A family saga filled with love… her a sandwich and a job at his father’s inn and vineyards. With nothing to lose, Lettie takes him up on his offer and begins a whole new life in the Willamette Valley, Oregon. She immediately falls in love with the land and is fascinated with the idea of growing grapes to make wines. She, Kenton, and Rafe Lopez become friends as she learns about running the small inn on the property.
At the same time she marries Kenton, a stroke kills his father. And then before she can tell Kenton she’s pregnant, he dies in an automobile accident. Heartbroken and burdened with the gift of the Chandler Hill Inn and Winery, she’s left with the task of making them a success. Struggling to raise a child alone while working to grow the business, Lettie makes a shocking discovery that changes everything.
A love story of a family with heart… Be sure to read the other books in the series: Coming Home and Home at Last.
And check out Judith Keim’s other series – the Hartwell Women, The Beach House Hotel series, the Fat Fridays series, the Salty Key Inn series, the Chandler Hill Inn series, the Desert Sage Inn series, and the Seashell Cottage Books that readers are loving.
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Easy to read. Not great literature but a heartwarming story.
This is a very gripping story. I went from elation, when a romance blossomed, to sadness when one of them unexpectedly died. This story takes place in the Oregon Willamette valley vineyards. The setting is so well described that I could see myself there as I turned each page. The love stories within and the ups and downs of a family will have you in tears at times. I highly recommend this book, what awesome reading.
It was fun, easy to read, and just what I needed while being stuck at home during the COVID crisis. Thanks
Enjoyed reading the story of a foster child who runs an Inn and winery and turns into a very strong women.
Can’t wait to read the rest of the series. Love the setting and the storyline. Characters are realistic.
I loved the book. While I checked tragic, there certainly is tragedy that befalls the main character. However, she does have happy times and while not always predictable you had an idea of the direction it was headed until the end. Did not expect that (should have). Look forward to reading the sequel.
Enjoyable book.
Anxious to read the next chapter in the saga of the vineyard and inn
At first I thought it was sort of an easy love story but soon things develop that makes it truly quite an amazing book where different problems need to be tackled and the characters are well developed. She experiences differences with her daughter but learns to accept her as the great adult she has become.
Going Home is a wonderful, heart-warming story of a young 18-year-old woman who leaves the foster care system in the mid-west, where she was born and travels to San Francisco to find where she belongs. Soon, she’s in Oregon where she finds people and land she loves. Her story continues throughout her life as she grows and endures losses, struggles, and successes. I love the characters, especially, Lettie, and the location. Highly recommend!
The saga of the main character’s life will send you on an emotional journey. Raised in a foster home, she’s never really know what a family was until she meets the Chandler’s. Once they make her part of their family, she falls in love with the land and with growing grapes for wine. Her life is full of promises never quite fulfilled, but she continues to rise above and persevere.
I can’t wait to read book 2 in this series.
A rags-to-riches family saga that will leave fans of Danielle Steele wishing they’d found this author much sooner!
Going Home is a beautifully written novel that touches on every emotion. The first book in the Chandler Hill Inn Series finds eighteen year old Violet Hawkins (Lettie) escaping the foster care system in Ohio. She has a dream of going to the west coast to live an independent, happy life to find the love that she has always craved. Alone, broke and hungry, Lettie meets Kenton Chandler who feeds her and gives her the opportunity to go to Oregon to work at his father’s inn and vineyard. Lettie agrees and feels as if she has finally found not only the love for the land and learning how to make wine, but the love of her life, as well. Will Lettie finally get to experience the life altering love she craves, or is she going to experience more let downs? Author Judith Keim has written a beautifully detailed and heart touching novel. Through Author Judith Keim’s gift with words, I felt as if I were in Lettie’s place and feeling all of the emotions that she was going through. I am looking forward to the second book in this emotionally charged new series! I highly recommend this novel to those who want to experience life through the eyes of Lettie!
A wonderful story. Told with so much feeling, tears in my eyes having just finished it. Lettie grew up in the foster system. Reading the ups and downs in her life after leaving the foster system is heartbreaking and joyful all at the same time. How so many things can occur in one person’s life is unbelievable. I couldn’t wait to turn the pages!
I was pulled into this story from the start. My heart was in it completely. I felt for Lettie strongly. She is a very likable character who has many ups and downs. Some laughs and lots of heartaches. I cried with her and wept for her. This story is a love story and a tragedy all in one. Filled with so much love that your heart feels full. Filled with loss that will break your heart. Lettie was raised my foster parents, never knowing her parents at all. Her foster mother made her believe she was ugly and would never be good at anything. When Lettie meets Kenton outside of his California apartment, hungry, tired and scared, she has no idea how her life is fixing to change. Kenton is a very nice guy and feels strong that Lettie will like his home so invites her to go with him for a job at the Inn his dad just opened. She agrees and falls in love with the land right off. The three main men in Lettie’s life are Kenton, his dad Rex and Rafe, Kenton’s friend and a worker on the farm where they make wine and run the Inn. There are sparks between Rafe and Lettie from the very beginning. But they are not meant to be. She goes away with Kenton and they marry. While they are away Kenton’s father has a stroke so they rush home to see about him. After they tell him about their marriage he is so very happy. He loves Lettie as a daughter and loves that she loves the land as much as he does. Sadly though he does not make it. They on leave from boot camp Kenton is killed in a car wreck on his way home to see Lettie. She has just learned she is going to have a baby. She’s so devastated as she loves him with all of her heart. In the short time she got to know the Chandler’s and be a part of their lives she has found much happiness and grief. Rex had made it where if something happened to Kenton she would then run the Inn and Vineyards. A task she takes to heart. Doing all the things she knows he would have wanted. She works hard and is raising a child alone too.
Lettie lives and breaths the land, the grapes, the Inn and her new family. She embraces them with all she has. All the love she possesses is for this land, the Inn and her child. Then after her daughter goes away to work in another country Rafe returns. They have always had a strong chemistry and after a while they are an item again. But this time on one can keep them apart. He is there for her no matter what. Through more tragedies. Through helping with her granddaughter and more loss.
This book literally made me weep. I mean ugly crying is not even a good description. So much loss and then the biggest loss of all. It just ripped my heart into. Now I can’t wait for the next book in this series to see what happens next. I loved this book from start to finish. Even through all the tears it was one I could not put down. The laughter, the descriptions of the land, the Inn, the vineyards and her home made me feel like I was right there. Lettie was like someone I knew personally. Like that friend you root for to have it all. To be there for when life hurts her. She’s such a likable person you just feel like she is a real person sitting with you while you read about her life. From 18 on she is a fighter and such a good person.
I loved all the characters in this book. Well one man was deplorable.. A real jerk. But all the others were great. Like a huge family that surround each other through thick and thin.
I was given an ARC of this book and leave this review of my own accord. My words and feelings.
A big, huge 5 star book that I highly recommend. A must read.
Book one in the Chandler Hill Inn Series a well written story that I will say keep the Kleenex near you will need them. This is Violet Hawkins’ life story of all the things both good and bad that happen to her. A story that held my interest from the last page, the story flows smoothly from page to page. This is a new author to me I will be reading more by her. I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Going Home A Chandler Hill Book 1 by Judith Keim
5 Stars
Going Home is my very first I have read by Judith. Let me tell you… it won’t be my last! I could not put this down. I kept wanting more and more! I absolutely LOVED IT!! Can not wait for book in the series!!
“Home was as complex as her family.”
VERY highly recommend!! ITS AMAZING!
What a fantastic emotional book. This book will take you on a roller coaster ride and have you needing tissues several times. Lettie ages out of the foster care system and heads to San Francisco. Her money doesn’t last as long as she hoped and when she sets down on some steps, she meets Kenton, who will change her life. I don’t want to leave any spoilers because I really hope everyone will read and review this amazing story. I will say, you will love these characters and the descriptions will have you wishing you was there.
I received an advance reader copy of this book and this is my voluntary and honest review.
Going Home is an exceptional start to a new series from Judith Keim. It is a sweeping saga of the life of Violet (Lettie) Hawkins from age 18 into her 60s. Alone in the world, Lettie accepts a ride to Oregon for a job she desperately needs. She immediately falls in love with the land where the inn and vineyard are located. This emotional, well written story gave me great joy as well as causing some tears. I could not put the book down until I finished! I am eagerly waiting for the second book.
(I have voluntarily read and reviewed this book with my own, honest opinion.)
Going Home by Judith Keim
While I loved the story line and plot of this book, it was hard for me to really get into it because of the content. It took me awhile to really get into the story in the beginning, because of all of the talk about the wine making and such. I also wasn’t too crazy about the fact of Lettie sleeping with 3 different men at different times throughout the story. However, I did love the characters of Lettie, Paloma, Kenton, and Cami! And, I really loved how Lettie and Cami both persevered in spite of all of the loss and sadness in their lives. That part of the story and all of the friendships formed throughout it were really touching and made the story special!
All in all, I’d say the book was a pretty good read! i look forward to next book in this series! I will definitely read another book by Judith Keim in the future!