Blush
Fiction
G. P. Putnam's Sons
June, 22, 2021
Advance reader copy
384
Free from publisher
For decades, the lush vineyards and majestic manor house of the Hollander Estates winery made it the North Fork of Long Island's premier destination for lavish parties and romantic day trips. Now the Hollander family fortunes have suffered, and as matriarch Vivian Hollander prepares for the arrival of her daughter and granddaughter for their annual summer reunion, she fears it might be their last. Worse, selling the family legacy to strangers might expose the dark secret she's harbored for thirty-five years....
Visits to the winery have been bittersweet for Leah Hollander Bailey ever since her father refused to let her take her place in the family business. Now a successful Manhattan shop owner, Leah loves the life she's built with her husband and daughter--but with her store, and her marriage, at a crossroads, she can't help but view this year's pilgrimage home as a sorely needed escape.
College senior Sadie Bailey has a thesis to write, and the towering shelves of the manor's library offer endless academic inspiration. But when Sadie discovers evidence that her proper Grandma Vivian once ran a book club dedicated to the scandalous women's novels of decades past, the shockingly outrageous tomes give her new insight into her family's glory days.
Resurrecting the trashy book club begins as the distraction all three women need. But as they battle to save their birthright and heal old wounds, they just might find that the pages contain everything they need to know about how to fight for what they want--and for the life, and love, they deserve.
My absolute favorite part about this book is going to show my age, but here goes. Three generations of women end up resurrecting a decades old bookclub of what were then considered racy books by authors such as Judith Kranz, Jackie Collins, Danielle Steele, and Sidney Sheldon. I read all of these books when they were released back in the 80's! The whole book was worth it just to delve into those memories again! But that's not all this book had going for it, lest you not remember any of these books 🙂 It also delves into the wine business and growing crops in the vineyards, the different types of cheese (some of which I've never heard of), and a misogynistic patriarch who you can root against. There is nothing to root against regarding the women in this book, although I wish that Vivian would have been more in tune with what was happening with the vineyard (function of the times.....sigh) before it was almost too late. Of course if you are looking for secrets to be revealed, there are those included, as well as a young summer love blossoming.
This one has a bit of something for everyone. Food, drink, family, love, secrets, and a bookclub! Now I want to go back and read some of the classics written about here. Believe it or not I do still have a couple of them on my shelves 🙂
