Alison Kent's Beneath the Patchwork Moon is an emotional and poignant novel of new beginnings for both Luna Meadows and Angelo Caffey. Although she has a thriving business, Luna has not quite moved on from the accident that took the life of her close high school friend, Sierra Caffey. On the ten year anniversary of Sierra's death, Luna is finally making positive changes to her life, but with the return of her first love (and Sierra's brother) Angelo, will painful memories of their failed romance continue to keep her mired in the past?

Luna's grief over Sierra's death is compounded by guilt and a long held secret that she has never revealed. Their close friendship is one of her most cherished memories and while Luna recovered physically from her own accident that day, she never quite recovered emotionally. But the ten year anniversary marks the beginning of many changes to Luna's life. She has purchased a loft and she is leaving the family home for the first time. A new baby is on the way and Luna is about to become a sister for the first time. Luna bought the old Caffey property when it went into foreclosure and she plans to build a community arts center in Sierra's memory. Just as she begins clearing out the Caffey family belongings, she is surprised by Angelo's return and she soon realizes that in order to heal, she will need to reveal her closely guarded secrets.

Angelo is also deeply mourning his sister's death but his grief is also compounded by anger and guilt. He cannot let go his guilt for not helping Sierra more when she needed him but at the time, he had enough to deal with since the weight of taking care of his family fell on his young shoulders. After his family fell apart under the weight of their grief, they disowned Angelo after he finally took action to save them from complete ruin. That day also marked the end of his four year relationship with Luna when Angelo left Hope Springs for good.

Beneath the Patchwork Moon is a leisurely paced romance with a great deal of introspection but the mystery of the day of the accident adds a bit of suspense and drama to the unfolding story. Learning the secrets of the past drives the first half of the novel, while dealing with the aftermath of these revelations drives the last half. Despite the sometimes melancholy memories, the novel remains upbeat and positive. The attraction between Luna and Angelo simmers under the surface of all of their interactions and their romance is interwoven with their efforts to make peace with the past. All of the various storylines are neatly but realistically wrapped up and the end of the novel adroitly sets up the next installment of Alison Kent's Hope Springs, TX series. ( )