Book Review: A Taste of Sake

Book: A Taste of Sake (The Napa Wine Heiress book #4) by Heather Heyford

Source: Borrowed from Publisher/NetGalley for an honest review

Publication: Available now

Description:

As author Heather Heyford pours a final glass in her series following three Napa wine heiresses, a newcomer must work her way into a tightly-knit family whose bond has been fermenting for years…

Though they each have their own ambitions and are known to be competitive—even with each other—the St. Pierre sisters are fiercely loyal. Chardonnay and Merlot are thrilled about Sauvignon’s wedding day, and it’s slated to be the soirée of the decade among Napa’s most elite residents. Given the family’s notoriety, it almost stands to reason that their eccentric father, Xavier, would arrive by helicopter. But no one could have anticipated the wedding surprise he’d brought along with him…

The product of one of Xavier’s many affairs, Sake is introduced as the half-Japanese sister the St. Pierre girls never knew they had. She struggles to break into clique-ish Napa society—and getting in with her sisters is proving more difficult than nabbing a ’74 Cabernet. It seems only high-end realtor Bill Diamond can tell there’s more to Sake than meets the eye. Afraid of repeating her mother’s mistakes, Sake just hopes that getting drunk on love won’t leave her with a hangover of rejection…


Rating: 1 star (Did Not Finish)

Review:

Right off the bat, I was disappointed by the cover because if you compare it with other books in this series (see below) you can see the difference. For the three previous books all the faces of the female models are shown but for some reason the model's face for this fourth book which features main character Sake who is half Japanese is obscured. Why cover the model's face? Was it because she wasn't Asian? If so then why wasn't an Asian or bi-racial model chosen for the cover shoot? Anyway, on to my review.

A Taste of Sake was the second book that I've read from this series, the other book was A Taste of Merlot which had started out well but quickly fizzled. Even though I didn't enjoy A Taste of Merlot, I still gave this fourth book a chance. I wish I had not, because it started out bad and seemed to continue in that direction before I stopped reading it.

The story is told from Sake St. Pierre and Bill Diamond's point of view. Bill is the family's realtor and friend who is used to his life being in order and it's clear to see that Sake is going to throw his well ordered life into chaos.

This wasn't the best story, it opened with a boring prologue that started with a ridiculous scene that had Xavier St. Pierre crashing the helicopter he was flying with his youngest daughter Sake. The arrival and then the crashing of the helicopter disrupted the wedding of his oldest daughter Sauvignon. He had been bringing Sake to the wedding so she could get to know her sisters.

Sake who is 22 years old has a huge chip on her shoulder which is understandable since she had grown up without knowing any of her sisters and only saw her father from time to time. Also, while the family had been living the life of luxury she instead has been living a rough life.

Sake had gotten in a bit of trouble prior to her father picking her up for the wedding and to keep her out of any more her father has set some conditions which she needs to stick to by her approaching 23rd birthday. If she follows them, then he will give her a large amount of money to help pursue her future. She currently works at a bakery but doesn't have a high school diploma and her father strongly suggest she finish her education.

I couldn't finish reading this because not only couldn't I get pass the horrible (and I mean horrible) tough girl dialogue for Sake but the writing wasn't that great either. The story was also bad and way too predictable. I got tired of Sake's father treating her like a child and making her feel bad that she didn't measure up to her sisters. The sisters that he raised while he only sent checks and the occasional gifts to Sake and her mother. If he cared so much then why had he not been in her life. He looks down at her and dismisses every part of her life, at this point in her life does he have any right to start telling her how to live her life.

This just wasn't working for me, there was nothing here that I liked. I think I would have liked Sake more is she had been better written and poor Bill he was just so boring. I don't think I will be taking anymore chances with this series.