Once Upon a Wine
Black Dog Bay
Fiction
NAL
July 26,2016
E-book
336
Publisher via Penguin First to Read
Cammie Breyer needs a big glass of cabernet—her restaurant failed and her chef boyfriend left for a hotter kitchen. Just when she thinks she’s hit rock bottom, her Aunt Ginger calls with a surprise. She’s bought a vineyard—in Delaware. At Ginger’s command, Cammie returns to Black Dog Bay, the seaside town where she spent her childhood summers with her aunt and her cousin, Kat.
The three women reunite, determined to succeed. There’s only one little problem: None of them knows the first thing about wine making. And it turns out, owning a vineyard isn’t all wine and roses. It’s dirt, sweat, and desperation. Every day brings financial pitfalls, unruly tourists, romantic dilemmas, and second thoughts. But even as they struggle, they cultivate hidden talents and new passions. While the grapes ripen under the summer sun, Cammie discovers that love, like wine, is layered, complex, delicious, and worth waiting for
My review:
3.5 stars
Want a great beach book this summer? Beth Kendrick's books are a go-to beach read for me. Many of her novels revolve around a fictional town of Black Dog Bay, Delaware........promoted as the place to go to get over a breakup. The town has embraced its reputation, with lots of businesses touting names relating to common heartache terms. This book, as well as all the others, is a stand-a-lone, and does not require you to read any of the others. But what fun it is to see some of the old familiar characters make guest appearances in each one! As with all of the previous stories, this one revolves around a new love blossoming amid the heartache of betrayal (in this case betrayal to another restaurant, not a person). Honestly, I could do without this sappy part of the story, but the rest of the novel held my interest, and since it's pretty much a given for this series, I can overlook it. I loved the snippets about the vineyard, for some reason every book I read on this subject has me hooked. The characters are fun, the setting is gorgeous, and now I want to go get me some strawberry wine!
This author knows how to serve up some summertime reading pleasure. I loved being back in Black Dog Bay, and hope this won't be the last we see of these great residents.
Thanks to Penguin First to Read program for providing me with an advance copy of this book. As always, my opinions are my own.
This book was my first in this series, and I really enjoyed it. It's perfect for the beach, and I think the timing of my reading is what put it over the top for me. It was exactly what I needed at the time. Perfect review as always.
The rest of the series is kind of the same type of story, only with different people in the town. Some of the same characters are mentioned, but you don't really have to read them in any particular order.