Official Review: Love's Harvest by Gwen Overland

[katiesquilts]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Love's Harvest" by Gwen Overland.]

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3 out of 4 stars

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Gwen Overland's novel Love's Harvest is a heartwarming romance novel with lovable and memorable characters. Julia Reynolds has just lost her husband to his battle with cancer and finds herself tasked with returning her family's waning vineyard to its former glory. Thankfully, while she was struggling with her husband's poor health, the orchard's manager, Diego Gonzales, was taking care of things and his support is what's necessary to get her through the challenging days ahead. Especially since her brother-in-law, James, is determined to tear down the winery and sell the land to built condos for a quick buck.

Diego has his own painful past and Julia knows she shouldn't be this attracted to a man so soon after her husband's funeral. However, they can't deny the compatibility they find within each other. Despite all of the problems that come their way, Julia and Diego's love for each other holds strong. However, this novel isn't just about them. There are many different characters each with their own relationships and the trials that come with, as well as with loving support.

I really enjoyed the way the characters reacted to each other. I thought that despite all of the problems they faced in the novel, the relationships shown were so healthy and loving, especially Julia's relationships with her sisters and best friend. Diego also has a healthy relationship with his sister, her husband, and his niece and nephew. The theme of "family" is definitely an important part of the novel. I also loved the conflicts the characters faced and how they were able to overcome them as a community.

Unfortunately, the book wasn't completely perfect. I found quite a few mistakes, and they only got more obvious the further I read. Also, there was quite a lot of Spanish used throughout the novel, but some of it was obviously wrong even to me, and I only took 3 years of Spanish in high school. Things like "Da nada" instead of "De nada" (for "you're welcome") and Diego good-naturedly calling his nephew a "poco hombre," which when translated directly means "little man" but is really used to insult a man's masculinity.

I really enjoyed the book overall, finishing it in only two days because I could hardly put it down. The feeling of community and everyone banding together to help out the winery really warmed my heart and put me in a good mood. However, because of the aforementioned Spanish errors, which could have been confirmed with a quick Google search, and the lack of proper proofreading, I can only rate Love's Harvest 3 out of 4 stars. I would definitely recommend it to romance lovers who enjoy a good drama. There are a few sex scenes that are explicit but in a classy way, so I would only recommend it to readers aged 18 and up.

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Love's Harvest
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[Phoenix Miles]

Love's harvest is really based on love issues or else what? asked BY Phoenix miles

[Samantha Simoneau]

I enjoyed your review, but I think the errors would bother me enough to keep me from enjoying the book. It is nice to find a book with so many healthy, although not problem-free, relationships in it. I get tired of petty drama in so many of the romances I try to read.

[Cecilia_L]

I appreciate your lovely review. While your description of a heartwarming drama with memorable characters sounds promising, I think I would find the many errors distracting, as well.

[Kemunto lucy]

The book sounds like a nice read. I like that it maintains attention and the lovable characters. Great review.

[kdstrack]

I really enjoyed your review. This book sounds interesting - a romance and healthy themes. Your examples of bad Spanish made me laugh - so maybe that would take away from the mood of the story! Thanks for a good review.

[Rosemary Khathibe]

I'm in love with romance novels and this review has just made me more interested in this book. I even llike the fact that it seems to have given details on almost everything about romantic life.

[María Andrea Fernández Sepúlveda]

I really enjoy romance and I think this book might be a good pick.
I´m also a native Spanish speaker. I get your problem with "de nada", because it is, in fact, wrong.
However "poco hombre" is not a mistake. It might be offensive in your culture, but it´s not a wrong linguistic usage and it´s quite a common "joking insult" among male friends or relatives. I don´t mean to be polemic, I really don´t, I just wonder what you mean, because if the character is Latin American it makes sense that he uses such expressions. It´s probably not your idea of polite, and it´s not an especially nice thing to say, but it´s coherent with the character´s culture.

[Amy+++]

Doesn't sound to bad. The only thing that would slow me down would be the mistakes. If it wasn't for them this book might have been 4 out of 4.

I like that there are multiple stories and not just the two main characters story. It's nice to have a break from one story with another. In my opinion, it builds up the suspense of the main story with a break of another.

Great review, very honest.

[katiesquilts]

I really enjoy romance and I think this book might be a good pick.
I´m also a native Spanish speaker. I get your problem with "de nada", because it is, in fact, wrong.
However "poco hombre" is not a mistake. It might be offensive in your culture, but it´s not a wrong linguistic usage and it´s quite a common "joking insult" among male friends or relatives. I don´t mean to be polemic, I really don´t, I just wonder what you mean, because if the character is Latin American it makes sense that he uses such expressions. It´s probably not your idea of polite, and it´s not an especially nice thing to say, but it´s coherent with the character´s culture.

Thanks for the comment!
With "poco hombre," it wasn't so much the meaning as it was the timing. He had just finished cheering up his nephew, so it struck me as odd that he would use words that could (potentially) be meant as an insult after trying so hard to be delicate and kind. I mostly listed it as an example because it threw me out of my reading trance!

[María Andrea Fernández Sepúlveda]

I really enjoy romance and I think this book might be a good pick.
I´m also a native Spanish speaker. I get your problem with "de nada", because it is, in fact, wrong.
However "poco hombre" is not a mistake. It might be offensive in your culture, but it´s not a wrong linguistic usage and it´s quite a common "joking insult" among male friends or relatives. I don´t mean to be polemic, I really don´t, I just wonder what you mean, because if the character is Latin American it makes sense that he uses such expressions. It´s probably not your idea of polite, and it´s not an especially nice thing to say, but it´s coherent with the character´s culture.

Thanks for the comment!
With "poco hombre," it wasn't so much the meaning as it was the timing. He had just finished cheering up his nephew, so it struck me as odd that he would use words that could (potentially) be meant as an insult after trying so hard to be delicate and kind. I mostly listed it as an example because it threw me out of my reading trance!

Oh! I get it. It is, indeed, a strange timing. Thanks for replying!

[misatifelix]

Love life can be depressing after loosing a loved one. Julia Reynolds falls in love again after loosing her husband to cancer. This book defines love life scenarios that are common in relationships today. Definitely a must read for me.

[kandscreeley]

This book sounds like it has quite a bit going for it. I love the complexity of character that it seems to have and all the different relationships rather than just lovers. However, I don't enjoy explicit scenes. I'll probably stay away from this one, but I do appreciate your review.

[Anjhel12]

I think this book is kind of good. Romantic Ways though there are complicated scenes which is normal in daily lives. Just like our stories.

[Amy+++]

Great review. The errors might bother me a little but I would give the book chance.