Lovey Dovey Books

How do you know if a first love is made to last?

Addison Monroe was eighteen when she fell for Jake Grady, a college student working on her family's farm for the summer. With his sapphire eyes and killer smile, Jake could have had any girl in Lakeside, Georgia. But he wanted Addy, and for those brief, wonderful months—before circumstances drove them irrevocably apart—they belonged to each other.

Ten years later, Addy is engaged to a doctor and working in Atlanta as a physician's assistant. Life feels full and satisfying. Yet memories of that long-ago summer and wine-flavored kisses are hard to shake. On a return visit to Lakeside, Addy crosses paths with Jake again, and soon finds herself at an unexpected crossroads. So much has changed, and Addy has chosen another route. And the magic of first love can never be rekindled...can it?

Strawberry Wine
Darly Jamison
Pub Date: 1/31/17
Zebra Shout (Kensington Books)
Genre: Romance
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Strawberry Wine is all the sweetness you can handle in one marvelous debut. Darly Jamison's clever romance engages readers in a summer filled with first love and heartache.

The novel opens to Addy preparing to take her fiancé home to meet her family. Then it flashes to memories of Addy as a teenager in Lakeside, Georgia. She reminisces over the summer she met Jake Grady, the older college boy working on her grandparents's farm. After exploring their sweet young love the novel cuts back to the present where tragedy brings Addy and Jake back together. Reading Strawberry Wine is almost like reading two different novels infused into one, but the consistency between Addy as a teenager and adult is not hard to miss. Readers get to see the growth and maturity of these dazzling characters so it's not solely focused on their connection.

The backdrop for this story is idyllic as Addy and Jake meet and rediscover a bond that even time can't diminish. The setting plays very well for this story, making you feel like you just took a relaxing vacation down to the southern countryside. It's honestly hard to believe that this is Darly Jamison's first novel, she writes like a seasoned pro knowing how to engage readers and leaven them eager for more! Strawberry Wine is the perfect romance to kick off 2017!

*ARC provided via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review*

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