Review: Blood on Vines - Book #1 The Matakana Series - Madeline Eskedahl - March 2021 There's something special about starting the new year with a physical book in hand, and Blood on Vines kicked off my 2026 reading perfectly. As always, I'm on a mission to clear my groaning bookshelves, and this New Zealand-set thriller was the ideal choice to begin that journey. What made this read particularly meaningful was its Martinborough setting, which transported me straight back to my childhood. When I was seven or eight, my family lived in Martinborough, and I have vivid memories of both my parents working on a vineyard during harvest season, picking grapes under the warm sun. Reading Madeline Eskedahl's descriptions of vineyard life felt like stepping back into those memories, and it added such a personal connection to the story that I hadn't anticipated. The plot kicks off with the murder of an ex-winemaker in Martinborough, a meticulously planned attack that signals the ...

Review: Corkscrew You - Book #1 Flora Valley Series- July 2024 When I saw a couple of months ago, the upcoming releases from HarperCollins NZ, this one caught my attention for three reasons. The first was that Catherine Robertson is a New Zealand author and I love supporting authors from my own country as they just feel a little more special, the second was the setting of San Francisco and Sonoma County as in 2013, I spent a week in San Francisco and also had an author friend who had a place in Sonoma County which we had talked about seeing but due to time restraints, it didn't work out. The third reason was of course the book title and the fact it was a contemporary romance. Corkscrew You takes place in a small town called Flora Valley and is more so based at Flora Valley Winery where we have Shelby who for the past six months been trying to keep her father's vineyard and winery dreams alive as he passed away and she was the only one of her siblings/family willing to continu...

  Review: Unfortunately Yours - Book #2 A Vine Mess - Tessa Bailey - June 2023   Scrolling through my Netgalley shelf, I clicked on this Tessa Bailey book, I still have Book #1 in this series to read but had heard mixed reviews, so it's still sitting there to read. I have to admit, going into this book - because of what I had heard for the first one - this one I was a bit cautious about going. The book is set in the world of Wineries where we meet Wine Royalty Natalie and beginner winery owner August.  Natalie despite being wealthy and wine royalty, her trust fund is tied up with stipulations like she has to be married first. August's best friend Sam died in action when they were in the military. Sam always talked about opening his winery when they returned to civilian life. Since Sam can't do it, August has opened it in his memory. The thing is that August isn't very good and doesn't have the funds to make it successful. Enter Natalie's proposition - she and ...