River's Bend

River's Bend #1

by JoAnn Ross

Beloved for contemporary romance novels that "deliver laughter, tears, and so much joy," (RT Book Reviews), JoAnn Ross expands her wildly popular New York Times bestselling Shelter Bay series to southern Oregon ranching country, home to three sexy Murphy brothers and the strong, passionate women who fall in love with them. Welcome to River's Bend — Oregon's most western town where spurs have a job to do and cowboy hats aren’t a fashion accessory.Rachel Hathaway was living a fairy tale when she learned the hard way that fairy tales never warn you that the prince could die of a perforated ulcer, the creditors could end up with the castle, and it could be back to the ashes for Cinderella. With her storybook marriage shattered, Rachel vows to never, ever, risk her heart again. No stranger to personal tragedy, Sheriff Cooper Murphy knows about starting over. When Rachel arrives in River's Bend to begin a new life with her young son, he realizes that the love-shy single mother is just the woman he's been waiting for. Although he wants to throw her over his shoulder and carry her off into the western sunset, Cooper knows that he'll have to be patient, move slow, if he wants to convince Rachel to believe in their own Happily Ever.

Genres: Romance, Contemporary Romance, Contemporary, Fiction, Ebooks

340 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 1, 1988

About the author

New York Times bestselling author JoAnn Ross has written over a hundred novels for a bunch of publishers. Two of her titles have been excerpted in Cosmo and her books have also been published by the Doubleday, Rhapsody, Literary Guild, and Mystery Guild book clubs.

A member of the Romance Writers of America's Honor Roll of best-selling authors, she's won several awards, including Romantic Times's Career Achievement Awards in both category and contemporary single title.

Currently writing a new Honeymoon Harbor series for HQN set on the Washington peninsula, that will launch in April, 2018, JoAnn lives with her husband (her high school sweetheart, who proposed at the sea wall where her Shelter Bay books are set), in the Pacific Northwest.

Reviews

[Chris Brandstatter]

Oh How happy to have another JoAnn Ross book!!! Great start to a wonderful new series!! I enjoyed the entire book - could not put it down!

[Elizabeth Carter]

I loved it! I can't wait to find out more about Austin. This is the start of something wonderful!

[Virginia Lloyd]

Loving Again

Cooper and Rachel had both lost their first loves to tragedies beyond their control. Rachel came looking for a new beginning in the form of a sight unseen cafe she planned to turn into a restaurant. Finding it damaged in a fire almost had her headed elsewhere. Sheriff Cooper was doing what came naturally, taking care of his town Surprisingly, their first glance bonded the two in a way they both denied. Will Rachel see her dream turn into reality? Will Cooper and Rachel find d love again?

[Sharon]

Start of a new seried

I really enjoyed the start of this series. Lovely romance with good secondary characters. Looking forward to reading more. Onto the next.

[Sharon]

Cute and a bit saccharine

Seems that as Ross gets old, her books get less racy and more movie of the week. Still a good story teller.

[J]

This is a sweet romance through and through. I loved the characters and the town.

[Cheryl]

I liked the book but it was just a little to "sweet" for me. And I just didn't feel the chemistry between Cooper and Rachel.

[Cruth]

Author: JoAnn Ross
First published: 1988 (revised 2016)
Length: 3944 kindle locations
Setting: Contemporary. River’s Bend.
Sex: Explicit. At the end.
Hero: Sheriff.
Heroine: Recent widow, now going to start own restaurant.
Includesexcerpt from Long Road Home

Some links to Shelter Bay series, e.g. they eat at Madelaine’s restaurant.

It was okay. Not my favourite. JoAnn Ross has a stab at a western style romance.

Enjoyable. 2.5 stars rounded up.

River’s Bend:
Book 1 River’s Bend - Rachel Hathaway and Cooper Murphy
Book 2 Long Road Home - Sawyer Murphy and Austin Merrill

Shelter Bay:
Book 1 The Homecoming - Sax Douchett and Kara Conway
Book 2 One Summer - Gabriel St. James and Charity Tiernan
Book 3 On Lavender Lane - Lucas Chaffee and Madeline Durand
Book 4 Moonshell Beach - J.T. Douchett and Mary Joyce
Book 5 Sea Glass Winter - Dillon Slater and Claire Templeton
Book 6 Castaway Cove - Mac Culhane and Annie Shepherd
Book 7 Christmas in Shelter Bay - Cole Douchett and Kelli Carpenter
Book 8 You Again - Meghann Quinn and Adam Wayne
Book 9 Beyond the Sea - Conn Brennan and Sedona Sullivan
Book 10 Sunset Point - Tess Lombardi and Nate Breslin

References:
Author's website: http://www.joannross.com
Author on w’pedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JoAnn_Ross

(ISBN …)

-CR-

[Kelly]

Good read

The book's characters were people you can relate to. The experiences seemed realistic, second chances, and a happy ending is good

[Donna]

Typos and grammatical errors galore! I would have expected some of that in an e-book (especially the free ones), but to have this many errors in a printed book?! The editor or proof-reader really skimmed over their job with this book.
I liked the storyline and idea for this book, but overall it was a bit too sickly sweet and everything tied so nicely into a bow it took a star away from my review (the typos took away quite a bit, since it distracted me from enjoying the story).
This was my first read by this author and unfortunately, probably my last. If there weren't so many mistakes that were printed I might have given another story of hers a try.
Ms. Ross, you need to get a competent editor and/or proof-reader!

[Janeiowa]

Widow Rachel Hathaway and her son, Scott, leave CT for River's Bend, OR, and a restaurant she bought via an ad. Her husband, an ad exec, died and left her heavily in debt. She sold her house, furniture, apt in the city, his business to pay the creditors. Sheriff Cooper Murphy, a widower, falls for her immediately.


Some errors in editing...

.Portland PB for what I think was meant to be Portland PD (police dept), "testing" when I think "texting" was meant, and the use of the restaurant name for the town's name. Not huge, but things like that distract from the story for me.

[Sherrill Cannon]

I loved this story from the opening pages. What could be more wonderful than learning about how Rachel and Cooper met, especially when the story includes 9-year old Scott, Rachel’s son? (Stories with children or animals become instant favorites!) The author has such a gift of writing realistic dialogue, combined with artistic descriptions and imaginative plots… and her characters come to life. In this book, the entire town comes to life – and I have come to appreciate its citizens and families, and would love to be able to visit!!

[Deb]

No-one does Romantic Fiction like JoAnn Ross!! ... She is one of my all time favorite Author's & I have read almost all of her books over the last 8 years since finding her :) ... Whether old or new works, each one continues to exceed my expectations :)... You don't want to miss out on this 5 Star must read that will give you hours of reading enjoyment :) ... PS- I actually read this back in April & can't believe I forgot to rate it until now :(

[Mel Auslan Osborne]

This book when I read the blurb at the back made me groan. I thought this book is going to be boring. I am pleased to say this book was a great quick read. There were a couple of things I didn't expect to happen. This book was well written and the characters were well developed.

I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS BOOK!

[Teneka Parker]

Wow ! Great book. I couldn't put it down. JoAnn Ross is an excellent author and always keeps me interested in the story. Cant wait to see what's next... After reading River's Bend I've searched for other books as well. Thank you for allowing me to read this wonderfully written book. I highly recommend to all readers...

[Merlene Neville]

River's Bend was in JoAnn Ross's usual style a heartwarming story that ended well. I have not missed many of her books over the years, and returning to River's Bend or Sunset Point is like a reunion with old friends.
Rachel Hathaway makes the right choice when she moves to River's Bend to start over.

[Linda]

I received this book free through Goodreads First Reads. Enjoyable read. Looking forward to reading the rest of the Shelter Bay Series and finding out more about the other Murphy Brothers and the people in the town of River's Bend.

[Patricia Atkinson]

I loved the story of the widow and her son who move to a small town to start over and the local sherriff falls for her as she tries to get her new business and life together.well worth reading.first book I read of joann ross but definally not the last.

[Audrey Bramhall]

A fair story

I really like JoAnn Ross stories but I found this story was all fluff. She included some of the characters and scenery from her Shelter Bay series and that added, but not enough.

[Donna]

This is the first Joann Ross book I have read and I really enjoyed it. Her story was fresh, believable, and enjoyable. The story pulled me in and I quickly turned the pages to find more about their adventure. I will definitely pick up more of her books.

[Joyce Hunt]

sweet story

[Virginia Brien]

Just a simple romance, no tension, not much emotional conflict, just two people meet and fall in love. Really likeable characters.

[Bonnie]

Great new spin-off series from the Shelter Bay books. Minor character are introduced, which will turn into future books. Sweet romance, by a great author.

[Beth]

Loved it.

[Rhonda]

Loved it

I love all JoAnn Ross's books. I was excited to see this new series. Can't wait to read more about the Murphy's.

[Yvonne Alexander]

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Once again this author manages to relate lifes struggles and weaves them into a sweet and interesting story. A must read for any fans of JoAnn Ross

[Kate]

Sweet, mellow romance. No extreme drama or scenes. Excellent beach read.

[Maryellen]

Predictably boring ..

[Kristen]

Great book in a spin-off from Shelter Bay. Great story and strong characters. Loveed it!

[Barbara]

Another great book by JoAnn Ross