Share the Moon by Sharon Struth is a 2014 Kensington/ Lyrical Press Publication. I was provided a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
The fight over land rights is as old as time it seems. Sophie is on the verge of opening a vineyard on land that had been associated with her family for centuries, when a zoning matter and a new bid on the land puts a freeze on her plans. As a reporter she is assigned to cover the hot topic issue, which is kind of hard to do with in an unbiased way under the circumstances.
An embarrassing fall on ice introduces Sophie to Duncan, a man whose bid on her land is causing her all this pain. There could have been just a little spark between them when he helped up after her spill, but when she discovers who he really is, the sparks fly another direction.
Sophie is in her forties, two children, divorced and doing the very best she can to move on with her life after a horrific tragedy. Sophie's loss trumps all, but so many, even those who should have felt the loss as deeply as Sophie seemed cold and unfeeling about her loss, expecting her to just forget it, to move on like it never happened and to stop living in the past. Easier said than done for some people. When Sophie was outbid, her only hope is the zoning committee veto. But, there are ugly allegations that Duncan's firm was involved in bribery in order to way the vote. There are also some other disturbing rumors concerning Duncan and his family. Sophie is determined to get to the truth about Duncan's family and an odd incident that happened the last time his family vacationed in her small town.
Duncan is a man that has learned life lessons the hard way. Years of listening to his wife plead for him to spend more time with his family ended with her death. Now, he wants out of the rat race and decides to move to the charming New England town his family used to vacation in when he was growing up. In the works is the project his brother Trent is working on to turn old farmland into a resort. Little does he know that he has crushed the dreams of the girl he has his first crush on all those years ago. He doesn't know about her life, her tragedies, her pain, her hopes and dreams. He sees things one way , from a business perspective. If he learned from his wife's death that he should slow down and smell the roses, he still learned from Sophie that all decisions can't be handled like a business deal.
When Sophie and her friends are handed some interesting information regarding Duncan's family and a rather puzzling incident many years ago, they resolve to get to the bottom of the mystery. As a result shocking family secrets, long buried come to the surface and will change Duncan's life for good.
Everyone involved here, from Sophie's children to Duncan's family all have to work together to do the right thing. Thankfully, the truth is discovered and now a road to recovery will begin for some, while a new beginning will be presented for others, namely Duncan and Sophie who are just awesome together. I loved the characters in this one because I am not a spring chicken , so I can relate to more mature themes and the feelings a woman of Sophie's age might have. I admired her humanity , her spunk, her willingness to learn from her past and the courage to take a chance on a future with Duncan. I also liked Duncan a great deal. He is just perfect for Sophie on so many levels. He too learned from the past, and while there were things his family did that he could not control, he didn't lose sight of what was important to him and his family and Sophie's family. The real life issues of dealing with teens and college age children, contrary parents, ex-husbands, small town gossip, and coming to terms with unbearable loss made the story feel authentic. The secondary characters were interesting and complimented the story. What is interesting is that this is the first book in a series. So, I am really curious as to how the series will develop from here. This is a really great start though. I was impressed.
I recommend this book to those who enjoy contemporary fiction, a little mystery, or women's fiction. This one is 4.5 rounded to 5