The Memory of Lavender and Sage, a review by Susan

posted in: 5 star read, Susan | 1

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The Memory of Lavender and Sage
Aimie K. Runyan

March 5, 2024
Harper Muse

Genres: Contemporary Romance, Women Family Life, World Literature, France 21st Century

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This book is one that makes the reader think about the meaning and importance of family as well as the idea that life is something more than how much money we make or how many hours we work. The narrator, Tempesta, suddenly loses her father after having lost her mother when she was a teenager. Her grandmother is cold to her and makes Tempesta feel as if she doesn’t belong in her family. Tempesta works as a food critic in the United States but decides to go to her mother’s village in France and buys a small house there with the small inheritance from her mother (her brother got the lion’s share, from the father), sight unseen. Although she is not initially welcomed by everyone there (some call her a witch), she comes to make a life there, coming to understand that a life is more than going to work each day and making money. She gets out of the rat race and discovers that the community is all around her and she finds her own true talents, in spite of the pressure placed upon her by her brother who wants her to come home to help him run the family business, that is literally making him ill.

There are wonderful characters in this book, beautiful descriptions and important and meaning messages for the reader (without being didactic). I definitely look forward to reading future books by Ms. Runyan.

Thanks to NetGalley and Harper Muse for providing me with the opportunity to read this wonderful book.

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