I thoroughly enjoyed The Memory of Lavender and Sage. Who wouldn't love to embark on a journey of finding one's self and heritage.

This book is as charming as it is heartwarming.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. All opinions are my own.

T’empesta Luddington lost her mother as a child and has grown-up with a workaholic father and a grandmother that treats her terribly. When her father passes away, she takes the money that was left to her by her mother and decides to move to a little village in France where her mother grew up.

I absolutely loved listening to this audiobook. The storyline was great and the characters were well developed. I really enjoy books that have magic but that are not over the top with how it is used and this book did it very well. I also enjoy books where the main character is learning about someone or something that happened in the past through the people and things around them.

The narrator did a nice job of switching between accents and pronouncing French words, but not all characters were distinct enough to tell them apart from each other.

Thanks to NetGalley and Harper Muse/Harper Collins Focus for providing me with the opportunity to listen to this wonderful book.

I gave this book 5 stars. I loved it so much! The magic was so neat and the setting was just gorgeous. The lodge interest and the drama was just spot on for me.

A sweet story about coming home to a place you never knew, loving too much to stay, and family connections that last beyond death. Love is in bloom in the French countryside.

Thank you. This was a fabulous listen. I loved the story behind it with all of the family issues. It was very close to my own story. Thank you Aimie for the story, Netgally and the publisher for selecting me.

Thank you to the publishers, author and NetGalley for the free copy of this book.

This was a lovely story. I enjoyed Tempesta's character and getting to know her over the course of this book. Beautifully written, and the narrator did a great job.

Food critic, Tempèsta Luddington, inherits a bit of money after her father's recent passing. In a moment of impulsiveness, decides to purchase a dilapidated manor in Provence, her late mother's hometown, in hopes of feeling closer to her. Despite encountering some resistance from some of the locals, she remains determined to follow her heart and try to uncover her mother's legacy. Through her perseverance, Tempèsta discovers the magic and beauty in everyday life, including the pleasures that come with living a simple life and finding fulfillment in unexpected places.

Wow. This is not a genre I typically read but I was sucked right into the storyline. The decision to move to another country on a whim is something I’ve dreamed of at times so I found this very compelling.
The magical realism woven throughout the book was a pleasant surprise. It was incorporated with such a light touch that I didn’t feel like this book would cross over into the fantasy genre.

The issues faced in the Tempèsta’s mother’s village are ones I have read about alot in recent years when trying to understand how there can be 1 euro homes in towns that seem so charming in France and Italy. I appreciated the obvious thought the author put into handling the common trope of an outsider coming into a new town and fixing things.

If you have ever dreamt of buying one of those 1 euro homes or a “Cheap Old House” abroad and living the simple life, this book is for you. The characters feel authentic, the scenery descriptions are lovely, and the idea of living a very simple life felt like something I could latch onto.

Thank you to Aimee K Runyan, HarperCollins Focus, and NetGalley for the chance to read this.

Thank you for the early copy of this audiobook. First, I wasn’t sure how I felt about this book, the cover and the title really drew me in (I know~ don’t judge a book by its cover) and the description somewhat peeked my interest. Yet the start of this novel had me feel all type of emotions. I was mad and sad for Tempesta. As her story started to reveal itself you became enamored in her story. The dynamic and lack of family ties she had in New York set the arc for her to seek a new start. How her mother’s past led her to create her future and at a place that gives her a sense belonging. It’s not a coming of age story but more of regrowth and new start. As Tempesta finally starts to find a place of her own, she is forming new bonds which also leads her to mend some old ones. I was engulfed in the ending of this story and how life can take unexpected happy turns.

Get ready for a magical, dreamy escape into a sleepy French town in "The Memory of Lavender and Sage".

Tempesta Luddington has always felt like the black sheep of her family with everything chosen for her. When her mother passes away at the age of 13, she feels truly alone amongst her workaholic father and all-too-obedient brother. Fast forward 15 years when Tempesta's father also dies, and she is left with a small nest egg from her mother. Feeling like she finally has some options, she travels to the small Provencal town where her mother grew up, Sainte-Colombe.

Tempesta finds more than she imagined in Sainte-Colombe, and it is not all the things of fairytales. She stubbornly buys a run-down manor house and vows to make it on her own. With push-back from the town's mayor, less-than-warm welcomes from the villagers, and more work than she bargained for Tempesta fights her way through the fog and finds herself through her mother's sordid yet wonderful history in this town.

Hints of magical realism sprinkle this beautiful novel with warmth and sunshine. I felt enthralled from the first page. Smells do hold memory, and I could feel the lavender clearly through the words.

A desire for belonging is a universal human trait. Tempesta has not felt like she has belonged anywhere since her mother died fifteen years ago. Now, as she deals with the death of her estranged father, Tempesta feels the need to make a change. She packs up all her worldly possessions and moves into a run-down house in Sainte-Colombe, a small town in Provence where her mother spent the first 19 years of her life. Once there, she learns about her family history, her talent for gardening, and what it is that will truly bring her a sense of purpose. Along the way, she makes a few good friends and even more good French food.

The Memory of Lavender and Sage brings the reader along for the ride as Tempesta builds confidence in herself and figures out what makes her happy. I especially enjoyed how she builds relationships with some of the members of the town over the course of the book. The passage of time is handled well here, grounding some of the accomplishments the characters make in some level of realism.

I’m glad I was able to get a copy of the e-audiobook version of The Memory of Lavender and Sage; listening to the book really enhances the experience. Narrator Caroline Hewitt does a lovely job navigating the pronunciations of names, places, and foods that would have been butchered in my head as a non-French speaker.

This is Aimie K. Runyan’s first foray into contemporary fiction and, while enjoyable, is not without its flaws. I felt like parts of the book were cursed with more “tell” than “show”. Especially in the beginning, it would have been enough to see how out of place Tempesta felt within her own family in the ways the characters interacted with each other - through conversations or through their actions within the scenes. It did not seem necessary for Tempesta to also describe other times she was treated the same way; it felt redundant. I also did not enjoy how the grandmother was written. I can tell that the author tried to give her some nuance, but over the course of a book that explained all the ways Tempesta’s grandmother emotionally abused her, it does not feel earned when we’re expected to give her grace.

Criticisms aside, as a whole, The Memory of Lavender and Sage feels like a love letter to Provence and to sharing meals and memories with your loved ones. It is cozy and sweet, a lovely escape for anyone who feels caught up in the chaos of daily life.

**Many thanks to NetGalley, Aimie K. Runyan, and Harper Muse for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.**

I enjoyed this audiobook. I listened to it alongside the book. I thought it was a good story about starting over and finding yourself.

Thank you to netgalley for a copy of this audiobook.

A story told as a young woman discovers her own mother’s past. Losing the influence of a mother at a young age is hard. When she finally starts to learn her mothers true past she discovers just how much her mother had lived

Without any doubt, this book is fully deserving of a 5 star rating. The reader (or listener) journeys with Tempesta as she finds her community and gains a real sense of ‘belonging’ - and this journey makes for a truly heartwarming story. I would love to read a sequel and encounter more of this wonderful community.

This is the second book by Aimie K. Runyan that I have read and I highly recommend it. Her writing is beautifully descriptive - particularly in relation to the idyllic French village of Saint-Colombe, the smells and tastes of the herbs, food and drink.

The audiobook is superbly narrated by Caroline Hewitt. The pace is perfect, allowing the story to flow and be understood by the listener. She beautifully brings every character to life with accents, tone and expression.

Thank you to the audio publisher, HarperCollins Focus for an audio copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The Memory of Lavender and Sage is a story that focuses around its main character, Tempesta and her conquest to find a place and a family where she belongs.

Her journey takes her from the big city life of New York City to her late mother’s birthplace in a small village in France. There she learns a lot about her mother and herself. As time goes by she finally realizes that she has found a place where she belongs… a place to call home.

This novel is a heartwarming read that is full of fresh starts, new life-long relationships, community and fellowship. Just a wonderful, feel-good story that took me to a place where I have never been before.

Thank you Net Galley and Harper Muse Audiobooks for giving me the opportunity to listen to the audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

Great story, character driven book with a beautiful story ❤️

Family. Love. A found home. A little bit of magic And community. Great woman’s fiction

Highly recommend for a nice clean read beautifully narrated thank you NetGalley for this opportunity!

“The Memory of Lavender and Sage” by Aimie K. Runyan and skillfully narrated by Caroline Hewitt is a sweet story about a young woman who discovers who she really is and what is important in life. Tempesta’s French mother died when she was 13, and her grandmother who moved in to take care of her, her brother, and her father never treated her properly. When Tempesta’s father died, she discovered he had left her nothing from his family’s fortune. Instead, he left her all the money her mother had left when she died. Tempesta moves to her mother’s village, Sainte-Colombe, in France and learns about her roots.

For the most part, I enjoyed this story, especially the first three quarters. But toward the end I got bored when the story turned into mainly “telling” rather than “showing.” I was also a little irritated by Tempesta’s role as the American savior to bring back economic prosperity to the dying village—as if the villagers had no idea of how to help themselves. Nonetheless, it is a sweet story and I am sure a lot of readers will love the charming optimism of the book.

Many thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for an ARC of this novel. My opinion is my own.

This book is a treasure. It was a joy to read. While the story was in New York City, there was a lot of family drama and tension. The minute the story moved to France, the story was about wonderful characters, awesome food, beautiful countryside, special memories, ghosts, witches, and so much more.

This book starts off with a death in the family. Death of a loved one can sometimes change the trajectory of our life. Tempesta, the main character in this story, is not very satisfied with her life. So Tempesta goes on a journey to see where her mother was born. And she finds a place where she belongs and people that become her family. She takes a rundown house and makes a home. She also learns so much about her dear mother and her family history in this village.

I love the description of her relationship with her cat and the herbs she grows in her greenhouse. Get ready to use your senses as you read this book - you will smell, hear, taste and see as your read. This makes you feel like you made the trip to France with Tempesta.

This is my second Aimee Runyan book. After this one, I plan to read them all..

I just loved this book. This is a five star story from the title and cover to the end.

The Memory of Lavender and Sage is a lovely escape to a part of the world few get to see. Sainte-Colombe is geographically not all that far from Nice, Cannes, Monaco, or even Paris, but in Tempèsta Luddington’s eyes, it is like stepping back in time to a place and experience stolen from her by her mother’s early death and her American family’s odd aloofness. She comes to Sainte-Colombe in sadness, feeling lost and alone, and the history and personal connections she finds over her stay are as strong and vital as the piquant scents of lavender and sage. While I hate to repeat words, lovely is truly the only appropriate way to describe this gentle but engaging book. My only complaint: As someone who loves a love story, I found the quiet build-up of a personal relationship between Tempèsta and a young man she grows to care for to be a bit too tepid, since even an herbal tea (or tisane, as it is called in Provence) is best served warm and not room temperature.

Tempesta lost her mother at 13 and moving to the French village her mother is from is a chance to learn more about her and connect with the community who knew her. I love stories about starting over in a new place, especially a new country, and this one was lovely. With some surprises and turns and a dash of magical realism.

Ratings
Quality of Writing 4/5
Pacing 4/5
Plot Development 4/5
Character Development 5/5
Overall Enjoyability 4/5

I love the smell of lavender. Are you with me?

And I love a good second chance, finding yourself, finding your people, finding your place in the world. Phew this book is really all that. With just a smidge of magic (and I do mean a smidge if it isn’t your usual thing) and a beautiful French village.

I really felt for Tempesta losing her mother at such a young age and never really fitting in after that. That made her redemption story all the more sweet.

The read was immersive and I could smell the lavender around her property and the other herbs in the greenhouse. It almost made me want to garden. Until I remembered I have the opposite of a green thumb. 😂

And if the story wasn’t enough, I listened to part of it and Caroline Hewitt was the perfect voice of Tempesta. Bringing that magic to life.

All the stars from me. I was enchanted from start to finish.