Stacy Alesi's BookBitch.com™

We met Laine briefly in The Hero. She was an FBI agent working undercover at the commune who helped Devon (and others) escape. Spoiler alert: if you haven’t read The Hero, stop reading now!

Laine was shot and rescued by Rawley, Cooper, Devon and Spencer and ended up with a fairly serious shoulder injury due to the gunshot. This book opens as she has taken a leave of absence from the FBI to recover more fully. It’s only been a few months but she needs some space from her job and her family back in Boston. She moves to Thunder Point because she wants to get as far away from her father as possible. Laine is from a family of doctors, and her father’s disapproval of her career choice comes to a head after she is shot. Thunder Point is always welcoming to strangers, especially when one of their own, Devon, is a friend.

We also met Eric briefly when he found out that his high school girlfriend did, in fact, have the baby she told him she was carrying. He ran at the time, and didn’t give her a whole lot of thought. But now that he’s found her, Eric is grateful to start a relationship with her. That leads him to buying the service station in Thunder Point, and to meeting Laine.

You couldn’t find two more different people if you tried. Eric is an uneducated former felon who grew up with very little, and Laine is FBI and Boston Brahmin, not exactly a match you’d expect. But they find their way to each other, one step at a time, and it’s a terrific romance. Laine is also dealing with family stuff that adds another layer to the story.

Another rather abrupt ending forced me to start book five in the series, The Promise. I am thoroughly enjoying this series!

This is the most suspenseful book in the series so far. Devon is the latest addition to Thunder Point, by way of her “cousin”, Rawley. Rawley is a character that has been in the Thunder Point series since the first book, but has always been a bit of an enigma. Here we come to know him a little bit better, although that is not saying much. But we find out the most important thing; he, like almost everyone else in town, is a good person with some heavy baggage. In his case, it’s baggage that he’s been toting around since the Vietnam War. He has had PTSD issues and is known for mostly not saying much, so hard to get to know. But when he reaches out to Devon and her daughter Mercy, we can see him softening.

But this is a romance and Rawley is not the love interest. Spencer is. Spencer is a fairly recent widower, with an unusual situation with his son Austin. Spencer’s wife suffered with cancer for a few years before finally succumbing to the disease. But shortly before her death, her family was tested to see if anyone would be a good candidate for a bone marrow transfer. And that testing revealed that Spencer was not Austin’s father.  Spencer’s starting over in Thunder Point makes a lot of sense; he and Austin need a fresh start, need to get away from all the sadness that permeated their lives for years.

Devon has her own history that I knew was going to lead to, well, let’s just say no spoiler alert here. I kind of knew what was going to happen but didn’t know when or how it would be resolved, so still plenty of suspense going on in this book.

Again it is the characters that make the story. Even the reclusive Rawley adds more depth to the story, the town and its inhabitants. I am really enjoying my stay in Thunder Point, and rolled right into book four, The Chance. Another excellent read from Robyn Carr, who has become one of my favorite authors. She writes small towns in the northwestern United States, somewhat like Debbie Macomber does, but puts a more realistic spin on things. People occasionally use bad language. They have sex! Even before they marry! Nothing too gratuitous, but there is no denying it either.

I am loving this series. My biggest criticism is that the books tend to end somewhat abruptly, but maybe that’s by design. I don’t seem to be able to finish one and go somewhere else, Carr has turned into my crack! Totally addicting reads but I’m not complaining.

I am ripping through this series, per usual with anything Carr writes. And looking at the reviews on Goodreads, I’m not alone. There are literally thousands of 4-5 star reviews.

The main characters in this romance, Mac and Gina, were the subplot of the first book in the series but here they take center stage. Carr also likes to include a bit of suspense in her love stories, and the mystery here is why Mac’s ex-wife has shown up ten years after abandoning her children and her husband. She had signed away all her custody rights but Mac understands that the children are curious about their mother. Especially the younger ones, who barely remember her. On the other hand, Eve is a teenager now and she definitely remembers her mother and has some very understandable anger issues. But there is more to this story than this surface tension, and it takes an interesting and somewhat suspenseful twist.

The second romance here is about Cooper, who is the newcomer to Thunder Point, and Sarah, a Coast Guard helicopter pilot who is single-handedly raising her teenage brother after the deaths of their parents. Sarah always has the problem of being reassigned hanging over her head, she has had to move along with her brother several times. And now that he is happy and settled in Thunder Point and the star of the football team in time for his senior year, along with the scholarship opportunities that represents, a rumor surfaces that she may be transferred yet again. Cooper knows something is going on with her, but she isn’t talking.

Another heart-wrenching subplot is about Ashley, Gina’s teenage daughter, who is suffering the effects of a broken heart and even worse, digital bullying which truly adds to the turmoil. Despite that, I’m really enjoying getting to know the people in Thunder Point. It is a mostly idyllic town filled with kind, generous people that I wish were my neighbors.

I finished this book and immediately picked up book three in the series. I know have a bunch of other books to read, new books that I’ve been waiting for, but I can’t seem to help myself! This series  probably needs to be read in order. I know as I read on I get more and more invested in these characters and that always makes for a better book. So start with book one, The Wanderer. The next book in the series is The Hero and I’ve already started it. Review forthcoming.