Blue Ridge Sunrise by Denise Hunter is a good story. Like all Hunter novels, the pacing is super fast — pages flew by! I enjoyed the small-town setting, and found the camaraderie and support of the characters as a community heartwarming. The premise of the story is good, as all Hunter stories are. There is a perfect blend of romance, character growth, and suspense. As far as the characters go, they are relatable and quite realistic. Cruz is a good man. He didn’t get the best cards dealt to him as a child and teen, but Cruz didn’t let that get him down. He is a really hard worker, he’s incredibly loyal, and he is uber protective (in a good way, not a clingy, ick way). Cruz is exactly the man Zoe needs in her life. Gracie, Zoe’s 4-year old daughter, is absolutely precious. She is my favorite character in this story. I loved every moment she is on scene because she is sunshine and sweetness and innocence and hope. She genuinely made me smile every time she showed up in the storyline. Zoe, the heroine, is complicated. I liked her, but I also really struggled with her. As a teen/young adult, she is a rebellious, selfish girl. As a 24-year old, single mother, she is still oddly immature and self-focused. I say oddly because the last four years of her life were rough. Usually people tend to grow up a bit because of the toughness. But Zoe doesn’t seem to do that. She is still impulsive. She still makes knee-jerk reactions. And she does something that is SO dangerous and utterly stupid it’s more the actions of a sheltered teen than a grown-up woman. These things made it really difficult for me to like her. My feelings about Zoe aside, I still really enjoyed this story and highly recommend it. I am very excited to get my hands on book 2 to see how things work out for Hope and Zoe’s brother, Brady.

As with all Denise Hunter novels, I did enjoy my time with Blue Ridge Sunrise and I do highly recommend this read. If you are a fan of page-turning Contemporary Romances with relatable characters and themes, then this is definitely a story for you.