THE MEMORY OF YOU by Catherine West, Review by Winnie Thomas

Set against the backdrop of California wine country, this stirring and heart touching story captivated me from the first page. Catherine West has a definite knack for creating realistic, flawed, hurting characters that endear themselves to the reader and embed themselves in your heart. She also is an expert at taking on hard issues and messy lives and combining them with faith, redemption, forgiveness and love to craft a story that stays with the reader long after the story ends.

I loved this story of Tanner and Natalie and how they were able to grow and work through their problems and their relationship. One of my favorite quotes from the story is, “The minute he’d laid eyes on her again a truckload of memories pulled up and parked right beside him.” Another one is, “He couldn’t afford to give away a piece of his heart when there was so little left of it in the first place.”

Catherine West has fast become one of my favorite authors.  I would definitely recommend this book to those who enjoy contemporary inspirational fiction.

*I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book, with no obligation to do so. All opinions are my own.

BACK COVER BLURB:
 

Thirteen years ago, Natalie lost a part of herself when her twin sister died. Will traveling back to the family winery finally put the memory to rest, or will it completely destroy her?
When Natalie Mitchell learns her beloved grandfather has had a heart attack, she’s forced to return to their family-owned winery in Sonoma, something she never intended to do. She’s avoided her grandparents’ sprawling home and all its memories since the summer her sister died—the awful summer Natalie’s nightmares began. But the winery is failing, and Natalie’s father wants her to shut it down. As the majority shareholder, she has the power to do so.

And Natalie never says no to her father.

Tanner Collins, the vintner on Maoilios, is trying to salvage a bad season and put the Mitchell family’s winery back in business. When Natalie shows up, Tanner sees his future about to be crushed. He knows Natalie intends to close the gates, and he's determined to convince her otherwise. But the Natalie he remembers from childhood is long gone, and he’s not so sure he likes the woman she’s become. Still, the haunted look she wears hints at secrets he wants to unearth. He soon discovers that on the night her sister died, the real Natalie died too. And Tanner must do whatever it takes to resurrect her.

But finding freedom from the past means facing it. For both of them.

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