Harvest Moon (A Virgin River Novel Book 15)

In San Francisco Kelly Matlock has a breakdown of sorts as she is unable to handle the stress of working as a sous chef nor deal any long with her relationship with internationally renowned boss Luciano Brazzi when his wife Olivia demands she not sleep with her husband; Kelly says she is not sleeping with Luca though she admits to herself she is in love with her boss. Olivia says Luca sent her to clean up his latest mess. Unable to cope she has an anxiety attack that has her rushed to the emergency room. After being released and suffering from post traumatic stress disorder and flattened molars made worse by a broken heart and by her immediate boss Durant, Kelly flees to hide and heal at her sister Jillian's home in Virgin River.

Though she knows better, Kelly still under the influence of Valium stops at Jack's for a courage drink though she knows better than to mix alcohol and medicine. Widower Leif Holbrook the screenwriter rescues her from herself; having practice with his stepdaughter Courtney. Kelly and Leif are attracted to one another, but she remains hurt from her previous relationship and he is fathering a rebel with one cause of no other woman in their home.

The latest trip to Virgin River is an engaging contemporary romance that in spite of a plot used many times feels brisk and fresh due to the strong cast as each of the lead trio has belonging issues. Character driven, readers will enjoy the return to Virgin River as different types of love blossoms in the gardens under a Harvest Moon.

Harriet Klausner

harvest moon by robyn carr
Kelly is a chef and has had enough of her environment and her male friend, after a medical issue she flees to her sister Jillian who has an organic farm.
A movie script writer has had enough of LA also. Laffe and his 14 yo daughter are also at Virgin River. He is getting help for his daughter and himself
with a local therapist.
Opportunities arise where she is able to cook to her hearts content and hooks up with another female in a business venture.
His daughter is finding her way among animals and making close friends with a nearby family.
The open house they had the neighborhood came with fun things for children to do, good food, everybody pitched in to make it a wonderful afternoon.
Love the horse scenes and I am almost ready to try it myself. I'm finding out what's involved before the riding part to get over my fear of the horse and
how to feel comfortable around them.
As they all spend more time together the therapist has seemed to break through and the girl is now acting normal, she's got a lot more going on in her life,
her interests, etc.
He and his daughter go visit relatives for thanksgiving day
They talk a lot in the car and really get down to the problems with one another. They have come to understandings and they can laugh together now.
The story of the migration of the geese hit home as we have a local company down the street that sets a stuffed fox out on the lawn to deter the geese from landing there-doesn't work.
Her mentor tracks her down and prepares a feast for them all. Can Laffe keep her to himself or will she run back to the city and get another kitchen to run?
Her real father wants her for the Christmas holidays but Laffe who's been raising her thinks they've given her to him. He has to get the lawyers involved and
the girl wants to visit his relatives on the farm again because they had such a great time at Thanksgiving.
All heck breaks loose and things couldn't get any worse than what happens next.
She no longer feels wanted and makes plans to go back to the city but something happens that changes that and the whole outcome when it's announced in front of
his daughter.
I rate this story a 5, it's heartfelt welcome is inspiring around the holidays. Anything is possible.

Well, I have read probably 7-8 books in this series and there wasn't a dud in the bunch. This one may have been my favorite.

The setup - Kelly, sister of Jillian from Wild Man Creek - is a sous chef in a 5-star restaurant in San Francisco. The job comes with incredible stress and Kelly has a major crush on one of the investors. He returns her feelings but she will not allow the relationship to go forward as long as he is married - even though he claims his is a marriage of convenience. Pretty standard stuff so far. What follows is also pretty predictable - the wife confronts Kelly and tells her to stay away from her husband. Kelly denies any wrongdoing, but the stress of the confrontation combined with the job results in a physical breakdown, and Kelly just walks away. Her sister has done it before her, so Kelly has a place to go - Jillian's lovely Victorian in Virgin River. Jillian is growing upscale produce, Kelly is an upscale chef, the pieces all fall into place.

Lief, the love interest, comes with baggage in the person of his stepdaughter Courtney, a 14-year old with major issues. Lief is a Hollywood screenwriter who has brought Courtney to Virgin River to recover from the death of her mother, Lief's wife, 2 years ago.

Courtney is really the centerpiece of this book, a nice departure from the other books which focus primarily on romances. Courtney is an amazing character. Robyn Carr has just written her beautifully. She has the usual problems of a 14-year girl, exacerbated by one of the worst dads ever (her natural father Stu). In Courtney's mind, she doesn't really belong anywhere, in spite of the fact that her stepdad has upended his life to bring her to a place where everybody comes to heal.

Lief and Kelly are crazy about each other from the beginning, but Courtney is the challenege. To Kelly's credit, she recognizes this fact and is happy to steal whatever time she can from Lief. In fact she is kind of a doormat. But really, she has a ton of empathy for Lief's situation. She hopes things will work out for the two of them but if not, she is prepared to walk away.

This is more plot than I usually put in a review, but really there are no spoilers here. This is Virgin River, and in this genre there are only happy endings. Robyn Carr is in a class by herself as far as character development, and Courtney is her crowning achievement. It's getting pretty routine for me to cry while reading a Virgin River book - the only question is how early I begin. I am a sucker for this place and know many of the characters pretty well. These books can be read out of sequence and you can really start anywhere. Virgin River is a magical place you can visit often. The story of Lief, Kelly and Courtney is one of its best.

Kelly Matlock joins her sister, Jillian, in Virgin River after walking out of her high-stress sous-chef job at a four-star restaurant and being snubbed by her married love (not lover). She meets Lief Holbrook when she stops at Jack's Bar on her way to Jillian's, pretty much passing out next to him after two martinis on top of anxiety medication. Lief takes her home and is utterly beguiled by the pretty Kelly.

Kelly has no plan other than to take some time to regroup and figure out what she's going to do in life. In the meantime, she makes herself welcome to Colin and Jillian by creating culinary delights for them everyday. Kelly is also developing a vision for herself, seeing the possibility of taking Jillian's garden produce and marketing them to high end restaurants and markets. Meanwhile, Lief is actively pursuing Kellly and winning. However, he is also having to deal with his 14-year old stepdaughter, Courtney, who is reeling from her mother's death two years ago and the abandonment by her biological father. Lief doesn't see himself as a stepfather, rather her father and is working with a counselor to help Courtney with her issues. Yes...it's the same counselor Rick and Liz Sudder used earlier.

While it's frustrating to watch Courtney sabotage Lief's relationship with Kelly, it's also heartwarming to see his level of commitment to his daughter. My criticism of the story, however, is the short shrift given to Kelly and Lief's romance...it sort of took a back seat to Courtney and Lief's story when there appeared to be room for both. It was interesting to be part of her counseling sessions to see the contrast between her actions and the real drivers behind her behaviors and her father's (and other's) perceptions.

This is not one of my favorites but I hope to see more of Lief and Kelly in future installments. We didn't get enough of their romance here...they deserved better.

Virgin River still going strong, but I didn't feel as much love as in the other 12 books. I feel guilty giving anything in the Virgin River series less than perfect remarks because I am so obsessed, but 4 stars is still awesome as was the book Harvest Moon, but it just wasn't as "awesome" as the others. It is hard not to compare how I felt throughout this book to the others, even though I never put it down it wasn't as exciting.

Lief and Kelly were well developed characters. They both moved to Virgin River to get away from stressful lives in LA and San Francisco. Kelly and Leif seemed like an old married couple to me, good chemistry and very comfortable, not that hot, hot passion that I have felt in the past books. Even though there was a romance the meat of this book was about a messed up emotional teenager, Leif's step-daughter Courtney, and how her emotional state of feeling unwanted affected everyone around her. Even though Courtney was a pain in the a$$ and caused a lot of trouble for Leif and Kelly's relationship you couldn't help, but sympathize with her and root for her to find the love, safety, and comfort she deserved. Robyn Carr still got me all choked up in the end.

I will be dying waiting another nine months or however long it takes for more stories about VR. I am hoping Brenda/Tom, Denny, Gabe, and Patrick Riordan will be in the next group.

Robyn Carr has delivered another winner with her wildly popular Virgin River series. In case you're not familiar with this series, these books are set in a small town in rural California. The first few books centered around some military men who had settled in this little town after having served their country. As the series moved on, we were introduced to members of the community, who moved there to get away from the bustle of the big city, and then their family members.

In Harvest Moon, we get a combination of these characters. Leif is escaping the big-city to provide his step-daughter with a better life. And Kelly decides to visit her sister after a a professional scandal. Neither of them are looking for more than friendship, but they can't deny the sparks flying between them.

Robyn is a master storyteller. In addition to creating a wonderful romance, the world she's built is so very welcoming. Anyone who has read these books would love to find Virgin River and hang out with the inhabitants. And she doesn't forget to keep bringing back old characters to make little cameos... like Jack and Mel (from book 1, Virgin River) popping up and letting us know that all is well with them and their family.

When my heartstrings are tugged, I know a book is a winner. I cried. I laughed. I couldn't put the book down. As with most series, this book is best if you've read other books in the series, just because there are some ongoing story lines. However, the book does stand on it's own and you won't be disappointed by picking up this one.

I can't resist (not that it has anything to do with Robyn Carr) - it's a quarter to two [in the morning, East Coast time], and no one's awake except me and you......OK, apologies to Frank Sinatra but I, too, feel sort of blue upon finishing this last book in this year's Virgin River trilogy and knowing that there probably won't be any new ones for ten months or so.

Robyn Carr is such a terrific writer, especially as she makes it look so easy. The characters are so three-dimensional that they practically jump off the page, the dialogue is realistic and the descriptions of food.....wow! Topped only by the description of the Halloween picnic, held at Jilly's house but with the participation of everyone in town.

It's a totally enjoyable book, and one I couldn't put down until I finished it just now. Really liked all the characters and enjoyed Muriel taking a different role than in previous books. (small, but essential) RC has written it in such a way that you do NOT have to have read the others, since the situation and characters stand alone. However, I defy anyone to read this book and not want to read others in the Virgin River group. They have alot of pleasure to look forward to - and then they can read RC's equally wonderful Grace Valley books.

Highly recommended!

If you've read my reviews of these books, you'll know that I have found them to be a mixed bag. Some are very much like the other--only the names change. Others seem to have so many useless characters. Others are really good stories that, while heavy on the romance, manage to incorporate other sub-plots so as to make the books more than just romances. I think Harvest Moon is a winner. While the relationship between Kelly and Lief is always there, so is Courtney, his (step) daughter. We watch her grow from a young woman who is mad at the world and who knows (or at least thinks she knows) that no one loves her to a young woman of whom any parent could be proud.

I also liked Kelly. She's a woman who has dedicated her life to a job that pretty much precluded a normal social life and, when it fell apart on her, realized she didn't want to go back to that lifestyle. She was attracted to Lief, and liked him, but was able to be realistic, and to stand up for what she needed in a relationship.

If you like the Virgin River books, I think you'll like this one. If you hate them, its probably not different enough from the others to give you a different view. It's mass-market romance with out-of-wedlock intimate scenes. They aren't the most graphic I've seen, but they aren't G rated either.

I'd like to thank the publisher for making a galley available via NetGalleys. Grade: B+

I'm enjoying all of the Virgin River books but this is the first one I'm giving 3 stars. Too much of Courtney!!! She's an AWFUL teenager and really ruined the story for me. She was self-centered, with a really bad attitude and I found myself skimming through her storyline. I loved the main couple. Robyn does such a great job with the romance in relationships. This was a disappointment for me, but I will definitely keep reading the series.

This is my first Virgin River book to read and am now interested in reading the books earlier in the series. That being said, this can be read as a standalone book. The book starts by introducing Kelly in the restaurant kitchen she works in and how she is called out by the wife of her boss for sleeping with him. Of course she loves him but doesn't have a relationship with him. After having a panic attack due to stress in the kitchen she realizes that being a chef is a cut throat business and packs up for Virgin River where her sister and boyfriend live. She meets Lief who is a famous screenplay author raising his stepdaughter away from the city. The book spends more time focusing on how Kelly is trying to move forward in life as well as Lief trying to raise his stepdaughter and fostering a better relationship between the two. Kelly and Lief's romance takes a backseat to the rest of the family drama and resembles what most people would consider real life stories. It's a fun read and I kept wondering what would happen next. I'll definitely be passing this on to my mother in law who enjoys reading Robyn Carr novels.

When sous-chef Kelly Matlock is confronted by her employer's wife and accused of an affair with him, she goes into sensory overload and has a serious panic attack. While in the hospital, she begins to realize that her job as a lead chef in a toney San Francisco restaurant is killing her. She retreats to her sister Jillian's house in Virgin River while she recuperates and looks for a new job.
But the new job finds her. Unable to stop cooking, she seems to cook everything in sight - but especially Jillian's organically raised farm products. Cooking has been her entire life, and now she uses cooking to fend of her anxiety and frustration while she relaxes and plans to find a new Chef position.
Enter Lief Holbrook, a handsome widower with a rebellious stepdaughter, Courtney. Kelly is strongly attracted to him, and he to her, but she is not sure she can handle a relationship that includes a troublesome teenager.
Typically well written, Harvest Moon includes many familiar characters for those who enjoy the Virgin River series and Robyn Carr's work.

As usual I loved this book. Robyn's characterization came through again very strongly. The plot was strong and something anyone with a teen could identify with. It also showed two people who fell slowly in love and examined the issues they might face. I liked hearing from the characters from the last 2 books but was very disappointed in the lack of scenes or plot with former characters. There was no side plot like the one about Hope's estate or Denny to keep us up with them. We only see Jack and Preacher a few brief times and do not see or hear from Mel or Paige who really are part of the backbone of the Virgin River story. I really love all the old characters and missed them in this one. The last two books brought us up to date but not as much as former books, but I still would like to hear more than just a passing word. For example, when they had the Halloween event Jack or Preacher's families were not mentioned. I hope Robyn does not destroy something very strong in family, etc by not bringing them back in. One of the beauties of her series is how she brings diverse characters into a small town community and meshes them to form a bond. I agree there was a lot about birthing, etc in the first ones, but there was also so many things that women in real life can identify with from the first pelvic exam that Shelly had, breast cancer, being accepted in a community as a pastor's wife with a "past," sadness of not being able to have more children, loss of a spouses to death or divorce, etc. Like the others this dealt with a real life issue facing so many now with downsizing and other problems such as extreme stress in the work place. Bravo to Robyn for bringing this aspect to the readers with this book and also in Wild Man Creek. The two characters in the last two books, like Mel and Brie, had the courage to step out of a crisis situation but still do something they loved and remain independent, while becoming a part of Virgin River life but not a carbon copy of others. Please in the future let us have a few side plots about the main characters. I would love to hear from Brenda/Tom who seemed to have vanished and more about Nate's niece and Erin's brother that started in Moonlight Kiss. I hope Denny, Gabe, and Patrick will soon have their own story. Overall another splendid read, and I encourage you to read all of the Virgin River stories.

This has to been one of my least favorite in the series. But that is okay. It was still enjoyable and had all the qualities I enjoy in the Virgin River series. Solid relationship building, reinvention of ones' life, fully exploring and solving personal problems. Carr is very good at slowly and thoroughly writing these issues, she doesn't skimp on character development. My main problem was I didn't buy into the relationship between Leif and Kelly and I didn't believe that Kelly would be able to create a career solely on making chutneys and sauces. The amount of supplies she would need would be costly and would seriously cut into Jilly's profits. Also, the Hollywood storylines in this series are my least favorite. In the end, it is still enjoyable while not as steamy as the others in Virgin River. The next in this series [book:Bring Me Home for Christmas|11216649], so fans will appreciate the story arc.

I read Harvest Moon (Virgin River) this weekend, and I was a bit torn with what to rate it. As part of a series, it is definitely readable (is that a word?) as a stand alone. In fact, I need to look up the other books in the series :)

Robyn Carr is an excellent writer. Her descriptions of Virgin River will make you wish you grew up in a small town, or at had friends in one so you can visit. I really enjoyed the cooking aspect of it, and the guest character. Awesome idea, and well written!

Now on the the romance!

As another reviewer pointed out, this book is as much Courtney's as it is Lief and Kelly's. As an avid romance-aholic, I had absolutely no problem with that aspect. It reminded me a bit of Lisa Kleypas' Christmas Eve at Friday Harbor where we get a family story. The current romance novel trends are either paranormal or erotica, which I don't have a problem with buuut it's nice to read a romance that I can recommend to my mom.

With that said, there were some characterizations that really ruffled my feathers. I don't know if readers closer to my age who are the product of a divorce will agree with me. I certainly feel I'm the odd person out with this review, compared to the other 4 and 5 star ones.

Courtney's mother died, and after being back and forth between her bio dad and her step dad, she ends up with her step dad. During this period she adopted a goth/emo look- with the hair, the black clothes, the surly attitude. It bugged me to no end that Lief kept looking at her physical appearance rather than what was troubling her. Towards 2/3rds of the book when she is changing her appearance (the counselling was helping and she didn't have the need to dress like that) he thought to himself that he was glad that she didn't look like an alien any more or something along that line and I was really offended for Courtney! I guess my point is this- it doesn't matter if your kid decides to dye their hair the colors of the rainbow (which she did), you still love them. As a parent you get mad at them for lying, being rude etc, but your kids need to know that if they're going through a phase that you love them unconditionally.

Now I think it may be a generation thing on my part. I don't know if Robyn Carr's audience are a bit more mature so they can empathize with a parent who is freaked out by the goth look? I have friends who have pink hair, random piercings and tattoos so I guess I think it's normal :)

Now parents aren't perfect, so I don't expect that Robyn Carr needs to write a novel where the Dad is super cool with his 14 year old having multi colored hair-THAT would be unrealistic, unless said dad was a hippie- but to me it says something that Amber's Dad was more accepting about her hair (Calling her peacock! ha!).

As far as heroines go- I honestly disliked Kelly. I'm sure she is a really nice lady, and if I were to meet her in a bar, we can drink dirty martinis all night long, but she came across as a bit self centered and spoiled to me. I am speaking directly about when she broke up with Lief and was running back to San Fran because she couldn't deal with not being able to stay with Lief all the time (gosh darn that Courtney for being there). Here's my issue with that- I get that Courtney was 'wrong' for not wanting to have a new mother , but here's the thing- she's a 14 year old kid who's mother died. That's natural for her to not want that.

Kelly claimed she loved Lief, yet when the crap hit the fan, she was high tailing it out of there because she needed to be number one in his life. It really irked me that in the end, Courtney has to be the one to 'man up' and tell Kelly she doesn't want her to leave town. That to me just smacks of the selfishness of many people nowadays who get divorced because they need to 'find themself' or they 'love you but they're not IN love with you'. When you get involved with someone with a child, it's a package deal. If you love a person, you are in it for the long haul even when things get uncomfortable. If Courtney was cussing her out, or putting frogs in her kitchen it would be a different story. Courtney was just being a scared teenager, and Lief was just trying to make the best of the situation.

All in all, I can't say that the book didn't affect me or get me thinking. My apologies for the long review and if you agree/disagree please feel free to comment.

I enjoyed this return to Virgin River. For me, the strongest thread was not that of our love interest Kelly, but instead, Lief's stepdaughter Courtney, who has tragically lost her mother and whose father rejected her. Lief loves Courtney, and has brought her to Virgin River with the hope that getting her out of LA is what she needs to heal.

Courtney wears all black, has a ragged cut, and dyes her hair with a rainbow of color. She's bright but failing all her classes. But finally, she hooks up with another girl at school, gets a goofy but wise counselor, and she's turning around. (Her friend's father affectionately calls her "Peacock.")

Of course, Kelly and Lief have their romantic story, which is nice enough, and just what we expected when Kelly passed through Virgin River two books ago.

It's nice light romance reading, and not terribly dependent upon reading all the books or in any particular order.

I love all the characters in this series. I've read several of Ms Carr's books and have enjoyed them all.

Kelly, Lief and even Courtney are so well "drawn" for us that we have to like them or even love them. The situations are believable and we get to know the characters as their actions and thoughts are written for us.

Kelly's job in San Francisco would be the death of me! Restaurant kitchens must be such a weird world for me. Her love of Lief is great but Courtney is going to take a special getting to know!

Lief is so special because of his love for Courtney and her love for him is just a little girl's love but he is feeling better all the time with it.

Courtney is a hard teenage to love but we all do by the end of the book. Her father and stepmother are the creepiest people.

I don't want to give too much away but you'll enjoy this too

I've read the Virgin River series since book 1. I KNOW! The last few books have not been bad but they haven't really wowed me. In fact, I read the first and last 2 chapters of the last few Virgin River books and shelved them. I wasn't hooked.

Harvest Moon hooked me!

I was hooked from the beginning! I loved that the heroine is coming into her own and the hero is emerging from a sad period in his life. They meet at JUST the right time for them. The book would have had a nice happily ever after and maybe even another shelfer if not for the added element of the step-daughter. The emotional struggle they work through is very touching. I cried.

Harvest Moon is made richer for the family drama and is a must read in this series!

Carr has a winner here and she has me re-committed to her Virgin River series.

You don't want to miss HARVEST MOON!

Rating: 2.5 stars __Contains graphic sexual content
Note: Continued story with new characters. 15th in the Virgin River Novel series.
WARNING: This multiple-plot, soap-opera style format is confusing unless you read the series in order.

EASY READ. Empathetic characters, diverse supporting cast, good sisters support, and the menus, meals, and cooking added interest to the storyline. HOWEVER, the heroine is poorly developed, and neither of the main characters behave all that admirably; the heroine's emotional involvement with the married restaurant owner feels uncomfortable; the hero can't seem to communicate effectively with his grieving stepdaughter; and the hero and heroine intentionally hiding their growing relationship from the stepdaughter just seems sneaky.

THE STORY revolves around former chef, Kelly Matlock, move scriptwriter, Lief Holbrook, and his fourteen-year-old stepdaughter, Courtney. As the story opens, sous chef Kelly collapses in the restaurant kitchen and realizes she no longer wishes to endure this high stress, hostile working environment. She walks out, gives up her apartment, and moves to her sister's organic farm to cook herself to inner peace. There, she becomes involved with Lief and his angry, troubled stepdaughter who is struggling to move on after the death of her mother two years earlier. With the help of family, friends, and a good therapist, Lief and Courtney slowly heal their relationship and eventually plan a future that includes Kelly. Meanwhile there is not much included about the familiar characters of Virgin River.

OVERALL, more focus on the troubled teen relationship, than the romance. The VIRGIN RIVER series includes more than 20 books starting with Virgin River (2007).

You may also enjoy the complex characters and storytelling of N. Bruhns, A. Stuart, or E. Palfrey. For sweet, funny, heart touching romances with great descriptive, try Susan Fox, Cara Colter, or Dixie Browning.

Kelly Matlock is a sous-chef at the famous La Touche restaurant. After years of working her butt off to advance in the kitchen at La Touche, she realizes that she's never going to have control of this kitchen. Of course, this realization comes after an interesting visit from the wife of the man she's in love with. Kelly becomes overwhelmed and passes out at work. She knows now is the time for her to reevaluate her life. What better place to relax and refocus than Virgin River.

Widower Lief Holbrook needs a new place to raise his stepdaughter Courtney. Since her mother's death things have been extremely difficult. Courtney has become a stranger and nothing he's done so far has worked. As an award winning screenwriter, Lief can work from anywhere and Virgin River is the perfect place to raise his daughter.

When Kelly arrives at Jack's Bar, Lief is struck by her beauty. It has been years since he has had any feelings for a woman other than his late wife. He simply has to get to know this woman. Kelly isn't quite ready for any kind of relationship. Lief is persistent and Kelly finally succumbs to him, but is she ready for Courtney's wrath. Is it possible for these three to have a healthy happy relationship?

All of my favorite characters are back in Harvest Moon. Harvest Moon is truly a joy to read. I experienced so many emotions while reading Harvest Moon. At times I was so happy, and other times I felt like I had taken a punch to the gut. The relationships in Harvest Moon are complex and phenomenal. It is hard to do them justice. When Kelly gets to Virgin River she has really been through hell and needs the respite it offers. Lief's life is also in turmoil and he needs a safe sane place to raise his daughter. They are both lost in some fashion. Watching them both maneuver their new lives in Virgin River is fascinating and magical. Seeing them come together and then try to make their lives fit together is so real and encompassing. I really felt for these two. Even now I get those powerful feelings in my stomach when I think about the beautiful story Robyn Carr created with Harvest Moon. I don't think I will ever get tired of visiting Virgin River. Every story is written so wonderfully. It is like visiting old friends and finding new love every time. Harvest Moon is a blissful retreat that will leave you rejuvenated and ridiculously happy.

Miranda
Reviewed for Joyfully Reviewed

Kelly Matlock is a sou chef at a restaurant in San Francisco. It's a high pressure job and the atmosphere is tense and tension in the kitchen is high. After being falsly accused of having an affair with a married man (by said married man's wife), Kelly collapses. The accusation and her collapse makes Kelly rethink her life and she decides to join her sister in Virgin River so she can recover and try to figure out what she wants to do with her life.

Kelly meets Lief Holbrook, a widower living in Virgin River with his step-daughter Courtney. Two years ago, Lief was living a happy life in LA with his wife and step-daughter. But then Lief's wife died suddenly and Courtney underwent a metamorphosis from a nice "normal" girl to a Goth girl. Lief moved to Virgin River in hopes that Courtney would return to that normal girl. But Courtney isn't happy at Virgin River - she's now 14, has no friends, is unhappy, and is no closer to being "normal" than in LA. Harvest Moon tells Kelly and Lief's story - can Kelly and Lief find a HEA when there's a step-daughter who's not happy about this romance? And it also tells Courtney's story and what she has gone through.

Kelly is the sister of Jillian, Robyn Carr's previous book (Wild Man Creek) that went on my keeper shelf. I was excited to read Kelly's story since I enjoyed Jillian's so much. Looking over other people's reviews, I think that I'm in the minority, as I found the teenage stepdaughter took up too much of the story (I'd say the romance is 50% and Courtney's story is 50%). I liked Kelly and her reactions to Courtney (and subsequent decisions), and her fears about becoming involved with a man with "baggage" rang true. But I felt that the romance took too much of a back seat to Courtney's story and while I enjoyed it, this book won't be on my keeper shelf.

I read Harvest Moon (Virgin River) this weekend, and I was a bit torn with what to rate it. As part of a series, it is definitely readable (is that a word?) as a stand alone. In fact, I need to look up the other books in the series :)

Robyn Carr is an excellent writer. Her descriptions of Virgin River will make you wish you grew up in a small town, or at had friends in one so you can visit. I really enjoyed the cooking aspect of it, and the guest character. Awesome idea, and well written!

Now on the the romance!

As another reviewer pointed out, this book is as much Courtney's as it is Lief and Kelly's. As an avid romance-aholic, I had absolutely no problem with that aspect. It reminded me a bit of Lisa Kleypas' Christmas Eve at Friday Harbor where we get a family story. The current romance novel trends are either paranormal or erotica, which I don't have a problem with buuut it's nice to read a romance that I can recommend to my mom.

With that said, there were some characterizations that really ruffled my feathers. I don't know if readers closer to my age who are the product of a divorce will agree with me. I certainly feel I'm the odd person out with this review, compared to the other 4 and 5 star ones.

Courtney's mother died, and after being back and forth between her bio dad and her step dad, she ends up with her step dad. During this period she adopted a goth/emo look- with the hair, the black clothes, the surly attitude. It bugged me to no end that Lief kept looking at her physical appearance rather than what was troubling her. Towards 2/3rds of the book when she is changing her appearance (the counselling was helping and she didn't have the need to dress like that) he thought to himself that he was glad that she didn't look like an alien any more or something along that line and I was really offended for Courtney! I guess my point is this- it doesn't matter if your kid decides to dye their hair the colors of the rainbow (which she did), you still love them. As a parent you get mad at them for lying, being rude etc, but your kids need to know that if they're going through a phase that you love them unconditionally.

Now I think it may be a generation thing on my part. I don't know if Robyn Carr's audience are a bit more mature so they can empathize with a parent who is freaked out by the goth look? I have friends who have pink hair, random piercings and tattoos so I guess I think it's normal :)

Now parents aren't perfect, so I don't expect that Robyn Carr needs to write a novel where the Dad is super cool with his 14 year old having multi colored hair-THAT would be unrealistic, unless said dad was a hippie- but to me it says something that Amber's Dad was more accepting about her hair (Calling her peacock! ha!).

As far as heroines go- I honestly disliked Kelly. I'm sure she is a really nice lady, and if I were to meet her in a bar, we can drink dirty martinis all night long, but she came across as a bit self centered and spoiled to me. I am speaking directly about when she broke up with Lief and was running back to San Fran because she couldn't deal with not being able to stay with Lief all the time (gosh darn that Courtney for being there). Here's my issue with that- I get that Courtney was 'wrong' for not wanting to have a new mother , but here's the thing- she's a 14 year old kid who's mother died. That's natural for her to not want that.

Kelly claimed she loved Lief, yet when the crap hit the fan, she was high tailing it out of there because she needed to be number one in his life. It really irked me that in the end, Courtney has to be the one to 'man up' and tell Kelly she doesn't want her to leave town. That to me just smacks of the selfishness of many people nowadays who get divorced because they need to 'find themself' or they 'love you but they're not IN love with you'. When you get involved with someone with a child, it's a package deal. If you love a person, you are in it for the long haul even when things get uncomfortable. If Courtney was cussing her out, or putting frogs in her kitchen it would be a different story. Courtney was just being a scared teenager, and Lief was just trying to make the best of the situation.

All in all, I can't say that the book didn't affect me or get me thinking. My apologies for the long review and if you agree/disagree please feel free to comment.

I enjoyed this return to Virgin River. For me, the strongest thread was not that of our love interest Kelly, but instead, Lief's stepdaughter Courtney, who has tragically lost her mother and whose father rejected her. Lief loves Courtney, and has brought her to Virgin River with the hope that getting her out of LA is what she needs to heal.

Courtney wears all black, has a ragged cut, and dyes her hair with a rainbow of color. She's bright but failing all her classes. But finally, she hooks up with another girl at school, gets a goofy but wise counselor, and she's turning around. (Her friend's father affectionately calls her "Peacock.")

Of course, Kelly and Lief have their romantic story, which is nice enough, and just what we expected when Kelly passed through Virgin River two books ago.

It's nice light romance reading, and not terribly dependent upon reading all the books or in any particular order.

I love all the characters in this series. I've read several of Ms Carr's books and have enjoyed them all.

Kelly, Lief and even Courtney are so well "drawn" for us that we have to like them or even love them. The situations are believable and we get to know the characters as their actions and thoughts are written for us.

Kelly's job in San Francisco would be the death of me! Restaurant kitchens must be such a weird world for me. Her love of Lief is great but Courtney is going to take a special getting to know!

Lief is so special because of his love for Courtney and her love for him is just a little girl's love but he is feeling better all the time with it.

Courtney is a hard teenage to love but we all do by the end of the book. Her father and stepmother are the creepiest people.

I don't want to give too much away but you'll enjoy this too

I've read the Virgin River series since book 1. I KNOW! The last few books have not been bad but they haven't really wowed me. In fact, I read the first and last 2 chapters of the last few Virgin River books and shelved them. I wasn't hooked.

Harvest Moon hooked me!

I was hooked from the beginning! I loved that the heroine is coming into her own and the hero is emerging from a sad period in his life. They meet at JUST the right time for them. The book would have had a nice happily ever after and maybe even another shelfer if not for the added element of the step-daughter. The emotional struggle they work through is very touching. I cried.

Harvest Moon is made richer for the family drama and is a must read in this series!

Carr has a winner here and she has me re-committed to her Virgin River series.

You don't want to miss HARVEST MOON!

Rating: 2.5 stars __Contains graphic sexual content
Note: Continued story with new characters. 15th in the Virgin River Novel series.
WARNING: This multiple-plot, soap-opera style format is confusing unless you read the series in order.

EASY READ. Empathetic characters, diverse supporting cast, good sisters support, and the menus, meals, and cooking added interest to the storyline. HOWEVER, the heroine is poorly developed, and neither of the main characters behave all that admirably; the heroine's emotional involvement with the married restaurant owner feels uncomfortable; the hero can't seem to communicate effectively with his grieving stepdaughter; and the hero and heroine intentionally hiding their growing relationship from the stepdaughter just seems sneaky.

THE STORY revolves around former chef, Kelly Matlock, move scriptwriter, Lief Holbrook, and his fourteen-year-old stepdaughter, Courtney. As the story opens, sous chef Kelly collapses in the restaurant kitchen and realizes she no longer wishes to endure this high stress, hostile working environment. She walks out, gives up her apartment, and moves to her sister's organic farm to cook herself to inner peace. There, she becomes involved with Lief and his angry, troubled stepdaughter who is struggling to move on after the death of her mother two years earlier. With the help of family, friends, and a good therapist, Lief and Courtney slowly heal their relationship and eventually plan a future that includes Kelly. Meanwhile there is not much included about the familiar characters of Virgin River.

OVERALL, more focus on the troubled teen relationship, than the romance. The VIRGIN RIVER series includes more than 20 books starting with Virgin River (2007).

You may also enjoy the complex characters and storytelling of N. Bruhns, A. Stuart, or E. Palfrey. For sweet, funny, heart touching romances with great descriptive, try Susan Fox, Cara Colter, or Dixie Browning.

Kelly Matlock is a sous-chef at the famous La Touche restaurant. After years of working her butt off to advance in the kitchen at La Touche, she realizes that she's never going to have control of this kitchen. Of course, this realization comes after an interesting visit from the wife of the man she's in love with. Kelly becomes overwhelmed and passes out at work. She knows now is the time for her to reevaluate her life. What better place to relax and refocus than Virgin River.

Widower Lief Holbrook needs a new place to raise his stepdaughter Courtney. Since her mother's death things have been extremely difficult. Courtney has become a stranger and nothing he's done so far has worked. As an award winning screenwriter, Lief can work from anywhere and Virgin River is the perfect place to raise his daughter.

When Kelly arrives at Jack's Bar, Lief is struck by her beauty. It has been years since he has had any feelings for a woman other than his late wife. He simply has to get to know this woman. Kelly isn't quite ready for any kind of relationship. Lief is persistent and Kelly finally succumbs to him, but is she ready for Courtney's wrath. Is it possible for these three to have a healthy happy relationship?

All of my favorite characters are back in Harvest Moon. Harvest Moon is truly a joy to read. I experienced so many emotions while reading Harvest Moon. At times I was so happy, and other times I felt like I had taken a punch to the gut. The relationships in Harvest Moon are complex and phenomenal. It is hard to do them justice. When Kelly gets to Virgin River she has really been through hell and needs the respite it offers. Lief's life is also in turmoil and he needs a safe sane place to raise his daughter. They are both lost in some fashion. Watching them both maneuver their new lives in Virgin River is fascinating and magical. Seeing them come together and then try to make their lives fit together is so real and encompassing. I really felt for these two. Even now I get those powerful feelings in my stomach when I think about the beautiful story Robyn Carr created with Harvest Moon. I don't think I will ever get tired of visiting Virgin River. Every story is written so wonderfully. It is like visiting old friends and finding new love every time. Harvest Moon is a blissful retreat that will leave you rejuvenated and ridiculously happy.

Miranda
Reviewed for Joyfully Reviewed

Kelly Matlock is a sou chef at a restaurant in San Francisco. It's a high pressure job and the atmosphere is tense and tension in the kitchen is high. After being falsly accused of having an affair with a married man (by said married man's wife), Kelly collapses. The accusation and her collapse makes Kelly rethink her life and she decides to join her sister in Virgin River so she can recover and try to figure out what she wants to do with her life.

Kelly meets Lief Holbrook, a widower living in Virgin River with his step-daughter Courtney. Two years ago, Lief was living a happy life in LA with his wife and step-daughter. But then Lief's wife died suddenly and Courtney underwent a metamorphosis from a nice "normal" girl to a Goth girl. Lief moved to Virgin River in hopes that Courtney would return to that normal girl. But Courtney isn't happy at Virgin River - she's now 14, has no friends, is unhappy, and is no closer to being "normal" than in LA. Harvest Moon tells Kelly and Lief's story - can Kelly and Lief find a HEA when there's a step-daughter who's not happy about this romance? And it also tells Courtney's story and what she has gone through.

Kelly is the sister of Jillian, Robyn Carr's previous book (Wild Man Creek) that went on my keeper shelf. I was excited to read Kelly's story since I enjoyed Jillian's so much. Looking over other people's reviews, I think that I'm in the minority, as I found the teenage stepdaughter took up too much of the story (I'd say the romance is 50% and Courtney's story is 50%). I liked Kelly and her reactions to Courtney (and subsequent decisions), and her fears about becoming involved with a man with "baggage" rang true. But I felt that the romance took too much of a back seat to Courtney's story and while I enjoyed it, this book won't be on my keeper shelf.

The idea that a man could love a step-daughter enough to put her well being ahead of his own desires is certainly original. Robyn Carr is even able to make is believable. Harvest Moon is a quick read with enough tension to make it enjoyable. If her description of the love-making scene is based on personal experience, her husband is a lucky man.

Kelly, Lief and Courtney's story, what can is fantastic. Kelly (Jillian's Sister from books 13 and 14) an another workaholic is "burned out" of her career and Lief is trying to start over after losing his wife (Courtney's mother). Kelly and Lief have to overcome some high misunderstandings, fears and their own ideas of a perfect partner. The interaction of a father with a child and new woman in their life is pretty realistic and so is dealing with Courtney's "Dad".

This book is specially poignant to me since I have a "Lief" in my live, who I have the HONOR to call Dad.

I thoroughly enjoyed, as always, the single dad aspect but this one was better because who doesn't love a man who steps up to love a daughter when her father decides he doesn't? I also love books with chefs as main characters... of course, they do make me hungry though.

There were some aspects that were a bit to 'pat' for me. I didn't like how the relationship between Kelly and her boss flowed. For some reason it was a bit too unrealistic for me. However, everyone else's characters and emotions flowed as I expected.

The Virgin River Series is terrific- especially if you enjoy a relaxing traditional romance.

Ok, I guess the negative to reading this series in a short amount of time is you grow bored of the same scenario. Two hot bodied people find love in Virgin River....Ok, at this point we've been there, done that. The situations are all different, but the outcome the same. I'd like to see a couple that had some bigger issues. How about someone with a realistic body or someone who didn't "want" each other after barely meeting. Anyone have some restraint in this town??? Falling in love takes time. Falling in lust is obviously easy here. Ms. Carr, how about a story about a couple who grow in love and hold off a bit before giving into the physical part of their relationship?

i really liked the female lead in this book. She was a strong woman, independent, and she showed real growth in this book. I also loved the setting- the small town was full of interesting folk, beautiful scenery, and the entire book was filled with delicious food you could smell off the pages!

This is a typical romance, so of course, the happy ending is very 'neat and tidy' at the end. But as long as that is what you're looking for/expect, it's a very good story.

I am on a mission to read all the Virgin River books. This was a good story although not my fave. Kelly and Leif were likable characters. The storyline with Courtney the stepdaughter was very believable as I am a step-mom and could relate to the conflict between Kelly and Courtney. Leif was a wonderful father and I admired how he stuck by his daughter. The sex was really great :) I would definitely recommend it.

This was my first Robyn Carr book but I don't intend for it to be the last. I can see how easy it would be to get addicted to the entire Virgin River series. I'm a 68 yr old female and just know the younger people have to love this book but I did too. Thank you Robyn Carr for a great story! Well written...

I never tire of Virgin River!! Ms Carr has a way of weaving a fantastic story!

Although this was very good, it wasn't my favorite. Maybe it's me, but the relationship of Kelly and Leif seemed a tad rushed. I didn't feel their connection like other couples in the series.

BUT, despite that, I truly enjoyed it!

I enjoy the twists in the story. A touch of excitement, romance, knowledge and possibilities. I like how the author takes care of loose ends at the end of the book. A good slow, relaxed read in a series you know you are ready for the next segment

Kelly Matlock, sous chef at La Touche in San Francisco decided to leave her job after being accused by Olivia Brazzi of having an affair with her chef husband Luca. Kelly decides to move to Virgin River and live with her sister, Jillian.

In Virgin River Kelly meets widower Lief Holbrook and his stepdaughter, Courtney. Courtney is coming to terms with her mother's death, her biological father's rejection and the relationship that is developing between Lief and Kelly. Courtney is going to a counselor named Jerry Powell who helps her identify her feelings and work on growing up.

This is a great book and I hope we are able to go back to Virgin River soon in future books.

Love these books! Read the whole series! I've read about 10 of the (I think) 18 books in the series. The characters are fully developed and you become friends with all the folks in the town of Virgin River. Great story lines, romance, adventure...these books have it all. I highly recommend the whole series!

Robyn Carr Rocks My World. I just love her books, especially her "Virgin River Series", which make me feel really good inside, and bring me a lot of laughter and love. Each time I finish one of her books I pray for the next one.

It seems that I know all the characters and they are all my friend.

And talk about all those drop dead gorgeous men and women.....

I just recommend Robyn Carr to all my friends and more. Just read one of her books and you'll be hooked.

Am certain that Robyn Carr has a loyal following. The novel was lightly written with easy to follow characters.

A simple love story with some obstacles to overcome.

It is a 'bit of fluff' in many regards.

Could not get excited or engrossed in the story or characters but for some it might fill the bill.

I never read books like this. When I first seen the title Harvest
Moon I thought it might be about Werewolf's because that's the kind of books I like to reed. But this book pulled me in and I never wanted it to end

I love it when I pick up a book and can't put it down. I didn't put this book down too much, I also love to see the story as opposed to reading it. This book did that for me, and I enjoyed it very much.

kelly the sister of a gardener was working in a 5 star restaurant when one day she foun herself passed out and sent to the hospital due to stress and anxiety. she came to virgin rivers without any notice and found lief there to chat with. lief had just moved there with his step daughter, which was going through a rough patch from loosing her mother and other things.

Kelly, Lief and Courtney's story, what can is fantastic. Kelly (Jillian's Sister from books 13 and 14) an another workaholic is "burned out" of her career and Lief is trying to start over after losing his wife (Courtney's mother). Kelly and Lief have to overcome some high misunderstandings, fears and their own ideas of a perfect partner. The interaction of a father with a child and new woman in their life is pretty realistic and so is dealing with Courtney's "Dad".

This book is specially poignant to me since I have a "Lief" in my live, who I have the HONOR to call Dad.

This is a great story. I recommend it. I am never disappointed with her books and can't wait to read her next one. Even if I don't read them in order I still enjoy them. So grab your copy and get started.