Book Review: Strawberry Wine by Lee Adams

I received a copy of Strawberry Wine by Lee Adams in exchange for an honest review.
Summary:
Ten years have passed since Tanya Smith’s last summer at Laurel Lake-the summer of Marie. Today Tanya is a confident, successful music promoter-a far cry from the naïve seventeen-year-old who showed up at the lake full of rosy notions of first love, lifelong friendships, and evenings spent sipping strawberry wine on the shore. That September changed everything, and as far as Tanya is concerned, there’s no going back. That is, until a mysterious phone call from Marie’s lawyer brings Tanya face to face with the past. Suddenly she finds herself returning to Laurel Lake and to everything she left behind there. Will the dark secret that haunts the lake break her heart all over again? Or will Marie’s legacy be the key that unlocks the future Tanya gave up on ten long years ago?

Review:
This book started off very slow for me, and unfortunately, once a book starts slow I always seem to struggle with it. I liked the premise for the story and once I got over the hump in the beginning I enjoyed reading it a lot more, but then I think I was too far removed from the story to really get involved. With the beginning, we just learn so much so fast about so many different characters, and it left my head spinning a bit. I had fun learning about the lake and the friendships Tanya had with the other summer kids. Marie’s story was really hard to read about, and I think the thing I liked most about the book is that nothing seems to be sugar-coated. Some of the characters go through incredibly difficult situations, and it made the story feel very real-life, which I like. I wish I could have gotten into the plot just a bit sooner so my attention could have been held throughout, but I still enjoyed the story and wanted to see how the ending turned out for everyone.
3 stars