Wildflower Falls

Thank you to NetGalley & the publisher for this providing me with this audiobook of Wildflower Falls in exchange for an honest review! Wildflower Falls is my first experience with Denise Hunter's work but it certainly won't be my last! This book is apparently part of a series but works perfectly as a stand alone. That being said, I will go back and read the rest of the books because if they're anything like this one I know I'll enjoy them too. I adored Charlotte and Gunner so much. They're both so likeable and I was instantly rooting for them and their happiness. This book drew me in right away because of how great the characters are and how quickly I felt invested with their situations. I really appreciate how Jessica Holtan narrated this audiobook. I think the audiobook is a good way to experience this story, thanks to how well she brings it to life. It's such a sweet and wholesome romance, and I think that with the great narration I felt the emotions of the book even stronger than if I'd just been reading the text.

Wildflower Falls
Charlotte has a lot on her plate trying to expand the ranch that has been in her family for generations. She is at odds with her sister because she wanted to sell the ranch not expand it but Charlotte promised her mother before she died that she would keep it. On top of that she found a clue about her birth father who her mother never talked about. When her mother suddenly died the year before she found a folder with some pictures. But she quickly finds out she was wrong in her deduction so she is back to square one in her search for her father.
Gunnar was hired by Charlotte to train horses for a few months but he gets caught up in her search for her real father.
There is a real attraction between them but Gunnar wants no strings and will be moving on soon.
The author really has a feel for describing her characters. I enjoyed reading about this friendly town and look forward to reading more.

Charlotte Honeycutt and her adopted sister, have been left the struggling Stillwater Ranch, following the death of their mother. She also found an envelop with her name on it. Included were pictures of Gavin and Cooper Robinson as well as the name of her father, something her mother would never tell her while she was alive. Suddenly she has half-brothers and a father, but how was she to tell them and develop a relationship with them. Robinson Construction is the only construction company around, so when she plans to build a new barn on her property, she hires them with the hope of getting to know her brothers. At the same time, she is taking on difficult horses to board and train. She hires Gunner Dawson, a horse whisperer to work with her and train the horses. Charlotte and Gunner click from the start, but with Gunner afraid to start a serious relationship and Charlotte dealing with the ranch, trying to find her father, keeping secrets from the Robinsons and dealing with her sister wanting to work in a bakery, not on the ranch and angry at Charlotte for wanting to find a "new family", she isn't sure what she wants. Can Charlotte be welcomed into the Robinson family? Will she save the ranch? Will Charlotte and Gunner find love with one another?

I have enjoyed the previous books in this series, all sharing the romance and loves of the Robinson siblings. It is such a great family. I really enjoy Denise Hunter's books. They are clean, sweet romances, but not without their difficulties, personal growth and often forgiveness and reconciliation. I really liked Charlotte. She was a woman with a can-do attitude and is willing to work hard to keep the ranch running and in the family. She is very caring and wants to become part of a family, but now abandon her sister. Gunner is a swoon-worthy love interest. He is handsome, gentle, caring, compassionate and needs to realize that all relationships don't end badly. He has some baggage from his past that is very sad, but he needs to deal with it and move forward. This is a great book about family, forgiveness and new beginnings. It is a bit predictable, but in a good way and I enjoyed getting to the happily ever after. A great conclusion to the Riverbend series. Jessica Holtan narrated the audiobook and does a wonderful job with the story, the voices and the expression/emotion. I do believe she is a new narrator to me and I will not hesitate to listen to her again.

Denise Hunter keeps putting out wonderful stories full of romance and inspiration. I have fallen in love with the characters of Riverbend Gap, NC set in the Appalachian mountains. If you love horses, sweet romance, small-town stories and sibling rivalry, this is one you will want to read! Thank you to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for a chance to read and review this book in exchange for an honest review.

Wildflower Falls is a tale of loss and grief and learning to come to terms with your past. It is also about learning to trust and being open to possibilities and letting good things and people into your life. There are a lot of life lessons packed into these chapters and Denise Hunter has shared them in a beautiful and charming way.



Charlotte Simpson lives on a ranch with her stepsister and the two have always been close. Then their mother passes away. As each sister grieves in a different way and has different ideas about how to manage the ranch their mother left to both, we discover more about who they are, what each wants and how they relate to and interact with the people around them.



Charlotte is the main character in this story, but Gunner Dawson plays a close secondary main role. His narrative runs parallel to hers and the dual narrative allows us to gain insights from each of their perspectives into the same situations. This adds depth to the plot and allows for greater understanding of the tale as a whole and for each of its cast.



Listening to Wildflower Falls is a sensual feast for the ears. The prose is simple yet poetic, written in an elegant style that is graceful and aesthetically pleasing, and the characters are charming and well-rounded. They feel like real, like being told anecdotes about real people rather than characters in a story. Through descriptive and emotive narrative, listening to Wildflower Falls gives you the feeling of really being there, being able to imagine it clearly in front of you and placing the listener in the fields or on the trails. The story weaves through different narratives and characters’ points of view simply and easily without fuss or distraction.



There is not much else left to say about this story without giving away the plot points or developments. Let is simply be said that it is a sublime novel sharing the lives of the residents of a small town and how they all become inextricably linked and intertwined with each other in wonderful ways.

This was such an amazingly heartfelt book to listen to. Jessica Holtan did a great job narrating this book as well. I read this as a stand alone but I will be going back to read the rest of the books in this series. The characters were really well written. This is a delightful, touching and at times heart-wrenching book, but overall a story of hope, family and growth. I would recommend this book if you want a great uplifting story!


Thank you NetGalley and HarperCollins Christian Publishing, Thomas Nelson Fiction for allowing me to listen to this ARC for my honest opinion.