The Lemon Orchard

I give Luanne Rice credit for leaving her usual Connecticut seashore setting and writing about the illegal Mexican immigrant experience in southern California. She makes a point of reminding us how the Irish immigrants of the 19th century faced similar prejudice and protest, yet became an integral part of our society. It's impossible not to feel for hero Roberto, who is only looking for a better life for himself and his daughter.

However, as usual with most of Rice's recent books, the love story is so insipid and the main characters are so bland that I couldn't feel at all connected to them, even though both hero and heroine have suffered tremendous losses. They seem to inhabit some alternative universe where falling in love is immediate, absolute, and comes without any internal conflicts or personality differences. The addition of several secondary characters, including a former Border Patrol agent and an aging movie star, don't add much to the story. The bittersweet ending, much like the rest of the book, left me cold.

Once upon a time, Luanne Rice wrote interesting novels with nuanced characters, but for the past 10 years her books have had all of the depth of a Hallmark greeting card. I miss the old Luanne Rice but I guess I need to realize that she is not coming back.