 A novel full of details regarding wine and vines.
The concept of this book is an interesting one. When Olivia and her cousins find out they inherited a vineyard, everything seemed surreal. Especially, having in mind the stipulations attached to the will. The author has done a great job in narration, especially regarding the life in a vineyard with all the details, a bit too many, I must say, as it slowed the pace. But there were also moments about life, work, love, and determination. While Olivia and her two cousins were fulfilling their obligation stated in the will, we learn as they do what should to have the harvest at the end of the season. While I'm not particularly interested in wine and its production, I did follow with interest how this inheritance changed the life of the cousins. They became a family, discovered a new passion, and found love and even lost it at times. They found a purpose. It felt as if their grand Aunt Gloria could guess the outcome. The main impact this has on 44-years-old Olivia. After a painful divorce, in a time where she was struggling to keep her job, inheriting a vineyard was more of an inconvenience at first. But then the fun began. Type of reader: Fans of life changing topics with a lot of insight into wine producing. Quotes from this book: “Wasn’t loneliness a kind of freedom? You didn’t have to pick your mess up if there was no-one there to complain about it. You could do as you pleased.” “We’re human. We’re always making mistakes. It shouldn’t stop us trying though.” My rating: 3/5. Find it on Goodreads Follow the author on Amazon
0 Comments
 Fast paced and entertaining.
Blurb: “Bridesmaiding is a tedious business at the best of times, but as Julia discovers, the task is particularly cumbersome when one of the brides is your ex and her fiancée won’t stop sulking about it. With the wedding threatening to dominate everything for the rest of the year, a bewildering embrace with a devastatingly attractive pop star offers a welcome distraction. Dating Krisha catapults Julia away from the paltry concerns of dress fittings and hen dos, but it also takes her away from her friends, and directly leads to her most disastrous f**k up yet. Much to her surprise, she discovers that embracing the role she’d accepted so reluctantly might just be exactly what she needs.” This is Holmes’ debut novel and I enjoyed it. The story was fun and entertaining with lots of unexpected twists and turns. The main character Julia, a 27-year-old single woman, has not much interest in her job, not much luck in finding a new girlfriend and in general she's a real mess. With a strong desire for finding love, she was pretty active on online dating. Unfortunately with not much luck. While being a bridesmaid for her friend Freya, something that she didn't enjoy very much, on the verge of losing her job and messing up everything else, Julia's future didn't show very bright. Still, hope exists. Love is out there. Maybe closer than she thinks. Chances are that she will mess up things again. All are variables and everything fluctuates in Julia’s life and mind but still, she does find the strength to make a bit of order. “Julia looked at her old friend, her new girlfriend, her greatest adventure yet, and shook her head.” For the first time in her life, she knew with absolute certainty that she was exactly where she needed to be. Will she manage to keep it that way? I look forward to reading more from this author. My rating: 5/5. Find it on Goodreads Follow the author on Amazon Author’s website  An emotional rollercoaster wonderfully written and beautifully crafted.
Blurb: “When the body of their best friend, Derrick Zachariah, is found in the bushes along the January River, everything comes crashing down for Ethan and William McCoy, Jason Hawk, and Derrick’s sister Sarah in their idyllic small town in the southwest of Nebraska. Derrick’s sudden death completely changes their lives. Living in the tame and peaceful Greenfield with a secret becomes very hard, and almost unbearable for some of them. Things get worse for Ethan and his brother William after someone poisons Ethan’s golden retriever, the dog Ethan saved from near death when he found him on the banks of January River the previous winter. A few years later, when he has reached adulthood, William leaves Greenfield in search for a better, different life. It doesn’t take too long before Ethan follows the footsteps of his older brother and also leaves his hometown. He goes to New York City to visit Will, with hope to find solace, forgiveness and liberation from the ghosts of his boyhood. Instead, Ethan meets, falls in love and marries Susan Dupie, a successful editor of New York’s prestigious magazine, A Way of Life. Susan also falls in love, not only with him but with his writing too, and helps him become a best-selling author. But it is never quite that easy and Ethan’s idyllic life is shattered again by Susan’s illness. Only after Susan succumbs to leukemia does Ethan muster enough courage to return to Greenfield and after more than twenty years reveals the truth about Derrick’s death to his sister Sarah. Some things are better left untold, but the dark secret in Ethan’s heart lying buried in the silent waters of the January River is not meant to remain a secret forever.” Greenfield, a small American town, where diversity in terms of religion, nationality and personal interests were accepted and tolerated, seems to be the paradise on earth. Surrounded by great forests, a beautiful river, populated with wonderful people, isolated from all the happenings in the rest of the USA, this place is nothing far from the ideal place to live in. Ethan, the main character, had a wonderful and peaceful life in Greenfield, playing with his friends and his brother Will. Unfortunately, when only twelve years old, his life takes an unpredictable turn due to the death of Ethan’s good friend. Greenfield suddenly doesn’t look the same anymore. “In a voice as calm as the descending night, he spoke words as icy as the water of the January River in which Derrick, his belly up, floated at that moment. “Why did you let that happen? Why didn’t you help me?” His voice, distant and cold, echoed in Ethan’s head as he shook it from side to side, his eyes closed.” Ethan, his brother, and the other friends were all affected by the sad event and this will have a huge impact on their life. Ethan’s following his brother’s steps and leaves for New York. He got a job, got married, became a successful writer. After everything he’d been through, Ethan would have deserved to have the happily after. Even though at times things seemed to take a positive turn, life gave one strike after another. “Big decisions are often made suddenly. The biggest deals are made in a fraction of a second. It’s up to our wisdom, wits and shrewdness whether they will be worth the trouble or boomerang and hit us in the head.” I liked the fact how the whole story was centered around the January river, the river that passed through Greenfield. All the great and bad things happened there. There’s not a big coincidence why also the dogs that Ethan had were named after the river. Once by choice and the other time, by coincidence. This is a heartbreaking story, full of true love between brothers, parents and sons, friendship, and self-searching. The author managed again to create a real emotional rollercoaster wonderfully written and beautifully crafted as he did with the other books A world without color and Look for Me Under the Rainbow. My rating: 5/5. Find it on Goodreads Follow the author on Amazon Author’s website  For the time being, some of the books are only available in their original language hence, my review will be in that specific language. This book is in Spanish, though a little bird told me that the author has plans to make it available in English. I hope so.
Un romance encantador, desgarrador y emocionante. Blurb/ Desc: “La sargento Bates toma la decisión de retornar a las calles para vencer la criminalidad en su ciudad. Su mayor enemigo, el destino. Tracy Mecher vive en las frías calles de la ciudad en una lucha incansable contra ese mismo destino. El sendero del destino es un relato de amor envuelto en escenas conmovedoras entre estas jóvenes mujeres con sus vidas encaminadas en el mismo destino. Dos mundos contrarios se entrelazan donde tienen que tomar complicadas decisiones para demostrar que el amor no tiene límites. Con una sublime narración, se llega a giros inesperados con los que se descubre la verdadera identidad de una de las protagonistas con sucesos llenos de romance, acción y suspenso. Es una historia que te mantendrá conectada hasta el final para descubrir, ¿cuál será el verdadero sendero a seguir en sus vidas?.” Esta es una dulce y a menudo triste historia de amor entre dos mujeres jóvenes. Al encontrarse, se les ofrece la posibilidad de un futuro más brillante. Es la historia de Tracy y Kristen, ambas de diferentes orígenes, hermosas y con un corazón incorrupto. Kristen es policía y se enamora de Tracy con solo mirarla. No importaba que Tracy pareciera estar sin hogar o que Kristen tuviera novio. Todo lo que importaba era que sentía la necesidad de estar con Tracy. Por otro lado, Tracy ha tenido algunos años difíciles dejando a su familia y viviendo en las calles, una decisión que tomó porque se lastimó al no ser aceptada por su familia. Tracy misma necesitaba algo de tiempo para aceptar quién era y, con la ayuda de Kristen, se las arregló. Fue el destino lo que los colocó juntos, aún así, el mismo destino pone en riesgo su relación y su vida muchas veces. Es un romance encantador, desgarrador y emocionante con mucho drama, giros y vueltas, y un final feliz. This is a sweet and sad love story between two young women. By finding each other they are offered the possibility of a brighter future. It is the story of Tracy and Kristen, both coming from different backgrounds, both beautiful and with an uncorrupted heart. Kristen is a cop and she fell for Tracy just by looking at her. It didn't matter that Tracy appeared to be homeless or that Kristen had a boyfriend. All that mattered was that she felt the urge to be with Tracy. On the other hand, Tracy had some hard few years leaving her family and living on the streets, a decision she made because she was hurt by not being accepted by her family. Tracy needed some time too to accept who she was and with Kristen’s help, she managed. It was destiny that placed them together, still, the same destiny puts their relation and life at risk many times. It is a lovely, heartbreaking, exciting romance with lots of drama, twists-and-turns, and a happy ending. My rating: 5/5. Find it on Goodreads Follow the author on Amazon Author’s Facebook page  A paranormal novel about love, family, bullying, and special gifts.
Blurb: “Henrietta Bailey is a mysterious woman who has spent her entire life living in the town of Crescent, a sleepy beach community in Central Coastal California. She loves the beach, the ocean air, and the town itself. Her simple life fulfills her. However, she spends much of her time reminiscing about her long-lost love, a woman who left her devastated. Now, another woman awaits on the horizon; a wise, intelligent, and sexy lady who is sophisticated beyond her years. This woman yearns for her soul mate and lover. Will she be able to win Henrietta’s heart, or will Henrietta be fated to live the rest of her days alone? All her life, Henrietta has held a gift, one that most of the townspeople fear and do not understand. Still, this doesn’t deter her from pursuing these extraordinary talents, and she does what she can to help others improve their lives. Those close to her encourage her, and new people enter the picture who offer enlightenment. Personal secrets emerge that change the course of Henrietta’s life. Can she do the right thing and move forward? A long-lost mystery comes to the surface, causing upset among some of the town’s residents. Come meet this incredible woman who strives to attain the things in the world she values the most – family, love, and respect.” The story moves along nicely. It contains paranormal elements, and lots of intertwined stories combined with memories, one of them being a fictional lesbian one. Through the memories, we find out a lot about the history of the house in Crescent, his owners over the years and also about Henrietta and her relationship with her mother and grandmother. Henrietta was a good person as a child and also as an adult. “My life is a journey and I celebrate each step of the way with love and joy. I am all knowing, all loving, and an important being in this universe.” Emphatic, shy, hard-working, appreciated by few, including her employers but unfortunately not accepted by many others. She had the capabilities to do readings and talk to those that passed on the other side. Henrietta is now 60 years old, not married, with a tough past and suffering from anxiety because of it. She is quite an introvert, hardly speaking to anyone about the most intimate things. While we get pretty much into details into Henrietta’s life and thoughts we get to find out about Mary, the woman from her past, and also that she gave birth to a son, Andrew, when she was only seventeen. Mary, the love of her life was now trying to get in touch after 20 years after she finally divorced the husband she never loved. Sophia, the gorgeous Italian woman, 30 years younger than Henrietta, tried to seduce her and they had some intimate moments, to Henrietta's surprise having in mind the age gap. Henrietta had a special gift that made others refrain from accepting her, calling her a witch. “...thoughts create our reality and we are in control of them.” With all the added mysteries, the novel is easily gripping. This is a paranormal novel but it's about love, family, bullying, and special gifts. A very pleasant and intriguing read. My rating: 5/5. Find it on Goodreads Follow the author on Amazon Author’s website  For the wine lovers.
Blurb: “Biodynamic. Naked. Organic. Laura McLove goes back to school. Spiritual school. She lures Leon - a hot, young, French natural wine expert - with the law of attraction and together they go on the road - Leon in pursuit of wine, Laura in pursuit of him. A "Natural Wine" noir, for lovers of the movie 'Sideways', and writers Bukowski And Fante.” In this book, we are witnessing to an important period in Laura’s life. Searching for a meaning, a spiritual awakening type, and probably a man that will stay, Laura, a 46 year red-haired good looking woman, left London after the death of her mother and moved to the countryside to study agriculture. She didn’t necessarily want to be a farmer but she saw this as an escape from London’s life. She thought and felt that she could be a writer but somehow the time was never right. There she met Leo, a French good looking guy, 17 years younger. The odds of him being interested in her seemed small. But apparently, with the help of the law of attraction, she got the chance to spend a night with him before the school ended. A few days later he invited her to join him on his trip to North America. He wanted to be a bio-dynamic wine producer on his parent’s farm so he was planning to visit vineyards worldwide in order for him to be prepared for his big dream. No, unfortunately, this is not a romance novel, but it does have a happy ending for Laura, despite her suffering a lot on this trip, that could have turned differently. At first, Leo seemed to have lots of positive characteristics, but he turned out completely different. Still, this journey was something that Laura needed. On top of that, she was finally going to write her book, something that she was trying to for a longer time now. With an interesting writing style, with humor and sarcasm at times, full of info for the wine lovers, this book made me enjoy not only MC's thoughts but also the description of all the places mentioned in the book. Type of reader: Fans of bibliographical kind of stories, though this is a work of fiction, with a lot of insight into bio-dynamic wine producing and info about many places in Europe and North America. I found this being an intriguing story, definitely, a must read. Quotes from this book: “The days continued. The sun shone, the rain fell, the water feature trickled its soothing sound in the background, Lilly went out to wander and Lilly came back again. I went to classes. I tried to write, I thought about Leo, I took long walks. I wrote out my gratitude journal. I didn’t go out of my way to try to find him because The Universe would drop him in my lap again, I felt sure.” “I don’t think he was by nature unpleasant. He was popular at college, others would call him ‘such a nice person.’ He had become hard with me. I was dealing with a hard wall, a person who was giving nothing. No kindness. Not normal. I wondered at my ability to attract such an experience. These were my thoughts as I tucked into basmati rice à la Leo. And still I stayed.” “The Universe wasn’t out there, responding to requests. It was in me. It was me. I was in it. A part of my consciousness and the energy that creates worlds was entangled in a quantum mystery. If I had a thought or a wish, it was happening in that quantum field too. If I fully believed in it, what I wanted might come quicker.” My rating: 4/5. Find it on Goodreads Follow the author on Amazon  Interesting plot, great descriptions, and nice setting.
Blurb: “They all have a decision to make… After four years, Lucy feels that it is more than time that Matt pops the question. But Matt has an irrational fear of the “M” word and just can’t say the four words she so desperately wants to hear…. Should Lucy wait, or give Matt an ultimatum? And then the gorgeous Jake comes into the picture and things get even more complicated… Olivia has always been unlucky in love, then one day she meets Pierre online. A mysterious Frenchman ... could he be her knight in shining armour? Vic and Sam have been married for years, but suddenly Sam’s new high profile job has him out until all hours. Will he succumb to the thrills of the singles scene? What will Lucy and Matt do? Will Vic decide she’s had enough of being stuck at home with the children? Will Olivia give her heart to someone over the internet? A tongue-in-cheek, fun and light-hearted look into love and relationships.” This beautiful, relaxing book makes you feel that you are watching a romantic comedy movie. The main character, Lucy, is a young, beautiful, funny, clumsy, curious, smart but no so the workaholic type of person, and a good friend to have around. She has also Matt by her side, the guy she is in love with and have been in a relationship for already four years. Something is missing: His wish to commit. This proves to be a really big issue for Lucy as she doesn't feel sure of his love and that he will ever pop the so-long-awaited question. It is due to this exact issue that this novel has some sad parts too and the main reason that drives the action to evolve the way it did. One day, Lucy decides to leave Matt, despite her deep feelings for him. Then, her life moves on, she meets Greg, then Jake, in between she has some real complications in her life due to a Mr. Delano. Is this what she wanted? Did she take the right decision when she left Matt? Is maybe Jake the right guy for her? What about her best friend Olivia? Will she have with Pierre the relationship she hoped for? What about Vic? Will her marriage with Sam be saved? and last, but not least, will she be proposed to? These all are the questions that you will find the answer for if you choose to go to give this novel a try. Quotes: “Jake would be arriving at around noon. I was looking forward to seeing him but had mixed feelings about finding myself with both Jake and Matt here.” “I missed having him around. It seemed that everything was more fun when he was around…” My rating: 5/5. Find it on Goodreads Follow the author on Amazon  This book was written and published in the Romanian language so, for the time being my review is for Romanian speaking readers only.
La 44 de ani, Tiberiu, un bărbat dezamăgit de viață, sărac și singur, decide să-și vândă apartamentul și să plece departe, undeva la capătul lumii. Cred ca Tiberiu nu este singura persoană care își dorește așa ceva, nu-i așa? Chiar dacă Tiberiu m-a făcut să râd de multe ori nu mi-a plăcut totul despre el. Este puțin misogin, homofob, vulgar și delăsător. Dar, desigur, are și calitățile bărbatului: este descurcăreț, haios, și dacă rămâi cu el pe o insulă pustie nu mori de foame. Prin toate acestea, autorul a făcut o descriere excelentă a personajului principal. În afară de povestea unui bărbat și a unei fete pe o insulă pustie, autorul ne oferă povestiri în povestiri făcute de către personajul principal. O carte despre supraviețuire, despre lecțiile pe care ți le dă viața și despre ceea ce ar trebui să înveți să apreciezi. Un roman plin de umor, sarcasm, ironie, erotică, dragoste, familii disfuncționale și relații neobișnuite. Povestea în sine, talentul și stilul unic de scris al autorului, sunt motive pentru care îl recomand cu căldură fiecărui iubitor de romane de dragoste picante și pline de suspans. În ciuda vocabularului fără perdea sau poate datorită acestuia și a unui sarcasm ingenios acest roman vă va aduce des zâmbetul pe buze. „Ies din bancă și-mi pipăi încă o dată buzunarul, deși știu exact care-i treaba: am o mie de dolari în buzunar și șaizeci de mii în cont. Sunt un negociator dat naibii! Am reușit performanța să cumpăr un apartament cu optzeci de mii de dolari și să-l vând cu șaizeci și una de mii. Sunt mândru!” “- Oare cum o fi prin Dubai acum? mă-ntreb cu voce tare. Adică, imaginează-ți, să fie cald mereu, să te tolănești toată ziua sub soare. Nu-i așa că iernile de aici îți taie orice pofta de viață? - Despre Dubai chiar nu știu mare lucru, răspunde liniștit barmanul, dar am fost acum un an în Thailanda și vă asigur că a fost o experiență foarte… călduroasă. Zâmbește cu toți dinții și-mi face cu ochiul. - Ești pe invers? îl întreb direct. - Nu, face el mirat. Nici pomeneală. - Mi-ai făcut din ochi. - Ah, spune râzând, asta era? Făceam din ochi pentru că am avut ocazia să cunosc o grămadă de fete drăguțe pe plaja din Phuket. De aia.” My rating: 4/5. Find it on Goodreads Follow the author on Amazon Author’s website  A novel about life, friendship, family, love, and abusive relationships.
Jolie, the main characters, had had a hard past but things don't seem to change much in the present. At an early age, she was left without her mother without any information about the father, the closest family being her aunt May, her cousin Debbie and uncle Mike who was doing time. The traumatic events from her childhood left not only very visible scars on her face but deep emotional ones too. Jolie’s low self-esteem made her be back into a relationship with the abusive, controlling, short-tempered Dave. It was because of love that she accepted him back or at least she thought that. Her decision seemed to be based more on pity, concern, and worry for his life. The story ended a bit too fast so I was left out with some questions. Was she missing out on real love? Is Peter the right one? Will Debbie survive? Who is actually Bernie? To have an answer to all these questions I think the author has a sequel prepared for us. Type of reader: Fans of romance chick-lit genre with a touch of abusive relationships and past traumas and a touch of humor. My rating: 3/5 (Goodreads), 4/5 (Amazon) Find it on Goodreads Follow the author on Amazon  Love can be found when you least expect it.
This is a different kind of lesbian romance novel, where erotica elements are more present than the emotions related to a love between two people. This is the story of Virginia and Sage, both with some traumatic past and lots of personal issues. Virginia, a well-known actress, decided to take a break from the spotlight and drugs related issues, and move to a cabin in a remote place in Wisconsin in order to recover and find herself. Sage, a successful writer, was living a solitaire life in the same place, trying to recover from a hard past. They were brought together by Sage’s dog, named Denzel and Bartleby. While the dog only made the introduction, series of events, quite unusual and tragic I must say, made them realize that they rescued themselves from life-threatening events and offered them a possibility for a brighter future. A fun, heartwarming read, dark at times, steamy in big proportion. Does it bring a happily ever after? Will their sexual relationship go beyond intensive sexual moments, and love for the same cute little dog? Will they manage to move further from the dark point in life? Will they make peace with their past? These are all questions that I invite you to discover the answer on your own. Type of reader: Readers of contemporary lesbian erotica. Quotes from the book: “This was what Denzel was doing the other day. He wasn’t watching anything in particular, just looking into the deep beauty of the world around him. How much time do we spend looking at our phones? Looking at our walls? Closing ourselves in, away from this great big wonderful wide world that we were born into?” “He’s like a rescue dog, but so much more than that. I think he brought us together for a reason.” “I had this revelation,” Virginia swallowed. “About me. About everyone, I guess.” Callie nodded. “We’re all just characters trying to play our scenes right,” Virginia licked her dry lips. “But the thing about life is that you can change the script without anyone throwing a shit fit.” My rating: 5/5. Find it on Goodreads Follow the author on Amazon Author’s website |
Categories
All
Message to you:In order to be a good writer, one has to read a lot. And I do and I love it....and I chose to share my readings with you. Feel free to share with me any of the books you have read or wrote, if I find them interesting I will add them to my list. I'll post my reviews on Goodreads, Amazon and all my social accounts. |
RSS Feed
