Guest Post, Review & Giveaway: Autumn in the Vineyard by Marina Adair

I received this book for free from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Autumn in the Vineyard by Marina Adair
Series: St. Helena Vineyard #3
Published by Montlake Romance on October 29, 2013
Format: eBook
Source: Netgalley
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Purchase Links: Amazon

Frankie Baudouin has a hundred reasons not to trust Nate DeLuca. First, he' s a DeLuca. Second, he kissed her—in front of the entire town—and then never called. Oh, and he' s after her land. Sorrento Ranch is Frankie' s last chance to prove to her family—and to herself—that she has what it takes to be an award-winning winemaker. And she will stop at nothing to ensure her success—even if it means playing nice with the starched, sophisticated, and oh-so-sexy Italian.

For Nate, Sorrento Ranch is more than just soil and grape vines; it was his father' s dream—a dream Nate is determined to make a reality. So when he finds himself forced to cohabitate with a hot-headed, irrational, and incredibly gorgeous Baudouin, Nate is surprised to discover that chaos could be so much fun—especially when she sleeps in nothing but lace.

My thoughts…

I’ve been waiting for this one to come out for a while now!! I adore this series. It’s on of my favorites. The DeLuca men are hot, hot, hot!!! Autumn in the Vineyard is Nathaniel (Nate) DeLuca & Francesca (Frankie) Baudouin’s book. The story captured my attention from the first page and held it until the very end. I kept turning page after page to see what would happen next. I experienced a lot of different emotions while reading it. I laughed, cried, laughed some more, and squeed!

Frankie. She’s pretty bad ass! She doesn’t take crap from anyone. I enjoyed getting to know her better. She’s always felt as though she wasn’t really a part of her family. She only wanted to be accepted and belong to her family, but unfortunately she never felt she was accepted for who she was. I couldn’t help but feel bad for her.

Nathaniel. He’s a strong alpha Italian that’s HOT! *swoon* He’s liked Frankie since high school, but the feud between the DeLuca and Boudouin families has keep him from acting upon his attraction to her. I think was good for Frankie. He accepted her for who she is.

The sexual scene are comparable to adult mainstream and not overly explicit in nature. Having said that they are still hot. I think Ms Adair did a great job of building the tension between these two. When they finally came together I *squeed*

Up next is Trey’s book. I am so freaking excited about it. He’s the youngest of the bunch and I cannot wait for him to meet his match. He’s teased his brothers incessantly about being whipped by the women in their lives throughout this series. I can’t wait for him to fall hook, line, and sinker. 🙂

Author Interview:

I absolutely love the St. Helena Vineyard series. Can you tell us what inspired you to write this series?

First off, thanks for having me here today!

As for the series, several years ago my husband invited his cousin to Thanksgiving dinner, who in turn invited her aunt, who invited another aunt, who invited an uncle and in the end I was responsible for roasting turkey for 13 Italians—let me clarify, I put the turkey in the oven and as soon as his family learned I was A) NOT Italian and B) a vegetarian, I was promptly kicked out of the kitchen and given a glass of wine. The dinner was loud and long and we consumed 25lbs of Turkey, 14 bottles of wine and I knew that someday I would have to capture this kind of crazy love on paper.

But the actual development of the DeLuca family came from a babysitter I had when I was in grammar school. She was the only girl in an Italian family of seven and her brothers were 100% alpha, extremely over protective, and, since they beat the crap out of anyone who looked at her twice, made dating virtually impossible for her. I merged the two experiences and came up with a series about a big, loud Italian family who were always in each other’ s business and even though they irritated the hell out of one another, they were fiercely loyal.

Is there any message within Autumn in the Vineyard that you want readers to grasp?

To me, this is a story about unconditional love, finding that one person who accepts you for exactly who you are. Frankie has spent her entire life on the outside of her family, looking in, wondering what that elusive quality is she obviously lacks that makes her loveable; what it is it about her that makes it so hard to fit in with the one group of people who should love her unconditionally.

Can you share a little of your current WIP with us and what inspired you to write it?

I just finished Book #4 in the St. Helena Vineyard series, BE MINE FOREVER, which comes out January 21, 2014 and follows the baby of the family, Trey DeLuca. After watching each of his brothers trade in their man-card for a minivan, Trey develops a severe allergic reaction to commitment, compromise, and kids. So of course I paired him up with the sexy single-mom next door who isn’ t in the market for a man—so much as a Manny to watch her son. It was fun to witness the commitment-phobe playboy fall hard, especially when the woman he is falling for comes stock-ready with a kid, white picket fence, and a life that screams commitment.

It is always a country song that inspires a book and this time it was no different. Luke Bryan’ s song Crash my Party played on repeat while I wrote this book. It got me thinking about how a guy who avoids anything serious gets to the point where he is willing to drop everything just for a moment with the woman he’ s falling for. It’ s a great song!

Do you find writing sex scenes challenging?

I find writing fresh scenes challenging. I always have to balance a little humor with the sensual or it doesn’ t do it for me. So I try to think up new places and find a new motivation behind each sex scene so it doesn’ t feel like the same couple book after book.

What is a normal writing day look like for you?

I wait until everyone is off to school or work and the house is quiet. Then it is butt in chair, head down, and I write. Lately, my goal has been a steady 15,000 words a week, so roughly 3000 words a day. If come Friday, I am under then I make up the words on the weekend.

Which of your characters is your favorite and why?

The old biddies from my books. All of them are inspired by my grandmother and her crazy friends. Actually, some of the phrases and antics are based lightly in reality. Like Luella in Tucker’ s Crossing putting dish soap in the pie … my grandmother did that once.

Thanks for having me!

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