SUMMARY
No one is happy about beauty queen Brooke Landgon’s return to Hope Canyon, Arkansas, least of all Brooke herself. Not her old friend Holly Christian, nor Holly’s friend Hunter Pierce, and definitely not Brooke’s first love Gatlin Moore. But after her marriage fails and her grandmother dies leaving Brooke her house, return she does. Brooke has a lot of fences to mend in Hope Canyon, but she would rather hole up at her grandmother’s house and ignore everyone. But that’s almost impossible in a town this small.
Holly is dealing with her own wish to hide after her fiance dies without telling anyone he had broken up with her. She just can’t tell the truth about the town’s golden boy without hurting everyone. So she strikes an odd bargain with her estranged childhood friend. She will give Brooke a place to stay and help Brooke while she fixes up her grandmother’s house if Brooke will act as a buffer for all the well-wishing citizens of Hope Canyon.
But these two ladies are as different as chalk and cheese. Not to mention, there are two men harboring some long-simmering feeling towards these two opposites. Hunter has always been in love with Holly, but was the third wheel in a lopsided friendship with Holly and her fiance Chad. While Gatlin is still boiling mad at Brooke’s abandonment of him years ago.
It’s amazing what the return of a prodigal can stir up in one small town. Change is on the horizon for four people who have forgotten how tight the past can tie people together.
MY THOUGHTS
I don’t know if I ever would have read this duology without the recommendation of Fiction Aficionado. Even then I was on the fence. But I’m so glad I did.
One of the things I love best about these books is how well it captures small town life in the mid-South. Though I’m not from Arkansas but Texas, I’ve experienced this lifestyle which isn’t often featured in books. Driving dusty backroads, meeting up unintentionally at the local hangout, the slow drawl and easy manners as well as the speed at which news both bad and good gets around. These books certainly make all these experiences feel real without resorting to cliche.
I also appreciated how unpredictable the main characters were. Though each of them fit some of the stereotypes associated with them, still I never could quite guess what any of them might do or say. I love being surprised that way. Though this duology finishes with a happy ending, the journey getting there is always fresh and startling.
The first book (Written in the Stars) focuses more on the rebuilding of Brooke and Holly’s friendship. Never an odder pair will you meet. Sometimes I wondered if they even liked each other. But their bargain ensured that each supported the other whether they wanted to or not. Neither one was afraid to challenge the other. Nor did either one of them put on their best behavior for the other. Brooke and Holly are a good picture of iron sharpening iron. Sometimes the friction is hard and unpleasant, but the end result is both are better off. I enjoyed the addition of Brooke’s grandmother’s diary and how it inspired the girls to set off on a road trip to accomplish the same bucket list her grandmother did.
Hunter and Gatlin get more “face” time in book two (Written in the Dust). Both are the picture of southern gentleman, although Gatlin’s reactions to Brooke wouldn’t prove it. These are self-sacrificing men who don’t demand attention, but just do what needs to be done without being asked. Of the two, I was more curious about Gatlin. His anger sparked in every interaction with Brooke and I wanted to know why. In fact, it kind of made me mad at him until partway through book two, when their shared history is finally revealed. And then I was shocked at how quickly that anger turned to passion in his pursuit of Brooke.
I’ve heard about Christina Coryell’s books for years, but this is my first experience with them. However after reading Written in the Stars and Written in the Dust, it certainly won’t be my last.
Have you read any of Christina Coryell’s books? What other books would you recommend with mid-South settings?
Where Hope Begins is the story of grace in the midst of brokenness, pointing us to the miracles that await when we look beyond our own expectations.
Megan Jacobs always wished for a different heart. Her entire childhood was spent in and out of hospitals, sitting on the sidelines while her twin sister Crystal played all the sports, got all the guys, and had all the fun. But even a heart transplant three years ago wasn’t enough to propel Megan’s life forward. She’s still working as a library aide in her small Minnesota hometown and living with her parents, dreaming of the adventure she plans to take “once she’s well enough.” Meanwhile, her sister is a successful architect with a handsome husband and the perfect life—or so Megan thinks.
Chloe Daschle is the child of Hollywood royalty, but that hasn’t helped her in her quest to shed her image as the onscreen death queen. Chloe longs to break her typecasting and land a role in which she lives. When she reads a screenplay based on a love letter between real life Revolutionary era inhabitants Esther Longfellow and Hamilton Lightfoot, she is convinced she has finally found that part.
Nine years to win her. Three years to love her. And one decision that destroyed it all.
When Josie Jensen, an awkward 13-year-old musical prodigy crashes headlong into new-comer Samuel Yazzie, an 18-year-old Navajo boy full of anger and confusion, an unlikely friendship blooms. Josie teaches Samuel about words, music and friendship, and along the way finds a kindred spirit. Upon graduation, Samuel abandons the sleepy, small town in search of a future and a life, leaving his young friend behind. Many years go by and Samuel returns, finding Josie in need of the very things she offered him years before. Their roles reversed, Samuel teaches Josie about life, love, and letting go. Deeply romantic and poignant, Running Barefoot is the story of a small town girl and a Native American boy, the ties that bind them to their homes and families, and the love that gives them wings. 
As a successful commercial artist Roman Velasco has it all, fame, money, women and freedom. But no one knows the man behind the name and that is just the way Roman wants it.
After her mother’s death, Emily Benedict moves south to Mullaby, North Carolina to live with the grandfather she never knew she had. But soon upon her arrival she notices some oddities about the town, not the least of which is her literal giant of a grandfather. Perhaps the worst, is the way many in the town respond to her. Their responses seem tied to her mother’s history in Mullaby. They leave Emily with more questions than answers about her mother’s past.
Eva Ward is mourning the death of her only remaining family. She decides to return with her sister’s ashes to the only place where they both felt at home. So she heads to Trelowarth, the ancient home of family friends on the Cornish coast.