Olivia Darling, Vintage

Vintage

Olivia Darling

Dell, May 19 2009, $7.99

ISBN: 9780440245148

Madeline Arsenault returns to France following the death of her renowned vintner father to save the declining near bankrupt family business. Londoner Kelly Eldon would prefer to sell her inheritance from the father she never met when he was alive, but the will stipulates five years as the owner. Supermodel Christina Morgan received one thing from her former husband that she rejoices in, a California vineyard that she believes will allow her to prove she is not just a has been.

While the three ladies strive to win the prize for best sparkling wine of the year, Mathieu Randon plans to prevent the newcomers from competing fairly with his vintage. Soon the four rivals will understand what vino veritas means.

VINTAGE is an entertaining witty satire that lampoons the fifteen minutes of celebrity fame in modern western society through her strong cast; especially the three female vintners. The story line contains an interesting insider look at winemaking that is interwoven into the prime plot of the contest for the prize. Wickedly clever with its mild mocking of knighting people as the icon of the nanosecond, readers will appreciate Olivia Darling's intelligent contemporary while wondering if VINTAGE will make her a bestselling star.

Harriet Klausner

Originally I thought that this book was going to be on a par with a Jackie Collins style novel. I got reading and was disappointed that the first love scene was described over the course of 2 pages and seemed to last forever (if I wanted that I would be reading Jackie Collins or at least Mills and Boon!) but it was nothing like that. The story is about 3 strong characters (all women) who go through a series of events before becoming determined strong working-girls ready to build up their vineyards and win a big prize for the best vintage wine. May sound dull, but this book is definitely anything but! If you like a book full of surprises, interesting characters and a storyline that is a real page turner then this book is for you.

The novel is aimed at women, and the front cover does look a bit Jackie Collins-esq but dont let that put you off!