The Lemon Orchard A Novel

Luanne Rice — 2013

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.

Reviews

Angela Guilherme@landslide

Mar 24, 2022

*I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review* Luanne Rice is an author that has various books published in Portugal and I was curious to read something written by her, so I requested “The Lemon Orchard” on NetGalley and I was fortunate to have been approved. The story begins at the Super Bowl weekend and Julia, the protagonist, is preparing a party, maintaining the appearances of a happy family even though she is going to get divorced from her husband. On the way back home after some last minute shopping, Julia is driving in her car with her dog Bonnie right behind the car driven by her daughter Jenny with her husband on the passenger side. And suddenly the unthinkable happens: Jenny crashes the car on their home entrance and both her and her father die instantly. Although it’s impossible for her to believe, the authorities conclude that Jenny crashed on purpose, meaning, she committed suicide. Five years later, Julia is in Malibu, house sitting for her uncle and, when she meets the orchard manager, Roberto, she feels a strange affinity with him. Julia recognizes in him the signs of a person that, like her, lost someone. And, as it turns out, they both lost a daughter. Also five years ago, Roberto crossed the desert from Mexico, with his daughter Rosa, looking for the american dream and trying to guarantee a better future for his family, but during the crossing he loses her. All indicates that she is dead, but the uncertainty is almost as piercing as the guilt he feels for losing her. Getting to know Roberto’s story, Julia feels closer to her daughter like she hadn’t since the accident, and decides to investigate and find out what happened to Rosa, so as to provide Roberto with closure. As she investigates and spends more and more time with Roberto, the attraction between them increases and they both begin to accept that maybe it is possible for them to be happy again. But what if discovering the truth means losing their second chance at happiness? The characters are very real and the author is very competent in transmitting the pain and the emptiness that takes over when a parent loses a child. But what I loved the most were the descriptions of the lemon orchard. The descriptions are so vivid I sometimes felt like I was seeing and smelling them... I’ll probably be reading more books from the author and I recommend it for Nicholas Sparks fans. But be warned, the ending is bittersweet...