Series: ,
Published by Wild Quail Publishing on February 13, 2018
Genres: Contemporary, Literature & Fiction, Romance, Women’s Fiction
Pages: 311
Format: ARC, eBook
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In 1970, Violet Hawkins’ only wish at eighteen is to escape her life in the Dayton, Ohio, foster-care system and make her way to the west coast to enjoy a mellow life and find the love she’s been missing all her life. She makes it to San Francisco, but soon learns she needs a job if she’s to live properly. A kind, young man named Kenton Chandler offers her a sandwich and a job at his father’s inn and vineyards. With nothing to lose, Lettie takes him up on his offer and begins a whole new life in the Willamette Valley, Oregon. She immediately falls in love with the land and is fascinated with the idea of growing grapes in order to make wines. She, Kenton, and Rafe Lopez become friends as she learns about running the small inn on the property. At the same time she marries Kenton, a stroke kills his father. And then before she can tell Kenton she’s pregnant, he dies in an automobile accident. Heartbroken and burdened with the gift of the Chandler Hill Inn and Winery, she’s left with the task of making them a success. Struggling to raise a child alone while working to grow the business, Lettie makes a shocking discovery that changes everything.
Judith Keim’s new book, Going Home was released on February 13, 2019! I was really intending to tell you all about the book on Publication Day and do a “shout out”, but books, reading, blogging and social media — none of it was not my priority that day. We had a sick family pup and our worlds were revolving around that sweet family member.
But back to Going Home….. thanks to the author, Judith Keim, I had the incredible opportunity to receive and read this book in advance of publication day as a member of her Review Team! I already knew how awesome the story was too! The story is so big and the characters are so well written that it’s actually super hard for me to sit down and put together a short review of the book. I don’t want to give everything away, so let me try to share just a bit…..
This book is the first book in Ms. Keim’s new series called the Chandler Hill Inn series. The main character is Violet “Lettie” Hawkins who leaves the foster care system in Dayton, Ohio as soon as she turns 18 and heads to California determined to find her way in life. Lettie is living on the streets, hungry and homeless, Kenton Chandler offers her a sandwich. Kenton tells Lettie that his father has a vineyard in Oregon and he offers her a job. She is more than eager to accept his job offer having nothing to lose, and she sets off for a new life in a new world in Oregon. Lettie immediately falls in love with the land; she’s totally immersed in the wine making process. While learning how run the small inn on the property, Lettie, Kenton, and Rafe Lopez become friends.
There’s so much more to this story – I don’t want to spend all day summarizing it for you – it’s a riveting journey through 50 years of Lettie’s life and the journey is very hard to put down. We watch as Lettie experiences true friendships, true love, marriage, death, motherhood and so much more. The characters are very well written, the story flows extremely well and you’ll be sad when you get to the last page wondering how fast Ms. Keim can finish the second book in the series!
Pick up a copy for yourself ~~
Amazon // B&N // Kobo // iTunes // Google Books
Growing up, books were always present being read, ready to go back to the library, or about to be discovered. Information from the books was shared in general conversation, giving all of us in the family a wealth of knowledge and a lot of imagination. Perhaps that is why I was drawn to the idea of writing stories early on. I particularly love to write novels about women who face unexpected challenges and meet them with strength.
A hybrid author who both has a publisher and self-publishes, Ms. Keim writes heart-warming stories of strong women who face challenges and find love and happiness along the way. Her books are based, in part, on many of the places she’s lived or visited and on the interesting people she’s met, creating believable characters and realistic settings her many, loyal readers love.
Connect with Ms. Keim on social media ~~
WEBSITE // FACEBOOK // TWITTER // INSTAGRAM // GOODREADS // AMAZON
Lucky me because I was provided an Advance Reader Copy in exchange for my unbiased review, as part of Judith Keim’s review team. I was not required to leave a positive review, but chose to because the book was awesome! Thanks so much!!
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