The Lemon Orchard.

☆☆☆☆☆

the lemon orchard.

luanne rice.

Publisher  Pamela Dorman Books

Publication Date:July 2,2013

Genre:Romance|Mystery

Format|Pages:Hardcover|304

Source: Goodreads|Library

From bestselling author Luanne Rice—a captivating and sexy novel of love, both enduring and unexpected

 

Year after year, Luanne Rice’s fans eagerly await her next book. Their enthusiasm is soon to be rewarded with The Lemon Orchard, Rice’s romantic new love story between two people from seemingly different worlds. 

In the five years since Julia last visited her aunt and uncle’s home in Malibu, her life has been turned upside down by her daughter’s death. She expects to find nothing more than peace and solitude as she house-sits with only her dog, Bonnie, for company. But she finds herself drawn to the handsome man who oversees the lemon orchard. Roberto expertly tends the trees, using the money to support his extended Mexican family. What connection could these two people share? The answer comes as Roberto reveals the heartbreaking story of his own loss—a pain Julia knows all too well, but for one striking difference: Roberto’s daughter was lost but never found. And despite the odds he cannot bear to give up hope. 

Set in the sea and citrus-scented air of the breathtaking Santa Monica Mountains, The Lemon Orchard is an affirming story about the redemptive power of compassion and the kind of love that seems to find us when we need it most. 

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Beautifully written realistic novel. I have almost no words to describe how much I enjoyed this novel, how affected I was by it. I have read few novels before this by Luanne Rice and loved them. The Lemon Orchard however wasn’t unlike any of the other novels that she had written before, it’s was unexpected. It left me speechless. It’s what I loved about it is how different it was, so much happened in The Lemon Orchard and in a good way, it was heartbreaking, heartwarming, inspirational. You can’t help but fall in love with the characters, the story. It only took me couple pages and I was hooked to the story, not wanting to pull away from it. I was curious to see what happens with all of the characters, how the story would come to end. A story that would be easy to relate to, for some people. 


Both of Julia & Roberto’s stories were heartbreaking, they both lost somebody that they loved. Roberto’s story was more heartbreaking to me then Julia’s, his daughter was 6 and to lose someone in desert, I can’t even begin to imagine how that must feel like. I know that two of them connected because both of them lost their daughters, it had me wondering if that was the main reason that the two of them connected, because of their grief? It was a good thing that they did, because if they didn’t, Roberto would never reunite with his daughter after five years, he would still assume that she was gone. What Julia did for Roberto, what she gone through to locate his daughter, was heartwarming, it had me smiling and it had me hoping, that she was alive. I know that she did it at first because she was curious by the mystery but as time went by, she kept on searching because she loved him. I bet she was the one person who tried and who didn’t back down till she found all the answers. Not many would go the measures that Julia went through. 


The descriptions, especially when Roberto was telling his story about crossing border, illegaly were vivid. The Lemon Orchard was one of most descriptive books that I read, but that was made the book amazing, the images were so vivid in my mind, I found myself imagining everything, a feeling that I was there. That’s what makes a great book. I could see the desert, where Julia was staying, everything. The ending was heartbreaking for me, after going through all trouble finding daughter for him, she ended up losing him in process because he went to be with her. That had me tearing up, her heart must have broken then. 


The Lemon Orchard is one of best Luanne Rice’s works. It’s a story about love, family, grief and loss and bringing two unexpected people close together.