When Alexis “Lexi” Moreau caught her husband, Jeff, sampling the sous-chef’s more intimate wares in their New York restaurant, she ran—all the way back to her hometown of St. Helena, California. Six months later, Lexi has no husband and no restaurant. But she does have a three-step plan: First, convert her grandmother’s bakery into her dream bistro. Second, ignore Grandma’s matchmaking attempts. And third, avoid Marco DeLuca, her ex’s commitment-phobic, distractingly sexy best friend.In school Lexi was off-limits for Marco. After all, she was his buddy’s girl. But she’s still as smart and as gorgeous—and apparently as immune to his charms—as she used to be. Yet the simple fake romance they agree upon to dodge Lexi’s grandmother’s matchmaking plans soon turns deliciously complicated. And the sultry summer might bring together all the right ingredients for Marco to win the only woman he’s ever wanted. Reviewed by JoAnneBook provided by the author for reviewReview originally posted at Romancing the BookI was lucky enough to read an ARC, uncorrected proof, of this book which is book two in the St. Helena Vineyard’s series. I like that I was able to catch up with many of the characters from book one – especially the DeLuca’s, but that I was also introduced to others that I will meet up with again in other books in the series.This story centered on Lexi and Marco and although I saw their romance bloom and tank at various times throughout I also saw their love solidified and it convinced me that they really did love each other – but, would that be enough for their happily ever after? There were so many roadblocks thrown in their way especially from Jeffery, her ex, who I really couldn’t stand and I couldn’t believe Lexi was that insecure that she gave so much of her life to him including being married to him for so many years. I was also surprised that Marco wasn’t a better judge of character concerning Jeffery but it was great to see that he kept trying to find out the truth even when there were no answers forthcoming.The antics that Lexi and Marco got in were amusing and I found myself laughing out loud more than once. There were tears, heartache, family, friends, townspeople, food, along with the romance and ultimately love. The characters had many layers to them and the descriptions of the foods made my mouth water. There was closure but I would have liked a little more story at the end – an epilogue would have been well received by me.I look forward to reading other books in the series and the sneak peek of her next book Autumn at the Vineyard which is book three in this series was a nice carrot to dangle in front of me. My question though would be what happened to spring? Book one was at Christmas, book two was in summer and book three will be in the fall. These are the type of inconsistencies I have a hard time with.Favorite Quote: She strategically avoided her friend’s glare, instead paying particular attention to the arrangement of mouthwatering eclairs, fluffy and custard filled and drizzled with enough chocolate to make her forget that it was only eight in the morning, on a Tuesday, and she had already been up for more than four hours.
What do You think about Summer In Napa (2013)?
Food, wine, romance and sex...but I was hoping for a little more of the ambiance and favors of Napa.
—jim
What a great book! I can't wait to read the next one.
—saskia
