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Eight Hundred Grapes
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There are secrets you share, and secrets you hide…
Growing up on her family’s Sonoma vineyard, Georgia Ford learned some important secrets. The secret number of grapes it takes to make a bottle of wine: eight hundred. The secret ingredient in her mother’s lasagna: chocolate. The secret behind ending a fight: hold hands.
But just a week before her wedding, thirty-year-old Geo ...more
Growing up on her family’s Sonoma vineyard, Georgia Ford learned some important secrets. The secret number of grapes it takes to make a bottle of wine: eight hundred. The secret ingredient in her mother’s lasagna: chocolate. The secret behind ending a fight: hold hands.
But just a week before her wedding, thirty-year-old Geo ...more
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Hardcover, 260 pages
Published
June 2nd 2015
by Simon Schuster
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Synchronization. Everything lines up like a sign of where you are supposed to be. But what do you give up? Because you give something up. As simple—and complicated—as the other line, the other way your life could have been if you had taken a different path.
Synchronization. Happens with reading, too. Sometimes a book lands itself in the hands of a reader who truly relishes the narrative journey. Times just like this. Eight Hundred Grapes and I met at the library by happenstance. An afternoon ...more

May 24, 2015
Shelby *trains flying monkeys*
rated it
liked it
Recommended to Shelby *trains flying monkeys* by:
Brandie
You have to grow, mold, squish about eight hundred grapes to get just one bottle of wine. If that isn't an argument to finish the bottle, I don't know what is.
Georgia Ford shows up at her parent's vineyard in her wedding gown.
She had been at her final fitting for the dress when her world was turned upside down. So she heads home.
Back at the winery she grew up at she realizes that after she left home to move to Los Angeles to practice law she didn't realize that her parents and brothers were ...more
Georgia Ford shows up at her parent's vineyard in her wedding gown.

She had been at her final fitting for the dress when her world was turned upside down. So she heads home.
Back at the winery she grew up at she realizes that after she left home to move to Los Angeles to practice law she didn't realize that her parents and brothers were ...more

Here's a drinking game for all you fun-loving wine drinkers out there: take a sip of wine every time you read the phrase, "I looked at him, confused", in the novel Eight Hundred Grapes by Laura Dave. The pronouns of the sentence can change, ("I looked at her, confused"; "They looked at me, confused"; etc.) but I guarantee you will be pretty tipsy by the time you get through this.
I received this ARC through a promotion by Simon & Schuster listed through Shelf Awareness. I was pretty happy to get ...more
I received this ARC through a promotion by Simon & Schuster listed through Shelf Awareness. I was pretty happy to get ...more

Miranda Lambert once sang about a house that built her entire being. Georgia Ford's life soundtrack could be summed up in that song, but it's more than a house, it's also a vineyard.
This book was a gem. I enjoyed every page and this family. I loved the Ford Family. They reminded me of mine in a way, except my parents were split and I had one sister and no brothers. The heart of this book reminded me of my own, we have a beautiful farm that has been in our family for 100 years and if my dad tried ...more
This book was a gem. I enjoyed every page and this family. I loved the Ford Family. They reminded me of mine in a way, except my parents were split and I had one sister and no brothers. The heart of this book reminded me of my own, we have a beautiful farm that has been in our family for 100 years and if my dad tried ...more

It really takes 800 grapes to make a bottle of wine! That’s pretty amazing and makes me appreciate grapes a 'whole bunch’ more. This story is light - nothing deep here; no complexity of characters, themes, plots or developments. Premise is love at the forefront, family winery at the backend and a whole lot of secrets, miscommunications and wine in between. I have to admit, I enjoyed it. Likeable characters with a likeable backdrop and who doesn’t like a little pinot noir with a story? I’m good w
...more

The book starts out with a quote..You have to grow about 800 grapes to get just one bottle of wine. If that isn't an argument to finish the bottle, I don't know what is..Anonymous
I love wine country, wine tasting, books with relatable characters and books with MESSY (imperfect) relationships!
This novel has all of that!
I opened a bottle of pinot noir, and read this book in one sitting.
Salut!🍷 ...more
I love wine country, wine tasting, books with relatable characters and books with MESSY (imperfect) relationships!
This novel has all of that!
I opened a bottle of pinot noir, and read this book in one sitting.
Salut!🍷 ...more

Originally reviewed at Minnesota Reads.
For the past few months, I saw Eight Hundred Grapes by Laura Dave highlighted everywhere. It was on lists of upcoming novels I shouldn’t miss. It was praised in publisher webinars as one of their great new books. It was marked as a to-read by thousands of people in Goodreads. Everywhere I turned I saw Eight Hundred Grapes, so I decided to check it out.
Eight Hundred Grapes was a predictable bore with a self-centered main character. It should be called My Eig ...more
For the past few months, I saw Eight Hundred Grapes by Laura Dave highlighted everywhere. It was on lists of upcoming novels I shouldn’t miss. It was praised in publisher webinars as one of their great new books. It was marked as a to-read by thousands of people in Goodreads. Everywhere I turned I saw Eight Hundred Grapes, so I decided to check it out.
Eight Hundred Grapes was a predictable bore with a self-centered main character. It should be called My Eig ...more

82.5 points. Good: a solid, well-made book.
Grippy tannins, oh my. Pinot Noir is one of the main protagonists in our story. It is said to be a very transparent grape that can communicate the difference in terroir, or grape-growing environment, between adjacent plots of a vineyard. Of course I felt that drinking some while I read about the breakdowns in a family’s communications and love-lives in the midst of a vineyard and winery would be most beneficial to my appreciation of this complex blend. ...more
Grippy tannins, oh my. Pinot Noir is one of the main protagonists in our story. It is said to be a very transparent grape that can communicate the difference in terroir, or grape-growing environment, between adjacent plots of a vineyard. Of course I felt that drinking some while I read about the breakdowns in a family’s communications and love-lives in the midst of a vineyard and winery would be most beneficial to my appreciation of this complex blend. ...more

*minor edits, some stuff was messed up haha*
4.5 stars rounded up :)
Wasn't that the gift of a home? You looked at it the same way, but then when you needed it to, it showed you all over again the many ways you'd been during the time you had been living there. The many ways it brought you back to yourself. The many ways it still brought you back to yourself.
A lovely book that pulls you into the characters and the scenery... it's easy to fall in love here thanks to the wonderful writing setting the ...more
4.5 stars rounded up :)
Wasn't that the gift of a home? You looked at it the same way, but then when you needed it to, it showed you all over again the many ways you'd been during the time you had been living there. The many ways it brought you back to yourself. The many ways it still brought you back to yourself.
A lovely book that pulls you into the characters and the scenery... it's easy to fall in love here thanks to the wonderful writing setting the ...more

‘Synchronization. Systems operating with all their parts in synchrony, said to be synchronous, or in sync. The interrelationship of things that might normally exist separately.
In physics: It’s called simultaneity. In music: rhythm.
In your life: epic failure.’
A mere week before Georgia is set to marry, when she’s in the middle of her final dress fitting, she sees something on the street that leaves her questioning everything about life and relationship. Incapable of any rational thinking, she ...more
In physics: It’s called simultaneity. In music: rhythm.
In your life: epic failure.’
A mere week before Georgia is set to marry, when she’s in the middle of her final dress fitting, she sees something on the street that leaves her questioning everything about life and relationship. Incapable of any rational thinking, she ...more

"I stopped paying attention to her. I stopped doing the things that someone does for the person he loves. Because I was tired. Because other things always seems to matter a little bit more...That doesn't happen overnight, you know. It happens slowly. You should be careful of that. You should be careful not to take the person you love for granted. Not only because they'll notice. But you'll notice too. You'll think it means something it doesn't...Like that's how much you care."
This book was an ab ...more
This book was an ab ...more

I did not know it was humanly possible to despise every damn character in a book that is not written by Gillian Flynn. Seriously. I want someone to put together a freaking pie chart to show most despised characters and see if one particular author manages to somehow cause the reader to hate every single person that they read about.
I have always wanted to go to California and go vineyard hopping. This book has turned me off of doing that anytime soon.
Georgia Ford pulls a runner the week before he ...more
I have always wanted to go to California and go vineyard hopping. This book has turned me off of doing that anytime soon.
Georgia Ford pulls a runner the week before he ...more

"You have to grow, mold, squish about eight hundred grapes to get just one bottle of wine. If that isn't an argument to finish the bottle, I don't know what is."
You had me at WINE.
Once in awhile, the perfect book at the perfect moment comes along and it's a beautiful thing. When I saw that Laura Dave had a new book releasing soon, and that it was available on Netgalley, and that it was ABOUT WINE, I jumped at the chance to read it. Her previous novel, The First Husband, is one of my favorite ...more
You had me at WINE.
Once in awhile, the perfect book at the perfect moment comes along and it's a beautiful thing. When I saw that Laura Dave had a new book releasing soon, and that it was available on Netgalley, and that it was ABOUT WINE, I jumped at the chance to read it. Her previous novel, The First Husband, is one of my favorite ...more

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
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3.5 stars, rounded up
I've had this book on my bookshelf for a while now, having bought it for very cheap at BooksaMillion, for no reason other than that I loved the cover. But it takes a bit for me to be in the mood for a fluffy chic-lit. A couple of days ago, after having my heart torn out of my chest (then replaced, then torn out again...several times) by the Red Rising series, this book and it's beautiful cover immediately caught my eye. Just what I needed, a silly rom-com esque book to make ...more
I've had this book on my bookshelf for a while now, having bought it for very cheap at BooksaMillion, for no reason other than that I loved the cover. But it takes a bit for me to be in the mood for a fluffy chic-lit. A couple of days ago, after having my heart torn out of my chest (then replaced, then torn out again...several times) by the Red Rising series, this book and it's beautiful cover immediately caught my eye. Just what I needed, a silly rom-com esque book to make ...more

❝You have to grow about eight hundred grapes to get just one bottle of wine. If that isn't an argument to finish the bottle, I don't know what is. - Anonymous❞
My best friend gave me this book because she knows I love wine. That's enough of a reason! It's the story of soon-to-be-wed (maybe?) Georgia and her wine-making family going through changes in Sonoma County, California.
The bulk of the story is about decision and indecision. Coming to that point in your life where something happens to knock ...more
My best friend gave me this book because she knows I love wine. That's enough of a reason! It's the story of soon-to-be-wed (maybe?) Georgia and her wine-making family going through changes in Sonoma County, California.
The bulk of the story is about decision and indecision. Coming to that point in your life where something happens to knock ...more

2 1/2 stars
I suspect the winery background is what got this book a lot of hype, but to me, this was just another chick lit and not even one of its better ones.
The annoying main character has no idea where she wants to live, what she wants to do, or who she wants to spend her life with, yet she goes around judging and interfering in her family's life. She storms into another winery, accusing them of stealing her family's business. I suppose this is supposed to be the chick lit version of "meet cu ...more
I suspect the winery background is what got this book a lot of hype, but to me, this was just another chick lit and not even one of its better ones.
The annoying main character has no idea where she wants to live, what she wants to do, or who she wants to spend her life with, yet she goes around judging and interfering in her family's life. She storms into another winery, accusing them of stealing her family's business. I suppose this is supposed to be the chick lit version of "meet cu ...more

Surprisingly great!
There are many things I loved about this novel. First of all, it's simply a perfect summer read. I loved how it's written and the flashbacks that help understanding the story. It's fluent and it made me want to continue reading, just as it should.
I loved the family in this novel. While there are many things going wrong with it, they all love each other deeply and they care about their family, which was really touching. Growing up isn't easy, and there are things you wish you ...more
There are many things I loved about this novel. First of all, it's simply a perfect summer read. I loved how it's written and the flashbacks that help understanding the story. It's fluent and it made me want to continue reading, just as it should.
I loved the family in this novel. While there are many things going wrong with it, they all love each other deeply and they care about their family, which was really touching. Growing up isn't easy, and there are things you wish you ...more

I won this ARC via Shelf Awareness and was happy to get it, which is why it pains me to say that everything about this book is stupid. Plus, there's very little in it about wine--it could have taken place anywhere, about any family business. I won't rate this since I only made it about a third of the way through, but I am for sure not wasting any more time on it. I hope whoever picks it up from the lobby of my building likes it more than I did.
...more

*3.5 stars*

Jan 28, 2019
Cher
rated it
it was ok
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
abandoned-dnf,
contemporary
1.5 stars - I didn't like it.
In full disclosure, this book was not for me. On my last cross-country flight there was a toddler that would not stop screaming, for the entire 6.5 hour duration. Not crying, screaming. So while I quickly knew this book was not for me just a chapter or two into the audiobook, it was preferred to having my ears assaulted. It was also the only one I had downloaded on my device, and so I soldiered on. At the end of the flight, I was around 48% through and shocker, it st ...more
In full disclosure, this book was not for me. On my last cross-country flight there was a toddler that would not stop screaming, for the entire 6.5 hour duration. Not crying, screaming. So while I quickly knew this book was not for me just a chapter or two into the audiobook, it was preferred to having my ears assaulted. It was also the only one I had downloaded on my device, and so I soldiered on. At the end of the flight, I was around 48% through and shocker, it st ...more

Puke. Seriously, just ... ugh. I may have been more tolerant of this book if I'd read it at a different time, but right now, even in the mood for something beachy, I wanted to throw it out the window. It is a book about the whitest white people problems. Absolutely the most first world problems ever. It felt like I was reading about the perfect lives in those Sweet Valley High books from when I was in middle school, except set on a vineyard in Sonoma, and all those gorgeous people have grown up
...more

When Georgia sees her fiancé with another woman she heads to her families Sonoma County vineyard "The Last Straw" for solace, only to find that the rest of her family members are having their own problems. A nice easy summer read, about love, family, and finding a home in the world. Add wine, chocolate , and a nice summer evening , enjoy !! Date night movie rights have already been optioned. 3 stars
...more

3 stars
It is pretty well known that a romance novel is not my first choice - actually isn't even in my realm of probable reads. However I do break down from time to time and read a quasi-romance as a pallet cleanser. Usually a romantic mystery, or a historical fiction that is too heavy, for my taste, with romance, will be my choice.
However I blew it with this book. This is a romantic romance with nothing but romance oozing out of every sentence. So I am being generous with a 3 star rating. I th ...more
It is pretty well known that a romance novel is not my first choice - actually isn't even in my realm of probable reads. However I do break down from time to time and read a quasi-romance as a pallet cleanser. Usually a romantic mystery, or a historical fiction that is too heavy, for my taste, with romance, will be my choice.
However I blew it with this book. This is a romantic romance with nothing but romance oozing out of every sentence. So I am being generous with a 3 star rating. I th ...more

Eight Hundred Grapes by Laura Dave was a great book, the perfect beach read.
Our heroine is Georgia, a real estate attorney who is about her architect fiance. Our poor girl gets quite a surprise when she looks out the window while being fitted for her dress. Her fiance Ben just may be keeping secrets.
This starts Georgia's journey home and to more secrets and changes.
I really enjoyed this book and Laura Dave's style. Told him first person and going back and forth to different time periods can b ...more
Our heroine is Georgia, a real estate attorney who is about her architect fiance. Our poor girl gets quite a surprise when she looks out the window while being fitted for her dress. Her fiance Ben just may be keeping secrets.
This starts Georgia's journey home and to more secrets and changes.
I really enjoyed this book and Laura Dave's style. Told him first person and going back and forth to different time periods can b ...more

2.5 Stars
Meh. This book just did not click for me. It should have, I mean we're talking about a winery...in Sonoma, no less (where I would move to in a heartbeat!). But the main character was too wishy-washy and temperamental. None of the other characters quite did it for me either, honestly. The story was fine. But "fine" is not really what I'm looking for in a novel.
(This sounds really harsh. It wasn't BAD, just not recommended) ...more
Meh. This book just did not click for me. It should have, I mean we're talking about a winery...in Sonoma, no less (where I would move to in a heartbeat!). But the main character was too wishy-washy and temperamental. None of the other characters quite did it for me either, honestly. The story was fine. But "fine" is not really what I'm looking for in a novel.
(This sounds really harsh. It wasn't BAD, just not recommended) ...more

May 14, 2015
Nicole R
rated it
liked it
Shelves:
play-book-tag,
romance,
ner,
2015-pick-a-year-challenge,
california,
kindle,
relationships,
family,
2015,
chick-lit
Romance. Winemaking. Sonoma County. This book had the perfect varietals to make a story I adore. But, when the fermentation was complete, the overall assessment was light bodied and lacking in complexity, with a pleasant finish that faded quickly.
Georgia Ford flees to her family's Sonoma County vineyard less than a week before her wedding after learning that her fiancé has been keeping a life-changing secret from her. She seeks the comfort of her parents, whose loving and stable marriage nurtur ...more
Georgia Ford flees to her family's Sonoma County vineyard less than a week before her wedding after learning that her fiancé has been keeping a life-changing secret from her. She seeks the comfort of her parents, whose loving and stable marriage nurtur ...more

"Eight Hundred Grapes" delivered something far from what I was expecting. I expected to find an average romance taking place at a winery. What I got was a story that was rich and full and complex but at the same time, so very simple and can be summed up in one sentence. It's a story about what one wants out of life and what will have to be sacrificed for it.
Within the beautiful setting of a vineyard, the story is rich with information of what it takes to masterful at making a great wine and also ...more
Within the beautiful setting of a vineyard, the story is rich with information of what it takes to masterful at making a great wine and also ...more
topics | posts | views | last activity | |
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ACPL Online Book ...: Free Day for Monday Morning Book Group | 1 | 7 | Jun 26, 2017 12:28PM | |
Go Fug Yourself B...: Eight Hundred Grapes February Discussion! | 42 | 89 | Feb 07, 2017 02:01PM | |
Go Fug Yourself B...: 800 Grapes is our February read | 18 | 99 | Jan 13, 2017 04:49PM | |
I'm really confused | 6 | 74 | Jun 30, 2016 07:10AM | |
52 weeks, 52 books: Week 2016.16: Eight Hundred Grapes | 3 | 39 | May 01, 2016 07:55AM |
Laura Dave is the bestselling author of several critically acclaimed novels including Eight Hundred Grapes and The First Husband. Her work has been published in eighteen countries, and five of her novels, including The Last Thing he Told Me, have been optioned for film and television. She resides in Santa Monica, California.
Her new novel, The Last Thing He Told Me, will be released on May 4th, 202 ...more
Her new novel, The Last Thing He Told Me, will be released on May 4th, 202 ...more
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“You have to grow about eight hundred grapes to get just one bottle of wine. If that isn’t an argument to finish the bottle, I don’t know what is. —Anonymous”
—
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“Even if things didn’t always go the way they should, sometimes they went exactly where they needed to.”
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