HALF MOON HILL by Toni Blake

A Destiny, Ohio Novel

April 30^th, 2013

978-0-06-202462-6

Contemporary Romance

Paperback ARC

Reviewed by Dawn (love2read28@gmail.com)

Obtained by Publisher

 

For Duke Dawson, all he wanted was peace and quiet so he could recover from an accident. But he never anticipated a sexy woman who will knock him off his game and makes him long to sooth the hurt he sees in her eyes. Anna Romo is running as fast as she can away from a past that still haunts her. So making a new life in Destiny, Ohio is a perfect backdrop until she finds herself longing for one man’s touch even as she tries to stay away from him.  But for both these broken people will find that love is the biggest gamble of all and it will take the strength in themselves as well as in their blossoming relationship to take that leap of faith and fall in love.

I haven’t read any of the previous books in the Destiny, Ohio series by author Toni Blake but I plan to go hunt them up after reading HALF MOON HILL. This was a delightful story of two hurt people who find the healing they need with one another. The writing is delightful, the cast of characters kept my interest and the town of Destiny made me long to visit it in real life. This is an author who really knows how to let her characters thrill and charm the readers. There is a sub-plot between Cathy and Robert that had me swooning and sighing as well.

Meet Duke Dawson and Anna Romo. Both are in Destiny to heal and for peace but when these two meet, well let’s just say with all the sparks all over the place, it is amazing the book didn’t go up in flames in my hands. I really like Duke and Anna together. Duke understands the pain and secrets that shine from Anna’s eyes and Anna brings out the heart that Duke thought he locked away. These two a re a perfect foil for one another and the author does a great job in keeping them flawed yet enjoyable, in my opinion. The secondary characters are well written and kept my attention as well.

HALF MOON HILL is a fun small town romance that kept me entertained through the afternoon and left me wanting more from Destiny, Ohio series. Ms. Blake is a talented author who knows how to keep her readers glued to the pages until the very end and lets her characters run the show. Lots of past characters pop up as well in this book so if you haven’t read their stories yet, don’t despair, you can easily keep track of who is who and whatnot as the author does a good job in keeping the reader caught up with everyone in Destiny. I do recommend grabbing the past books to enjoy as well. I know I am going to do that soon. I was intrigued by the series and look forward to experiencing more fun in Destiny, Ohio in the future.

This is an objective review and not an endorsement

 

Some fun facts from Toni about Half Moon Hill

·         Tessa’s brother, Jeremy, was originally supposed to be the hero.  I started planning that as early as Destiny Book 3, Whisper Falls.  But as the time to write it grew closer, something about it didn’t feel right.  I didn’t know Jeremy very well, after all.  But I did know Duke. Readers had started writing to me and asking me to give Duke his own book.  You ask. I listen. Duke just seemed like a much better match for Anna in my mind – even if only because I knew instantly how much Anna’s brother Mike would dislike this.  I loved fleshing out both Anna and Duke as characters as I wrote this story, and I couldn’t be happier with the decision to make Duke her hero.

·         About the cover of this book!  But the fun fact is—on the original version, the title was hot pink.  Rather gorgeous, I must say!  But sadly, I noticed that in thumbnail version on my computer screen, it was really difficult to read. 

·         The swing on the cover came before the swing in the story.  I had the cover long before I’d actually written the book, but that gave me the opportunity to add a swing to the story, and I couldn’t be more pleased with how that part worked out. 

·         I’m a big fan of butterflies. In the summer, I spend quite a bit of time stalking and photographing them.  So when I first saw the butterflies on this cover, I was ecstatic.  Then they decided to add more butterflies.  On the original cover, there were only two or three and now I count upwards of a dozen. I love having a cover with one of my favorite things on it!

·         I really, truly am very proud of this book. I love the way both characters developed, I loved revisiting everyone in Destiny and moving their life stories forward as well, and I loved the depth of emotions I got to explore in this story.