Eight Hundred Grapes by Laura Dave
Publisher: Simon & SchusterPublished: June 2, 2015Pages: 260Received: for honest reviewFind Online: Goodreads | Amazon | Book DepositoryThere are secrets you share, and secrets you hide…
Growing up on her family’s Sonoma vineyard, Georgia Ford learned some important secrets. The secret number of grapes it takes to make a bottle of wine: eight hundred. The secret ingredient in her mother’s lasagna: chocolate. The secret behind ending a fight: hold hands.
But just a week before her wedding, thirty-year-old Georgia discovers her beloved fiancé has been keeping a secret so explosive, it will change their lives forever.
Georgia does what she’s always done: she returns to the family vineyard, expecting the comfort of her long-married parents, and her brothers, and everything familiar. But it turns out her fiancé is not the only one who’s been keeping secrets…
I flew through this book. I devoured all of the relationship issues, the emotions and the resolutions. I laughed and I cried. I love when books can do that - make you think, make you feel, make you want more.
Georgia's life just got complicated - a wedding a few weeks away and she finds out that her fiancé has a five year old daughter. And not just any daughter - her Mom is a movie star. Ouch! I don't blame Georgia for running, for wanting to be surrounded by family.
She's not the only one with relationship issues and the entire book centers around her family, them delving into their issues, helping each other through it all and figuring out what to do next. I loved that the siblings (Georgia, Finn and Bobby) had a way of moving past things without apologizing: "The Ford children didn't apologize to one another. We did what my mother had told us to do as children. We held out a hand and the other sibling had to take it. Everyone willing to move on." See isn't that amazing? This happened a few times during the story.
I enjoyed the flashbacks about her parents lives, the building of the winery and current life challenges. It helped to build the characters and give your perspective about their feelings. It also helps you see what her father meant when he says: "My
father had a theory that what was of equal importance to the wine you
presented in your vintage was the wine you left out of the vintage. In
winemaking, this was known as declassification. Declassifecation: a
fancy word for what wines you were willing to throw out."
It's such a great story about figuring out what you really want in your life, what your willing to hold on to and what your willing to let go of. There is so much more I'd like to say and characters I'd like to comment on, but if I do, it will ruin everything. So no spoilers.
But I will say that I really like what Georgia decided to do and how she decided to live her life. If you are looking for a good summer read for those last few weeks of the season, then I suggest you pick this book up!
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