I was given this book by my sister last Christmas. As I opened it, she said, "I thought it would be an easy, relaxing book for the New Year." She was correct. It has a naturally flowing plot with a few twists and turns to keep the pages turning.
The story is based in a vineyard in the Barossa Valley, South Australia, well known as one of the world's greatest wine regions. First settled in the mid 1800s by English and German immigrants, the valley is a mere 25km long but with its hot, dry summers and cool, moderate winters, it manages to produce 21% of Australia's wine.
Carla, who was born and still lives in New Zealand inherits her father's vineyard when he suddenly dies. Estranged from his wealthy wine making family in the Barossa Valley, her father had left the country and never returned so Carla had no idea that he owned the vineyard.
Carla, her young son and Angie, partner of her father and vigneron make the difficult decision to bring the vineyard back to life and make it profitable.
This is not easy because of the ruinous state of the vineyard and the vendetta that is mounted by her estranged relatives in an attempt to cause it to fail. The family want her to sell the land to them and will stop at little to achieve this.
Of course, true grit, hard work and love win over and we have a "happily ever after" story. The large wealthy family grow to love Carla after realising that she had nothing to do with events that occurred before she was born. The aunt who believes that murder is the best option is safely relocated to Spain to avoid arrest and Carla gets married to a lovely gentleman after a few dinners and some architecture advise.
This is an easy read and is difficult to put down at times.
What have I learnt from it? Time can heal wounds and persistence can pay off.
Lynne Wilding, born and bred in Sydney, Australia is the author of several novels and the inaugural president of Romance Writers of Australia inc.
Photo courtesy of The Book Depository.
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