The Memory of You by Catherine West
Also by this author: The Things We Knew
Published by HarperCollins Christian Publishing on March 28th 2017
Genres: Christian, Contemporary Women, Family Life, Fiction, Romance
Pages: 320
Format: Paperback
Goodreads
Thirteen years ago, Natalie lost a part of herself when her twin sister died. Will traveling back to the family winery finally put the memory to rest, or will it completely destroy her?When Natalie Mitchell learns her beloved grandfather has had a heart attack, she’s forced to return to their family-owned winery in Sonoma, something she never intended to do. She’s avoided her grandparents’ sprawling home and all its memories since the summer her sister died—the awful summer Natalie’s nightmares began. But the winery is failing, and Natalie’s father wants her to shut it down. As the majority shareholder, she has the power to do so.And Natalie never says no to her father.Tanner Collins, the vintner on Maoilios, is trying to salvage a bad season and put the Mitchell family’s winery back in business. When Natalie shows up, Tanner sees his future about to be crushed. He knows Natalie intends to close the gates, and he’s determined to convince her otherwise. But the Natalie he remembers from childhood is long gone, and he’s not so sure he likes the woman she’s become. Still, the haunted look she wears hints at secrets he wants to unearth. He soon discovers that on the night her sister died, the real Natalie died too. And Tanner must do whatever it takes to resurrect her.But finding freedom from the past means facing it. For both of them.
The whole month of June, I did not post and then all the books the books that my mother and I have read just sat there without reviews. Gloria (my mom) and I sat down the other night on the phone and went over all the books she has, all the books I have. Next we went through the list of books we had just made and figured out which ones already had reviews, which ones needed reviews, and which one of us had which books. The end result is that we are hammering out a bunch of book reviews for all of the books we’ve been reading over the past couple of months.
Today’s book review is another book I received as a part of The Fiction Guild’s Elite Reader Program and its The Memory of You by Catherine West. Even though I had read The Things We Knew by Catherine West (see review HERE), I sent this one to my mom to read because she had a little more spare time than I did. Here’s Gloria’s review:
This is the first book that I have read written by Catherine West, but after finishing this Christian fiction entitled The Memory of You, I will be looking forward to reading more of her books. This book begins in a boardroom of the family owned business where Natalie Mitchell working for her father as head of PR for the Mitchell Enterprises. Making her presentation, she felt like she was having another nervous breakdown and later that day in the doctor’s office he confirmed that she was right and started her on new medicine.
This is a story about Natalie Mitchell and Tanner Collins but Catherine West has also brought in secondary characters that is a very strong part of this story. This compelling story has characters dealing with complex issues such as PTSD, grief, bipolar, guilt, family secrets, romance, faith, a bit of mystery, and forgiveness. Natalie’s father wants to shut her grandfather’s winery down and forces Natalie to take a leave of absence from her job and go visit her beloved grandfather who has had a heart attack and deliver the news. She is not sure she wants to shut it down or help bring it into the twenty first century. Natalie is part owner of the winery, but does not say no to her father.
Arriving at the winery she learns that her grandfather is feeling better than her father told her and that Tanner Collins ( an old childhood crush) is working for him. Natalie has not been back to visit her grandfather in years since her twin sister died when they were thirteen years old. Natalie and her father are the only ones that know the truth about the accident that took her sister’s life. Both good and bad memories are here for Natalie. Can she handle all of this?
Tanner Collins is fighting his own demons, concerned of losing his job if Natalie shuts the winery down and is very rude to her. Natalie knows she must work with Tanner and the winery is losing money. Can they make peace to save the winery, can Natalie overcome her panic attacks, the guilt of loss, tell the truth about her sister’s death, and can she stand up to her father to keep the winery open?
I enjoyed this book very much and looking forward to reading other novels by Catherine West.
Catherine West is an award-winning author writing stories of hope and healing from her island home in Bermuda. Educated in Bermuda, England and Canada, Catherine holds a degree in English from the University of Toronto. When she’s not at the computer working on her next story, you can find her taking her Border Collie for long walks or tending to her roses and orchids.
She and her husband have two grown children. Catherine is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers and Romance Writers of America, and is represented by Rachelle Gardner of Books & Such Literary Management.
Catherine loves to connect with her readers and can be reached at [email protected]. Find out more about Catherine at catherinejwest.com.
I received a paperback copy of this book without cost from the publisher through The Fiction Guild, a Thomas Nelson/Zondervan Elite Reader book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own, or in this case, my mom’s.
It would be great if you would stay connected with me!! You can follow me on Twitter @DebiL1611, like me on Facebook at 2014 and Beyond, circle me on Google+, follow me on Tumblr, Instagram and Bloglovin’, subscribe on YouTube, or connect with me on LinkedIn and Pinterest.
Please make sure to visit my homepage and subscribe to my blog for more great posts on running, fitness and lifestyle topics as well as food, product, music and book reviews, and more!
