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The Songbirds of Darling Bay #1
The Darling Songbirds
From international bestseller Rachael Herron, comes a book too delightful to put down:
The saloon had always looked old-fashioned, but now it resembled a set in a ghost town. The problem was that Adele wasn't in an old western, or a ghost town. Darling Bay was the sleepy gold-rush town her great-grandfather had given his name to.
The town she'd left for good a long time ago.
The building is a ruin, the business is broke and customers are scarce. Add into the mix Nate Houston - the handsome, guitar-playing bartender who had always believed he would be the next owner - and Adele has one potent cocktail on her hands.
Can a rundown saloon in a sleepy town finally offer Adele a way into love?
The saloon had always looked old-fashioned, but now it resembled a set in a ghost town. The problem was that Adele wasn't in an old western, or a ghost town. Darling Bay was the sleepy gold-rush town her great-grandfather had given his name to.
The town she'd left for good a long time ago.
The building is a ruin, the business is broke and customers are scarce. Add into the mix Nate Houston - the handsome, guitar-playing bartender who had always believed he would be the next owner - and Adele has one potent cocktail on her hands.
Can a rundown saloon in a sleepy town finally offer Adele a way into love?
298 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 1, 2016
1593 people are currently reading
1174 people want to read
About the author
Rachael Herron
55 books906 followersUnofficial bio: Rachael eats way too many Cadbury Creme eggs, no matter time of year it is. She lives with a menagerie, and battles dog hair on a full-time basis. She's a Knitter with a capital-K, and she reads WAY more than she'd ever even think about exercising.
Official bio: Rachael Herron (RH Herron) is the internationally bestselling author of more than two dozen books, including thriller, mainstream fiction, feminist romance, memoir, and nonfiction about writing. She received her MFA in writing from Mills College, Oakland, and she teaches writing extension workshops at both UC Berkeley and Stanford. She is a proud member of the NaNoWriMo Writer’s Board. She’s a New Zealand citizen as well as an American.
Find her at Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Rachael.Herr...
Twitter: http://twitter.com/rachaelherron
Instagram: http://instagram.com/rachaelherron
Blog: http://rachaelherron.com/blog
Official bio: Rachael Herron (RH Herron) is the internationally bestselling author of more than two dozen books, including thriller, mainstream fiction, feminist romance, memoir, and nonfiction about writing. She received her MFA in writing from Mills College, Oakland, and she teaches writing extension workshops at both UC Berkeley and Stanford. She is a proud member of the NaNoWriMo Writer’s Board. She’s a New Zealand citizen as well as an American.
Find her at Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Rachael.Herr...
Twitter: http://twitter.com/rachaelherron
Instagram: http://instagram.com/rachaelherron
Blog: http://rachaelherron.com/blog
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 137 reviews
January 15, 2026
3.5 stars.
This was a sweet country romance and I like both main characters. RTC.
This was a sweet country romance and I like both main characters. RTC.
March 29, 2017
Really just could not get behind this couple at all. The female lead was so completely unlikable - there was just no redemption for her selfish behavior both in the past and in the time of the current story. I kept wishing he'd get smart and leave town.
April 2, 2017
Sweet and pretty standard fare for a little family drama, some country music, an old saloon left to three sisters by their uncle who they haven't seen in 11 years. Once they were a popular group - family troubles caused a parting of ways between the sisters. Throw in a hunky bartender who has a bit of an opinion regarding the way the girls left, never to return, leaving their elderly uncle alone as he aged with no other family around to care for him.
Well written and an easy read. A nice change of pace from the dark and gritty road I've been on for awhile now.
Well written and an easy read. A nice change of pace from the dark and gritty road I've been on for awhile now.
January 9, 2018
I didn't love it. It was okay as an audiobook. I don't know if I would have finished reading if I had to actually read it myself.
October 16, 2017
DNF
I'm sorry, but as a natural born Texan, with most of my relatives living in, or being from Texas or Oklahoma, I just can't get behind a trio of girls who grew up four hours north of San Francisco saying 'Howdy' and 'ya'll'.
I'm sorry, but as a natural born Texan, with most of my relatives living in, or being from Texas or Oklahoma, I just can't get behind a trio of girls who grew up four hours north of San Francisco saying 'Howdy' and 'ya'll'.
March 29, 2017
This poignant, funny story reveals the complex relationships between sisters. As teenagers they sang in harmony as the Darling Songbirds, reaching for their shared musical career. When the group broke up, the sisters relationships fell apart as well. When Adele returns to their hometown of Darling Bay, her longing for her lost family is palpable. She hopes to rebuild the past through the inheritance of Uncle Hugh's saloon, to lure her sisters to return. Complications mount when Adele learns that charming bartender Nate Houston believes he is entitled to the saloon.
Rachel Herron weaves a beautiful story with depth and heart in The Darling Songbirds.
Rachel Herron weaves a beautiful story with depth and heart in The Darling Songbirds.
April 1, 2017
A lovely story about finding 'home', and that sometimes the reasons for pursuing a dream may not have been the right ones to keep the dream alive.
March 5, 2020
A sweet country music story. There wasn’t much unexpected in this story. But nothing I didn’t like. Overall good story.
December 10, 2021
I felt like slapping Adele a few times but finished story despite her as really like the secondary characters in it.
November 16, 2021
3,5 csillag, mert nagyon lassú volt a cselekmény számomra.
December 3, 2017
Despite the good storytelling...
and the very real feel to the way plot played out, I found it hard to get past my dislike of Adele, the main character. She's not a horrible person, but she did two horrible things eleven years prior to the events of the book, and by the last page, she hasn't truly learned how much she hurt the pebelieveshe loves the most. (Even in the book's present day, she continues to unwittingly hurt people because she's stuck so deep in her own head, she can't see that others feel differently than she does. She manages miss all of the brightly flashing hints of it and dismisses at least one instance when she's told outright.) Though she seems on track to gaining that understanding, I didn't really feel that she had earned an almost-happy ending.
Nate is far more likeable, but comes with his own frustrating traits. I didn't understand why he fell for Adele. I got why he might have THOUGHT he loved her -- he's got a dysfunctional caretaker tendency that broke my heart to read -- but I would guess that in real life, they either wouldn't last or he'd be destroyed by her benign selfishness. (I call it benign because she actually believed that she was HELPING every person she hurt. Only, her ideas of what was best for other people left a string of broken people in her wake.)
and the very real feel to the way plot played out, I found it hard to get past my dislike of Adele, the main character. She's not a horrible person, but she did two horrible things eleven years prior to the events of the book, and by the last page, she hasn't truly learned how much she hurt the pebelieveshe loves the most. (Even in the book's present day, she continues to unwittingly hurt people because she's stuck so deep in her own head, she can't see that others feel differently than she does. She manages miss all of the brightly flashing hints of it and dismisses at least one instance when she's told outright.) Though she seems on track to gaining that understanding, I didn't really feel that she had earned an almost-happy ending.
Nate is far more likeable, but comes with his own frustrating traits. I didn't understand why he fell for Adele. I got why he might have THOUGHT he loved her -- he's got a dysfunctional caretaker tendency that broke my heart to read -- but I would guess that in real life, they either wouldn't last or he'd be destroyed by her benign selfishness. (I call it benign because she actually believed that she was HELPING every person she hurt. Only, her ideas of what was best for other people left a string of broken people in her wake.)
February 27, 2016
Rachael is a dear friend of mine and a fantastic writer. This is one of her lighter books--for romance lovers. She also writes weightier tomes such as Splinters of Light and Pack Up the Moon, books I found devastatingly good. So I'm giving this one 4 stars versus those 5 star masterpieces. However if you are a romance lover and that's what you want to hear about, you should consider this a 5-star recommendation.
April 17, 2022
This was easy to read
December 31, 2019
Oh, no, not this one too
Another cute story ruined by a sex how-to manual - pages of it - & speaking as a retired nurse, a very, VERY unrealistic sex manual, one that zmakes the Kama Sutra look easy.
The story starts out simply enough. A family where the husband & wife were also a singing act (her) & a manager (him). Then the wife gets pregnant & not only does she have what is medically known as hyoeremesis gravidarum (colloquially known as barfing your guts up almost nonstop throughout a pregnancy), which wreaks havoc with throats for singers, & is not at all appetizing to bar patrons should the nausea & barfing recur mid-act. No, she also ends up having to go on bedrest - all just as her career was picking up momentum. The momentum was never regained, which made the unresolved postpaetum depression a lot worse. Two more girls were born, each one at 2 year intervals, while the entire family moved around trying to help the mother make the big time in country music. But they always seemed to end up back in their father's home town for the school year, & their uncle did all he could to help their father let the girls be girls. Eventually, since the oldest one, the protagonist, Adele, hung around her mom more while her sisters were daddy's girls, she picked up a lot about music, songwriting, fixing songs to make them more likely to sell, & she became their general fixer-upper - from bike tires to sink clogs to leaky faucets to swing installations, & it only got nore pronounced with the advent of so many how-to videos on YouTube. The niddle girl was the one with the best voice, & the youngest was just as happy building sets as performing. They lost their mom to cancer when the eldest was 16. The book hints that in her memory, they started performing professionally rather than just at family get togethers or school functions. They becane famous & were finally touring on their own, not as warm ups for more famous groups or solo artists. Their dad had managed everything...then, the night of the first concert, he had dropped dead. The eldest felt that they should perform because their dad would have wanted that since he had arranged the tour. The others disagreed, because they were all grieving & in shock, but they finally capitulated...but the younger 2 couldn't go theough with it. The group broke up 11 years befire the events in the book. Their uncle, who owned the saloon, the hotel, a restaurant, & a to-go coffee stand, had waited for then to come home, but no one knew where Adele's 2 sisters were, & she had been off grid when her uncle died, & by the time she had gotten her messages, her uncle had been buried. His bartender wanted to buy the saloon, the only thing still left open as fire & storms had destroyed the hotel, & the coffee bar & the diner had too many things break & not enough income for repairs.
Nate, the bartender, grew up taking care of his alcoholic mother. He enjoys helping people, & despite a degree in social work, spends his time doing that through the saloon & his local contacts, such as will have him considering who his mom was. He has a deep connection to the place. What even Adele doesn't realize is, so does she. She goes from wanting to sell & get out of there to resume her career as a songwriter & as someone who polishes the songs others write. It tales her a while to realize she is home now. It also takes her & Nate forever to realize they're in love.
And I think the sex thing just complicates this. It is far too easy to confuse love & lust, or to feel they can't coexist, when you don't fall into the sack with each other. It's even harder to figure out when you cave to the lust before you have sorted out all your feelings. It ia patently untrue that sex clarifies compatibility & love when people are sorting out an abundance of new feelings at the same time. But of course, there is generalky no greater example of fantasy novels than an oversexed romance novel that puts physiologically impossible expectations on the male of the species, written out the same, almost word for word, in every romance novel I pick up where it seems like there is no warning that the novel contains very explicit (& explicitly impossible) sex scenes.
BTW, I read a book of 3 short stories based in the same locale, in which was included a link to this one. While sex before marriage was a theme in all 3 of the short stories in the book, not one of those authors seemed to feel it necessary to detail the sex act. They left it to our imaginations, noting in passing that their sex life was great, or the best of multiple encounters, bypassing the fantasy impossible sex. I falsely believed this book would be similar to the 3 short stories, but I was mistaken. Perhaps they were short only because those scenes were eliminated? Sex is not difficult to figure out. If it were, the idiots couldn't figure it out, they wouldn't be as likely to procreate, & I'd venture to say at least half of the accidents on the road wouldn't happen.
Another cute story ruined by a sex how-to manual - pages of it - & speaking as a retired nurse, a very, VERY unrealistic sex manual, one that zmakes the Kama Sutra look easy.
The story starts out simply enough. A family where the husband & wife were also a singing act (her) & a manager (him). Then the wife gets pregnant & not only does she have what is medically known as hyoeremesis gravidarum (colloquially known as barfing your guts up almost nonstop throughout a pregnancy), which wreaks havoc with throats for singers, & is not at all appetizing to bar patrons should the nausea & barfing recur mid-act. No, she also ends up having to go on bedrest - all just as her career was picking up momentum. The momentum was never regained, which made the unresolved postpaetum depression a lot worse. Two more girls were born, each one at 2 year intervals, while the entire family moved around trying to help the mother make the big time in country music. But they always seemed to end up back in their father's home town for the school year, & their uncle did all he could to help their father let the girls be girls. Eventually, since the oldest one, the protagonist, Adele, hung around her mom more while her sisters were daddy's girls, she picked up a lot about music, songwriting, fixing songs to make them more likely to sell, & she became their general fixer-upper - from bike tires to sink clogs to leaky faucets to swing installations, & it only got nore pronounced with the advent of so many how-to videos on YouTube. The niddle girl was the one with the best voice, & the youngest was just as happy building sets as performing. They lost their mom to cancer when the eldest was 16. The book hints that in her memory, they started performing professionally rather than just at family get togethers or school functions. They becane famous & were finally touring on their own, not as warm ups for more famous groups or solo artists. Their dad had managed everything...then, the night of the first concert, he had dropped dead. The eldest felt that they should perform because their dad would have wanted that since he had arranged the tour. The others disagreed, because they were all grieving & in shock, but they finally capitulated...but the younger 2 couldn't go theough with it. The group broke up 11 years befire the events in the book. Their uncle, who owned the saloon, the hotel, a restaurant, & a to-go coffee stand, had waited for then to come home, but no one knew where Adele's 2 sisters were, & she had been off grid when her uncle died, & by the time she had gotten her messages, her uncle had been buried. His bartender wanted to buy the saloon, the only thing still left open as fire & storms had destroyed the hotel, & the coffee bar & the diner had too many things break & not enough income for repairs.
Nate, the bartender, grew up taking care of his alcoholic mother. He enjoys helping people, & despite a degree in social work, spends his time doing that through the saloon & his local contacts, such as will have him considering who his mom was. He has a deep connection to the place. What even Adele doesn't realize is, so does she. She goes from wanting to sell & get out of there to resume her career as a songwriter & as someone who polishes the songs others write. It tales her a while to realize she is home now. It also takes her & Nate forever to realize they're in love.
And I think the sex thing just complicates this. It is far too easy to confuse love & lust, or to feel they can't coexist, when you don't fall into the sack with each other. It's even harder to figure out when you cave to the lust before you have sorted out all your feelings. It ia patently untrue that sex clarifies compatibility & love when people are sorting out an abundance of new feelings at the same time. But of course, there is generalky no greater example of fantasy novels than an oversexed romance novel that puts physiologically impossible expectations on the male of the species, written out the same, almost word for word, in every romance novel I pick up where it seems like there is no warning that the novel contains very explicit (& explicitly impossible) sex scenes.
BTW, I read a book of 3 short stories based in the same locale, in which was included a link to this one. While sex before marriage was a theme in all 3 of the short stories in the book, not one of those authors seemed to feel it necessary to detail the sex act. They left it to our imaginations, noting in passing that their sex life was great, or the best of multiple encounters, bypassing the fantasy impossible sex. I falsely believed this book would be similar to the 3 short stories, but I was mistaken. Perhaps they were short only because those scenes were eliminated? Sex is not difficult to figure out. If it were, the idiots couldn't figure it out, they wouldn't be as likely to procreate, & I'd venture to say at least half of the accidents on the road wouldn't happen.
October 14, 2017
(I received a free copy of this book from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.)
Adele, Molly and Lana are the Darling Songbirds, the country-singing sisters who gained fame in their teens for their smart lyrics and sweet harmonies. But when their father died suddenly on the eve of their big tour, the group acrimoniously broke up. Now, eleven years on, Adele arrives back in Darling Bay, the sleepy gold-rush town founded by her great-grandfather. For Uncle Hugh has bequeathed to the sisters his hotel and bar the Golden Spike. Except this is not the welcoming saloon Adele remembers from her childhood. The building is a ruin, the business is broke and customers are scarce. Add into the mix Nate Houston - the handsome, guitar-playing barman who had always believed he would be the next owner - and Adele has one potent cocktail on her hands. She needs Molly and Lana now more than ever - but the heartache still runs deep. Can a rundown saloon in a sleepy town finally offer the sisters a way back home?
I would have written this off as another feel-good women's fiction novel pretty early on if it hadn't have been for one thing - the characters. Before I get to that though, I just want to tick off the other things that this book does well - backstory, light romance, atmosphere...but really only enough to make this a 3 star book at best...
And then there are the three sisters. Adele and Nate take what could have been a run-of-the-mill romance novel and turn it into something quite a bit more. How? Well, you see, there's the rub - there is nothing, for me, that stands out and says "This is why this book is so good!" It is a feeling, I guess, that I had when reading the book that the author really "got" these characters and knew how they would interact with the town around them - and each other. I totally believed these two and really enjoyed the journey they went through.
A more than average romance novel, written well with great characters!
Paul
ARH
Adele, Molly and Lana are the Darling Songbirds, the country-singing sisters who gained fame in their teens for their smart lyrics and sweet harmonies. But when their father died suddenly on the eve of their big tour, the group acrimoniously broke up. Now, eleven years on, Adele arrives back in Darling Bay, the sleepy gold-rush town founded by her great-grandfather. For Uncle Hugh has bequeathed to the sisters his hotel and bar the Golden Spike. Except this is not the welcoming saloon Adele remembers from her childhood. The building is a ruin, the business is broke and customers are scarce. Add into the mix Nate Houston - the handsome, guitar-playing barman who had always believed he would be the next owner - and Adele has one potent cocktail on her hands. She needs Molly and Lana now more than ever - but the heartache still runs deep. Can a rundown saloon in a sleepy town finally offer the sisters a way back home?
I would have written this off as another feel-good women's fiction novel pretty early on if it hadn't have been for one thing - the characters. Before I get to that though, I just want to tick off the other things that this book does well - backstory, light romance, atmosphere...but really only enough to make this a 3 star book at best...
And then there are the three sisters. Adele and Nate take what could have been a run-of-the-mill romance novel and turn it into something quite a bit more. How? Well, you see, there's the rub - there is nothing, for me, that stands out and says "This is why this book is so good!" It is a feeling, I guess, that I had when reading the book that the author really "got" these characters and knew how they would interact with the town around them - and each other. I totally believed these two and really enjoyed the journey they went through.
A more than average romance novel, written well with great characters!
Paul
ARH
October 10, 2023
The Darling Songbirds by Rachael Herron is the first book in the Songbirds of Darling Bay series. Adele Darling comes back to Darling Bay after the death of her uncle to the sleepy gold-rush town that her great-grandfather founded. Her uncle had run the saloon, hotel and diner in the small town and Adele was looking forward to either taking over the business or selling. However, when she comes back, she finds that the business is in ruin, broken and the customers are rare. She wasn’t expecting the handsome, guitar-playing bartender. Nate Houston has always believed he would be the next owner but Adele puts a winkle in this plan. Can their affection for the rundown saloon led to a greater love?
The Darling Songbirds is a sweet, spicy romance set in a small town in Northern California. I thoroughly enjoyed Adele and Nate as individuals and as a couple. Both are dealing with deep hurts from the past and seeking forgiveness and a brighter future. While Adele was hard to like at times as she focused on her wants, needs and desires without thought to how it would affect those around her. However, by the end, I felt she had some great personal growth. I also enjoyed the supporting characters, especially Dixie, the other bartender, and Molly, Adele’s sister. Overall, I thoroughly enjoy the story and I look forward to the rest of the series. If you enjoy sweet, spicy romance, I recommend The Darling Songbirds.
The Darling Songbirds is paperback, eBook and audiobook
The Darling Songbirds is a sweet, spicy romance set in a small town in Northern California. I thoroughly enjoyed Adele and Nate as individuals and as a couple. Both are dealing with deep hurts from the past and seeking forgiveness and a brighter future. While Adele was hard to like at times as she focused on her wants, needs and desires without thought to how it would affect those around her. However, by the end, I felt she had some great personal growth. I also enjoyed the supporting characters, especially Dixie, the other bartender, and Molly, Adele’s sister. Overall, I thoroughly enjoy the story and I look forward to the rest of the series. If you enjoy sweet, spicy romance, I recommend The Darling Songbirds.
The Darling Songbirds is paperback, eBook and audiobook
March 10, 2020
Oh I wanted to like this so much. I like the concept, so let's start there. A trio of singing sisters whose last name is "Darling" become country music stars and tour all over. They are big big names in the country music scene. Even the "Dixie Chicks" are mentioned but not favorably. I guess like that.
So there is disaster and trauma and the group splits. The oldest sister, probably the most headstrong, heads "home" to where most of her childhood was spent, at a bar. Yes, at a bar. Her beloved uncle had died 2 weeks prior and she didn't know, wasn't around, whatever, and had no clue because for eleven years she hasn't been around.
The bar is a dump. Like it all tried to put too much in one place...it's a hotel, restaurant, saloon, etc etc. And it's disgusting. I guess each element of the place will be taken over by a subsequent sister as the series continues but I'm not sure how invested I am.
Adele was okay, but shouting country singer names in place of swearing was ridiculous. It was cute the first time she yelled "Reba!"...and now it's not cute.
Nate was awful. He kept being surly for NO reason, and the grown-up concept of talking and communicating with another adult who was obviously clueless and not hostile...lost on him. He had no reason to dislike Adele, really, but he wanted to find a reason, so he was rude to her. Also, of COURSE he's hot and of COURSE he's a musician. Of COURSE the country music star has ideas for him taking his band/act further, which is kind of condescending. I wish he'd been just a bartender and maybe a fisherman or something. Musician was overkill.
The reviews keep talking about the explicit sex. I don't even remember it, and I finished reading this 9 days ago. That should tell you something. Maybe that I'm old or none of it was memorable. I'm wondering what I missed because I didn't catch that things were impossible (as other reviews keep protesting.)
In all, not a terrible book. I may continue with the next one because I'm kind of interested in the other sisters especially the one who refuses to talk to Adele.
So there is disaster and trauma and the group splits. The oldest sister, probably the most headstrong, heads "home" to where most of her childhood was spent, at a bar. Yes, at a bar. Her beloved uncle had died 2 weeks prior and she didn't know, wasn't around, whatever, and had no clue because for eleven years she hasn't been around.
The bar is a dump. Like it all tried to put too much in one place...it's a hotel, restaurant, saloon, etc etc. And it's disgusting. I guess each element of the place will be taken over by a subsequent sister as the series continues but I'm not sure how invested I am.
Adele was okay, but shouting country singer names in place of swearing was ridiculous. It was cute the first time she yelled "Reba!"...and now it's not cute.
Nate was awful. He kept being surly for NO reason, and the grown-up concept of talking and communicating with another adult who was obviously clueless and not hostile...lost on him. He had no reason to dislike Adele, really, but he wanted to find a reason, so he was rude to her. Also, of COURSE he's hot and of COURSE he's a musician. Of COURSE the country music star has ideas for him taking his band/act further, which is kind of condescending. I wish he'd been just a bartender and maybe a fisherman or something. Musician was overkill.
The reviews keep talking about the explicit sex. I don't even remember it, and I finished reading this 9 days ago. That should tell you something. Maybe that I'm old or none of it was memorable. I'm wondering what I missed because I didn't catch that things were impossible (as other reviews keep protesting.)
In all, not a terrible book. I may continue with the next one because I'm kind of interested in the other sisters especially the one who refuses to talk to Adele.
December 12, 2017
I have super mixed feelings about this book. I felt like the relationship between H and h was poorly developed in the first part of the book which made their relationship in the second part less meaningful. However, I found the h to be far more enjoyable in the first half of the book than in the second half; she came across and too wishy-washy. The H however, was always a little confusing. His plan is never really clear and at one point in time they say some pretty mean crap to each other and while she finds a way to make it up to him, I feel like he never makes any efforts at an apology. It's kinda just like: sex, fight, awkward avoidance, more sex, another fight where they both say mean things, she apologizes, they claim they've always loved each other (I disagree but whatever), and then it's over.
I mean, overall it was mostly enjoyable. Adele had her moments and when Nate didn't try his hand at scheming, I actually liked him a lot. I mean, I didn't quite swoon but he had the makings of a good love interest.
I mean, overall it was mostly enjoyable. Adele had her moments and when Nate didn't try his hand at scheming, I actually liked him a lot. I mean, I didn't quite swoon but he had the makings of a good love interest.
February 5, 2018
This is an entertaining story set in a Northern California coastal town – Darling Bay. Herron does a good job of bringing the setting to life. He town reminded me of Bodega Bay or maybe Jenner. The characters were well developed, quirky and interesting. Adele, a country singer- songwriter, is at loose ends, estranged from her two sisters, she comes to Darling Bay to settle the estate of her recently deceased uncle. The estate is a dilapidated, rustic saloon, café and hotel. Adele has a lot more problems than the hunky bartender who is determined to buy the property and will do almost anything to make that happen. Although this is the first book I n a series, it does stand alone. I can see many love stories ahead for the residents of Darling Bay. A fun read. (There are a couple of pretty graphic sex scenes.)
August 17, 2018
The Darling Songbirds by Rachael Herron
Have read other works by this author and have enjoyed them.
This one is about Adele and she's returned to Darling Bay in Oregon where the last of older generation of the family has died, Uncle Hugh.
He ran his own saloon, cafe and hotel but it's not how she finds the place.
Story also follow Nate who has been one of the most helpful throughout Hugh's life and working at the bar.
They do get along with one another-he's a fixer and she wants to do things herself. Lots of heated sex scenes.
Like the locals and what they stand for, scenery, different ideas of how to make it in the saloon world.
Like how this story ends. Author bio at the end, links to connect along with other works by the author.
Excerpt from the next book in the series is included.
Have read other works by this author and have enjoyed them.
This one is about Adele and she's returned to Darling Bay in Oregon where the last of older generation of the family has died, Uncle Hugh.
He ran his own saloon, cafe and hotel but it's not how she finds the place.
Story also follow Nate who has been one of the most helpful throughout Hugh's life and working at the bar.
They do get along with one another-he's a fixer and she wants to do things herself. Lots of heated sex scenes.
Like the locals and what they stand for, scenery, different ideas of how to make it in the saloon world.
Like how this story ends. Author bio at the end, links to connect along with other works by the author.
Excerpt from the next book in the series is included.
June 23, 2019
I tried. This book is over-the-top "we're so country", but I can handle that at times. I almost stopped reading when one of the farmers in the book wore a red John Deere hat. Look, you don't have to know a lot about farm implements, but if you are going to make a book (apparently the start of a series) about country music you have to know that John Deere's brand is green. There is a SONG called John Deere Green. It's a thing. A very basic thing.
To be fair to the author, I looked up red hats to see if JD makes them. Maybe I was wrong! I didn't find any.
I kept reading and the characters didn't develop into anyone I'd want to meet. The main character also has a cutesy/obnoxious habit of saying a female country singer's name instead of swearing. I'm getting annoyed just typing that.
I quit halfway through.
To be fair to the author, I looked up red hats to see if JD makes them. Maybe I was wrong! I didn't find any.
I kept reading and the characters didn't develop into anyone I'd want to meet. The main character also has a cutesy/obnoxious habit of saying a female country singer's name instead of swearing. I'm getting annoyed just typing that.
I quit halfway through.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 1, 2020
Finding Home Again
Adele is back in Darling Bay to sell the family business. Her uncle Hugh passed away, and neither she or her sisters came home for the service. Nate has been taking care of things at The Golden Spike with Hugh for over a decade. His dream is to own the saloon, however Hugh keeps talking about his Songbirds coming back to run it. Nate is sure that will never happen, until one day it does! Nate walks in the saloon and there she is, Adele Darling, and all his dreams fly right out the door! Sparks fly whenever Adele and Nate are near each other. Their chemistry is through the roof hot but they don’t want to like each other. He wants the saloon, she wants to find home again! Make sure you check this book out today, it was a sexy, steamy, melt you Kindle kind of story!
Adele is back in Darling Bay to sell the family business. Her uncle Hugh passed away, and neither she or her sisters came home for the service. Nate has been taking care of things at The Golden Spike with Hugh for over a decade. His dream is to own the saloon, however Hugh keeps talking about his Songbirds coming back to run it. Nate is sure that will never happen, until one day it does! Nate walks in the saloon and there she is, Adele Darling, and all his dreams fly right out the door! Sparks fly whenever Adele and Nate are near each other. Their chemistry is through the roof hot but they don’t want to like each other. He wants the saloon, she wants to find home again! Make sure you check this book out today, it was a sexy, steamy, melt you Kindle kind of story!
June 20, 2017
Singing Good Fun
When I finished "The Darling Songbirds" I realized how much I've missed reading a really well written Rachel Herron transports us to Darling Bay, the quintessential small town on California's coast. This is a story about homecoming, redemption and, as always, hope for the future. Herron knows how to breathe life into her characters. Adele Darling and Nate Houston are true-to-life; as conflicted as the rest of us, at times stubborn or indecisive, but also caring, generous and loving people. I'll skip the synopsis and just tell you this is a sweet rom-com but not sugary or syrupy sweet. The too sweet ones made my teeth hurt. No toothaches here. And as a side note, what a pleasure not to have to trip over a slew of typos. Sweet!
When I finished "The Darling Songbirds" I realized how much I've missed reading a really well written Rachel Herron transports us to Darling Bay, the quintessential small town on California's coast. This is a story about homecoming, redemption and, as always, hope for the future. Herron knows how to breathe life into her characters. Adele Darling and Nate Houston are true-to-life; as conflicted as the rest of us, at times stubborn or indecisive, but also caring, generous and loving people. I'll skip the synopsis and just tell you this is a sweet rom-com but not sugary or syrupy sweet. The too sweet ones made my teeth hurt. No toothaches here. And as a side note, what a pleasure not to have to trip over a slew of typos. Sweet!
April 9, 2021
Adele Darling comes back to Darling Bay after the death of her Uncle Hugh. Adele and her two sisters, Molly and Lana, used to be the Darling Songbirds, a famous country band, until they separated after a fight. Now, of the saloon, hotel, and cafe which their ancestors built in Darling Bay, only the saloon is still functionable, and managed by Nate Houston, the good looking barkeep who seems to have cared for the business and Uncle Hugh during the sisters' absence.
For Adele, the only way seems to be to fix what can be fixed, and sell the whole thing, but Nate is a distraction - very much so.
Well written, with likeable and quite realistic characters, a good and interesting plot - quite enjoyable to read and making me want to get the next books in this series.
For Adele, the only way seems to be to fix what can be fixed, and sell the whole thing, but Nate is a distraction - very much so.
Well written, with likeable and quite realistic characters, a good and interesting plot - quite enjoyable to read and making me want to get the next books in this series.
January 24, 2024
disappointing
So so read. Not sure where the humour was. Liked the guy a lot and do feel he got short changed in the story. One darling sister returns to her uncles place without having seen him or really keeping tabs on him for over 10 years. She’s full of herself and her ideas and quite the little bully. Finds out her uncle wanted his bartender to buy him out and she initially agrees, but then changes her mind and goes off on her I want mode which spoilt the story for me. This guy worked with her uncle, cared for him, did everything for the funeral and after and doesn’t get a thank you. Author doesn’t really address how ownership is resolved but the romance is sorted easily.
So so read. Not sure where the humour was. Liked the guy a lot and do feel he got short changed in the story. One darling sister returns to her uncles place without having seen him or really keeping tabs on him for over 10 years. She’s full of herself and her ideas and quite the little bully. Finds out her uncle wanted his bartender to buy him out and she initially agrees, but then changes her mind and goes off on her I want mode which spoilt the story for me. This guy worked with her uncle, cared for him, did everything for the funeral and after and doesn’t get a thank you. Author doesn’t really address how ownership is resolved but the romance is sorted easily.
October 21, 2017
Good book, but.....
I enjoyed this book very much -- the writing was exceptional and the main characters were fun to read -- but I felt the ending was rushed, as if the author ran out of word count. Think of those line charts depicting the market crash that began the Great Depression -- a good steady upwards slope, and a straight plummet down. I wanted more to the conflict resolution. Music makes the world spin, but singing one song will not fix Adele's and Nate's problems. Also, there was more repeated background info than necessary.
Other than that, I really enjoyed the story.
I enjoyed this book very much -- the writing was exceptional and the main characters were fun to read -- but I felt the ending was rushed, as if the author ran out of word count. Think of those line charts depicting the market crash that began the Great Depression -- a good steady upwards slope, and a straight plummet down. I wanted more to the conflict resolution. Music makes the world spin, but singing one song will not fix Adele's and Nate's problems. Also, there was more repeated background info than necessary.
Other than that, I really enjoyed the story.
May 22, 2018
Y'all....Y'ALL. This book has my heart. THE DARLING SONGBIRDS is a happy surprise of a romance. The characters are so well done; I want to be their friends. I want to drink at the Golden Spike. I want to lament with Adele. I want to pet the dang parrot. I want to help rebuild the grounds. The prose is noteworthy, and the arc for the two Mains are small on the surface, but when you think about how that seemingly small adjustment changes their lives...isn't that how real life is most of the time? Small pieces of change making large impacts on us? Adore. Will reread. Will continue in series.
December 21, 2019
The Darling Songbirds
This was a good story. It was about the past of the Darling Songbirds. Their father had died prior one of their shows. Adele was the oldest sister and insisted they continue with their scheduled program, even though their father had jut fell dead. Well they couldn’t continue on. This broke up the singing group. Their uncle Hugh died leaving the saloon to the girls. Adele went home to see bout this The rest of the story is really interesting. You will enjoy this
This was a good story. It was about the past of the Darling Songbirds. Their father had died prior one of their shows. Adele was the oldest sister and insisted they continue with their scheduled program, even though their father had jut fell dead. Well they couldn’t continue on. This broke up the singing group. Their uncle Hugh died leaving the saloon to the girls. Adele went home to see bout this The rest of the story is really interesting. You will enjoy this
August 9, 2022
i prefer my book cover ... a guitar laying on grass, with blooms coming from the center (i am not a guitar expert but i searched "sound hole" and the name was that?? i pray i am correct on that??! lol.) of the guitar. it is such a more cheerful book cover. my thoughts on that!! any who ... i am new to Rachael's writing. i will read more. free on Amazon. i got it free as well. u go on and check it out. series. 3 books so far. "The Songbirds of Darling Bay". out March 1, 2016. romantic comedy. contemporary romance. fun times.
February 25, 2026
Finding home
Adele, one of three sisters, received a notice her Uncle Hugh had passed away. She goes to Darling to figure out what was going on. When she gets there she finds it is pretty run down since she hadn’t been there in 11 years. When she there she meets Nate as well as other characters who hang out in the bar. Since she was left 1/3 of the facility and the only one who showed, she wants to fix it up only to everyone’s bewilderment. A great story about caring for others.
Adele, one of three sisters, received a notice her Uncle Hugh had passed away. She goes to Darling to figure out what was going on. When she gets there she finds it is pretty run down since she hadn’t been there in 11 years. When she there she meets Nate as well as other characters who hang out in the bar. Since she was left 1/3 of the facility and the only one who showed, she wants to fix it up only to everyone’s bewilderment. A great story about caring for others.
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