Friendship

Almost the last one in the Thunder Point series. I've enjoyed getting to know these people. Ginger, who lost her baby to SIDS, falls in love with Matt (Peyton's brother), who has had his own heartaches, and is afraid to fall in love again. ( )

4.5 sweet and healing stars.

A New Hope, the newest addition to Robyn Carr's heartwarming Thunder Point series, is a wonderful story of healing. This incredibly sweet friends to lovers romance pairs up two wounded people who are struggling to overcome the heartbreak from their previous relationships.

A new job in Thunder Point is just what Ginger Dysart needed to begin healing from a devastating personal loss. She loves working in Grace's flower shop and she is also enjoying the new friends she has made. Ginger has made significant progress on figuring out what went wrong in her marriage and she has forgiven herself and her ex-husband for the mistakes that lead to their divorce. Despite her lingering grief, she is at a good place in her life but while she may be prepared to make a commitment to staying in Thunder Point, Ginger is not ready for a new relationship.

Matt Lacoumette is still deeply bitter and angry over his divorce and he is nowhere near ready to relinquish his animosity towards his ex-wife. He also maintains an emotional distance from his close family and he has not confided in them about what lead to his divorce. Although he has been dating for the past year, Matt has no intention of committing to a serious relationship. However, after his disastrous incident with Ginger at his sister's wedding reception, Matt knows it is time to clean up his act and settle back into his normal life.

Matt and Ginger quickly move past their embarrassing first meeting and their recent divorces unexpectedly provide common ground between them. They both find it relatively easy to discuss their failed relationships and their casual acquaintance soon deepens to friendship. They gradually transition from friends to lovers with both of them agreeing to take things slow. Matt has the most difficult time with their new romance and when he withdraws from her, Ginger has enough confidence in herself to let him go. Although their relationship easily recovers from this misstep, Matt's unresolved issues continue to plague their blossoming romance. Ginger gently encourages him to let him go of his lingering bitterness and anger but it is not until he is finally able to confide his deepest hurt that he can truly forgive and fully commit to a future with Ginger.

A New Hope by Robyn Carr is a beautiful novel of friendship, family and love. It is well-written with a poignant and emotional storyline. The characters are lifelike and vibrantly developed with realistic issues and problems to overcome. Heartfelt and moving, it is a powerful addition to the Thunder Point series that old and new fans are sure to enjoy. ( )

Ginger and Matt get together in this book. Both grieving souls, they find themselves able to open up to each other. We also see how Grace and Troy are making out with the new house and getting her mother settled in to a new life. ( )

If you haven't read previous books in this series, you'll wonder who all the characters are. Perhaps Ginger and Matt's story wasn't enough to carry a whole book? ( )