Before We Say Goodbye is an epic love story and winemaker’s family saga spanning decades in Sonoma Valley and the Pacific Northwest.
Before We Say Goodbye tells the story of the life and love of straight-laced, idealistic Otis and free-spirited hippie Rebecca, who meet as teenagers on a bus to Woodstock and fall hard for each other. Throughout the book Otis reflects on the life and family they build together in Sonoma as he blindly pursues his ambition to become a world-renowned winemaker. I was not familiar with Boo Walker’s Red Mountain series – apparently Otis is a main character in these novels and Before We Say Goodbye is his origin story.
I enjoyed most aspects of the book. The wine, the setting, the farming, and the people are all vividly brought to life. Otis is a very well developed and flawed character. His stubbornness and ego made me not like him very much, but that’s testament to Boo Walker’s good writing! The book explores themes of love, loss, hope, resilience, ambition, ego, complicated family dynamics, and high parental expectations.
The part that didn’t work as well for me was on the emotional side. I felt like some of the moments that could have had a lot of emotional resonance fell a bit flat and I was never fully convinced of Rebecca’s love for Otis. It didn’t stop me from enjoying the book though. This is my first Boo Walker book but it won’t be my last!
Thank you to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for the ARC. All opinions are my own.
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