| Beth Kendrick is the author of
twelve women’s fiction novels, including Put a Ring
On It, New Uses for Old Boyfriends, Cure for the Common Breakup,
The Week Before the Wedding, The Lucky Dog Matchmaking Service,
and Nearlyweds, which was turned into a Hallmark
Channel original movie. Beth also won the Romance Writers
of America's Golden Heart Award for My Favorite Mistake.
Cammie Breyer always wanted to own a restaurant, but at least
she learned she has a talent for convincing customers to purchase
expensive wine. When her cousin Kat sends an urgent text,
Cammie discovers that her aunt, Ginger, has cashed out her
pension and retirement checks to buy a vineyard in Delaware.
As they drive to Black Dog Bay, where Cammie spent her summers
with Kat and Ginger as a child, she points out that none of
them are qualified to run a vineyard. She’s an ex-waitress,
Kat’s a retired skateboarder and Ginger is an ex-schoolteacher.
Cammie and Kat stop at a strawberry stand on the way to the
vineyard. Cammie sees her ex-boyfriend, Ian, and the hidden
feelings she had for him resurface. Kat urges her to continue
the romance where Cammie left off years before, because “he’s
a farmer” and they need all the help they can get, but
Cammie’s uncertain, though her attraction to Ian is
hard to resist.
Cammie knows Ginger sacrificed to take care of her for years
after Cammie’s mother died, and decides it’s time
to act like a real daughter. She heads for the vineyard itself
and listens to Ian’s suggestions. With her skateboarding
career over and her marriage to Josh on shaky ground, Kat
turns her efforts to developing a web site to market their
future wines. Ginger makes a special strawberry wine –
an old family recipe – and sets up special events at
the vineyards. Secondary characters added depth to the excellent
and at times emotionally charged plot.
Once Upon a Wine is a delightfully entertaining novel
about three women who face an uncertain future with courage
and determination. As Ginger points out, the vineyard was
a second chance for all three of them. How they succeed is
funny and romantic, and totally satisfying.
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