Hello, lovelies! It gives me great pleasure today to host Joye
Emmens and her new book, “Crush: A Tale of Two Vineyards”! For other stops on her Goddess Fish
Promotions Book Tour, please click on the banner above or any of the images in
this post.
Be sure to make it to the
end of this post to enter to win a $20 Amazon or Barnes and Noble Gift Card!! Also, come back daily to interact with Joye
and to increase your chances of winning!
Thanks for stopping
by! Wishing you lots of luck in this
fabulous giveaway!
Crush: A Tale of Two
Vineyards
by Joye Emmens
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GENRE: Contemporary Romance
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BLURB:
Will
the rare love that comes once in a lifetime win her over? Crush: A Tale of Two
Vineyards is a compelling and enchanting novel set among vineyards in Southern
France and Central California.
Spending
summers at her grandparents’ vineyard, Clos de Harmonie, Olivia found her
passion for winemaking and pursued a degree in Viticulture and Enology. Olivia
accepts an invitation from a Frenchman to complete her master’s degree project
at his family’s fifth generation biodynamic vineyard in France.
She
and the French winemaker have an instant attraction. With her project complete,
she struggles with the desire to stay in France and the knowledge she is
neglecting her grandparents’ vineyard. Called back to California by an
unforeseen turn of events, Olivia focuses on getting Clos de Harmonie certified
as a biodynamic vineyard. Her dream is to make authentic, natural wine that
captures the landscape and its essence in a bottle.
As
she wrestles with her long-distance love interest, the challenges of reviving a
rundown vineyard, and trouble with the landowner next door, Olivia finds
strength in the human spirit and the need to prove herself in a sea of
doubters.
An
evocative story that awakens the senses, Crush captures the complex layers and
enduring bonds of family amidst the dramas and joys of winemaking. The magic
and mysteries of biodynamic farming come to life along with a colorful cast of
characters in both France and California.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
EXCERPT ONE:
Professor
Clark, my graduate adviser, walked to the podium. The guest speaker followed.
With his lean build, he glided across the stage. He stood tall and relaxed in a
white linen long-sleeved shirt and blue jeans. While the professor introduced
him, he scanned the audience, and his eyes landed on me in the front row. I sat
up straight and wished I’d worn something more flattering than jeans and a
T-shirt. Mom always told me never leave the house without looking your best.
His brown eyes met mine before he took the podium.
So,
this was Lucien Laroche. I was to be his ambassador for the weekend. Professor
Clark had asked me to take Lucien to consult with two wineries near Santa
Barbara. Since I was going to my nana’s vineyard in the valley already, it
worked out perfectly.
“Biodynamic
agriculture springs from a spiritual worldview called anthroposophy,” Lucien
Laroche stated. His French accent had me. “A biodynamic farm is a living
system. A self-sustaining ecosystem that is responsible for creating and maintaining
its health without any outside or unnatural additions. Each farm has its own
unique characteristics.”
I
followed his every move. His presence held my attention. My undivided
attention.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
MY BOOK REVIEW:
This book whisked me away on a sweet, romantic, aromatic,
delightful journey!!!
This book has a creative story line, fantastic writing style
that flows with meticulous and vivid scenes, well-developed characters, is evenly
paced, and keeps you completely entertained through the last page.
It’s
pretty obvious by reading the title and blurb that this book was going to be
about wine, so I decided to get into “character,” when reading this book. I poured a glass a wine, made a cheese and
cracker plate, and snuggled up under a soft, chenille blanket on the couch, pretending
it wasn’t pouring rain outside and that I was laying out on the lanai LOL!!!
I
really liked the main characters, Olivia and Luke. They were kind, realistic, and genuine. I loved that Olivia, was a strong, smart, confident,
bold, fierce, driven female-lead – those are my favorite type of characters and
role-models. I loved that Luke, was sexy,
charming, caring, and romantic. I liked
the instant connection between Olivia and Luke.
It was a little rushed, but still totally believable. They were so sweet together and there is so
much chemistry and passion between them!
I really enjoyed watching their relationship develop and unfold over the
course of the book.
I
loved that both characters had so much in common, wanted the same family goals,
and dreams. Unfortunately, those plans were
on different continents. I couldn’t
imagine finding my soulmate and then having to decide between them and family
duties, commitments, and your life’s work.
It seems no matter what choice you make, you’d be disappointing someone,
or giving up something you worked your whole life for. Is true love stronger than that? Or will over time cause you to resent that
person? Or have deep regrets down the road? Or does blood really run deeper and as they say,
family is family? Maybe they’re not
really the one after all? No spoilers
here!! But you definitely will want to
read this book and find out what happens and what Olivia and Luke decide to do
about their predicament!!
The author’s writing is strong and eloquently detailed. She really provided so much detail in her
writing that it was easy to picture – especially the beautiful picturesque family
vineyards in Central California and Southern France. Both are now definitely on my bucket list!
I was
also truly impressed with the amount of in-depth research the author provided
in this book. It is clear she was
well-versed and familiar with the ins and outs of winemaking and running a
biodynamic vineyard. It definitely made
the story feel more genuine and authentic.
Plus, the author was able to apply the information in an easy to
understand tone for all readers regardless their level or experience with wine.
I
live in a wine valley where several vineyards are just a couple miles down the
road. Sadly, I have yet to visit any of
them as I have always been a bit nervous about not always knowing the proper wine
etiquette. After reading this book and
learning some lingo, but more importantly reading about the lavish area and
incredible experience these vineyards and tours offer I can’t help but feel I am
missing out on something that people drive hours – even days to come visit!!! This book has absolutely inspired me to
finally book one of those nearby wine tasting and vineyard tours and have my
own real-life adventure!!!
There are some very predictable scenes. However, there are still a few unexpected
twists and turns that you won’t see coming!
At
this time, this book is not part of a book series and can be read as a
standalone. However, without saying too
much I think there could be a possibility that the author could follow this
book up with a sequel.
All in all, I really enjoyed reading this book and would
absolutely recommend it! I think all
contemporary romance readers will like this book too! So, add it to your TBR List and get to
reading – in character with a glass of wine or not LOL – regardless you won't
be disappointed!
Did you find this review helpful?
If so, please, please, please mark it as
helpful on Amazon here:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/review/R26I6HRNRMYY9R
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AUTHOR BIO:
Joye Emmens is
also the author of She’s Gone. She lives in California with her husband.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CONNECT WITH JOYE:
Website:
Facebook:
Twitter:
BookBub Author Page:
Goodreads Author Page:
Goodreads Book Page:
Amazon Author Page:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BOOK BUY LINKS:
Amazon Kindle eBook:
Amazon Paperback:
Barnes and Noble NOOK eBook:
Barnes and Noble Paperback:
Kobo eBook:
The Book Depository Paperback:
BAM! Books-A-Million Paperback:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GIVEAWAY INFO:
Joye will be awarding a $20 Amazon or B/N GC to
a randomly drawn winner via Rafflecopter during the tour.
**This post contains affiliate links and if clicked and a
purchase is made, I may receive a small commission to help support this
blog. This does not cost you anything,
it just helps pay for all those awesome giveaways on here.**
Joye ~ Good morning! Welcome to FAB! It is great to have you here! Congrats on your new book and good luck on the book tour! I really enjoyed reading and reviewing your book, thanks for providing the copy! :)
ReplyDeleteThank you for hosting and for the in depth review!
DeleteAnother great book to discover. Thanks so much for sharing this with us.
ReplyDeleteThank you!
DeleteThanks for sharing your review!
ReplyDeleteThank you!
DeleteSounds like a good book.
ReplyDeleteThank you! I hope you enjoy the tale.
DeleteHow long did it take you to write your book?
ReplyDeleteAbout three years from start to publishing.
ReplyDeleteAre any of the characters based on real people that you know?
ReplyDeleteSounds like an interesting read! I love the name of the book--very clever
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to reading it.
ReplyDelete