SOUR GRAPES (Blue Plate #2) by Rachel Goodman-Review, Guest Post & Giveaway

SOUR GRAPES
Blue Plate #2
by Rachel Goodman
Release Date: May 23, 2016
Genre: adult, contemporary, romance

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date May 23, 2016

Margaret Stokes is bitter. And not in the robust fine wine or tangy dark chocolate kind of way. She just got dumped, is fed up with her job as a glorified party-planner for the rich, and can’t possibly listen to one more veiled insult from her impossible-to-please mother. So she retreats to the comfort of her grandmother’s ramshackle bed and breakfast, where the wide open vineyards are filled with surprises, from the shockingly delicious wine to the aggravating yet oh-so-tempting man who makes it.

Ryan Camden’s easy approach to life encourages Margaret to loosen up and have a little fun, despite her better judgment. She resists the urge to micromanage every detail, embracing the welcome distractions of her surroundings and letting their relationship unfold at a natural rhythm. But when a health scare forces Grammy J to give up the B&B, Margaret begins to wonder if Ryan really is the man he promises—and whether the problems she tried so hard to escape ever really went away.

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REVIEW: SOUR GRAPES is the second installment in Rachel Goodman’s contemporary, adult SOUR GRAPES romance series. This is Texas winery owner/vintner Ryan Camden, and party planner Margaret Stokes’s story line. SOUR GRAPES can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty. Some of the characters from book one FROM SCRATCH cross over including Margaret’s ex-boyfriend Nick Preston whose actions, months earlier, set Margaret off on her adventure. SOUR GRAPES picks up following the events of book one.

Told from first person point of view (Margaret) SOUR GRAPES focuses on acerbic snob Margaret Stokes-a woman who finds herself on the run from family, so-called friends, and a thriving party planning business. Margaret is struggling with who she is, and what it is she wants from life. Months earlier Margaret was dumped by her boyfriend Nick for another woman-his ex Lillie-and things have gone down hill ever since. Without thinking, Margaret embarks on a journey where landing at her Grandmother’s struggling B&B finds our heroine battling with the local bad boy, and owner of the profitable local winery- Ryan Camden. What ensues is a building relationship between Margaret and Ryan, and the reevaluation of one woman’s life.

Wow, Margaret Stokes is a piece of work. I don’t know if I have ever met a heroine of whom I disliked to the extent that I considered DNFing. Not only is Margaret a snob, a condescending, caustic, judgmental b*tch but her so-called friends up the anti by ten fold. But I must say that Margaret comes by her attitude naturally once we meet her highbrow mother-a woman literally torn from Satan’s womb. In the early stages of the story line Margaret’s ability to put people down is nothing short of rude, destructive, patronizing and egotistic but her building relationship with Ryan, and the local townsfolk, find our heroine softening around the edges as love begins to enfold her heart. It is Ryan’s proclamation of love and plans for their future that sets Margaret off on another temperamental tirade of irrational accusations and name calling that finds our couple walking in opposite directions.

SOUR GRAPES is a well written, entertaining and engaging storyline once you ‘see’ beyond the heroine’s attitude and behavior. Ryan is a man who has fallen for the mercurial Margaret and finds himself falling in love when neither one expected anything beyond the present. The premise is passionate; the characters are animated and dynamic; the romance is intimate and seductive.

Click HERE for Sandy’s review of FROM SCRATCH book 1 by Rachel Goodman

Copy supplied by the publisher through Netgalley

Reviewed by Sandy

Researching the Premise of SOUR GRAPES

Thank you so much for having me back at The Reading Café!

Prior to and during the writing of SOUR GRAPES, I made several visits to Fredericksburg, a quaint town in the heart of Texas Hill Country that President Lyndon Johnson once referred to as “a special corner of God’s real estate.” In Fredericksburg, Main Street is lined with antique stores, art galleries, bed and breakfasts, and bakeries, and the surrounding area is filled with rolling hills, grassy pastures, and row after row of vineyards.

Fredericksburg was settled in the mid-1800’s by German immigrants whose culture can still be felt in and around town today, from the 19th-century vernacular buildings of stone and fachwerk—a traditional German building technique consisting of heavy timber framing and diagonal bracing, with an infill of limestone—to the German flags placed outside the Auslander Beirgarten and Der Lindenbaum restaurant.

And while Texas may not be the destination most people think of for spectacular wine, I’d say those people are missing out. Over the last decade, Texas Hill Country wineries have evolved significantly, relying on grape varietals that grow well in Spain and the Mediterranean and not trying to model their wines after those found in California or the Pacific Northwest. Wineries in and around Fredericksburg are proud of being big, bold, and hospitable like Texas itself.

Take Becker Vineyards for example, whose wines are award-winning and produced of only Texas-grown fruit. Established in 1992, it’s one of the oldest Hill Country wineries and the third largest in Texas. The property is filled with vineyards, lavender fields, a tasting room, and the winery. Becker Vineyards is the real-life embodiment of Camden Cellars, Ryan’s winery that plays a major role in SOUR GRAPES.

Perdernales Cellars—with wines that are robust, nuanced, and delicious—was the inspiration for nearly every wine mentioned in SOUR GRAPES—Reckless Love, Wild Abandon, and No Holds Barred. Set off the main drag of Wine Road 290, Perdernales Cellars is known for its Spanish and Rhone-style wines and its commitment to Texas fruit—about half their grapes are grown on the property while others are grown in different areas of the state. Just a taste of their Texas Tempranillo Reserve is worth the visit to Fredericksburg.

But it’s not just the Tempranillo that makes a trip to Fredericksburg well worth it. It’s the people, the relaxed vibe, and the hidden treasures that make it worth the trip south. But, if your summer travel plans are set and made, you can grab a little slice of Southern Texas charm in SOUR GRAPES to hold you over until next year.

~~Rachel~~

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Rachel is a mojito lover, cheese enthusiast, wanderluster, book junkie, romance writer, and an enginerd. She is a Colorado native displaced in Texas and an engineer and university professor. When she’s not creating optimization models or traveling the world, eating her way through city after city, she is usually tucked in the corner of a coffee shop, dreaming up stories and typing away on the computer. She lives in suburbia Dallas with her husband and two Cavalier King Charles Spaniels, Oliver Pancake and Rigby Peanut. FROM SCRATCH is her first novel.

Rachel and her publisher are offering an ebook copy of SOUR GRAPES to ONE (1) lucky commenter at The Reading Cafe.

NOTE: The ebook copy will not work with Kindle ebook readers.

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8. Giveaway open to international

9. Giveaway runs from May 22 to 26, 2016