The Vineyard at Painted Moon by Susan Mallery

 

The Vineyard at Painted Moon was the April selection for the Page-turners Book Club at the Kewaunee Public Library. 

Mackenzie has the job that she loves working at her husband’s family vineyard.  She blends delicious wines that attract a lot of customers.  Her world comes crashing down when her husband wants a divorce.  What should she do?  Stay and keep working for the vineyard or strike out on her own?

I usually love Mallery’s novels, but while I read through this one quickly, I didn’t love it.  I enjoyed Mackenzie’s journey and her gumption to strike out on her own.  I liked the story of the various family members.  I overall though just felt sad for the destruction of the marriage.  The novel started out happy with Mackenzie’s mother-in-law Barbara’s engagement, and then Barbara turned into a one-dimensional villain.  It was too drastic of a change to me.  Mackenzie’s new romance was not very well developed and felt tacked on at the end.  I did enjoy all of the details of wine making and thought that was fascinating.

Overall, The Vineyard at Painted Moon was a so-so novel for me.

Book Source:  Kewaunee Public Library.  Thank-you!