Blackberry Summer Book Review

I picked up a new series while I was at the library.  I started another series by the same author and I was waiting for the new books in the series to arrive at the library so I was trying to figure out what to do when I went looking for other books by her.  I found three on the shelf at the library and put the rest on reserve.  I started reading Blackberry Summer (Hope's Crossing Book 1) by RaeAnne Thayne as soon as I picked it up off the shelf and realized it was the first in the series!  I was so excited to get on another series that had a few books already published so I wouldn't have to wait.  I could learn more about everyone in this small town before returning to the other small town that I just left with the other series!

Claire Bradford needed a wake-up call.  What she didn't need was a robbery of her store followed by a tragic car accident. As a single mom and the owner of a successful bead shop, Claire leads a predictable life in Hope's Crossing, Colorado. So what if she has no time for romance? At least, that's what she tells herself, especially when her best friend's sexy younger brother comes back to town as the new chief of police. But when the accident forces Claire to slow down and lean on others—especially Riley McKnight—she realizes, for the first time, that things need to change. And not just in her own life. The accident—and the string of robberies committed by teenagers that led up to it—is a wake-up call to the people of Hope's Crossing. The sense of community and togetherness had been lost during those tough years. But with a mysterious "Angel of Hope" working to inspire the town, Riley and Claire will find themselves opening up to love and other possibilities by the end of an extraordinary summer….

I couldn't put it down and read it in less than 24 hours.  I got to read a little of it poolside while my son went swimming but mostly I just stopped sleeping.  I really instantly loved the character of Claire and I had to see how things were going to work out for this wonderful single mother who seemed to have everything going against her but she managed to stay positive.  Isn't that what we would all like to do!!  It is the hardest thing to actually acomplish and while she was living with casts on arms and legs, she was busy worried about the friends and community of Hope's Crossing and trying to pull together a huge benefit for them instead of being upset that she was injured. I think that it has been a hard adjustment for the rest of the family to not have normal television at the new house while we are waiting for the antennae to get delivered but I have just jumped into a whole bunch of books and enjoyed every minute of it.  I hope that you decide to check out this new series by RaeAnne Thayne and see if it isn't the perfect summer read.  I hope that you add it to your summer reading list and pick it up at your local library or bookstore soon.