GRR Reviews Summer in Napa (St. Helena Vineyard) by Marina Adair

Summer in Napa combined a bit of small town, a homecoming, an evil ex, and MMC who's evil ex's best friend. The fast resolution did not distract from this satisfying romance, but let's backtrack a second...

Alexis "Lexi" Moreau owned a New York restaurant with her husband until she caught him sampling the sous-chef (and I don't mean her food) AND made changes that lost the restaurant a lot of money (mostly hers). She ran back to her hometown St. Helena, Califronia, and started the divorce. Six months later, she's still in serious debt from the divorce, and her only way out is to turn her grandma's bakery into her dream bistro, dodging grandma's matchmaking attempts... AND avoiding the oh-so-sexy Marco DeLuca... who's her ex's best friend. Marco wanted Lexi for a long time, but he's not about to get between his best bud and a woman. He's also about to help his family reopen the Grand Hotel in town. Now that Lexi is free, Marc is perfectly willing to stake his claim on Lexi, ostensibly to just ward off grandma's matchmaking. However, he's keeping a secret... something that will shatter Lexi's trust if it gets out... And he started to suspect his best bud ain't quite on the up-and-up...

The evil ex made a GREAT foil against Marco, basically ruining Marco's chances with Lexi while trying to squeeze more money out of her (a "kinder gentler version of blackmail") and the escalation really did scale up, as each step, seemingly forward, seem to result in two steps back... And the darkest hour was dark indeed. As I said, I think the resolution was over a bit too fast, but good Marco, hurt Lexi, and evil Ex made for some interesting and tense moments. Highly recommended.

Category: Contemporary

Primary Plot: Woman trying to turn her grandma's bakery into a bistro must avoid her evil's ex's best friend who wanted her... or should she?

Tropes: vineyard, triangle, evil ex, return, ex's best friend, restaurant/bakery

Overall Rating:  5/5

GRR Reviews From the Moment We Met (A St. Helena by Marina Adair

From the Moment We Met started out as slapstick humiliation comedy, then tried to shift into a standard romance with some baggage on both sides. But the chemistry between the MMC and FMC just wasn't there.

Abby DeLuca had designed huge projects for her family, but never on her own. She is going to enjoy her newly found freedom after her husband, who disappeared for 7 years, is legally presumed dead and her divorce was finally granted. Then came the ultimate humiliation... he had specified in his will to dump a larger than life sculpture of him in her yard (destroying her entire garden), in full witness of the OTHER man who broke her heart... Jack Tanner. Tanner and Abby had once been an item, until he went off to his American football career. His retirement brought him back, as a handyman around town... and providing some off-the-books services to the ladies in town. But he's determined to put a smile back on Abby's face, even as Abby found that the town has long memories, and her brothers are out trying to "help" her career as a designer, often to her detriment. When Tanner got his own break, he will have to choose between his heart and his pocketbook.

Frankly, the sculpture gag wore off almost immediately, and it is as if the entire book is about humiliation. Abby was embarrassed about the sculpture, embarrassed about her brothers "helping" her business, embarrassed about her clientele of her design business (design a... doggie room?) and finally, embarrassed about her relationship with Jack, whose off-the-books services aren't something bandied about town. Jack... doesn't really care. This is an uneven relationship.

Category: Contemporary / Comedy

Primary Plot: Handyman in town wants interior designer; she's embarrassed about a lot of things, including his... side jobs

Tropes: handyman, interior designer, different worlds, small town,

Overall Rating:  2/5