My family is away on Kauai - we plan to paddle up the Wailua River. Another river is the focal point in Barbara Freethy's new novel, THE WAY BACK HOME:
In the small California town of River Rock, the river is always there—sometimes unpredictable and wild, sometimes a source of comfort, always a part of life. Bestselling author Barbara Freethy will capture your heart with an emotional story about love, family . . . and fighting for what matters most.
Ex-Marine Gabe Ryder is fulfilling the last request of his best friend, Rob, who was killed in a firefight during their final days of service. He promised to help Rob’s family— especially Rob’s twin sister, Alicia—with their struggling river rafting business. Gabe has a hidden past with Alicia, though. She’s the woman who taught him that love might exist, yet he walked away from her.
Alicia has more than enough on her plate with her brother’s death, her father’s injury from a tragic rafting accident, the entire town turning against them, and a series of dangerous attacks on her business. She doesn’t need this rugged loner who broke her heart. But passion flares between them, and this time, they can’t walk away. Alicia can’t help wondering: did Rob really send Gabe to watch over her—or did he want her to show Gabe the way home?
I posted my review of THE WAY BACK HOME on Amazon at this link and Goodreads at this link. I am giving away a print copy of THE WAY BACK HOME to one randomly selected commenter. To enter the giveaway,
1. Leave a comment about a river near you - does it play a part in your life?
The only river in Hawaii is the Wailua River. It is considered sacred and hosts several heiau (temples).
2. This giveaway is open to all readers.
3. Comments are open through Saturday, June 30, 10 pm in Hawaii. I'll post the winner on Sunday, July 1.
Mahalo,
Kim in Hawaii
To learn more about Barbara and her books, check out her website at barbarafreethy.com.
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| I met Barbara (middle) at RT in 2011. |
I've been waiting for Gabe's story. Love the Angel's Bay series. The East River is nearby. Not sure what part it plays in our everyday lives.
ReplyDeleteGreat review at Amazon Kim. I love Barbara's books and look forward to reading The Way Back Home.
ReplyDeleteThe Ocmulgee is our only big river but we have many big lakes in area. They have river rafting and other activities during the year.
misskallie2000 at yahoo dot com
I don't have any rivers nearby. At the bottom on my street is a creek. It is often dry, but in January 2011 it rose from a few feet to 8 metres in 7 minutes. It roared through town. Lives were lost. It was horrific.
ReplyDeleteWe have the Allegheny River and Monongahela Rivers which join to form the Ohio River at Point State Park where every year, among other events, we have the Pittsburgh Three Rivers Regatta and the Three Rivers Art Festival.
ReplyDeleteSouth Florida has many rivers and even more canals. Water is all around us and I just love it. The main river in my neighborhood is the New River which has been famous for its orange groves until fairly recently.
ReplyDeleteThe closest river to my house is the Fox River a very small river.
ReplyDeletei dont like river in my country, people like to throw rubbish overthere T_T
ReplyDeleteI grew up on the Mississippi River, literally! During the week, my house was 1 block off the river on a bluff. On weekends, we would go out on the houseboat and live on the river. We would meet other families on sandbars and cookout. The other kids and I would swim in the Mississippi. Yes, we really did. I look back now and wonder what my parents were thinking!?!
ReplyDeleteDuring the winter the icebreaker bargers would go down the river and the glasses in the cabinet would shake and rattle from the vibrations. Summers were spent swimming. There is nothing like watching the fireworks of Independence Day on the Mississippi River. Absolutely breathtaking. There was one summer where we got to see Jacques Cousteau's ship, the Calypso, go upriver during one of their research trips. It was the coolest thing I ever saw.
As an adult, I still live close to the Mississippi River. I cross it several times a week. There are many barges carrying coal up and down still. There are also a few casino's on it and riverboats with tourists. I can't imagine never being by the Mississippi River.
Mel
Oh my goodness Mel, what beautiful memories!I really enjoyed reading your post.
DeleteShannon
Wow~ Love the picture of you with Barbara! FUN!! My friends live on Riviere du Chien in Mobile, Alabama and it is lovely. So peaceful, it's a great mini-escape to spend the afternoon there!
ReplyDeletexx, Lauren
I grew up near the Tippecanoe River.. we used to go canoeing on it.. It was never terrible deep in our area.. so if you 'tipped over' it wasn't dangerous!
ReplyDeleteWe have the San Diego River which is hardly what one would consider a river. Barely any water in it most of the time. I love seeing rivers and being on rivers when we go out of town to places that have them.
ReplyDeleteOoooh, I'm so happy you brought Barbara here. I love her books, not only because she's a great writer but because a lot of them take place in California where I was born and raised. It's like a little trip back home.
ReplyDeleteI currently live in Southern Arizona where apparently there used to be a river flowing through the town as little as 15 years ago. 50 years ago is was big enough that people navigated it by boat daily. Unfortunately it's been damned and diverted upstream and now there is no downstream.
(No contest, I’ll just buy the book :-)
Shannon
There are no rivers near where I live now, only the ocean. However, I did grow up in London, so can claim the famous River Thames as near where I lived. I also went on a cruise down the Thames too.
ReplyDeleteBarbara is a new Author to me.
NO rivers nearby... But I do like the river views when I visited Nova Scotia last yr...
ReplyDeleteWe have no rivers by I wish we did. Your new book sounds good I can't wait to read it.
ReplyDeleteHappy summer
Penney
I live pretty close to a small river and often walk past it in the evenings. When the sun is setting and the air is cool it's lovely to be there. You see men fishing there and sometimes a few children with boats.
ReplyDeleteThere's a couple small rivers locally. I don't think there are walking paths along them, but I'll have to check that out.
ReplyDeleteWhat Carol M. said lol. It's not something our family ever involved themselves with.
ReplyDeleteWe do have the Naugatuck River which flooded at one point and is now equipped with flood control devises. I love to watch the ebb and flow with the temperatures.
ReplyDeleteThe Delaware River is near us and it has flooded periodically over the years which isn't good but you can also go tubing on it which is fun.
ReplyDeleteThe South Fork of the Coquille River frequently floods and keeps residents in town or country folk out of town.
ReplyDeleteThe Missouri River is the closest to us. We are far enough away that we are not bothered by flooding though.
ReplyDeletekscathy@yahoo.com
I live on the Mississippi River, also! The only thing separating my town and the river is the levee! My husband worked on a towboat for 25 years, going up and down the Miss. and other rivers.
ReplyDeletemlawson17 at hotmail dot com
There aren't any rivers near me.
ReplyDelete