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Firefly Hollow #4

Cattail Ridge

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Genre: Romance with paranormal elements.
Book Four in the Firefly Hollow series.

After a cutting betrayal by the father of her child, Emma Campbell swore off men. Convinced she’d never find the kind of love her parents had, Emma devoted her life to raising her daughter and building her business. Surrounded by a close-knit family who loved her, she ignored her loneliness. Until the day family friend Archer Gibson kissed her.

Archer had been in love with Emma since the first day he'd laid eyes on her five years ago. He'd never acted on that love, not feeling worthy of Emma's attention, but now that he'd made some changes in his life, he was ready to go after what he wanted most--a place in her life and in her heart. His biggest obstacle? Convincing Emma they both deserved a chance at happiness.

"Cattail Ridge" is the fourth book in the "Firefly Hollow" series. Set in Appalachia, the series follows the Campbell family from generation to generation.

328 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 1, 2013

77 people are currently reading
348 people want to read

About the author

T.L. Haddix

41 books229 followers
T.L. Haddix is the author of the Firefly Hollow Series, women's fiction romances set in Eastern Kentucky, as well as numerous other projects under various pen names. She's a self-described eccentric, a somewhat reclusive stick in the mud who lives in Eastern Kentucky with her husband and their cat-children. Her hobbies include gardening, cooking, reading, genealogy, casual bird-and-critter watching, and being short.

She writes books about characters who are flawed but who somehow still manage to overcome the challenges thrown in their paths and reach for happiness with their soul mates. And while she can't tell a joke in the real world to save her life, she tries to inject her characters' lives with quirky, unintentional humor that surprises readers at just the right moment.

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5 stars
271 (54%)
4 stars
154 (30%)
3 stars
58 (11%)
2 stars
12 (2%)
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2 (<1%)
Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
Profile Image for Laylaw.
323 reviews5 followers
December 29, 2013
3.5 stars- Cattail Ridge follows Emma's story as it follows a 5 year span. Emma returns home from being on her own to find herself pregnant and completely closed off. She found herself in love and then pregnant then found herself betrayed in the end. Emma has sworn off men and plans to only focus on herself and her daughter.

Archer Gibson is starting his life in a new place and trying to make a go of it after a horrific event in his life almost left him dead. Archer has more the physical wounds that need to heal as he lost more than he was prepared for. Archer finds himself being taken in by Emma's family through her uncle and he finds himself bonding with Emma and her little sister.

The book follows Archer and Emma during their 5 year span trying to sort feelings as friends, and their true feelings. Both have secrets to bare and Emma has her daughter to consider but Archer has become more than a friend to Emma's daughter and Emma finally sees what has been in front of her all along.

There is some sci-fi type blurbs throughout this book, but it doesn't impact the overall storyline of this book which is a story of love, healing, and finding what has been in front of you all along.

*this honest review was done in exchange for an Arc through Netgalley, Streetlights Graphics Publishing, and T.L. Haddix- THANK YOU
Profile Image for Clara Babinski.
46 reviews1 follower
April 30, 2015
I'm in love with this series

You can never go wrong with a book by T.L Haddix. I recently discovered her and I'm already her biggest fan! Her characters are so complex and dynamic that they leap off the page and straight to the readers hearts. The books are full of life, love, family, tragedy and loss, and healing. I will read every word she writes!
Profile Image for Katie.
400 reviews4 followers
October 15, 2015
This series is described as "paranormal romance," but I find as the series progresses, it's much heavier on the romance and barely addresses anything even remotely paranormal. However, I like most of the characters enough to want to keep reading, so in that regard, it's successful.
Profile Image for Book Gannet.
1,572 reviews18 followers
August 5, 2017
I always love catching up with the Campbell family, and since I seem to be reading the whole series out of order, it’s always lovely to fill in the gaps. And this was an important one, since Emma might be the only Campbell without any special abilities, but she’s still quite a force. Plus it introduced me to Archer and Sydney, both well worth knowing in their own right.

I love Archer. He’s a wonderful guy, someone who has been through some really rough times and lost practically everything, yet is still kind and generous and so unbelievably patient. The way he slowly pursues Emma is all kinds of adorable and I loved every scene between him and Sydney, Emma’s daughter. I also really enjoyed his friendship with Pip, the youngest Campbell sibling, and it was fun to see the seeds planted for her story, which comes next.

Emma… There were times when I liked her and others where I wanted to shake some sense into her. Yes, I know she was hurt by what happened with Sydney’s father, yes, she has understandable trust issues, but really when you compare it to what Archer went through, she’s fine. I hated the way she treated him in the second half of the book and there were plenty of times when she clearly didn’t deserve him. If it wasn’t for his amazing bond with Sydney I’d have wanted him as far away from Emma as possible.

But I also wanted Archer and Sydney to be happy, so I guess I can live with how things turned out.

Not that this book is just about them, because no Firefly Hollow book is complete without sharing the family drama. Which is probably just as well, because by halfway I was wondering what else could possibly fill the rest of the pages, since it was clear Emma and Archer were well on the way to a HEA (and then Emma irritated me). So along with the romance we also catch up with plenty of the family with some shared drama, some much needed wisdom and plenty of fun too.

I love reading about this family, so I didn’t mind widening the focus away from the main couple, but if you’re new to this series you may get a little confused about who’s who and who belongs to whom. I also frequently wish the paranormal elements were explored a little more, though this one does have a slightly sadder twist than normal. Overall, though, this was another enjoyable visit to the Campbell clan and I look forward to picking up the next piece of the puzzle soon.
Profile Image for Megan Oettinger.
317 reviews
April 6, 2022
4 Stars.

The Good:
• How Archer & Emma balance each other
• Archer
• Sydney was a real character (not pushed away in moments of storytelling)

The Bad:
• Not adding Archer's cat here
• Sydney interrupting started to become a trope
• No shifting, paranormal things.

The Book:
Oh Archer & Emma, I really did like them for each other. I really really liked Archer's personality & how kind & patient he was. Which of course was perfect for Emma's sweet but brash nature. They really seemed to level each other out, even before they had gotten together & how much Emma relied on him because he was part of the family (not yet by marriage then). I had recently read Sydney's book where Archer had gotten his cat back. I wish it had been added in here as a bit of an epilogue, I was rooting for him the whole time on something happening either between him & Emma or just in general to make him turn. I liked how Archer interacted with Sydney here, which in John's book I felt like the kids had just been pushed to the side when there was some storytelling to be done. But here, in this book it felt realistic, where Sydney was going to be around Emma a lot since she was a single parent but she rarely felt like she was just pushed off on other characters because she was inconvenient. She was an excuse to stop Archer & Emma from going too far forward which started to become a bit of a trope but it didn't bother me too much. If it was used one or two more times it might've gotten annoying. Overall, I liked this book, it was sweet.
Profile Image for Pgl58.
20 reviews
June 26, 2017
Love this series. Not into fantasy, but emphasis is on the characters and not their abilities. I can't get enough of this family. Already purchased the next book which is Pip's story! Highly recommend.
353 reviews1 follower
December 31, 2017
Curtail Episode

The Mind always leads, Sometimes it leads Right and Sometimes Wrong. It can take your Heart and lead you to do it all wrong.In the end of this Love Story a year fell .com my own Eyes. A easy, Emotional Five 🌟Read from Author T.L. Haddix!
36 reviews10 followers
October 31, 2021
Amaxing

I just can't get enough of these book. Well written. Wonderful storylines. Just amazing books that you don't want to but down. I can't wait to read the next one. I will continue to read her book until I have read them all. On to book 5 now
Profile Image for Vickie.
462 reviews1 follower
April 25, 2022
Every time

Wow! This story liked the others in this series grabbed me from the first page. Emma, Sydney and Archer .The Campbell s sure do have enough trials .will Archer be strong enough to win Emma over as he has her adorable daughter Sydney? Read on and see.
Profile Image for Sarah.
438 reviews1 follower
March 20, 2018
Amazing book!! Probably one of my favs so far. No sex but very steamy. Closer to the same age couple but with hang-ups of course.
Profile Image for Heather Morningstar.
18 reviews7 followers
December 27, 2013
**I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.**

4.5 rating

This story follows Emma, a darling and witty women, with a bad past with men that left her with one treasure, an amazing little girl, and Archer, a gentle giant with a heart of gold that suffers from a similar past, a marriage gone horribly wrong. They meet at Emma's Birthday, just hours before Sydney is born and for the next five years Archer is smitten with both Emma and the adorable Sydney, but unable to show Emma his feelings, he hides them in a dark corner of his mind. Emma slowly begins to realize her feelings for Archer, but her past holds her back from giving her whole self to Archer, which sends them over a rocky cliff leaving them unsure how to climb back up.

To start off...

The first few chapters had me a bit confused. So many characters were mentioned in just a few paragraphs that I had a difficult time knowing who was who. There were so many people, in this story that I ended up writing them down until I could figure it out without notes. However, after sorting through my confusions I was instantly absorbed.

The attraction between Emma and Archer was felt immediately, but I enjoyed that it wasn't exactly a love at first sight, instant attraction. The tension that built between them and the emotions they poured out were so raw, and intense. Everything felt so real and I was guilty of erupting into fits of giggles and even tears at some moments. The pain felt on both sides hit me hard, I felt so sorry for Archer at times that I wanted to break down with him.

Generally a story will be told from either the point of view of the main heroine, the lead male or both. This book was unique in that it brought both Archer's and Emma's thought into the story as well as their family, namely Logan and Amelia. I enjoyed this, as I could see how those around the main couple felt about what was happening with their loved ones and how they were prepared to help.

But WOW! The book started out with a lush country home kind of feeling. With the good ole boy and the sweet girl. Them BAM! insert paranormal right here > < I enjoyed how the paranormal aspect wasn't the main focus. while I am glad for this fact,I had wished for a bit more explanation on the matter (how it came about, why there are different forms, Why some have multiple forms, and why powers manifest differently in individuals.) It seemed a tad awkward at times in the story. Yet as I haven't read the first three books I could be missing some telling from those. I found it an interesting way of including paranormal into a seemingly very normal story. Not perfect and it could have been left out entirely but it did add some charm and intrigue.

He WASN'T perfect! Archer was in no way the traditional 'perfect' alpha male. The male that's cool, confident, good looking and powerful. Archer, while indeed handsome (swooned at his physical description the detail was splendid and not enough to be overwhelming), was illiterate, and at times awkward and stumbling. He didn't have all the answers and needed a shove in the right direction. Possibly the sweetest man I have ever read.

All in all I do recommend this book. Get yourself a copy as soon as possible, I promise you will not be disappointed. Well...you will be when it ends, I know I was. Now I must go get my mitts on the first three books!
Profile Image for Emmy.
1,001 reviews166 followers
March 12, 2014
**3.5**

I am loving reading this series! TL Haddix has a style and method of writing that is uniquely her own and I'm enjoying every second of it.

While this book could probably be read as a standalone, I am fascinated and impressed with the way each story in the series weaves into the others. It's almost like a huge family saga that's been separated into books that focus on different family members. And I love this family!

This book centers around Emma (Ben's twin) and second oldest of the children. I have to say that I connected with her the least so far. I actually liked Archer more than Emma, I think. Perhaps Haddix is just really good at writing men or something because I've loved them all! The men in this series are sensitive, considerate, kind and thoughtful. I just...I can't...



Sorry. I'm back. Just got a little caught up for a second.

Anyway, we were shown in Dragonfly Creek (Ben's story) that Emma gets pregnant and then suddenly moves home to Hazard. In this one we learn what happened to her and watch her story with Archer unfold. We were even briefly introduced to Archer in Dragonfly Creek when he first meets the family. We find out in this one how he became close the the family after that. Archer fell in love with Emma almost immediately - thankfully Haddix doesn't focus on this example of insta-love and we pick up five years in - during which time I like to pretend Archer actually fell in love with her :). The story follows Archer finally making a move for Emma and Emma trying to overcome some fears caused by her past.

One of the sweetest parts of this book is Archer's relationship with Emma's daughter Sydney. It's not just that Archer is good with kids, he was there her entire life and he loves her like a daughter.


CAN YOU EVEN STAND HOW CUTE THIS IS?!?!

That's how I felt about Archer and Sydney.

Anyway, while not the strongest in the series it still had some great moments and I still enjoyed every minute of it. I can't wait to read the next one with Amelia. And please, oh please, tell me Rachel gets her own book too!!!
1,404 reviews7 followers
October 26, 2015
After a cutting betrayal by the father of her child, Emma Campbell swore off men. Convinced she’d never find the kind of love her parents had, Emma devoted her life to raising her daughter and building her business. Surrounded by a close-knit family who loved her, she ignored her loneliness. Until the day family friend Archer Gibson kissed her.

Archer had been in love with Emma since the first day he'd laid eyes on her five years ago. He'd never acted on that love, not feeling worthy of Emma's attention, but now that he'd made some changes in his life, he was ready to go after what he wanted most--a place in her life and in her heart. His biggest obstacle? Convincing Emma they both deserved a chance at happiness.

"Cattail Ridge" is the fourth book in the "Firefly Hollow" series. Other titles include "Firefly Hollow," “Butterfly Lane,” "Dragonfly Creek," and "Cricket Cove." Set in Appalachia, the series follows the Campbell family from generation to generation.

Also available from this author: The Shadows Collection, a series of Romantic Suspense novels. Titles include: "Secrets in the Shadows," "Under the Moon's Shadow," "Shadows from the Grave," "Hidden in the Shadows," "In the Heart's Shadow," and "Deception in the Shadows."
Profile Image for Martha.
27 reviews
March 17, 2014
Received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

My first book by T.L. Haddix!

The character development was great! You could tell the immediate attraction between Emma and Archer, but I enjoyed that it wasn't the usual "love at first sight," instant attraction. The reader got to really feel the "ups and downs" with Emma and Archer. I'm a firm believer that a sign of a good book is one that you can get swept up in it and easily put yourself in the character's shoes. It was extremely easy to relate with all Emma was feeling.

Additionally, the paranormal aspect spiced up the book, but not in an overwhelming way. I'm a fan of paranormal romances, but sometimes they are just too out there. This walked the line perfectly.

The narration was interesting too. Unlike most books, which are told in the point of view of the heroine, hero, or both, this book was unique in that it brought both Archer's and Emma's thought into the story as well as their family, namely Logan and Amelia. It was refreshing to get a larger picture and be able to paint a larger canvas.

Overall, I enjoyed it and certainly recommend it!
Profile Image for Dana.
2,416 reviews
April 10, 2014
Like the other books in this series, this story is a well-written romance with some paranormal overshades. This book tells the story of the romance of Emma and Archer. Emma is a single mother afraid to trust any man after the father of her child treated her so badly. Archer, who barely survived being shot by his first wife, has trust issues himself, but he loves Emma and her daughter Sydney, but knows that he needs to take things slowly with them for Emma's sake. Lots of drama and romance abound in this book. If you enjoyed the other books by this author, you will enjoy this one as well. I received this book free to review from Netgalley.
Profile Image for Carla Harris.
236 reviews3 followers
July 9, 2014
Archer and Emma's story is one that a lot of single mothers can relate too.

Although it's just fiction the story in itself could be anyone of a single mother and a lonely man finding each other. Their ups and downs the goods and bands that come in life. This family just has a little extraordinaire to go with them to make the story a little more interesting. Each book gets a little can't wait for last one.
Profile Image for Dawn.
2 reviews
August 18, 2017
I love the series... But not this particular storyline. Previous books portrayed Emma has a spitfire and a hellion. Not at all the character we are introduced to in this book. We are given a sniveling, virginal character who meets a great guy who admires and respects her and her daughter yet doesn't acknowledge or consummate this attraction for 5 years ! 5 years!!!! An unrealistic and disappointing storyline in a great series.
Profile Image for Amanda.
303 reviews1 follower
September 27, 2014
4.5 - I loved this story. It was written so well and I truly felt so strongly about everything in it. I was at times rooting for Emma and so angry with her it was unbelievable. And how adorable is Archer… what an amazing father.
Profile Image for Kathy.
234 reviews
August 11, 2015
Heartbreaking, exciting, awesome. I love the Owen & Sarah , their children's drama. These books just keep getting better and better.

I can't wait for Amelia's story to unfold. It's going to be EPIC!!
Profile Image for Patricia Mayne-Schlachtun.
102 reviews2 followers
December 9, 2016
All books I read are the NOOK edition, NOT the Kindle edition as it shows on the review page.
Excellent book. Each book is so different in this series although they are about the same mountain family from Kentucky. I recommend it!
Profile Image for Melissa Smathers.
2 reviews1 follower
May 4, 2014
Can't put it down

I h gave flew through these books and am a little sad that I am getting ready to read the last one c of c the series. I do hope that Firefly Hollow will continue.
Profile Image for Coffeerequired.
194 reviews2 followers
August 10, 2015
Couldn't put it down

Strong family values. I have really enjoyed this series and will be reading more from this author. Already bought the next and last book in this series.
Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews