On Moonberry Lake by Holly Varni

On Moonberry Lake by Holly Varni
Series: Moonberry Lake series, book 1
Publisher: Revell on September 26, 2023

REVIEW BY VERA DAY

Cora Matthews returns to her childhood hometown, Moonberry Lake, for the first time since she left at the age of seven. She never understood why there was a big upheaval in the family and why her mother whisked her away all those years ago.

I love the town of Moonberry Lake. Townsfolk are eccentric, but they have a strong sense of community. It’s not that they tolerate one another despite others’ eccentricities. It’s that people love one another and tolerate the eccentricities.

For a Christian fiction book, I’m surprised that the faith element isn’t more overt. The faith aspect is most prominent not in Cora’s neighbor who is a hospital chaplain but in Kitty, the grave keeper. And Kitty’s faith has a New Age vibe.

Perhaps Varni is so gentle or roundabout with the faith aspect so that the story won’t scare off seekers or people of faith who aren’t involved in a traditional Christian church. Kitty’s God is heartwarming and speaks to her (as does her late husband) and stirs her emotions. Cora has an emotional faith experience, too.

But in real life, faith isn’t always emotional. It can be dry, an analytical knowledge of and surrender to the Divine, but that doesn’t mean it’s any less real. I hope readers will be able to relate Cora’s faith journey even if their own experience is different.

The romance between Cora and her crush takes up only a small portion of the book, but it’s done well. Hearts pitterpatter, things progress slowly at a true-to-life pace. Whether or not they actually end up together is for the reader to find out.

Varni’s prose is easy to follow, paints some beautiful images, and contains plenty of pithy quotables like:

Pride can be a slow death to the spirit.

AND

Grief is a journey that keeps unfolding.

AND

Whatever embarrassment you’re carrying, realize that you’re the only one lugging it around.

Holly Varni, On Moonberry Lake

I truly enjoyed On Moonberry Lake, but it’s not perfect. I stumbled over some repetitious sentences, filtered descriptions, and sudden emotional swings that didn’t feel authentic in the context of the scene. Also, at the end I was hoping for an acknowledgement of characters introduced earlier in the book, whether their circumstances had settled or not. But I guess that just means I’ll have to read book two in the series.:-)

I cried happy tears. I laughed. I sighed with contentment. A character named Widgy is priceless, and her bald dog even more so. And don’t get me started on the town’s hilarious newspaper! Everybody who reads this book will want to move to Moonberry Lake.

Overall, I give On Moonberry Lake a wow-five for the setting and warm, affecting plot and a perfectly adequate three for the execution. Four fish overall!

I read On Moonberry Lake through NetGalley.