While there is a sweet romance in Robin Lee Hatcher's new release, Whenever You Come Around, it is mainly a story of forgiveness and healing. This latest stop in the King's Meadow series finds Charity Anderson returning home for the summer where she finally faces the past she has been running from for ten years. In doing so, she opens her heart for love, but before she can truly move forward, she will have to forgive herself for her past mistakes.

When Charity left King's Meadow for college, she chose the wrong path that ended more tragically than she could possibly imagine. She has never been able to tell her parents or her sister what happened and she has avoided visits home in the intervening years. But in the past year, Charity has returned to church and she has worked hard to forgive herself for her past mistakes. She is finally ready to fall in love and marry but Charity quickly discovers her newfound peace is fragile and that forgiving herself is much easier than letting go of the guilt she still carries from those long ago events.

Charity's former high school crush Buck Malone still lives in town and he is, in fact, her parents' next door neighbor. Although his plans to go to college did not come to fruition, he is happy playing uncle to his brother's kids and running his wilderness guide business. Buck decided long ago to remain a bachelor and although he has dated most of the women in town, he has never met anyone that has changed his mind.

After a mishap with Charity's dog puts Buck out of commission for several weeks, the two end up spending quite a bit of time together as Charity helps him during his recuperation. Buck has a lot of admiration for Charity but he is puzzled by her reactions to seemingly innocuous events. Despite his best efforts to help her, she is unable to confide in him. For her part, Charity is dealing with more than her past issues. She is also in the middle of a career change due to changes with her publisher and she is having difficulty transitioning to a new genre. After a brainstorming session with her editor, she begins to view Buck differently which in turn highlights her evolving feelings for him. While Buck is beginning to rethink his future, Charity remains mired in the past and she easily panics when she feels threatened after receiving distressing news.

Whenever You Come Around is a very gentle and touching story of faith. The romance between Charity and Buck is understated but their emotions for one another ring true. King's Meadow is close-knit and loving community and Robin Lee Hatcher once again brings the town and surrounding area vividly to life. It is another heartwarming addition to the King's Meadow series that old and new fans are going to love. ( )

Whenever You Come Around has scored a rating of 3.5/5 stars.

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Whenever You Come Around, written by Robin Lee Hatcher and published by Thomas Nelson, tells the story of a young woman, Charity Anderson, who is desperate to escape the pains of the past. To do so, Charity cuts herself off entirely from everything that reminds her of it: including her family and home town.

As fate would have it,Charity becomes a famous author and is able to purchase a home of her own. As fate would also have it, that home gets a serious case of flood damage and, as it turns out, a multitude of other repairs as well.

With a manuscript deadline fast approaching, Charity returns to Kings Meadow to stay in her parent's home for the summer. Once there, she has a run in with Buck Malone, the irritatingly handsome next door neighbor, that leaves him in casts and her in the position of caretaker.

As they spend time together, she is surprised to find that her icy heart is thawing and that maybe, in order to escape her past, she must confront it.

I enjoyed this book. It was only 241 pages in length (which was a breath of fresh air) and restored my faith in inspirational fiction! After reading such a terrible flop of a book (Remember the Lilies) this book was a quick read with an endearing story.

I was unable to give it a perfect 5 stars because of the story's pacing. Several times the story jumped forward several weeks and we missed large chunks of action. I would be totally okay with it (due to the novel's short length) if Hatcher hadn't filled multiple pages with notes totally irrelevant to the story. Because of the jumping around, the romance wasn't nearly as believable as it could have been.

Overall I was satisfied and happy to have the opportunity to read and review this book! I recommend you pick it up if you're looking for a light summer read.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from BookLook Bloggers in exchange for an honest review. ( )

How does an author write a romance when she’s never really been in love? Maybe the real-life cowboy next door can give her some inspiration…

Whenever You Come Around, the third book in Hatcher’s Kings Meadow series, can easily be read as a stand-alone without feeling lost. The characters felt so genuine and down-to-earth, and their faith spilled out naturally as an extension of their lives. The plot of grace and restoration was one that we can all relate to on some level, even if we haven’t lived the specifics of Charity’s story.

This was such a smooth read – once I started, I found it difficult to put down! Robin Lee Hatcher’s writing style is always near-perfection, and her characters draw you in to a friendship across the pages. I immediately connected to Charity though our lives are pretty different. And I think that’s another testament to the author’s talent – the fact that I could relate so well to this character who is on many levels my opposite.

I enjoyed Buck and Charity’s interactions – the back-and-forth of their conversations, the ease of their friendship – as well as meeting the characters and places in the town of Kings Meadows. I say “meet” because this was my first book to read in the series and I expected to be a bit confused at parts. But I honestly never was. Robin Lee Hatcher does a stellar job of helping the reader feel right at home no matter when in the series they’ve dropped by for a visit.

The fact that Charity’s house is being restored at the same time as Charity’s heart was, in my mind, no coincidence and added to the poignancy of the story. Even if I haven’t made the same mistakes or have the same regrets as Charity, I’ve made my own and regret them just as deeply. The message of Whenever You Come Around goes deeper than romance and a good plot – as all Christian fiction should. I believe it is partially this: Secrets lose their power when they have no place to hide. Whatever the size of your failures, God’s grace is no less amazing, His love no less healing, His restoration no less needed.

Whenever You Come Around puts more than one song in my head and gets 4 out of 5 stars! (I thought the ending was a little rushed.)

Thank you, Netgalley, for providing me with a copy of the book in exchange for my honest review.

Read more of my review at: https://readingismysuperpower.wordpress.com/2015/06/24/review-whenever-you-come-... ( )

Charity Anderson harbors a painful secret of something that happened to her during college; a secret that causes her to avoid family and friends and her hometown of Kings Meadow. She's now a successful writer and owns a home of her own away from Kings Meadow. When her home sustains damage from flooding, she needs to find someplace quiet to write so she can meet her deadline. With her parents on a summer European tour, she decides, reluctantly, to stay at their house, in Kings Meadow, while repairs are being made to hers. Buck Malone had big dreams for college and a career, but all that changed when his father was diagnosed with cancer. He decided to stay in Kings Meadow and care for his family. Watching the pain his mother experienced in losing his father, he decides to remain a bachelor. He loves Kings Meadow and sharing its beautiful landscape, with tourists, as a wilderness guide. When Charity's dog causes injuries to Buck that lay him up for a while, she feels obligated to help care for him. As they spend time together, they find themselves becoming fast friends. Will it ever be more than that or will past secrets and bachelorhood win out?

This was a very good story and one that kept me interested the whole way through. I enjoyed getting to know all the life-like characters as well as spending time in Kings Meadow. Charity was interesting and I felt like she was a picture of what happens when you let an event define who you are. It's easy, as a reader, to judge Charity, but I think we've all been there, to some degree. Buck was just an-all-around great guy. Fun to be with, gentle and kind, someone you could count on. But as much as I liked the story, I found myself frustrated. There is a build-up of one of the characters to the point where you expect something to happen, and it never does. It felt anticlimactic. You'll understand when you read the story. I also felt the ending was to abrupt compared to the pacing of the story. The message of how God forgives us and cares for us shines through. If you've ever done something that made you feel like you didn't deserve God's love, then you would easily relate to Charity. This is the second book in the series but can be read as a stand-alone. Overall, I really enjoyed my trip to Kings Meadow and I would love to visit there again.

*This complimentary copy was provided by Thomas Nelson through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

For information about this book or other books by Robin Lee Hatcher, I encourage you to visit her website at: http://www.robinleehatcher.com/ ( )