Review: The Bitterroot Inn by Devney Perry

Devney Perry
Publication date: January 16, 2018
Series: Jamison Valley #5
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Format: Trade Paperback/Kindle
Source: Purchased
4 Stars

Her past. His secrets. They have more in common than she knows.

Maisy is happily content with the life she's built for herself and her young son in small-town Prescott, Montana. Her child is thriving, her business is growing, and her family is as close as they've ever been. But when a handsome stranger walks into the lobby of her motel, her simple life is swept up in a wave of affection for his gentle heart. None of those feelings can be trusted, though. She made that mistake before with another man. The man she murdered.

Hunter was a different man when he first saw Maisy Holt from afar. He took one look at her and ran in the opposite direction. But years later, he's back in Montana and unable to keep his distance. He shouldn't have tried to find her but he never was good at rejecting temptation. The promise of the good she could bring into his life is too hard to resist. Maybe if he can disguise the lies and hide the deceit, he can keep her from learning the truth. Because his only chance at a future with her is by burying his past. 

Maisy survived a horrific event almost 4 years ago and was so traumatized she made significant changes in her life. She quit her nursing career and bought the local motel, renaming it The Bitterroot Inn. Her days and nights were devoted to her 3-year-old son and running and remodeling her inn. She was open to a relationship but a string of dismal first (and only) dates left her feeling that love was out of reach.

Enter Hunter Faraday. Staying in Maisy’s inn for several weeks while his new house was being completed meant they saw each other often, and the chemistry between them was instant and intense. But as they got closer it was obvious there was a lot Hunter wasn’t sharing. Questions about Hunter’s life were met with vague answers or outright evasion. Maisy’s past made her sensitive to any hint of deception, but she was willing to give Hunter the benefit of the doubt and see where things went. When secrets came to light and pieces start to fall into place, and what Maisy cherished most was threatened, she had to decide if she could trust again and truly close the door on the past.

Maisy Holt was pure joy. She was goodness personified. She was a beam of sunshine breaking through the clouds in my life.

I’d walked away from her back then.

I’d avoided her the last time I’d lived in Prescott.

I wouldn’t do either ever again. I wasn’t giving her up without a fight.

I’d come to Prescott with a plan: to look out for this beautiful soul. My plan had just changed. Now I was here to win her heart.

Maisy has been a constant side character throughout the Jamison Valley series, and it was wonderful to finally have the focus shift to her. A previous relationship had tragic results and I loved seeing Maisy’s resiliency and the life she had created for her young son, Coby, and herself. I appreciated the slow build of the relationship between she and Hunter and their connection seemed to strengthen and deepen so naturally. Well, not entirely naturally, because Hunter already knew who Maisy was and his appearance in the small town of Prescott was no coincidence. (I had to suspend believability a bit when it came to Maisy not realizing Hunter was the new doctor at the hospital, which was a point of contention. In a town as small as Prescott, and with her best friend working at the hospital, how did that information not make it back to her?) It was obvious that Hunter keeping secrets was going to backfire and it did – spectacularly. While I could understand Maisy’s reaction to some extent, I also felt she was partially to blame because by the time Hunter tried (many times) to share information with her, she refused to listen. At one point she even told him, “I don’t want to know. If whatever you have to say is going to hurt, then I don’t want to know.” After that, can you really blame Hunter when you’re blindsided by the truth at the most inopportune time?

Beyond the issue of secrets being kept and information withheld, I really loved the relationship that formed between Maisy and Hunter and Coby. Maisy’s first concern was always her son, so she took time before introducing Hunter into their daily lives. Coby adored Hunter and seeing how much Hunter returned those feelings turned my heart to goo. There was a pivotal scene when Hunter’s love and devotion to Coby was of full display and it brought me to tears. The family bond that was forged between the three of them was just precious.

The inclusion of all the characters from past books was like revisiting with old friends and made the reading experience even better. Add to that an epilogue that gave me all the feels and put a huge smile on my face, it all combined to show why Devney Perry is an author I return to again and again.


HAVE YOU READ THE BITTERROOT INN?

27 comments

  1. I haven't read this author before, but this sounds like one I would enjoy - it sounds like this couple has a lot to overcome, which always makes the happily ever after that much sweeter.

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    1. It was a great series. And the couple in each book had plenty to overcome which, like you said, made the HEA even better.

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  2. My favorite thing about companion novels is revisiting characters from previous books. I have to check this series out because I am loving Perry's Runaway series

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    1. For some reason the Runaway series just hasn't appealed to me, which is crazy because I've loved every single book I've read by Perry. I'm sure I'll get to it some day.

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  3. Secret keeping can be tough in books for me but I can usually handle it if I know it's coming. The couple sounds really good together and I'm glad you were able to enjoy it.

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    1. Yeah, the way secrets are handled can really make or break a story for me. But it actually made sense in this one (mostly).

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  4. I read this one and really liked it, too! I don't remember if the secret keeping bugged me or not. I'm going to have to go back and read my review to check. Nice review!

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  5. I haven't heard of this author/series but I love when the books in a series come around to seeing old characters again.

    Karen @For What It's Worth

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    1. That's one of my favorite things about series... I love getting glimpses of past characters.

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  6. I read book 4 (?) but I'd like to read the rest of the series. I want to read Gypsy King first though. Too many good stories out there, lol!

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    1. Yes there are, Rachel! :) I'm sad to finish up the Jamison Valley series but I'm loving the Tin Gypsy series!

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  7. I haven't read this one, but I want to; it sounds so good! Great review. :)

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  8. Never heard of this one but it sounds really good!

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  9. i like series that highlight a specific character or couple, yet visit the past characters so we know how they are faring
    sherry @ fundinmental

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    1. Same here, Sherry. Thanks my favorite thing about series. :)

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  10. This sounds like a wonderful read. I've loved the books I read by Devney Perry so far, so this book definitely sounds like one I would enjoy.
    Great review!

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  11. Oh my goodness, I need to read her books! Funny thing, I signed up for her newsletters so I'd be reminded to pickup her books and I still need to ack. I'm glad this is another hit by her, it sounds like a story I would love!
    Jen @ Star-Crossed Book Blog

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    1. LOL Too funny, Jen. I do that a lot... sign up for newsletters and then months have passed and I still haven't read any of their books. :)

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  12. I'm not familiar with this series but your review has me really tempted to start it. I'm especially drawn to your description of the relationship between Maisy and Hunter and Coby. It sounds so lovely.

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    1. I highly recommend the series, Suzanne. The first book is The Coppersmith Farmhouse. I've enjoyed the whole series so much.

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  13. I'm hoping to get to this series soon, but I still have two of Devney's other series unfinished already. I'm at least making progress in the Lark Cove series at the moment. I'm reading the third book, Tragic, so I'll only have one book left in that series. Devney's definitely an author I keep returning to, too!

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    1. I've yet to start the Lark Cove series so I still have those to look forward to. :) I'm going to be sad when I catch up with all of Devney's backlist!

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