Hotel executive Wendy Marsh puts her career on hold when she inherits half of her family’s inn. Her to-do list? It’s simple: teach her spoiled cousin how to manage Fountenoy Hall, then hightail it back to her structured, careful life in Atlanta. Romance has never been part of Wendy’s plan – so what is it about the sexy history professor researching the inn that she finds so tempting?Rob Upshaw … tempting?
Rob Upshaw would be enjoying his time at the Inn at Fountenoy Hall if he wasn’t secretly hunting for a family treasure lost during Prohibition. Only a few minor inconveniences stand in his way. His uncle’s old journals are cryptic, he has only a vague description of the loot, and the beautiful, uptight innkeeper with a subtle sense of humor might hold the key to his quest. Even though Rob’s career is built on facts, he accepts he might have to lie to Wendy. But falling for her? That’s out of the question.
Moonshine and Magnolias is a Just Add Peaches novel. Each book in the series is a stand-alone, passionate and playful contemporary romance, but you’ll want more than one juicy bite.
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Book one in the Just Add Peaches series by an Author I have not read before. Wendy Marsh and Rob Upshaw will have so much to go through to get their happy ending, not talking to each other and being truthful with each other are just some of the things they have to get past. A well written story that I enjoyed reading. I received a copy of this book and I am voluntarily reviewing it.
The blurb sounded like so much fun, and that’s exactly what I got from this book. Wendy is a driven type-A workaholic with some serious control issues. Rob isn’t her complete opposite, but he’s a lot better about going with the flow than list-maker Wendy. You know that old adage about deception and the tangled web? For the amount of half truths and misdirection that happen in this story, it could almost have been a mystery. There aren’t very many people in the book who are telling the full truth – to each other or themselves. The chemistry between Rob and Wendy is off the charts and watching them tap dance around their attraction was one of the funniest things to witness. The supporting cast in this story grabbed hold of the plot and ran away with it. It’s impossible to pick my favorite from among them. And I’m hoping I won’t have to; that they’ll all get their own stories in the end. This was so much fun. I can’t wait to come back and visit again.
I received a complimentary copy of this book through Hidden Gems Books.
Abigail Sharpe, Moonshine and Magnolia’s (Just Add Peaches, book 1).
As a Hidden Gems ARC reader I received this book for free. And promised an honest review. Here it is. English isn’t my first language. Sorry for errors.
Rating: 2,5 stars (of 5).
In general: Finding lover during a family history research.
Main characters:
– Wendy Marsh.
With her cousin Brandi she inherited Fountenoy Hall Inn from her grandma who just died. She wasn’t happy with this inheritance. Brandi seemed to be more interested in flirting with men than doing her part of the job and Wendy left a prestigious career with the Steward Hotel chain to be temporarily in the Fountenoy Hall to install Brandi as the future boss. So she could return as soon as possible to the job that was so important for her that she worked about 60 hours in a week to get a very lucrative promotion.
– Robert Upshaw.
Dr. in History. Together with his brother Hal doing research about an old family myth around Fountenoy Hall.
Wendy and Rob meet when he’s checking in. They like each other but especially Wendy doesn’t want a relationship. It’s distracting her from her hotel career and Rob is only temporarily in Fountenoy Hall.
The author, Abigail Sharpe, describes how a persistent Rob seems to win Wendy’s heart. But there are more ‘storylines’:
. the Upshaw family secrets which Rob partly tries to hide from Wendy,
. the complicated composition of grandma’s complete inheritance, the Inn and its
peach orchard,
. Wendy’s hesitations between returning to her old, very demanding job or staying at Fouyntenoy Hall keeping her family tradition intact,
. last but not least – the Pansy Hamilton historical reenactment in honour of the
Southern Belle who, using her charms, saved the town during the Civil War.
For me a lot of these storylines looked absurd
. a professional historian taking a family-curse from the twenties and thirties of the 20th century serious ???;
. Brandi having a second job and Wendy (intelligent and experienced) not seeing that ???
. is the very complicated way Rob uses to rectify a temporarily break up with Wendy really credible ???.
As I said before: absurd, far-fetched and overdone for me. So in spite of the easy-to-read style I cannot give this book – how technically well written it is – an excellent rating.
R. Huiszoon.
Wendy has plans to cement her hotel career and is so close to her dream role when her Grandma dies so she is back Fountenoy Hall trying to run it with her cousin Brandi who is never around. Dr. Rob Upshaw and his brother Hal are on the hunt for lost treasure and brings them to Fountenoy Hall and this leads both Wendy and Rob to try and dance around their attraction, see what life could be like with someone to love and be happy with …but you also need trust and honesty. You will get sucked into this warm hearted book that leads you on an rocky road with sadness and laughter and all things in between as we see not just Wendy but also Rob and others finding themselves, allowing others in and realising what you really want and need in life. The characters are great and you will fall in love with them even the coffee slurping Hal! you will also feel like you really are in Fountenoy Hall and wanting to try their peaches! This was a great read and I just loved the ending and can not wait for the next book in the series!!!
This was the first book that I have read by this author and I enjoyed it. Rob and Wendy meet at the inn that once was her grandmother’s but after her death, it was passed down to Wendy and her cousin Brandi. Rob is there with his brother to do some research about his uncle and a curse that was placed on his family. Wendy wants to pass the inn off to her cousin and go back to her life and Rob wants to lift the curse on his family. They both have to work some issues to get what they really wanted for themselves. This book had a good mix of romance and mystery. It was a fun read and I would read more from this author.
I received an ARC from NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review.
This is a nice start to a new series Just Add Peaches. Wendy Marsh was working her way up the corporate ladder at a national hotel chain. Her plans are interrupted when her grandmother dies and leaves her and her cousin Brandi the family inn, Fountenoy Hall. Wendy wants to teach her cousin how to take care of the inn on her own so she can get back to her life and career in Atlanta. Dr. Rob Upshaw is a historian with a secret. His great uncle Louis had come to Fountenoy Hall in the 1930’s as a revenuer, when Wendy’s ancestors were moonshiners. Somehow Uncle Louis lost the mysterious “angel eyes” and the men of his family have been cursed and not been able to sustain a relationship since. Rob and his brother Hal are trying to find “angel eyes” and lift the curse. Since they are unsure what this item is, they don’t tell Wendy and her friends why they are really there. I really enjoyed Wendy and Rob and the rest of the friends. This is a sweet romance and I am looking forward to the next book in the series. I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley for my honest review.