4 Smooches
Synopsis
A Chicago reporter in her mid-twenties unexpectedly finds love in Napa Valley when she’s assigned to spend a week with a famously reclusive genius.
Kate Corbin has lost her spark. From the outside, her life seems charmed. She has a handsome, long-term boyfriend and a budding journalism career at a popular Chicago newspaper. But in reality, her relationship is going nowhere, and she’s quickly losing motivation for what she once believed was her dream job. When her boyfriend dumps her unceremoniously, Kate loses all hope of finding love.
With no living family and few friends, Kate confides in her boss. Trusting that the hungry, ace reporter is buried somewhere deep inside, he gives Kate the opportunity to jumpstart her career. The assignment: to interview the famously reclusive R.J. Lawson, a wealthy tech genius who disappeared years ago but recently reemerged as a Napa Valley vintner. The week takes an unexpected turn, however, when Lawson refuses to divulge any information. Desperate for a lead, Kate turns to Jamie, a vineyard hand who shows her the romance of wine country—and stirs her aching heart. But his connection to Lawson is ambiguous, and when Jamie disappears before the end of the week, Kate is left to investigate another story: the truth behind the man who stole her heart.
USA TODAY bestselling author Renée Carlino explored love and heartbreak in her beautifully written debut Sweet Thing, and her newest novel does not disappoint. For fans of Colleen Hoover, K.A. Tucker, and Katja Millay, Nowhere But Here is a stirring and satisfying romance that you won’t want to put down.
Review
“My nerves were in overdrive, but not because of my interview with Lawson. I was feeling something I’d never felt before. And I was feeling it for a guy I had just met.”
This was such a sweet love story about a girl who was convinced she was destined to be alone and a man she spent four days with who just knew she was meant to be his. I really enjoyed this stand-alone romance by Renee Carlino. This was my first book of hers and I will definitely be looking into reading more of her books in the future!
“The pretty ones are always a little cray-cray.”
Nowhere but here centers around Chicago journalist, Kate, and her quest to get her writing spark back. After losing the woman who raised her, who was the only family she had, Kate has been struggling. She cannot find inspiration anywhere and her writing went from phenomenal to just average. When her boss, Jerry, offers her the opportunity to go to Napa and interview reclusive billionaire and uber private winery owner RJ Lawson, Kate soon finds herself on an airplane. Once there she finds that she cannot rely on public transit as she did in Chicago. She takes off to the winery in her new rental car only to hit the truck of winery worker Jamie. Jamie is sexy, charismatic and definitely can get under Kate’s skin (although I am pretty sure she likes that.)
“‘Please Kiss me.’ ‘You have a boyfriend.’ I didn’t hesitate for a second. ‘Not anymore.’ And then his lips crushed mine.”
After a terrible interview with RJ Lawson and deciding it was best to communicate via email, Kate relies heavily on Jamie to show her the working of the winery and all that there is to love about Napa. It doesn’t take long for the spark that formed when they met to blossom and after just a few days they find themselves virtually unable to do anything without the other. But when things take a turn for the worse and Kate returns to Chicago it truly seems like their fling is doomed and she was right that the only one she can rely on is herself.
“Hey Kate, you wanna go to the skate park with me tomorrow night?” “I can’t, I have a date with a lesbian.”
Ok so depressed Kate is a funny Kate. I know it seems weird but my favorite part of the book was when Kate was going thought her hardest times. Honestly, I fell in love with her during this part and it really propelled the book for me. I found myself laughing out loud with the things that came out of her mouth once she just stopped caring what others thought. The whole second half of the book really picked up for me and made me love the story.
“Don’t give up, Kate. Don’t stop searching. Find him, take care of each other, hold on to each other, never let go.”
Overall, this was a sweet and romantic love story about finding the important things in life and moving past all the bullshit. Renee’s writing is beautiful and well thought out. I honestly look forward to reading more books by her in the future.
~miranda
