REVIEW BY: Christie
TITLE: Tasting Notes
AUTHOR: Cate Ashwood
NARRATOR: Michael Pauley
PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press
LENGTH: 6h 12m
RELEASE DATE: June 30, 2016
BLURB:
There’s nothing that can’t be solved over a glass of excellent wine.
Joseph “West” Weston has paid for his wealth and success with long hours at the office and no personal life to speak of. Meetings, conference calls, and paperwork dominate his waking hours and have kept him from honoring the promise he made to his late grandfather years before.
After leaving the Marines, Robert “Rush” Coeman returns to his hometown and settles in as a Christmas tree farmer. His life is quiet and simple, and he likes it that way. When West arrives in town and buys Rush’s parents’ vineyard on a whim, that simple life is turned upside down. The animosity between them is palpable, but Rush shelves his preconceived notions in order to protect his parents’ legacy. He agrees to help West learn how to run the vineyard, and Rush soon realizes that love doesn’t necessarily come in the package he expected.
REVIEW:
As a huge fan of Cate Ashwood, I was really excited to check this book out. Unfortunately, Tasting Notes was a bit of a miss for me. The story had a very promising premise, but it was hard to suspend reality on a few things. Also, the narration was a bit hard to get used to.
West is a venture capitalist, working gazillions of hours and not really living his life at all. It’s basically all work, all the time, with no real play to speak of. He needs a vacation, and decides to make good on a promise he made to his grandfather years ago. So, West goes on holiday to a small town and ends up loving the area so much, that he buys the local winery.
Rush, a former marine, is now a Christmas tree farmer, enjoying the peace and quiet his new lifestyle affords him. Until his parents blindside him with the news that they have sold the winery and are retiring to Florida. But, while they’re off getting settled in sunny Florida, Rush’s parents ask him to look in on West and show him the ropes, so to speak, of the winery and business.
Well, it is hate at first sight. At least on Rush’s part. He absolutely detests the man on sight, just because of the flashy car he’s driving. Yep, his car. So,basically Rush spends much of his time being a gigantic ball of unkind to West, all the while going thru and teaching the new winery owner the ropes of the business. As you must have guessed by now, this is an enemies to lovers story; so after spending a lot of time together, the men find that they are attracted to one another and of course sleep together.
The question is, what was the promise West made to his grandfather before he passed, and what becomes of himself and Rush? Do they become an actual couple? Could they even be together? Well, here’s where I usually recommend you get the book to find out. But this time, I am not going to do that. I’ll say that if you like what you see in the blurb, proceed with caution.
For me, the book was rife with unrealistic situations, including how a winery can be bought in a matter of days, a venture capitalist can up and leave his business for quite some time without either losing a ton of business and money or the business going under, and most of all their relationship itself. I felt rather disconnected from them, to tell the truth. And, that is a very sad thing.
Please don’t let this discourage you from reading any of Cate Ashwood’s other books however. Her Hope Cove series is fantastic, and I highly recommend it.
Also, it was very hard to get used to the narration of this audiobook. It struck me as a bit on the monotone side of things, and did not help me get into the book at all. Sadly, Michael Pauley’s performance was not my cup of tea. But, I am absolutely willing to listen to another book narrated by him, in order to give him a fair chance in the future.
RATING: 
BUY LINKS: