Eight Hundred Grapes by Laura Dave

  • eight hundred grapesTitle:  Eight Hundred Grapes
  • Author:  Laura Dave
  • Genre:  Contemporary Fiction
  • Published:  April 2015 – Simon & Schuster
  • Source:  Publisher – Vine program

Synopsis:  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….  (publisher) 

My take:  This is the story of Georgia Ford, a young woman who can fix everyone else’s problems but her own it would seem. Georgia has a big problem – whether to marry her fiancé in a few days as planned or call the whole thing off. She’ll have to figure it out herself because none of her family is willing to tell her what to do. That may be because they all have big problems of their own.

Eight Hundred Grapes is about family dynamics and issues. I found all of the characters engaging. I loved how Laura Dave’s story developed and concluded and I turned the last page smiling and wishing for more.

Highly recommended to fans of the author and contemporary fiction.


 

The First Husband: A Novel by Laura Dave

Title:  The First Husband: A Novel

Author:  Laura Dave

Genre:  Fiction

About:  Annie, a travel writer in her early 30s, returns home from a recent trip to find that her long-time boyfriend (the one she thought would eventually be her husband) has decided he needs a break from her. She’s not completely shocked by the bad news because she had just watched Roman Holiday and something bad always happens after she watches that movie. But she manages to move on each time. This time she moves into a completely unexpected relationship which takes her on a journey to figure out what or who she wants.

My thoughts:  At  244 pages The First Husband is a fast, funny, and heartfelt novel about the roads taken and sometimes not taken to find grown up love – the kind that lasts.

Laura Dave’s characters are charming and quirky and most seem to be on the same quest as Annie. There’s a lot of emotion packed into this story as it twists and turns its way to a satisfying conclusion.

The First Husband is one of those books that had me thinking about it long after I finished reading it – always a good sign.

Recommend?  Yes! Read it on the beach or your favorite backyard chair or in your house. Just read it!

Source:  Viking