Country Heaven (Dare River) Paperback – February 9, 2014

I really enjoyed this story. It actually had a really good and emotional plot/storyline instead of just about the "physical" aspects of a relationship. Rye and Tory each had their own family issues from their pasts that they were trying to live with while not letting them dictate their present or future. Tory's family has all passed away and she has no family and feels alone. Rey's family disowned him because he chose a career as a singer instead of the family career of a lawyer. He makes a ton of money, she is"pay check to pay check". She has a goal in life, he doesn't think much past today.I thought the story was well written and it was refreshing to read how they made their lives work in a way that could actually happen in real life, in spite of so many complications. I think Tory's personality and outlook on life made Rye see what he was missing in life and her encouragement is what made him realize - you might not be able to go home, but you sure can bring your family together in other ways. No spoilers here - but I was impressed with Rye's subsequent outlook on life.I also enjoyed how the author used actual movies that I have seen as descriptions of something going on. Gone With the Wind, North and South and Urban Cowboy (and 2 others that I can't hink of at the moment!) helped bring the reader closer to the characters and what they were doing/feeling at that moment. It was like comparing the current issue to something we, as readers, can use the comparison to better immerse ourselves into the story.And I also have to give kudos to the author for not using the same old quotes or sayings in the story. I appreciate new things and a chuckle from time to time, even in a serious storyFor instance, "..closed up like a beach house after summer" described how one of the characters wasn't telling about something. And "His mind was spinning around like the cotton candy machine at the County fair". What a fun and refreshing way to describe how mixed up he was thinking at the moment!Only two things I thought odd- the ending was a bit cheesy and ordinary but since the rest of the story was good, it was easy to overlook it! And there was an incident near the end of the story where someone leaked some personal information to the media and they were trying to find who it was but the book ended and nothing was mentioned about who had leaked the info. No big deal really, except that this happened once before and Tory was blamed and later found out it wasn't her, and the second time it happened, she was blamed again. Both times she walked out on Rye but it was not revealed who had leaked it the second time. But don't let that keep you from reading the book! It was a good story. If this is Book !, I can see several pairs of people that were in this book and could be "pared" up in the next book in a good way. Don't panic - the book doesn't end in a cliffhanger! The author just created good characters that can have a future.

Country Heaven is book 1 in the Dare River series by Ava Miles. I simply loved this book. It is adventurous, has a mystery, loads of romance, and lots of family interaction and forgiveness.Rye Crenshaw has cut ties with his family, except for his little sister, Amelia Ann. Now his sister, Tammy, has come to him on his tour to ask him to come home as his Father, who had a heart attack, wants to talk to him. Although he really sees no use, he heads home but takes his chef, Tory home with him. He doesn’t need her as a chef as much as a friend to help him get through with this visit. He also doesn’t want any publicity over this visit.When they arrive at Hollinswood, they find Rye’s Mother has not relented one bit in her hostility towards Rye. After all, he refused his place in the family law firm, and chose to embarrass them with his lifestyle. Thankfully, he had changed his name from Hollins to Crenshaw, his grandfather’s name. However, his Father is asking for reconciliation. He shows Rye that he has all of Rye’s CD’s and tells Rye that he is very proud of him but ashamed of his own behavior towards Rye. Rye’s Mother lets them out after his talk with his Father. He is to stay in the guesthouse. Since this was where his grandfather stayed, Rye is not insulted as his Mother had intended.Rye is soon reconciled with his sisters, Tammy to a lesser extent than Ameila Ann. However, Tammy is more like their Mother than Ameila Ann is. Tammy is married to a stuffy lawyer and has two perfect children and a perfectly spotless house. She has conformed to the perfect wife and mother that her own Mother did. However, she does what is expected and greets Rye and Tory nicely. Tory and Rye quickly see that Annabelle and Rory are not happy but are definitely “perfect” children. Tammy and the kids soon come around, Annabelle more than the rest. Rory is especially standoffish to everyone. Amelia Ann asks Rye for help talking to her Father about going to Vanderbilt and becoming a lawyer. She does not want to follow in Tammy’s steps and be a society wife.Hamilton Hollins asks his son to run an errand for him. While Rye is doing that, he sets out to visit Tory. They get along great and are talking when Rye comes home, his errand having been completed. Tammy soon angrily follows. She is angry at Rye for going to her husband’s office and punching him. When she turns to her Father for backup, she finds it was he who sent Rye to confront Sterling about his cheating on Tammy and sending a message that he is to stop now. What they don’t know is they have made Tammy’s situation much harder since Sterling also hits Tammy. They adjourn to the main house for dinner and afterwards, Sterling appears having been invited by their Mother. Hamilton tells Sterling he is not welcome here; but that they need to talk. Tammy, Hamilton, Rye, and Sterling adjourn to the study. Here, after being arrogant and saying some things about Tammy, Sterling says he will divorce Tammy for a million dollars. Rye offers the money, Hamilton draws up the divorce papers as well as papers for complete custody of the children and Sterling who really didn’t expect his price to be met, eagerly signs the papers. Tammy is stunned but happy.When Rye returns to his tour, he and Tory continue their affair and plans are made for Tammy and her kids to move into Rye’s home at Dare River. Then the tabloids publish the terms of Tammy’s divorce and Rye’s hand in it. Tammy is horrified and Rye is angry and wants to know who talked. Several hands point to Tory and Rye accuses her. She claims her innocence and leaves for home as planned. She is determined to finish her doctorial study. This was the second time he accuses her of letting information about him slip and it will be the last time. She won’t be there to get any information.Who let the information out? What will that do to Tammy’s divorce? Will Amelia Ann be “allowed” to go to Vanderbilt or will Mother’s plan for her win? What does Tory’s leaving do to Rye and his career? Will Rory come out of his shell?There is so much more going on in the lives of Rye, Tory, Tammy, Ameila Ann, and Rye’s parents. I loved how complicated the plot of this seemingly innocent romance became. Ava Miles has a talent for complicating their lives yet still seeing the end. Her use of language is spectacular. Another good thing is that Country Heaven is on Kindle Unlimited and its sequel in only $0.99. I can hardly wait to start the next book. It is on my Kindle and ready to go.

Tory is a young woman living on her own after just losing her grandfather. Now she has his medical bills and his home that's costing a bank due to all the problems it has. Then a stranger comes into the diner just minutes before it closes, and as the cook she tells him that they are just closing and he needs to go elsewhere. But she is shocked when he offers $1000 to make him a meal.Rye is a famous country singer and he has seen reviews of the food from this diner. Besides his music, food is something he specializes in. He is starving after his show so he took off for this diner and hopes they will feed him.When Tory comes out with his dinner, he takes one bite and just moans. Now this is incredible. He offers a job to Tory to come and be his personal chef for the remainder of the summer tour at a price that would definitely help with her bills. But they leave in two hours so she must make a fast decision. So she decides to do it.Things start growing between them quickly. Although Rye is not interested in anything permanent, he has a need to be with her. Then he gets a call from his sister that their dad has had a heart attack. Even though he doesn't get along with his family, he adores his little sister.When he is called home to see his father, he decides to take Tory with him. He needs her to be the buffer between them all.Wow! The hell his mom puts him through is terrible. He learns so much while at home as he tries to mend his relationship with his dad.But when personal information makes it to the tabloids he automatically turns on Tory. Is there any way to save this relationship? Or will they go their separate ways?So ready for the next book!! Enjoy

I did enjoy the overall storyline. Rye is a very angry young man who was disowned by his family when he refused to follow the career they expected of him. Now he is a famous singer but finds it hard to trust anyone.Tory is a talented cook who has to work every shift available at a local diner to try and pay off medical bills. He loves her food and offers her a job as his private chef for the rest of his current tour.The developing relationship between them is nicely written. The way she is used by his PR team to improve his reputation is out of order but totally believable. And the gradual change in his relationship with his family is also believable. So far so good.But I do have some serious issues with other aspects of this book.First of all, at the end of every chapter the author gives us either a recipe from Tory or lyrics from one of Rye’s songs. Personally I saw absolutely no point in the recipes and their twee little stories. They didn’t add anything to the plot at all. I have no idea whether they would be really yummy as I skipped past them so I could continue with the actual story.The lyrics made far more sense as you could see that Rye was writing from his own personal experience of a messed up childhood. Unfortunately I thought they were really badly written.But my biggest problem was with his mother. She did not have one single redeeming characteristic. The way she treated her whole family was unbelievably appalling. And yet none of them stood up to her even though they all knew she was in the wrong and was psychologically damaging everyone around her. Sorry but I lost all credibility in this author at that point. One husband, 3 grown up children and Tory all just kept quiet? Not one finally lost their rag and said enough? No - doesn’t work for me.

First book in this series, I liked the characters was disappointed we never found out the leek, but I guess that's saved for Tammy in book two.Even thought he lives in dare river, he was never there until the end of the book, he lived in his bus the whole journey of the story apart from the off night in a hotel.I would continue if this was available on unlimited books

This is the first book in Ava Miles' Dare River series, a spin off from the Dare Valley series. This is a standalone series so you don't need to have read Dare Valley books to understand the plot, it's just nice to have a bit of extra reference to the characters, plus, they're great books.Rye Crenshaw is a country musician with a bad boy image that his agent promotes, unfortunately the image doesn't go in his favour when a public incident causes bad press. He needs to turn around the public's opinion of him. He's on tour and anxious to get some peace and a good meal, he heads to a diner. He meets cook Tory Simmons who he barters with to cook for him despite it being closing time. Tory is persuaded to become his tour cook but wants nothing but a professional relationship with him due to his bad boy attitude and behaviour but she gets drawn into his life, finds out he's not quite who he portrays and meets the people who made him the way he is.The book focuses mostly on the growth of Rye and had Tory as a supporting character to that growth. He grew up and matured when he was needed by his family, he stepped up to his responsibilities all with the encouragement and support of Tory. This book proves the addendum that 'behind every great man is a great woman'. I liked Rye's family, especially his little nephew, he's quite a character.Throughout the book there are recipes from Tory's cookbook and song lyrics of Rye's interspersed within the story. It's a nice idea but I didn't find it added to the book for me personally until the song he wrote regarding his love for Tory. I felt Tory's fear of dogs and the explanation of it was a bit strange and I'm not sure it was needed on top of the story of her parent's death, it seemed excessive and didn't quite gel.It's a happy every after story but with many bumps in the road. It's not the best book I've read by Ava Miles but I still enjoyed it and look forward to reading the next in the series.

I enjoyed this book very much although I could have done without the recipes I just skipped them, most of the songs too although they were more relevant. Good characters although it is difficult for an English person to understand the southern upper class sounds as if they need to unlace their corsets! I will be carrying on the series.

Based on some great reviews I thought this book would be a fun, easy read. It was also free.It started well enough but became tedious. After the first few I ignored Rye's lyrics and Tory's recipes but it was still boring. I persevered for a time then gave up.Update: I gave this book a second try and managed to finish it, although I skimmed a little. The characters were implausible, it was like a modern fairy tale with a wicked mother in place of a step-mother.