Mulberry Hollow by Denise Hunter Review

 Happy Monday Friends :)

I hope you're all doing well, and I want to thank you all for joining me for another book review here on The Preppy Book Princess.

I hope you all had a great weekend! Yesterday was actually my mom's birthday, and I enjoyed a lovely evening with my family having Chinese food, birthday cake, and playing Dutch Blitz.

Today I actually have the day off from work as well, so I'm looking forward to getting some cleaning done, catching up on some reading, and spending some time with my husband and kitties.

I also want to devote plenty of time in prayer today to the situation happening in the Ukraine. My heart is breaking watching all the news coverage, and I pray that an end will be in sight to all this evil and hurt. 

If you have the time today, I'd encourage you to pray for the situation as well, as we all know that prayer can move mountains, and I especially pray that every person over there would be able to find Jesus, and have his solace and protection through every awful circumstance arising. 

Now I'm going to share a new review with you all :)

I recently finished an upcoming ARC, and today I'm here to share with you all what I ended up thinking about it.

If you're interested in reading my review of the first book in this particular series, then check out the link below :)

Riverbend Gap

Keep reading for today's full review.

Mulberry Hollow by Denise Hunter:

Source: Publisher via NetGalley

Publisher: Thomas Nelson

Publication Date: April 19th, 2022

Genre: Christian Fiction/Contemporary

Series: Riverbend Romance

Synopsis:

Contractor Wes Mathews is nearly finished hiking the Appalachian Trail in honor of his recently deceased best friend when he falls terribly ill. He stumbles into the nearest town and soon finds himself indebted to the beautiful young doctor who owns the clinic. In lieu of payment, he proposes a trade that will keep him in town—and away from obligations to his best friend’s sister—for several weeks.

But as Avery and Wes spend time together, their friendship begins moving into unexpected territory. Soon they both begin to question their plans for the future. But will Wes be able to let go of the debt he owes his best friend? And will Avery find the courage to risk everything for love?

(synopsis from goodreads)

My Review;

Denise Hunter is one of my all time favorites, and I always look forward to her new book releases. I have to be honest that the first title in her Riverbend Romance series wasn't my favorite, but I was still looking forward to diving into this one. I'd really enjoyed Avery's character in Riverbend Gap, and I couldn't wait to see how Denise Hunter was going to craft her story.

One thing I really appreciate about this series is the beautiful setting. I'm someone that knows next to nothing about hiking, so I love the vivid descriptions of a community that largely makes their living off the tourist trade from the famous hiking trail. Avery is the local town's doctor, and is overworked and stressed from having to solely handle the entire town's medical needs. She's also living with the stress hanging over her head of a possible medical diagnosis, and has made the decision to stay single. When contractor Wes Matthews stumbles into her clinic after getting sick on the trail, the two form a tentative agreement. He'll stay on and renovate the tenant apartment, in exchange for the treatments she's given him for his illness. As a friendship starts to develop between the two of them that could lead to something more, they both start to question how to go forward when so many circumstances are holding them back. 

With beautiful prose, a lovely developing romance, a strong familial bond, and a heavy emphasis on faith and our need for Jesus no matter the circumstances, Mulberry Hollow is a heartwarming story that I wholeheartedly enjoyed. I definitely liked this one more than the first book in the series. I still had issues with a couple of content pieces that I didn't think were necessary in a Christian fiction title, but overall I really did enjoy this one, and thought it was a beautiful read. I loved the healing that takes place in both Avery and Wes' life that is connected to past traumatic events, and these pieces, in my opinion, made a great story even better.

I'd definitely recommend this one to anyone looking for a cleanish, faith based contemporary, and I love the fact that Denise's books are usually written in a way that they can be read as stand alones. 

Final Rating: 4/5.

Thanks so much to Thomas Nelson for allowing me to advance read and review this one!

I voluntarily read and reviewed a complimentary advance reader copy of this novel from the publisher (Thomas Nelson) via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I was not required to give a positive review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thanks so much for reading guys! I hope you all have a great rest of your day :)