Love Finds You in Pendleton, Oregon

by Melody Carlson

Native American beauty Sunny Westcott is not one to let her hair down. But her friend Aubrey manages to drag her to Pendleton, Oregon, and the pair arrives just as the hundredth annual Pendleton Round-Up begins. Sunny is surprised by how much she enjoys watching the rodeo, riding horseback, and getting to know Aubrey's family--particularly a handsome cowboy named Cody. Pendleton is also home to the Umatilla reservation where Sunny's ancestors once lived, and the trip gives her the chance to do some digging into her family's history--a topic she knows next to nothing about. But will Sunny like what she finds? And how will skeletons from the past compete with the current drama unfolding in Cody's own family?

Genres: Romance, Christian Fiction, Christian, Contemporary Romance, Fiction, Christian Romance, Historical

320 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2010

About the author

Melody Carlson is the award-winning author of over two hundred books, several of them Christmas novellas from Revell, including her much-loved and bestselling book, The Christmas Bus.

She also writes many teen books, including the Diary of a Teenage Girl series, the TrueColors series, and the Carter House Girls series.

Melody was nominated for a Romantic Times Career Achievement Award in the inspirational market for her books, including the Notes from a Spinning Planet series and Finding Alice, which is in production as a Lifetime Television movie. She and her husband serve on the Young Life adult committee in central Oregon.

Reviews

[Hannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first LFY book I've read that was shabbily edited, which was quite disappointing. There was one small oops that I could have swallowed ("a dryer climate"...um, for all of you challenged spellers out there, a dryer is an appliance; "drier" means "less wet"), but the character names was a big issue for me. Sunny's friend Aubrey was referred to once as "...branch of the Westcott family tree", when it's Sunny who's the Westcott, while her friend is a Lowenstein. Then, Aubrey's sister randomly changed from Lorena to Lenora about a third of the way into the book. That really, really annoyed me, because mentally I'd gotten used to her being Lorena.

Other than all that, though, I loved the story. Sunny was a very likable heroine and the scenery around Pendleton was very well portrayed.

[Saralyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed watching Sunny learn about her roots. I enjoyed the interaction between Sunny and Echo. The relationship between Sunny and Cody was waaaaaay underdeveloped, so the ending was like, "Huh? Yeah, right."

[⚜️XAR the Bookwyrm · Rating 2 out of 5]

While I was reading this book, I kept feeling like I had read it before, but I honestly couldn't remember doing so until the very end of the book. That tells me it wasn't that memorable a read!

I usually enjoy this author's work, but this story felt dull and lifeless to me. To me, the main characters didn't spend enough time in each others company to warrant the declarations of love that came at the end. Cody felt very stadoffish to me, and I kept wondering how he and Sunny suited one another. Sunny was a pain in the butt, being very wishy washy when it came to the subject of her supposed great-grandfather. Not only that, but that particular thread of the story was never fully resolved! In fact, I was left with more questions than answers at the end of this story!

The history of the region was interesting, and the descriptions made it easy to picture things, but that's not enough to hang a good story on. The story did mention faith and God a few times, but not enough to be overly preachy. All in all, this was a disappointing read and one I will be deleting from my Kindle and avoiding in the future.

[Roscella Beck · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting only because I live in Pendleton OR. Events and places portrayed well. The story line was a bit dragged out. It was just OK.

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

I feel like the main focus of this book was Sunny's search to find out more about her Indigenous ancestors, as well as the budding friendships she was making in Pendleton, especially with Echo. I really liked getting to know Sunny and enjoyed her as a person.
Given the fact that 80-ish percent of the book was focused elsewhere, it did make the romance part near the end almost jarring in its suddenness. I also would have wished for a stronger faith element.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Title: LOVE FINDS YOU IN PENDLETON, OREGON
Author: Melody Carlson
Publisher: Summerside Press
March 2010
ISBN: 978-1-935416-84-5
Inspirational/contemporary romance

Sunny Westcott was raised by her grandmother after her parents’ untimely deaths. And after her grandmother dies, Sunny finds herself unemployed and trying to clean out her grandmother’s house. A friend helps her find a temporary job as a model, and Sunny is invited to go to Pendleton for a photo shot. Before she goes though, she discovers an old box in her grandmother’s house that seems to imply that Sunny’s great-grandfather was a famous rodeo king, but she has no proof.

While in Pendleton, Sunny goes out to the reservation to try to find relatives. Her host sets her up with her son-in-law, Cody, who lives on the reservation, and he is able to help her find some relatives on her great-grandmother’s side of the family. But regarding her great-grandfather’s fathering her, everyone seemed to have their own opinion ranging from her great-grandmother was crazy to yes, you are definitely his great-grandchild.

Will Sunny be able to find the truth in the two weeks she’s in town? And if she does, will she like what she finds?

LOVE FINDS YOU IN PENDLETON, OREGON is a recent release by prolific author, Melody Carlson. This book isn’t as great as other books by Ms. Carlson that I’ve read, and the romance almost seems to be tossed in there last minute, as in, oh, this is supposed to be a romance…

LOVE FINDS YOU IN PENDLETON, OREGON is a disappointment as far as being a Love Finds You book is concerned, it is more a story about a woman trying to find her roots. But it still was a good read, and it held my interest. If you like books in the Love Finds You series, or are a fan of Ms. Carlson’s books, then you might want to consider LOVE FINDS YOU IN PENDLETON, OREGON. However, if you want a great contemporary romance, you might want to look further. $12.99. 316 pages.

[Jerry (Rebel With a Massive Media Library) · Rating 2 out of 5]

A Quickie Review

A mediocre romance that I struggled to finish. Some of the characters and dialogue were a bit inane, especially someone telling the protagonist that she is too old to not be married. (Did whoever stop and think that maybe God called her to live the single life?) Definitely not the best in this series.

[Jenny · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's been awhile since I've read this, but if I'm remembering correctly...it was a cute romance, but there were certain elements of the plot that didn't make sense or were over dramatic.

[Angela · Rating 2 out of 5]

I got half way through. I was just irritated by the main character and it took forever to introduce the love interest.

[Cortney · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was so excited to read this book : 100th Annual Rodeo Round-Up, a girl seeking to know more about her Native American Heritage, a cute love story with a cowboy...but this just didn't live up to the description.


VERY slow...actually took me several attempts to finish because I couldn't stay interested.

We spend the ENTIRE book trying to learn more about Sunnys background/ancestry and even in the end don't get many answers or learn about her Heritage at all...nothing of the culture or anything..

They talk up how amazing the Round Up is going to be, and then we get a page of actually being there...I wanted to experience the rodeo, the festivities and the fun....

We knew from the very beginning these two were going to "fall in love," but they were hardly together enough to actually form a connection/relationship..they even were confused that eachother was actually in relationships with other people for most of the time. Then, in the morning they finally START to talk about their feelings and the possibility of developing a relationship and by the afternoon there is a proposal/engagement?! They started to have some chemistry, but then it was way too quick, no relationship development.

This one left me wishing for much much more. I actually would have liked to see these two MCs together more to see their relationship grow.

[H P · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book in one day because it was interesting and I didn’t want to put it down. I enjoyed the relationship between Sunny and Echo. Hank was charming, and I found myself with leaky eyes when Sunny meets White Dove and hears her stories.

But the ending? They have their first kiss and then seven pages and a few fictional hours later, they are engaged??? No. Just no.

Also, the lack of editing irked me. The author mentions Aubrey as part of the Wescott family tree. (Um, no. That is Sunny’s last name. Aubrey is from the Lowenstein family.) And the sister’s name somehow magically changes from Lorena to Lenora.

[Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great book! It was a sweet story that had a good Christian message. It was also very educational. My ancestors were relocated on the Trail of Tears. This story made me want to research my heritage. It was interesting to read whether Native American or Indian is the most correct term. Also, to learn more about the schools some Indian children were forced to go to and how hard life on a reservation can be. This was a fun read and hard to put down.

[Monica · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was okay, it was hard to deal with Sunny's judgmental attitude sometimes but I feel like that was part of her realizing that her life had been too sheltered and controlled. She judged people and culture by her little world and there was so much more for her to know.

What kept this from being a four star book for me was the proposal after knowing each other only 7 days and really not spending time with each other. Books like that bug me.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sunny lost her parents at a young age and was raised by her grandmother, who was ashamed of her race and ethnicity. Because of this, Sunny didn't really know where she fit in. She takes a modeling job after losing her job, and it takes her to Pendleton, OR. She digs deeper while there and finds out more about who her family really is. Holding back the truth, whether good or bad, to protect someone does that person no good.

[Hannah · Rating 3 out of 5]

The ending was totally rushed compared to how long everything else in this book took. I was expecting everything to keep going for quite a while, and then it just ended. I enjoyed reading about the history, though I also wish there had been more of that.

[Colletta Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting book but the romance was just so-so for me :(

[Kathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it! What a great way to finish the year!

[Kristen Rupp · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked the history part of this book! I'm not a western fan but the ending is a heart grabber!

[Pam · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book about a native American searching for info about her roots plus reading about the Pendleton rodeo.

[Stacey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Don't care about the love story. Though, I find it fascinating to dive into the Pendleton world with its Round Up, farming, and Native American culture.

[Cindy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A sweet read, but I wish the main character, Sunny stood up for herself a little more.

[Emma Pritchett]

the book shelf in tilly has WEIRD stuff

[Karen]

Great!

[Robbin Golden · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book and look forward to reading more in the series.

[Barbara Cryer · Rating 2 out of 5]

very cheesy insta-love and lots of angst on the Native American vs Indian debate.

[Jack Vasen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book tells a complete story. It is part of the Love-Finds-You series which is by different authors. The only loose tie for the series is that each story is about US communities and all appear to be by Christian writers.

The quest to learn the truth about Sunny's ancestry occupies most of the book and probably more of it than the potential romance. Almost a third of the book passes before there is any hint of any interest by Sunny in a man. That's not a bad thing as the mystery about her great-grandmother is an interesting pursuit. I would have preferred a little less lamenting by Sunny that she had no proof that Jackson was her great-grandfather. Her quest was about that, but more than that as she sought to find her roots.

Sunny develops as a person during her quest, although some of her development is a leap that takes place fairly early.

As is often the case when the opposite love interest is a widower with a child, a lot of that story involves Echo, the daughter.

The rival is also introduced relatively late in the story and quickly becomes almost a villain who isn't well developed.

The story occasionally explores racial bigotry not only in extreme amounts, but in little things too. There is even a hint of justifiable prejudice in the heroine who is part Native American. There are several instances where non-PC language is not only casually used but even tolerated. There is some philosophical discussion of mixed heritage including the term "half-breed". I like that all of this discussion is open and free. I don't think the author forces her opinion, but she exposes the negative aspects while trying to avoid explicitly condemning it.

This is a Christian book. Like the other book in this series by this author, she doesn't do much preaching and the nominally Christian characters are anything but Bible thumpers

Something I found interesting about the author's style, and a tiny bit annoying, is that dialogue frequently switches speakers within a paragraph. (This might be the eBook editing, but I don't think so.)

Mature themes: aside from a kiss, there is no sex described. However there are several instances of illegitimate children and even some prostitution. There are instances of alcohol use, but the main character reasonably explains her reasons for avoiding alcohol almost entirely. A suicide attempt is mentioned.

[Loraine · Rating 3 out of 5]

SUMMARY: Native American beauty Sunny Westcott arrives in town just in time to enjoy the hundredth annual Pendleton Round-Up rodeo. With the help of a handsome cowboy, she hopes to uncover family secrets at a nearby reservation. Will Sunny life what she finds out?

REVIEW: I really enjoyed the Native American aspect of this novel. It was interesting to read the discussion re Native American vs. Indian as used in spoken language by people of varying ancestries in the Oregon area. It was also interesting to learn more about the Pendleton Company since I have always enjoyed their clothing line. The storyline intrigued me as an avid genealogist, I could understand how Sunny wanted to know more about her ancestors. Having just read Love Finds You in Martha's Vineyard, MAby Melody Carlson, I had the same problems with this book, some minor storylines were left hanging and the romance was quite whirlwind at the end with no real development. I also felt that this novel could be termed "Christian lite" as it did not play a prominent role in the storyline. Overall an easy and enjoyable read.

FAVORITE QUOTES: "It was in my late teens that I found myself spiritually bankrupt...."Spiritually bankrupt?...I felt empty inside..and lost.....I gave God a second chance."

[Mariah H · Rating 2 out of 5]

WARNING SPOILERS
While I felt that it was written very well and the hunt for her ancestry was very well looked into and described, I found the love story lacking, they didn't spend all that much time together and the time that they did spend wasn't usually by themselves or if it was they didn't really talk all that much, the main focus was on her heritage or his daughter, but not really on him, or his past marriage, or where Sunny was right now and they barely touched on the subject of her old boyfriend. I just feel that it all moved very fast and that they were feeling attracted to each other when they had barely spoken two words and then when that whole fiasco with Trina, was finished they went straight to a marriage proposal, without even figuring out if they were dating first.
So while I enjoyed the writing and the story of her heritage, I found the love story sadly lacking.

[Alishia · Rating 1 out of 5]

Extremely disappointing novel. Not well written AT ALL. This book could not have been more disappointing. Unfortunately Carlson waited until the end of the book to make the love story take shape between the lead character and her love interest. Throughout the book she doesn't interact with him and then suddenly at the very end he likes her and asks her out. It's like... too little too late. And the worst part is that the main plot is about this woman finding her roots but in the end it winds up not mattering anyway.

[Connie]

I am really enjoying the series "Love Finds You". While I usually do not read romantic fiction, I am enjoying this series because I have enjoyed learning about a variety of communities and regions in the US. I do read historical fiction and have enjoyed the books in this series that fit this category in addition to learning about the geography.

These books are nice, light reads to enjoy while you stay inside away from the intolerable summer heat of 2011.