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lurker_stalker's review against another edition
4.0
I loved it. Very nearly a 5 star romance for me.
jamietherebelliousreader's review against another edition
4.0
4 stars. I’m not gonna lie I was a bit iffy about this one in the beginning but that was only because the main character, Nicola, was so annoying. She’s whiny, and self absorbed and I was not feeling her at first. However, she does go through some really fantastic character development and I ended up loving her in the end. I loved her growth. The way she stands up to her awful dad and her aunt had me rooting for her every time. She’s a very determined and headstrong character.
The story takes place in Tuscany and Nicola is running a winery for her father even though she had no interest in it in the beginning. She has a one night stand with Chiara and they end up falling for each other. I really liked the romance. It was so sweet and swoon worthy. They had great chemistry though I will say that I wish we had dived a bit more into Chiara’s character. I feel like I didn’t really know her which is unfortunate. I did like her but I wanted more.
The setting and description were beautiful and vivd. This was my first Meagher book and I really loved her writing style. It’s paced well, it’s romantic and entertaining. I have quite a few of her books on my kindle and I’m excited to get to them. This was a really good place to start.
The story takes place in Tuscany and Nicola is running a winery for her father even though she had no interest in it in the beginning. She has a one night stand with Chiara and they end up falling for each other. I really liked the romance. It was so sweet and swoon worthy. They had great chemistry though I will say that I wish we had dived a bit more into Chiara’s character. I feel like I didn’t really know her which is unfortunate. I did like her but I wanted more.
The setting and description were beautiful and vivd. This was my first Meagher book and I really loved her writing style. It’s paced well, it’s romantic and entertaining. I have quite a few of her books on my kindle and I’m excited to get to them. This was a really good place to start.
elvang's review against another edition
4.0
Loved learning about wine making and fascinating history of the region. Good read.
corrie's review
5.0
I am so happy I could revisit this story to read it to book club buddy D. D. had tried it on her own before but couldn't get past the first chapters when the asshole father of the main character was spoiling all the fun for her and so she had stopped reading it. I knew I could convince her the story was solid, like all of Susan X. Meagher's books are. And she would fall in love with Chiara just as I had done if she gave it another chance.
So I read The Crush to D. and she loved it. And it was such a pleasure to read again about Sienna, wine making, the Onda and the love between Nicola and Chiara and living in Tuscany. It will always be one of my favorite books. A solid 5 star read. Basta!
So I read The Crush to D. and she loved it. And it was such a pleasure to read again about Sienna, wine making, the Onda and the love between Nicola and Chiara and living in Tuscany. It will always be one of my favorite books. A solid 5 star read. Basta!
frankvanmeer's review
5.0
As I regularly do, I re-read books. I've adjusted the rating from 4 to 5 stars and it made my all time favorites list.
Why?
This story isn't just a romance. It's about love. For each other, for Italy, for wine. This is one of those books where I'm constantly consulting Wikipedia. I just have to know what the author is talking about. I even went as far to try and figure out the location of Bagnolesi Vineyards. There is no mention exactly where it is, but here I was, scrolling Google Maps and try to triangulate the location from the locations of all the places that are mentioned.
Having been to Siena myself, I can easily picture all the historical landmarks that are playing a big role, even if that visit was 25 years ago. It made my consider packing my suitcases, hop in my car and drive 1600 kilometers just to see it again.
It's really a great story, even if it is sometimes heavy on the facts about winemaking. But those are seamlessly woven into the story.
Just take a look at
that mysterious dolphin . I can totally imagine that as a tattoo :)
The author clearly has put a lot of research into the Contrade. Funny thing though. This book was first released in 2013 and from what I got from Chiara was that it had been a long time since Onda won the Palio. Yet Onda won the July Palio in 2012 and the August one on 2013. :)
Why?
This story isn't just a romance. It's about love. For each other, for Italy, for wine. This is one of those books where I'm constantly consulting Wikipedia. I just have to know what the author is talking about. I even went as far to try and figure out the location of Bagnolesi Vineyards. There is no mention exactly where it is, but here I was, scrolling Google Maps and try to triangulate the location from the locations of all the places that are mentioned.
Having been to Siena myself, I can easily picture all the historical landmarks that are playing a big role, even if that visit was 25 years ago. It made my consider packing my suitcases, hop in my car and drive 1600 kilometers just to see it again.
It's really a great story, even if it is sometimes heavy on the facts about winemaking. But those are seamlessly woven into the story.
Just take a look at
that mysterious dolphin . I can totally imagine that as a tattoo :)
The author clearly has put a lot of research into the Contrade. Funny thing though. This book was first released in 2013 and from what I got from Chiara was that it had been a long time since Onda won the Palio. Yet Onda won the July Palio in 2012 and the August one on 2013. :)
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