The Lemon Orchard

Love, loss, and family are the backbone of Luanne Rice’s newest novel, The Lemon Orchard. Five years after the loss of her ex-husband and daughter, Julie is still reeling from their loss. Hoping to regain her equilibrium and perhaps get back into the groove of research in her field, Julie agrees to oversee her aunt’s and uncle’s orchard in the California hills as they go on vacation.

She soon becomes acquainted with the orchard boss, Roberto. Over time, they bond over his similar loss. A romance blossoms as they work to save the orchard while they search for the daughter he lost in their harrowing illegal border crossing.

Ms. Rice is well known for her evocative use of language, and The Lemon Orchard is no exception. The heat and scent of the orchard, the beauty of the trees and rigor of crossing the U.S./Mexican border are detailed with similar precision of language, placing the reader squarely within the changing settings.

Ms. Rice does a sterling job of evoking emotion, both through setting and dialogue. Julie’s loss is keen, the reader understands clearly, and her love (though not exactly probable) is true.

The novel moves at a brisk pace, after a slow beginning. Julie’s anthropological research into the treatment of Irish immigrants to the U.S. gives her the tools she needs to pursue Roberto’s missing daughter. Though that background information is obviously used as a counterpoint and foil for U.S. treatment of Mexican immigrants, Ms. Rice neatly keeps her story from becoming preachy by focusing on the personalities of her characters—she keeps the topic personal, rather than general.

Whether a post-graduate educated woman would find true love (and the definite possibility of a sequel) with a minimally educated immigrant might be questionable, but by defining in developing her characters well, making clear why exactly they care for one another aside from their similar losses, Ms. Rice keeps it within the realm of possibility.

The Lemon Orchard is a neat fit for the reader who enjoys a literate romance with a dash of social consciousness. Ms. Rice’s regular readers should adore her story; new readers can admire her precise use of language and pacing to create a mostly believable summer page turner.