Hott Synopsis:
Until Dominic walks through the door. With one conversation he completely tilts her life. Dominic is the executor of her grandfather’s estate, a grandfather Tess was unaware of and is visiting to let her know that her grandfather is in a coma. Oh, and she has a sister. This shock is enough to drive Tess into the full blown panic attack she’d been skirting for months.
Now, for the for the first time in her life, Tess has to let people in and accept the family she so desperately needs. Does she have the courage?
Hott Review:
What I liked about The Apple Orchard: What an amazing start to a new series! I absolutely couldn’t put this book down. Not only was Tess’s story amazing but the memories and history of her grandparents, parents, and their friends (which includes the German occupation of Sweden) were enthralling. This book is a must have!
What I didn’t like: There were a lot of characters and at times, in the first few chapters, I needed to stop & think about who these people were.
More…
Author: | Susan Wiggs | ||
Source: | Harlequin MIRA via Netgalley | ||
Grade: | A+ | ||
Steam: | YA — there was some steaminess but honestly it was so glossed it was just sweet. | ||
Setting: | Archangel, California | ||
Series: | Bella Vista Chronicles #1 |
Author Bio:
Due to her brother’s extreme reaction to that first prodigious effort, Susan went underground with her craft, entertaining her friends and offending her siblings with anonymously-written stories of virtuous sisters and the brothers who torment them. The first romance she ever read was Shanna by the incomparable Kathleen Woodiwiss, which she devoured while slumped behind a college vector analysis textbook. Armed with degrees from SFA and Harvard, and toting a crate of “keeper” books by Woodiwiss, Roberta Gellis, Laurie McBain, Rosemary Rodgers, Jennifer Blake, Bertrice Small and anything with the words “flaming” and “ecstasy” in the title, she became a math teacher, just to prove to the world that she did have a left brain.
Late one night, she finished the book she was reading and was confronted with a reader’s worst nightmare—She was wide awake, and there wasn’t a thing in the house she wanted to read. Figuring this was the universe’s way of taking away her excuses, she picked up a Big Chief tablet and a Number Two pencil, and began writing her novel with the working title, A Book About Some Bad Adults. Actually, that was a bad book about some adults, but Susan persevered, learning her craft the way skydiving is learned—by taking a blind leap and hoping the chute will open.
Her first book was published (without the use of blunt scissors and a stapler) by Zebra in 1987, and since then she has been published by Avon, Tor, HarperCollins, Harlequin, Warner and Mira Books. Unable to completely abandon her beloved teaching profession, Susan is a frequent workshop leader and speaker at writers’ conferences, including the literary institution Fields End and the legendary Maui Writers Conference. Her novel The Charm School was voted one of RWA’s Favorite Books of the Year. She is the proud recipient of three RITA awards for Lakeside Cottage, Lord of the Night and The Mistress, and is often a finalist for the prestigious award. Her books appear regularly on numerous “Best Of” lists.
Susan enjoys many hobbies, including sitting in the hot tub while talking to her mother on the phone, kickboxing, cleaning the can opener, sculpting with butter and growing her hair. She lives on an island in the Pacific Northwest with her family.
Websites & Links:
* info & image from http://www.susanwiggs.com/
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Sounds fantastic. Is it fall-tastic too?
It really is. I couldn’t put it down and the talk of the fall harvest and ripe apples sent me on my own trip to the orchard!