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The Riverbend Trilogy #1
Riverbend
Book One in The Riverbend Trilogy.
Nestled deep in Northwest Pennsylvania, in the thick forest of the Allegheny Mountains, is a quiet community named Kennerdell. Rich in Native American and European settlement history with few inhabitants and a charming culture, growing up there was simple for Lena.
But when grief stepped in and darkened her life-everything changed.
After years of escape, Lena is forced to come home. A web of mystery and danger that dates back to America’s earliest days, quickly weaves around her.
When a longtime friend, one who knows the tragedy that plagues Lena's heart, comes back into her life - things get complicated.
Will she be able to unfold the truth around this mystery - and herself - or will it be easier to run away?
Love, danger, and history collide in Riverbend, the first book of The Riverbend Trilogy.
Nestled deep in Northwest Pennsylvania, in the thick forest of the Allegheny Mountains, is a quiet community named Kennerdell. Rich in Native American and European settlement history with few inhabitants and a charming culture, growing up there was simple for Lena.
But when grief stepped in and darkened her life-everything changed.
After years of escape, Lena is forced to come home. A web of mystery and danger that dates back to America’s earliest days, quickly weaves around her.
When a longtime friend, one who knows the tragedy that plagues Lena's heart, comes back into her life - things get complicated.
Will she be able to unfold the truth around this mystery - and herself - or will it be easier to run away?
Love, danger, and history collide in Riverbend, the first book of The Riverbend Trilogy.
136 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 5, 2012
1 person is currently reading
42 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
January 13, 2013
Ok, so I definitely did not leave my chair once while reading this novel. It was brilliant. I fully admit that I spent the 1st chapter wondering “what the hell happened in the past” but the rest of the book kept me captivated within its pages. Goodson has a way with words and manages to work mystery and intrigue into her work without it becoming apparent.
The descriptions and settings in this novel are great. They are real places that you feel like you could visit, or have visited. She uses her descriptions in a way that you can picture the setting for the novel very clearly. At the same time, she never gets longwinded or boring.
I think what really got me with this novel was the fact that the historical, anthropological, and archaeological facts present in the book are based in reality. Goodson took the time to research this before writing. It is not simply made up information that she tries to pass off as fact. She weaves an amazing tale around these facts, but what they are is still fact (with a twist or two, of course).
The characters are also heartwarming. You have a main character that is afraid to love because she lost her father coupled with her high school sweetheart who will still do anything for her. You can’t beat that, especially when Goodson takes the time to develop her characters into real people. I was, of course, left with the question “what is Richard’s deal?” Is he up to something or is he simply a skeazebag?
The descriptions and settings in this novel are great. They are real places that you feel like you could visit, or have visited. She uses her descriptions in a way that you can picture the setting for the novel very clearly. At the same time, she never gets longwinded or boring.
I think what really got me with this novel was the fact that the historical, anthropological, and archaeological facts present in the book are based in reality. Goodson took the time to research this before writing. It is not simply made up information that she tries to pass off as fact. She weaves an amazing tale around these facts, but what they are is still fact (with a twist or two, of course).
The characters are also heartwarming. You have a main character that is afraid to love because she lost her father coupled with her high school sweetheart who will still do anything for her. You can’t beat that, especially when Goodson takes the time to develop her characters into real people. I was, of course, left with the question “what is Richard’s deal?” Is he up to something or is he simply a skeazebag?
February 21, 2013
This book is a great page turner that I completed within a day. The story started with Lena coming back home and revisit sorrows that she kept within her for years. I like that the story was direct with sufficient details, especially on the character development without feeling draggy. Even though the ending is a cliff hanger, I am still looking forward to the next book to read about Lena's adventure!
May 23, 2013
Typically I like to provide my own mini summary of a book when doing a review, but in this case I feel the synopsis provided is more than enough so I'll just get right to the point.
The first chapter was extremely intriguing and had me on the edge of my seat wanting to know what was causing all of Lena's pain and inner turmoil over going back home. She was obviously torn up over some horrific tragedy. I have to admit I kind of expected it to be over something other than the loss of her father. Not to downplay the pain one feels from losing a parent, but it just felt like the suspense was building up to something completely different. As you continue reading you learn just how close she was to her father and how his sudden death affected her so her pain becomes more understandable, and you can see how it caused her to spiral out of control. However, it seemed as though her sister and mother weren't nearly as depressed and had made peace with his passing much sooner than Lena did.
I enjoyed the story and especially liked the historical aspect of it. I always love learning new things while reading so this was a pleasant surprise. While the writing was good and the story flowed nicely, it didn't exactly peak. It kept an even pace and tone from beginning to end, but I will say it never lost its intrigue, hence the reason I finished it in a day. Ms. Goodson does an amazing job of getting the reader inside Lena's mind. She was like an open book. Every thought and feeling was described in great detail. The imagery was excellent, I could picture her surroundings as if I was standing right beside her. So there's absolutely no doubt in my mind that she's a great writer. I took off 1 star in my review just for the lack of climax, but otherwise I have no complaints and look forward to the 2nd book in this trilogy.
The first chapter was extremely intriguing and had me on the edge of my seat wanting to know what was causing all of Lena's pain and inner turmoil over going back home. She was obviously torn up over some horrific tragedy. I have to admit I kind of expected it to be over something other than the loss of her father. Not to downplay the pain one feels from losing a parent, but it just felt like the suspense was building up to something completely different. As you continue reading you learn just how close she was to her father and how his sudden death affected her so her pain becomes more understandable, and you can see how it caused her to spiral out of control. However, it seemed as though her sister and mother weren't nearly as depressed and had made peace with his passing much sooner than Lena did.
I enjoyed the story and especially liked the historical aspect of it. I always love learning new things while reading so this was a pleasant surprise. While the writing was good and the story flowed nicely, it didn't exactly peak. It kept an even pace and tone from beginning to end, but I will say it never lost its intrigue, hence the reason I finished it in a day. Ms. Goodson does an amazing job of getting the reader inside Lena's mind. She was like an open book. Every thought and feeling was described in great detail. The imagery was excellent, I could picture her surroundings as if I was standing right beside her. So there's absolutely no doubt in my mind that she's a great writer. I took off 1 star in my review just for the lack of climax, but otherwise I have no complaints and look forward to the 2nd book in this trilogy.
February 4, 2013
I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. I was intrigued by the synopsis of the book. It looked to have great potential, but I have to admit to being somewhat disappointed with the story. Editing errors aside, I found the book to be a little slow for my taste. It felt like the entire book was all setup with very little action or climax. It seemed like part of a much longer story that got cut off before it ever went anywhere. (It is part of a trilogy so perhaps that’s actually the case.) Most of the book was spent describing the main character Lena’s emotional issues stemming from the death of her father with very little other substance. I’m usually a very fast reader, but I thought this one was hard to read. Don’t get me wrong, it has the bones of a great story; it just didn’t feel very rewarding at the end. That’s one of the reasons I love to read so much so for that to be absent was dissatisfying. I do have a copy of the second book, Rapid Water, and I plan to read it with the hopes that the story will actually go somewhere and there will be some sort of climax/resolution.
September 28, 2013
This was a good book, although I can honestly say it is not the type I usually read. I am glad I took the time to read this set. It centers on Lena and Will and the fact that they love history. Lena's father was into Indian history and was researching something he found when he died. Lena left home and didn't come back for two years, when she did she still couldn't get over the fact that her father was gone. She stayed with her mom, Mary, and her sister, Gabby. Lena soons learns that her father was working and something important and she with the help of Will try to solve the puzzle. Will and Lena have grown up together and have always been friends and that attraction is still there throughout this book. As they work to find answers Lena's life is in danger and as a result her mom gets killed in an accident. Lena now has to deal with that and her 17 yr old sister who is rebelling. This was a very good set of books as they work on solving this puzzle, but I felt at times, I could have strangled Lena, because I heard so much about how she wasn't worth loving and she never would be. Other than that point it was a good read and I am sure you will enjoy this book
August 23, 2013
I have been stuck in a paranormal rut for a bit and was glad to have the chance to break it with this book. While there are some grammatical issues, I prefer to judge a book on content.
It took a minute for me to really get into it. But, I understand the need to really feel what Lena is going through. Her anxiety about returning to a place she was trying to escape. When I found out why she was struggling with returning to the place she grew up, I could relate and the book took off for me from there.
It is an interesting historical fiction/mystery/reluctant romance. I am looking forward to the adventure as the story continues.
It took a minute for me to really get into it. But, I understand the need to really feel what Lena is going through. Her anxiety about returning to a place she was trying to escape. When I found out why she was struggling with returning to the place she grew up, I could relate and the book took off for me from there.
It is an interesting historical fiction/mystery/reluctant romance. I am looking forward to the adventure as the story continues.
January 4, 2013
This was an excellent read by a debut author! The author has developed her characters just enough in this first book in a trilogy that it leaves the reader craving more. She deals with the issues of grief and loss of a loved one, allowing her readers to truly feel the pain her main character has endured. The author has worked hard to incorporate regional history into her story and has created a setting that is ripe for the mystery and suspense that her character finds herself involved in. All in all, an intruiging page-turner that ended leaving me wanting more!
May 7, 2013
Riverbend is a story about a broken girl who had left her hometown and is finally returning. Unbeknownst to Lena, this marks the beginning of her journey on piecing her broken life back together. Of course there is a yummy love interest, Lena's best friend Will. This book built the characters and really helps the reader develop a sympathy for each of the characters. Andrea Goodson really created a story that was worth reading!
March 4, 2013
Didn't understand at first why Lena was so reluctant to return home, but as the story unfolded, it became clear. Very quick read...the closer I got to the end, the quicker it went. I immediately downloaded Rapid Water to see what happens next. Thank you, Andrea, for a very riveting story!
December 29, 2019
Way too long.
November 21, 2012
The story starts with Lena Woodruff,a girl who lives in southern Georgia, and now has to deal with some truly hard problems. She managed to escape, to hide for two years from her problems, but now Lena has to face the people she missed but at the same time couldn't bear the sight off, she has to go back home in Cleveland. She has to tell the truth to her family. But there is a silver lightening there, she get’s to see Will, her best friend who really knows her and makes her see the reality of things.
The book is great, and characters are very well written, they grow on you from the first chapter. Lena is a young girl who suffered, but she is strong, she can manage her problems, she is an independent women. I loved the character! I loved the way she faced her problems, the way she was thinking about the possibilities to resolve things.
Even though the book is short, I liked the way the writer got right in the middle of story and made me understand everything from the first page. The way she wrote it made me connect cu Lena, made me understand her. Riverbend is the debut novel of Andrea Goodson. I can barely wait to read the next novel! You should read it!
The book is great, and characters are very well written, they grow on you from the first chapter. Lena is a young girl who suffered, but she is strong, she can manage her problems, she is an independent women. I loved the character! I loved the way she faced her problems, the way she was thinking about the possibilities to resolve things.
Even though the book is short, I liked the way the writer got right in the middle of story and made me understand everything from the first page. The way she wrote it made me connect cu Lena, made me understand her. Riverbend is the debut novel of Andrea Goodson. I can barely wait to read the next novel! You should read it!
August 24, 2013
A couple of other folks have pretty much summed this up for me so given I hate to be redundant, this is probably going to be short.
The story has lots of potential, but the build up was a little slow. I love the historical aspects of the story. I'm not a huge history buff, but I do love reading about Native American history and adding in a mystery to boot just made the story more interesting for me. However, although I read this book fairly quickly, I did get a bit bogged down in Lena and her emotional issues. Don't get me wrong, I can totally empathize with her loss and how hard it must be to lose a parent. But, as someone else noted, it has been more than 5 YEARS. Although you never forget and as you reminisce, you may get a bit sad, her emotions just seemed too extreme to me. Her mother and sister, have learned to carry on with living, yet Lena ran and she still cannot move on? I understand she was very close to her father, but for his loss to cause her to not want to come home, to lie to her family, and to push away her best friend and the love of her life? I just could not relate to that at all and it did actually detract from the story, for me at least.
The story has lots of potential, but the build up was a little slow. I love the historical aspects of the story. I'm not a huge history buff, but I do love reading about Native American history and adding in a mystery to boot just made the story more interesting for me. However, although I read this book fairly quickly, I did get a bit bogged down in Lena and her emotional issues. Don't get me wrong, I can totally empathize with her loss and how hard it must be to lose a parent. But, as someone else noted, it has been more than 5 YEARS. Although you never forget and as you reminisce, you may get a bit sad, her emotions just seemed too extreme to me. Her mother and sister, have learned to carry on with living, yet Lena ran and she still cannot move on? I understand she was very close to her father, but for his loss to cause her to not want to come home, to lie to her family, and to push away her best friend and the love of her life? I just could not relate to that at all and it did actually detract from the story, for me at least.
October 10, 2013
3.5 Stars
Riverbend was week 11's read in the Sweet Sixteen Summer Splash Reading Challenge.
I initially had a hard time getting into this book. I felt like the beginning of the book had a lot of information to give the reader but it could have happened in a more exciting way. I enjoyed the historical aspects In the novel and I found them to be very informative. This book was very short and because of the slow start I had spent more time on it then I had wanted.
The characters are good. I feel like one character in particular was very predictable and I think I already know what will happen in the future and possibly what happened to Lena's father. I would like to know more about Lena and Will's budding relationship.
I will probably read the next book in the series to see if my prediction is indeed correct. Also I want to find out if Lena does find love and if she finds what she is searching for. I would recommend this book to readers who enjoy mysteries and reading about historical events.
Riverbend was week 11's read in the Sweet Sixteen Summer Splash Reading Challenge.
I initially had a hard time getting into this book. I felt like the beginning of the book had a lot of information to give the reader but it could have happened in a more exciting way. I enjoyed the historical aspects In the novel and I found them to be very informative. This book was very short and because of the slow start I had spent more time on it then I had wanted.
The characters are good. I feel like one character in particular was very predictable and I think I already know what will happen in the future and possibly what happened to Lena's father. I would like to know more about Lena and Will's budding relationship.
I will probably read the next book in the series to see if my prediction is indeed correct. Also I want to find out if Lena does find love and if she finds what she is searching for. I would recommend this book to readers who enjoy mysteries and reading about historical events.
May 5, 2013
I personally had a hard time reading this book in the beginning. I'm not a big history person and at times I felt like I was sitting back in my history class in high school. Most of the book was written with the character's thoughts. There wasn't a lot of interaction with other characters. The book was really short and the ending seemed to just cut off. I know it is the first book of a trilogy and I am hoping that the next book picks up steam. The main characters Lena and Will were very likeable and I sense a possible romance in their future. It does have potential to turn into a good story and I do want to continue the trilogy to find out what happens. There are a lot of questions left unanswered in the first book. Please don't take this as a "bad" review. I did like the story and I am looking forward to the next book!
May 26, 2013
Lena has a secret and she is afraid to tell her family. She feels like she has disappointed them so many times that telling them she flunked out of college nearly 2 years ago seems like the ultimate betrayal. She returns home to Pennsylvania to spend time with the family and reveal her secret. While she is there, she reunites with her best friend, Will. What happens next is part mystery, part re-discovery of her past. She also finds herself finishing some of the research her father started. This book is the first of a trilogy and the cliffhanger ending leaves you anxious to read the next book. This book would be appropriate for teens and adults to read. 4 out of 5! {babusbookshelf.blogspot.com}
August 16, 2013
Riverbend is the story about a broken girl who has left her hometown and is finally returning after being away for several years. Unknown to Lena, this is the beginning of her journey to piece her life back together. There is a yummy love interest in Lena's best friend from childhood - Will. This book builds characters and really helps the reader develop a caring for all of the characters. Would definitely recommend this book as a must read! Can't wait to read the next in this series
November 16, 2012
I wrote this novel, so I think it's amazing! :) Seriously though, I have received several 4 and 5 Star reviews on Amazon and Smashwords so I guess the novel is serving it's purpose, gripping, "captivating", and "articulate". This was just posted today and it looked so lonely with no stars or reviews yet, I had to give it just one!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 31, 2015
A bit short for my liking, and too much description before actually getting to the nitty gritty of the story. I am intrigued though to see where this story goes. What is the mystery her father uncovered before he died, and why is it so important. Straight on to book 2 for some answers, I hope
August 23, 2013
review coming soon
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews