Just did not see any usual Susan Mallery magic in this story. The writing was rote and lacked flow, and the characters read like cardboard cutouts, utterly unlikeable in many instances. I also felt a bit let down that I was coming in to read Mackenzie's story (the blurb sold me), but I was reading more about Barbara and Stephanie throughout, and they were not interesting characters at all - Barbara is a prime example of terrible! Mackenzie herself was so lacklustre and hard to like, too.
It seemed like this was everything but a Susan Mallery book, to be honest

I love Susan Mallory’s book and know that I will have an enjoyable read. This book did not disappoint. As always it was beautifully written and the story so gabbed me that I had difficulty putting it down. I was so upset for Mackenzie when her world imploded as her husband wanted a divorce and everything that she had built her life upon crumbled away. I was with her every step of the way as she tried to build a new life. Well worth reading!

Mackenzie lives and works on her husband's family's vineyard so when her husband says their marriage is over she could potentially lose her home, her job, and her family. She decides that she wants to branch out from what she knows and open her own vineyard.

I really enjoyed this story and our main character as she learned to navigate a new life. Her mother in law Barbara was terrible and considering that Mackenzie viewed her as a mother the way she was treated was awful. Overall I liked this story and was pleased to see Mackenzie going after what she wanted.

I really enjoyed The Vineyard At Painted Moon, it was a light-hearted and fun read, allowing us to follow the lives of many interesting characters. The settings and scenery described through as well was so delightful and gorgeous, allowing myself to travel to another country - a great distraction from reality! Plus, how pretty is the front cover!? I would highly recommend.

Mackenzie really appears to have it all. She has the perfect life, a job she loves and a wonderful husband. That is, until her wonderful husband returns home one day and announces that he wants a divorce, and Mackenzie's perfect life comes crashing down around her.

I really enjoyed reading this book. The story was well written and flowed beautifully.
The characters were entertaining and well developed, some more believable than others at times.
I adored Mackenzie and after the way in which she had been treated I truly wanted nothing but happiness for her.
A wonderful read!.

Mackenzie has everything she has ever wanted from the perfect job to the perfect life or so she thinks until one day it all comes crumbling down and her husband announces that he wants a divorce. Mackenzie thought that her mother in law would support her and allow her to keep her job in the family vineyard but upon hearing the news she fires Mackenzie on the spot and Mackenzie suddenly finds herself without her job, without her home and needing to start all over again.
I really enjoyed this story, some parts especially involving the MIL were far fetched and I thought in real life no one would support someone who behaved like that but overall this was an enjoyable read which you would expect from Susan Mallory. I really wanted Mackenzie to do well and was pleased with how her story ended.

Thank you NetGalley for this advanced copy. Another winner by Susan Mallery! I love her books. They are lighthearted and fun. The mother-in-law made my blood boil a little bit, but i enjoyed the relationships between all the characters, and the plot overall.

Mackenzie has invested everything into her marriage. He husband's family are everything to her. They have provided a home, a career and friendship. Now she has to admit that her marriage is over she is scared. What will he next chapter of her life entail? Is something even better around the corner? Do happy ever afters exit

The vineyard at painted moon
By Susan Mallery
Pub date feb 9 2021
Review
eview
I definitely love this book the cover beautiful and the writing style is beautiful written easy to understand you thrown into the story with love I loved learning about the vine yard the wine and the characters are lovely I do really want to buy a copy of this book for my collection I have it on my kindle but it’s not the same as having the actual book such a great story I read a few Susan Mallery book and they all excellent her writing style is lovely such a good read you enjoy. It’s full of family drama and suspense and twist on the story you enjoy.

Mackenzie Dienes has it all. She has the job of her dreams, a large house with her husband and all his family living and working close by. What more could she want or need?
When Mackenzie realises her marriage is over, she also realises that her entire life is about to change. Her work, house, family and friends are all in jeopardy as the divorce becomes a reality.

Susan Mallery is fast becoming one of my favourite authors, she seems to have a way of pulling you in without you even noticing. Before you know it, it will be 2am and you are still reading.

Her character development is second to none. As the story progresses you will feel like you are there, living among the characters, living and breathing their daily life.
You will fall in love with some characters and out of love with others.
There’s lots of things that you won’t see coming as you delve further into this book.
Just be sure to set aside plenty of time as you won’t want to put this one down!

I would love to see these characters again, maybe a story focusing on sisters in law, Stephanie or Four, or maybe another story about Mackenzie and her family.
Go get it now!

Thank you to Netgalley, the publishers and most importantly the author, for the chance to read this book, in exchange for an honest review.

I would like to thank Netgalley, Mills and Boon and Susan Mallery for the e arc of this novel.
This story had me hooked from the beginning. Mackenzie was a great character. She is not only a talented winemaker but has other facets to her that have gone undeveloped in all her years. We meet Mackenzie kneeling on the soil of the vineyard that she works at checking grapes. She is so dedicated to all aspects of winemaking and tends to the grapes with such passion. Although she works at the Vineyard, she has no stake in it, as it is owned by her husband’s family.
Unfortunately, Mackenzie and her husband realise that there is nothing to their marriage and arrange to divorce. This brings up a number of issues that need resolving and this is where the real problems start.
Mackenzie’s mother-in-law is awful. She is so controlling and is horrible to her offspring. She treats her daughters with distain and I think only tolerates her son because of Mackenzie. Barbara sets about trying to make life as difficult as possible for Mackenzie and indirectly for her own family as well. Thankfully, Mackenzie stands up to Barbara and with her doing so, it enables other family members to grow as well.
Throughout the book, we see growth of characters, relationships being made stronger and new relationships being forged.
I really enjoyed this novel and hope that you will too. Would highly recommend it.

Susan Mallery’s writing style is a masterpiece of understatement, with characters that are richly drawn and as multi-layered and complex as a glass of good wine. There are no heros or villains in this story, just very human characters with their own unique flaws and idiosyncrasies, trying their best to deal with challenging circumstances. The author uses multiple points of view in the narrative to allow the reader to really get inside the head of the three female main characters. This allows the reader to examine their motivations and understand how their history has shaped their responses to situations and events. This book is, at its heart, all about family – both the family we are born with and the family we create for ourselves. There is also an underlying theme of redemption and the need to be true to ourselves and take risks, no matter how hard that is or what form it may take. Barbara’s path, in particular, is a reminder that life is a sum of the choices we make.

Unfortunately this was a DNF for me. I couldn't keep up with the many characters in the story, so many were introduced in the first few chapters and I had to keep going back to check who was who, married to who, how related etc. Too much was going on.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an early review copy.

This is a family drama which is beautifully set in the wine country of Walla Walla, Washington.

It appears that Mackenzie Dienes married the son of a family with a vineyard and now has become a very talented winemaker.

For her, life is great life , as she’s doing what she loves - almost.

But, she and her husband decide their marriage that it’s the end of their marriage and decide to divorce.

Now, it seems that Mackenzie has some very difficult choices to make. Should she stay on, as an employee or go out on her own. Leaving, would mean losing everything. All her life has been wrapped up in the winery and the family and her mother-in-law is the closest thing to a mother she's ever had.

Also, her best friend is her husband's sister and she loves being a winemaker and has built quite a reputation. So what’s she to do??

Loved it.