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Before Tessa met Royal Andreas, her bookstore was on the verge of sinking. And before Tessa met Royal Andreas, she didn't mind being single. But Royal brings in business with monthly wine tastings featuring his family's signature vintages--and brings Tessa's heart to a standstill with intense gray eyes that look on her with nothing but cool indifference.
Yet one searing kiss between the stacks gives Tessa a glimpse of the passion smoldering beneath--and a secret pain further revealed when Royal fills in as the musician at a tasting event. Every note of Spanish guitar tells a story of family tragedy, loss, and ongoing suffering that's made Royal afraid to lean on anyone...even if he needs Tessa's sweet flavor more than the richest wine. Only her strength can save him when his world crumbles to ashes. But has Royal learned trust too late to claim Tessa as his own?
Author: Taryn Elliott
Published By: Entangled Publishing
Age Recommended: Adult
Reviewed By: Arlena Dean
Book Blog For: GMTA
Rating: 5
Review:
"Ashes and Wine: by Taryn Elliott was a lovely well written contemporary romantic read that I thoroughly enjoyed. This author really did a great job in bringing this story to life in such a heart warming way. It had been three years that had gone by that Tessa Winter and Royal Andres had met..however, they never shared their feeling with one another until the kiss and this is where this storyline begins and will continue at a pace that you will get all the what, why, where and how of it all in the well written read. All of the characters were well developed...from Tessa, Royal, and Mercy..only to name a few that helped give this such a rich interesting story.
"Ashes and Wine" dealt with loss of a love one and finding true love. Now, I am sure you are probably wondering what "Ashes and Wine" is all about and this is where I say you must pick up this read to find out questions like why Royal had refused for so long to give up on a relationship for his family? What a devotion Royal had for his family!
If you are looking for a heart breaking, yet a captivating story you have come to theright place for "Ashes and Wine" will deliver to you a rich fantastic love story and I would recommend this read as a excellent novel.
BookFanatic132
Posted January 21, 2013
I really enjoyed Tessa and Royal's love story. Tessa is a strong business owner and a strong person in general. Royal is a person who's had tough times and doesn't think it's fair for Tessa to start a relationship with him. But somehow, they start to have one -- I guess fate had other plans!
Elliott really knew how to write this story without making us feel like it's too rushed or it's too forced. Royal and Tessa fit perfectly and I loved watching them fall in love and their defenses fall.
I hope there's more books about this family, because I'd definitely read them!
MelodyMay
Posted September 9, 2012
This weekend I finished Ashes and Wine by Taryn Elliot. I have to be honest I didn't know what to expect when I started reading this book. Here's a quick overview of what the book is about:
Tessa Winter is an owner of a bookstore called As You Wish. Which was having financial difficulties until Royal Andreas came in once a month to bring various wines from his families vineyard for tasting.
Then Tessa and Royal have one incredible night together. There is a strong attraction, but Royal is emotional unavailable to give more than a night. Hurt by his actions leads Tessa to go to her friend Mercy's house for emotional support. While there truths come out over a bottle of tequila.
Here is what I thought of the book: It was good. A little emotionally rough times, but well written. The story intrigue me enough to read on. At times I felt bad for Royal and what he was dealing with at home. Tessa is definitely strong heroine, and was willing to fight to win Royal over. I really like how supportive her friend Mercy was even if it was over a bottle of tequila.
I really do hope to see more of Royal's family and a story with Mercy. Overall, I would read more stories from Taryn Elliot in the future.
Well, I hope that you are enjoying what you are reading and I see you all later.
CariQuinn2
Posted August 28, 2012
Gorgeous cover for an amazing book! Taryn is my CP and I got to see this
through each step of the process. The finished product is as stunning as
the cover. You can't help but ache for Royal, but Tessa and Royal's love
story offers hope and some delicious smexy times too. Can't wait for
more from this author--and especially, I can't wait for Mercy and
Alaric's story, as well as the rest of Royal's brothers! Though I have
to claim Simon for my very own right now.
I have to warn you that I believe my opinion of this book will be out of the ordinary and most readers will rate it higher. A major part of this book deals with one of the main characters watching and waiting as his father slowly dies of cancer. I lived that a couple years ago and it's not a subject I ever willingly read about. To make matters worse, the type of cancer as well as the main character's age and family role are the same as my experience. It was too similar to my life and I checked out emotionally very early on just to get through the book. Royal runs the family winery. Once a month he takes a break from the strain of his daily life at the winery by going to a local book store, As You Wish, and running a wine tasting. The bookstore is owned by the one woman Royal knows he is meant to be with. Unfortunately, being in a romantic relationship is impossible for him right now. Royal is the oldest child and it's his responsibility to keep his brothers in line and the family winery running. He is also dealing with the strain of watching his father's agonizingly slow decline from cancer. Tessa is the owner of the bookstore. She and Royal have a history. They met a few years ago when she visited his winery. There was a lot of flirting and a definite connection for both of them but nothing became of it. Now she has to see him once a month. She approaches the monthly wine tasting with a mixture of expectation and dread. She's still very interested in Royal and can't wait to see him but he always keeps his distance from her and it's disappointing every month. I liked Royal and Tessa but I had trouble connecting with them. I think it was the dying father that stopped me from taking a vested interest in them. I say this because at one point Tessa goes to visit her friend Mercy. They spend the night drinking a bottle of tequila and drunk dialing Mercy's moody and overbearing neighbor, Alaric. I suddenly got really into the story when Mercy and Alaric were part of it. I could see the spark between Alaric and Mercy and I wanted to stay with them and see where their relationship was heading. Sadly, Tessa left the next morning and that's the last I saw of Mercy and Alaric. I was once again left with Royal, Tessa, the dying father, and the family trying to deal with it. The father takes a sharp decline and is a major focus of the story for a while. Royal's family is breaking down and fighting amongst themselves and Royal himself is barely holding together. It should be a very emotional part of the book, and I think most people would react to it, but I felt nothing. Royal and Tessa were also having lots of sex which I couldn't even take an interest in because it was the deeply emotional, strong connection type of sex. I wasn't feeling the connection or the emotion so it was just a bunch of words and body parts for me. My complete lack of connection with the main characters made this just an OK book for me. It's well written and my connection with the supporting characters, Alaric and Mercy, leads me to believe it was the subject matter I had a problem with rather than the book itself. Ashes and Wine is a book about support, love, loss and the intense emotions they bring with them. My lack of emotion made me miss out on the major aspects of the book. I'm sure my experience will not be a normal reaction and most readers will be deeply moved by it.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Stevie64
Posted July 1, 2012
Holy something, Batman. Sorry, can’t think of what, my brain is tapioca from staying up too late to finish this book. Because I could not put it down. Moral imperative. I had to know what happened, and how, to these two. I won’t spoil the story except to say that one of them wanted more than a business relationship and was bewildered why it wasn’t happening, and the other wanted the same, but was at a bad time in life to drag another person into personal pain, loss and responsibilities.
Ashes and Wine, the story of Royal and Tessa, is smoking hot.
That’s not to say that it isn’t gut-wrenching and filled with laughter and sentiment. Because it’s that, too. By the bucketful. But the chemistry between them made me want more. As in, ‘can we have this as a weekly serial, please’ more. And since I’m sure Ms. Elliott has a life outside of writing, we won’t get that and we have to enjoy what it is: a snapshot in the lives of two people who should have gotten together years before they did, with all the rich detail and emotion a stunning photograph can reveal. And, like a photo or an amazing bottle of wine, we are left wanting more.
A definite anchor in the re-read pile.
Anonymous
Posted November 20, 2012
No text was provided for this review.
Overview
Before Tessa met Royal Andreas, her bookstore was on the verge of sinking. And before Tessa met Royal Andreas, she didn't mind being single. But Royal brings in business with monthly wine tastings featuring his family's signature vintages--and brings Tessa's heart to a standstill with intense gray eyes that look on her with nothing but cool indifference.
Yet one searing kiss between the stacks gives Tessa a glimpse of the passion smoldering beneath--and a secret pain further ...