Sweet, funny with all the feels…

If you are in the mood for sweet, funny, steamy, and the occasional zing to your heart, then you will love Sissy Sue and Ben’s story. This is the third in the Mystic Creek series and I was looking forward to another un-dark read full of love and family – and that is exactly what I got!

“There were worst fates than being loved by a dog.”

Sissy Sue (I love that name) has put everything she has, and is, into making a success of her small town café. It’s a new venture though and she is working more hours than she should. She has no time for herself let alone love - not that she believes in it anyway. Ben wants to change all that as Sissy Sue may be just the woman he has always dreamed about….

“They say that any man and woman who stand together under a mulberry moon are destined to fall in love and live happily ever after.”

This book seemed to be separated into two very distinct halves. The first half of this book was hilarious. I mean, drop the book, belly laugh; hold your sides funny. There was livestock galore and one animal caper after another as Sissy Sue and Ben butted heads and hearts from their first antagonistic meeting. Sissy Sue’s chip on her shoulder was the size of a skyscraper but Ben’s gentle, warm ways were going to wear it down, slowly…

And then, the second half of the book found the two in a different place. Not so at loggerheads, more ready to be a couple but something felt off. Was it the abrupt shift from frenemies to ‘can’t keep my hands off you’ lovers? I can’t put my finger on it but their story turned and I don’t know if I caught up with them…

Saying that, however, as with all of this author’s stories, family and friendship are an integral part and this time out was no exception. With characters about town that were intriguing and interesting on their own, Mystic Creek has become a town I wish I could go visit. And find out if Ben has more brothers – some cousins maybe? – who are still single… -Diane, 4 stars

Brought to you by OBS Reviewer Jerjen

Sissy Sue has a good life. She owns her own business, a cafe called the Cauldron. She is a hard worker, and she is not afraid of doing what she needs to do to be successful in her business. She has friends but she does not have that special someone in her life. She does not want Ben to be in her life, she has seen men like him before. She has had an abusive past and she is not going to let any man in. To say that she has a lot of baggage from her past would be an understatement. Ben is a great guy who has decided that he wants a wife and family and he wants Sissy Sue. But he knows that it will be a hard job convincing her that he is different than other men and he is right for her. He has to break through the walls that Sissy Sue has erected around her heart.

The characters are well developed and well rounded. You can understand Sissy Sue’s reluctance to get involved with someone like Ben because all of her experience with men has been negative. Ben is a very patient and understanding man, and if anyone can make Sissy Sue change her mind, it is Ben. I really like the interactions between them and the chemistry was very strong. The secondary characters were also well developed and added a lot to the story.

The author is very talented in her descriptive writing. The small-town setting seemed very realistic to me and it felt like someplace I would like to visit. The cafe sounded like a fun place to eat and hang out for a while. I could just picture the scene where all of Sissy Sue’s chickens were escaping and it made me laugh out loud.

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a well-crafted women’s fiction. It is a sweet, romantic book that will make you feel good while you are reading it. You will laugh, you will sigh and you may have tears in your eyes. I enjoy when I experience all those types of emotions while reading. I have read other books by this author and they have all been very good.

*OBS would like to thank the publisher for supplying a free copy of this title in exchange for an honest review*

Catherine Anderson was one of my "finds" of 2015. I so much enjoy her emotive writing and her ability to draw out such compassion from her readers for her characters. As much as her novels reduce me to a sobbing mess, it would be more of a tragedy to overlook them.

Mulberry Moon holds all of the characteristics I so much adore in her romances. The blossoming of love and trust, the awakening of her characters strength, and the heartwarming feeling that comes with the resolution.

Mulberry Moon scales on the sweeter side of Anderson's romances and although enjoyable, I missed the agnst i've become accustomed too in her writing.

Mulberry Moon by Catherine Anderson is the 3rd book in her Mystic Creek series. This is another one of those sweet romances in small towns, which Catherine Anderson does so well.

Ben Sterling, who is our hero, has returned to Mystic Creek to run his farm, after a long stint on the Rodeo circuit. Ben has no trouble dating women, but the one he has always wanted to date completely ignores him, and he can’t figure out why. Sissy Bentley is our heroine, and she runs the local café, which she inherited from her aunt. The café continues to grow, as Sissy’s reputation for good food brings her more business than she can handle.

Ben no longer visits Sissy’s café, since she is very indifferent and cold towards him. One cold night, as he heads toward his car, he sees chickens running everywhere. Ben realizes they are coming from the back of Sissy’s restaurant, and tries to catch them. Sissy will also run out to help Ben bring back her hens, and reluctantly accepts his help. Ben explains why this happened, as her chicken coop is small and not in good shape. Ben will eventually convince Sissy to allow him to build her a bigger and better chicken coop, and in turn she can pay him with 4 meals a day.

What Ben doesn’t know is that Sissy had a rough childhood, and an abusive father, which totally turns her off of any man. Sissy will do all she can to push Ben away, despite her slowly growing attraction to him; but her trust issues, as well as fears will force her to block him at every turn.

Ben is very persistent, and uses the time he spends eating and working at the restaurant to help Sissy to open up to him. What follows is a slow build romance that has Sissy beginning to realize that she is falling hard for Ben. Ben knows Sissy is the one woman for him; the one he wants to spend his life with. Will Sissy be able to learn to trust and admit her love for Ben?

There were some very good characters, especially Sissy’s neighbors and the daily restaurant visitors, as well as Ben’s family. I loved Ben’s dog, and eventually the kitten she adopts. When Sissy has an accident and breaks her leg, things between her and Ben will change for the better, as he will be there for her throughout, including helping in the café. The sexual chemistry between them becomes scorching hot, though there was a lot of sexual tension. Ben was such a great hero, always looking out for Sissy, caring for her, even to the point he forced himself not to have sex, since she was recovering. Just when Sissy finally opens her eyes to how much she loves Ben, the hated father will return causing her to back away, in order to protect Ben.
Mulberry Moon was very well written, a sweet small town romance, great characters, wonderful pets, an exciting climax and a fun story. The lone issue I had was that Sissy was very annoying early on with her refusal to give Ben a chance, but that changed later. Overall this was a heartwarming story you should read.

Mulberry Moon was another very enjoyable read from Catherine Anderson. Her small town story, filled with family and supportive towns people, animals and drama, all add up to a very good read. I love the cover of this book and the Indian saying that goes with the mulberry moon.

Ben Sterling is the hero of the story and like all other Catherine Anderson heroes, a fine man with values and respect for himself and others. And with a mother that always expects the best of her sons! He turns his hand to helping Sissy who has overloaded herself with chickens and really doesn't have too much idea about how to care for them. The chicken part of the story is a lot of fun and well actually... very informative. As well Ben has a very trusty puppy named Finnegan who is downright adorable.

On the other hand Sissy is without family and setting up a business single handedly in Mystic Creek. She has guts and determination and is beginning to make a success of her small cafe. The people in town like her and are beginning to watch out for her. Her family background is the opposite of Ben's one. She had the bad luck of an abusive father and a battered, abused mother. Escaping there clutches was the best thing Sissy ever did.

It doesn't take long for Ben to become smitten with Sissy, however although she likes him her background means she is not going to trust easily. But Ben has a plan - wait her out and don't crowd her.

There is plenty of action in the story, it is well paced, peppered with extremely delightful animals and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

For Sissy Sue Bentley, childhood wounds—particularly living with an alcoholic father—have made her wary of attachments to men. She’s doing just fine on her own and she doesn’t need help, thank you very much. There is one man though, Ben Sterling, that has her taking notice, if not of him, then his gorgeous dog Finnegan. Catherine Anderson has a way of describing the relationships between people and animals that melts the hardest heart. And friendly Finn is a bachelor’s best asset.

Walking to his vehicle, he saw his dog, Finnegan, watching him through the back cab window. Eight months old, the blue merle Australian shepherd had the mottle of black, gray, and white fur common to blues…He bounced from side to side on the bench seat, acting as if he’d been alone for hours.

Ben made his fortune on the rodeo circuit but at the age of thirty, he hung up his spurs and returned to his ranch. For a guy who grew up in a large, noisy family, a rambling, empty house felt pretty lonely.

Finn had provided the perfect antidote, snuggling with Ben in the recliner while he watched TV or read novels, always eager to play, barking joyously, and offering a warm presence beside him in bed at night. Hello, when a man couldn’t find Miss Right, no matter how hard he searched, sometimes he had to settle for companionship from a four-legged friend. There were worse fates than being loved by a dog.

Not that Ben is searching very hard, because he has his heart set on a “petite woman with cropped dark hair, blue eyes that dominated her heart-shaped face, and a figure that was perfection on a small scale.” Sissy is devoted to the Cauldron, her small restaurant, and works tirelessly to make it a success—to the extent of serving up fresh eggs laid in her backyard coop—but try as he might to be friendly she treats Ben “as if he had a contagious disease.” She serves him meals but that’s about it. Trust Catherine Anderson to find an ice-breaker with animals at its heart to get a harried owner/chef out from behind the stove.

Just then Ben saw her dart from behind the coop in pursuit of a brown hen. She lunged at her target, slipped, and did a belly flop on the ground. Ben winced. The lady had been unfriendly to him in the past, greeting his polite overtures with icy disdain. He owed her nothing and almost made a U-turn. But the fowl had fled in all directions…

Poor Sissy is wary of Ben but she is in a pickle. He wants nothing more than to reassure her.

She gestured at the fleeing chickens and cried, “Nobody ever told me they can fly! What kind of hatchery sells chicks to people without telling them that?”

Ben wondered if this was a trick question. “Um, well, they are birds. Right?”

She placed her fine-boned hands on her hips. “Not all birds can fly. Penguins, for instance! And emus! Name me one time you saw a chicken soaring in the sky!”

Ben struggled not to grin.

Doesn’t Ben and Sissy’s repartee remind you of the banter between Linda Howard’s feisty ranch couple, Reese Duncan and his bride Madelyn Patterson? Mulberry Moon reminded me of Duncan’s Bride because the struggles between both couples were so elemental. Financial reversals, accidents, inclement weather, and the strong ties and impact of family are themes that are woven through Mulberry Moon.

Sissy tells Ben, after they come to an agreement that Ben will build her chickens a coop in exchange for Sissy’s delicious meals, that “God must have a sense of humor.” Why? Because Ben isn’t her type—but Ben calls her out on that.

“I get the feeling that I am your type, and that’s why you act like a porcupine around me, because I scare you.”

Sissy and Ben have this amusing discussion under the glow of a September full moon, called a mulberry moon by Native Americans. The name possibly has something to do with the fermented berries of mulberries but more to the point, it’s famous for the legend that “any man and woman who stand together under a mulberry moon are destined to fall in love and live happily ever after. Mulberry Moon is a warm, engaging book with which to start off a new year of reading.

Ben has returned home to stay and work his ranch. He's just about given up finding a woman that won't sneer at his choice of living when he meets Sissy.
She recently inherited her Aunt Mabel's cafe and has plans to renovate. Her plans do not include Ben and his interest in her, but he doesn't give up and continues to insert himself in her life. She has a past that keeps her from getting close to anyone, and when she finds herself falling for Ben she wants to run. Many funny situations made this a heartwarming read. Looking forward to revisiting Mystic Creek.