Creek, VA. There is information about the silk industry in America, orchids, raising animals and in the future I expect to hear about making wine and all it entails. Bailey, half-sister to Sunny, is a sweetie that I hope to hear more about in the future as the series progresses. At times the book dragged for me with more dialogue and description than essential though it did set the scene for the future. This HFN story with “I love you” expressed doesn’t have a wedding scene but it just might in one of the future books. Turtle Creek is a dream place in the mountains with good people that help out – kind of a fairytale place – one where the universe steps in to help out.

Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Books – Zebra for the ARC – This is my honest review.

3-4 Stars

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Blue Hollow Falls is the first book in a new series by Donna Kauffman and it is fantastic! It has an amazing group of characters that just drag you into the middle of the story and the mountains of Virginia. I absolutely loved it!

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