Reviewed by Kat
TITLE: The Cellar Hand
SERIES: Workplace Encounters #10
AUTHOR: Serena Yates
PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press
LENGTH: 124 pages
BLURB:
Orson Digby is no stranger to loss. His family died in a house fire when he was fifteen, and he has never recovered from losing touch with his best friend, when he was made to stay with an aunt in a different state. Orson works hard to learn the art of winemaking, and finally starts a job as cellar hand at Clear Springs Vineyard—only to run into his long-lost best friend.
Geoff Robichaud, freshly out of the Marines, is in charge of security at the winery. The friendship between Orson and Geoff is familiar, but the intense physical attraction is new. As they explore their developing feelings, several acts of sabotage threaten to destroy their new employer’s business and their newfound happiness. They need to rely on Orson’s knowledge of viniculture and Geoff’s understanding of security if they want to solve the mystery and build a future together.
REVIEW:
I have become a fan of Ms. Yates Work Encounters series. I know that I can count on getting a good story that I will enjoy. This book, The Cellar Hand, is by far my most favorite yet.
Based in the Pacific Northwest, we are lead on a wonderful encounter with one of the top rising industries in my area, Wine! Wine tours, wine tasting, wine producing, and wine sales are a huge industry in the Washington and Oregon area. This book gave me an inside look at the complex industry that is booming around me. One of the things that I love about this series is how the author takes her time to showcase the level of research she has done in the area she is writing about. Knowing that Washington State University has jumped to the forefront of the industry and is graduating remarkable young people that are prepared to tackle this complex industry showed me that she did her homework. The Yakima Valley has exploded in the race to top the wine industry. It has some of the best growing conditions around to grow some of the more delicate and difficult wine crops. Rieslings are fast becoming famous for that region. As you can probably tell, I am a bit of a wine connoisseur and some have gone to the point of saying “snob” about my wines. That could have been a problem, if this book had wavered in any way, but I am very pleased to say that the author did not let me down.
The book centers around Orson Digby, a young man who has faced more than his share of tragedy. While on a school trip, his parents and older brothers were killed in a house fire. Orson is torn from his home and best friend, Geoff Robichaud. Geoff had not only become his closest and dearest friend growing up but also his protector against bullies. Uprooted from Tacoma, Washington, he is sent to live with an elderly aunt, who cuts off all his connections from his tragic past. Living in Sonoma, California, a wine mecca, Orson makes his life’s mission to work his way up into the wine industry. He was able to move back to Washington and attend WSU after he inherits his aunt’s estate. In the mean time, his good friend has spent five years in the Marines before returning to Washington to work in security, never forgetting his long-lost best friend. The Cellar Hand is the story of how these two men finding each other again and the journey that they travel to make their friendship into a life long relationship. There is a nice side story of intrigue with their new jobs and, I have to say, for once, I didn’t see how that played out coming!
I totally enjoyed this newest book in the series and I look forward to more in this delightful series. A bright, shining 4 hearts for this wonderful book.
RATING: 
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