Sweetwater Gap (Women of Faith Fiction) [Paperback]

Denise Hunter (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 16, 2008

A story of love and second chances. She wished she could go back and change things . . . but life doesn't give do-overs. Could anything but good-byes be waiting on the other side of Sweetwater Gap?

Josie Mitchell's sister Laurel thinks she's come home to pitch in with the apple harvest and save the family orchard. Her brother-in-law Nate thinks she's there to talk the overworked, very pregnant Laurel into finally selling the family business. The orchard's new manager Grady Mackenzie just thinks she's trouble with a capital T. They're all right . . . and all wrong. Because no one really knows what drove Josie from home in the first place. Why she's never come home before, even for her own father's funeral. Why she pushes herself so hard . . . and what she's running from. And nobody, not even Josie, is prepared for the surprising new fruit she'll find on her last trip home.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

A good kiss goes a long way, especially in a Christian romance novel that is surely free of much physical entanglement beyond the perfect smooch. Bestselling romance novelist Hunter, in her newest, offers the requisite great kiss and loads of tension between Josephine Mitchell, who returns to her family's Blue Ridge Orchard when her sister's pregnancy becomes a crisis, and Grady MacKenzie, the orchard manager, who doesn't trust Josie for a minute. There are secrets to be kept, guilt to overcome, past heartbreak to repair—all fodder for a good romance. The author adds more weight than usual as Josie's guilt over an accident in her past threatens her very life, but like all good romances, everything is tied up at the end. And even though the tale becomes overwrought as Hunter plumbs the depths of Josie and Grady's thoughts and introduces a plethora of side plots (Aunt Lola's pie; Alzheimer's suffered by the father of Josie's childhood friend; Josie's father) this Women of Faith Fiction title is sure to grab readers by the heart. (Dec.)
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Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Thomas Nelson; 1ST edition (December 16, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1595542590
• ISBN-13: 978-1595542595
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (48 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #116,802 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Denise Hunter is the nationally published author of bestsellers Sweetwater Gap and Surrender Bay. She has won The Holt Medallion Award, The Reader's Choice Award, The Foreword Book of the Year Award, and was a RITA finalist.

In 1996, inspired by the death of her grandfather, Denise began her first book, writing while her children napped. Two years later it was published, and she's been writing ever since. Her husband says he inspires all her romantic stories, but Denise insists a good imagination helps too!

When Denise isn't writing she's busy raising three heroes-in-the making with her husband.

You can learn more about Denise through her website www.DeniseHunterBooks.com or by joining her FaceBook group at www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=124248046980

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Powerful story of love and second chances, December 11, 2008

By 

Carrie A. Turansky - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sweetwater Gap (Women of Faith Fiction) (Paperback)

This is a great story that pulls you in from the first page and doesn't let you go until you close the book at the end! Denise Hunter is a wonderful storyteller. I have enjoyed several of her books, and this one tops them all.

Josie Mitchell wishes she could go back and change choices she made in her past, but life doesn't give do-overs. When she returns to her family-owned apple orchard to help her pregnant sister through one more harvest, she much face these painful issues and decide if there is a future worth living for. Grady Mackenzie is a hero that lives up to the name in so many ways. The secondary characters are enjoyable and the setting is well done. The faith elements are well-woven in and totally believable

A must read!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Enjoyable from beginning to end, February 24, 2009

By 

C. Weaver (Franklin, TN USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sweetwater Gap (Women of Faith Fiction) (Paperback)

(What's this?)

This book was enjoyable from beginning to end. The main character Josie has been running away from her past and finally must come home and help her family. When she returns to help her expectant sister and assist with the family's apple orchard she finally comes to terms with the guilt she has felt by keeping her secrets for so long.
This captivating story of love, family ties, and the power of God's redemptive love is beautifully told with detailed descriptions that really bring the reader into the scene.

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Not recommended, January 18, 2009

By 

E. Barron "alphabetjungle" (Wyomissing) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sweetwater Gap (Women of Faith Fiction) (Paperback)

(What's this?)

This book is a fairly mild-mannered "Christian" romance novel with some interesting plot twists. Howver, I felt the characters weren't well-developed. For that reason some of their actions just weren't believable. However the reason I only gave this book one star is that it includes my pet peeve for religious romantic fiction: a believer getting romantically involved with a non-believer. I won't include a spoiler that tells the ultimate conclusion, but the conclusion doesn't really matter. If the romance is portrayed in a positive light and lures the reader into rooter for it's success, that's a huge red flag for me. This isn't Biblical and it turns a previously innocuous three-star romance into a one-star danger zone as far as I am concerned. I work with young Christian men and women and I don't like to see anything that portrays such romances, since this is such a potential hazard that leads many young Christian men and women into sin.