I was pulled into this story from the start. My heart was in it completely. I felt for Lettie strongly. She is a very likable character who has many ups and downs. Some laughs and lots of heartaches. I cried with her and wept for her. This story is a love story and a tragedy all in one. Filled with so much love that your heart feels full. Filled with loss that will break your heart. Lettie was raised my foster parents, never knowing her parents at all. Her foster mother made her believe she was ugly and would never be good at anything. When Lettie meets Kenton outside of his California apartment, hungry, tired and scared, she has no idea how her life is fixing to change. Kenton is a very nice guy and feels strong that Lettie will like his home so invites her to go with him for a job at the Inn his dad just opened. She agrees and falls in love with the land right off. The three main men in Lettie’s life are Kenton, his dad Rex and Rafe, Kenton’s friend and a worker on the farm where they make wine and run the Inn. There are sparks between Rafe and Lettie from the very beginning. But they are not meant to be. She goes away with Kenton and they marry. While they are away Kenton’s father has a stroke so they rush home to see about him. After they tell him about their marriage he is so very happy. He loves Lettie as a daughter and loves that she loves the land as much as he does. Sadly though he does not make it. They on leave from boot camp Kenton is killed in a car wreck on his way home to see Lettie. She has just learned she is going to have a baby. She’s so devastated as she loves him with all of her heart. In the short time she got to know the Chandler’s and be a part of their lives she has found much happiness and grief. Rex had made it where if something happened to Kenton she would then run the Inn and Vineyards. A task she takes to heart. Doing all the things she knows he would have wanted. She works hard and is raising a child alone too.

Lettie lives and breaths the land, the grapes, the Inn and her new family. She embraces them with all she has. All the love she possesses is for this land, the Inn and her child. Then after her daughter goes away to work in another country Rafe returns. They have always had a strong chemistry and after a while they are an item again. But this time on one can keep them apart. He is there for her no matter what. Through more tragedies. Through helping with her granddaughter and more loss.

This book literally made me weep. I mean ugly crying is not even a good description. So much loss and then the biggest loss of all. It just ripped my heart into. Now I can’t wait for the next book in this series to see what happens next. I loved this book from start to finish. Even through all the tears it was one I could not put down. The laughter, the descriptions of the land, the Inn, the vineyards and her home made me feel like I was right there. Lettie was like someone I knew personally. Like that friend you root for to have it all. To be there for when life hurts her. She’s such a likable person you just feel like she is a real person sitting with you while you read about her life. From 18 on she is a fighter and such a good person.

I loved all the characters in this book. Well one man was deplorable.. A real jerk. But all the others were great. Like a huge family that surround each other through thick and thin.

I was given an ARC of this book and leave this review of my own accord. My words and feelings.

A big, huge 5 star book that I highly recommend. A must read.