Natalie lost her twin sister in an accident when they were thirteen, and she’s been suffering the after-effects for the fifteen years since. Now she’s forced to return to the scene of the accident, her grandfather’s vineyard in California, where she reconnects with family and old friends.

And Natalie is disconnected. We see this early on—she's recently broken her engagement, she appears to have only one friend, and her relationship with her parents is distant, her relationship with her grandfather non-existent from having not seen him in fifteen years.
Natalie never knew what her mother was thinking, never knew how she felt. And couldn't imagine what it must be to live a life marked in half-finished sentences.
And
Her father would always find a flaw. Even her best was never good enough.
It’s rare to read a Christian novel about mental illness.

There are quite a few about returning soldiers suffering from PTSD. It’s even rarer to read a Christian novel where the heroine’s mental illness is treated with drugs. It’s as though taking drugs to treat a mental illness is seen as a sign of weakness, even though most of us happily pop pills for a headache, or get the flu jab every year. And don’t tell me physical pain is somehow different.

That painkiller isn’t stopping your body from hurting. It’s stopping your brain from telling you your body is hurting.

The Memory of You reunites two teenage almost-sweethearts fifteen years later. It's got the issues-driven emotional punch of other Catherine West titles I've read, but more of a focus on the developing relationship (aka romance) between Natalie and Tanner. It's a story of unearthing secrets, acknowledging truth, and finding reconciliation for both Natalie and Tanner.

It's a fascinating lesson in how wrong our assumptions can be—and how that can mess with our relationships, with God and with family and friends.

Recommended. Thanks to Thomas Nelson and NetGalley for providing a free ebook for review.

Lots of family drama involved but the overriding power of love prevails. Very good read!

Set in Sonoma County California's wine country, this story explores love, loss, and second chances in a broken world of perfectly flawed families. The Memory of You is a beautiful illustration of forgiveness, surrender, and restoration.

This is a great family drama and it doesn't shy away from complex issues like psychological trauma and illness, drug abuse, and questions of faith. The story has excellent secondary characters, an engaging plot, and an encouraging theme.

I requested the opportunity to read and review this title through the author and NetGalley. The opinions expressed are my own.

Catherine West has written a beautiful, inspiring, and soul searching story that will touch the heart of readers. From page one West draws readers into the story with the various family dynamics her characters deal with, including conflict, guilt and regret from past mistakes, and heart-churning love. Throughout the story, West takes readers through a turbulent ride of emotions, causing readers to both laugh and cry. This story causes deep thoughts and emotions as readers reflect on their own life and personal successes and challenges. Readers will not be able to put this well-written and sensitive and attaching story down. I would recommend this novel to readers that enjoy inspirational contemporary romance.

The Memory of You by Catherine West is a very good read that I do recommend.
Natalie Mitchell has not been home since the death of her twin sister thirteen years ago because of guilt and too many haunting memories. After suffering emotional breakdowns and panic attacks, her father sends her to take care of her grandfather, Hal, who has suffered a heart attack and is trying to keep the family vineyard and winery going. Natalie's father wants to shut the winery down and expects Natalie to do it while she is there. Natalie has never said no to her father, but she finds being home helping save the winery is giving her peace that she has not experienced in several years. Natalie is the major shareholder, will she be able to do what she believes is right or will she give in to her father's commands?
Tanner Collins runs the vineyard, takes care of his dying sister's two children, he is overworked and very tired when he sees that Natalie is back in town, he immediately accuses of her of coming home to shut the winery down.
This is a story full of painful emotions, forgiveness, secrets and love. Natalie and Tanner must learn to let the past go, forgive themselves and forgive others. This story shows God's love and that He has a plan for each of our lives, even the hard times.

A marvelous Christian romance. The book has a great setting and plot. The characters are so believable you will be laughing and crying along with them. I highly recommend this book.

The authors writing reminds me of a classical music piece. The words flow at a nice pace and makes you feel good as you get attached to the characters. It feels like a well done crescendo , gradually building itself into a masterpiece filled with intrigue, memories tears and love.

Natalie is a very interesting character and I instantly liked her. She has come to the family's winery to hopefully save it. Her grandfather has fallen ill and Natalie wants to make sure he is ok. As she sees the winery , memories rush back to her. There was a great loss in the family years ago and Natalie is still haunted by it. Can she face her nightmares and find peace and pick up the pieces of her shattered life? She has her hands full trying to keep on top of all the daily chores of running the winery. Her grandfather is thankful to see Natalie and hopefully with her help, the family business can be profitable again.

Tanner has been running the winery and when he discovers that Natalie is there, he is not sure if he should be happy to see her or start looking for another job. I loved how the author described how wine is made and how detailed she was . I could smell the wine as it was being processed and envisioned the delicate taste as the wine poured slowly into a glass. It is not easy running the place, but Tanner is hopeful that Natalie has an open mind. Tanner has some personal issues he needs to face and it is getting harder for him to ignore it.

When Natalie has a problem while driving one evening, she turns to Tanner to help her. It is hard for Natalie to explain why she had to pull over on the road. When she tells Tanner that she has PTSD, I felt his heart soften a bit. She is not the same person he use to know and wants to help her get past her bad memories. Is Natalie ready to face the past ?

I loved the relationship between Natalie and her grandfather. She came to take care of him, but he wants to help her with her past. His sincere compassion for her is heartwarming and I have to say I had tears in my eyes. The love he has for his granddaughter is beautiful and makes me miss my own grandfather. Natalie and Tanner are both struggling with their faith. They each must find a way back to God, learn to forgive and let go of the past. Will they be able to do it? Will Natalie close the family business? As I turned each page, I could feel the turmoil and pain the characters were going through. This book is one I will never forget. It showed me how to let go of my past, trust again, forgive myself and soak in His presence .

'And forgiveness fell like sweet rain upon the thirsty ground of her soul."

I received a copy of this book from the author. The review is my own opinion.

This was an immensely satisfying read. Immensely satisfying. It's the kind of book that leaves you basking in the afterglow (or perhaps the lingering finish) of a well-earned peace and quiet joy. If I was a wine connoisseur, no doubt I could come up with all kinds of appropriate wine-related adjectives to describe the way this novel tasted on my emotional palette: rich, full-bodied, complex but balanced. But however you describe it, this novel has a finish to savour.

After her sister died thirteen years ago, Natalie suffered an emotional breakdown that took her years to work through, so when her symptoms return after breaking off her engagement, she knows what she’s facing. Although the family-owned winery in Sonoma is the place where the accident occurred, staying there will also keep her out from under the scrutiny of her parents and hopefully let her deal with this breakdown on her own terms, and so she acquiesces to her father’s directive to take some time off work and visit her grandfather.

As you might expect, Natalie’s story tugged at my heart-strings. But what took me completely by surprise was the way Tanner’s story yanked at my heart-strings. Wow. What a maelstrom of emotions! (Hint: have some tissues handy.) Tanner’s the kind of hero who slips into your heart without you realising it—and sometimes despite all logic, because he’s a bit rough around the edges and emotionally raw, and that comes through loud and clear on occasion! He and Natalie were childhood friends—and, unbeknownst to each other, crushes—so there is a pre-existing bond between them, but it's overshadowed by the intervening years, misunderstandings, and Natalie’s ability to take away his livelihood. It all makes for a wonderfully complex range of emotions between them, which Catherine West brings out to full effect.

Loss, guilt, forgiveness, and restoration are all explored in a powerfully poignant way in this novel, and I think the reason the ending was so satisfying was because both Natalie and Tanner (and some of the secondary characters) had to reach deep within themselves to make choices they really didn’t want to face—particularly Tanner. And, of course, the relationship that develops between Natalie and Tanner is the icing on the cake. Beneath those raw, rough edges lies a guy who can melt a gal’s heart.

Definitely one of my top picks for 2017.

I received a copy of this novel from the publisher. This has not influenced the content of my review.

The Memory of You by Catherine West reminds us of how tenuous life is at times. It is hard to move forward and become who you are meant to be. Catherine West’s book is poignant and emotional.

Facing the past is always always hard. Natalie Mitchell has to go back to the Winery that her family owns in Sonoma. Her father asked, really demanded, she go back and shut the place down. He felt it was time and needed since they were losing money. Natalie had not been back since her twin had died. Memories and a case of PTSD swarmed her at every turn…

The story was heart wrenching with all the horror of the loss and the memories, nightmares and panic attacks. Natalie has much to do to move forward and figure out her next mood. Having an old friend Tanner Collins the vintner does not help, but Natalie is the main shareholder and she needs to move forward. The story is listed as Women’s Fiction but a better description is that of a contemporary Christian romance.

"The Memory of You" is so very well written! It is full of gritty real life problems.
PTSD, family secrets, broken hearts, broken trust, child custody, mental illness and a failing winery. This book is also full of healing, relationships being mended, and trust being rebuilt. There's also a very nice love story woven throughout.
This book was an emotional roller coaster but the message of healing, forgiveness, hope and redemption was worth the ride. Very moving story that stays with you long after you've turned the last page.

The Memory of you is a story of calm in CHRIST, guilt, redemption, pain, reconnection, love, secrets, facing the past and making peace with it and reconciliation. Natalie has bad memories of her families vineyard and her time there - thirteen years ago her twin sister Nicole died. She thinks it/s time to go back, maybe find peace, but her friend and crush Tanner was there and he kind of figured out the true reason why her father sent her there - he sent her there to............nah I can't tell you that - it will spoil it for you - you have to get the book - it is awesome - the two start off fighting, then then the sparks fly, so what will Natalie do now? you have to get the book to find out what....The book is dynamic with deceit, elaborate details of each storyline, abundant in emotions, creative in how they thought her nightmares would stop just by going back to the vineyard and facing the monster as it were, and redemption.

Thirteen years ago, Natalie Mitchell’s life tailspinned when her twin sister died. That day, she not only lost her other half and best friend but also a part of herself. Since then, she has stayed away from her family’s winery, but when her grandfather suffers from a heart attack, Natalie has no choice but to return to Sonoma. With Maoilios failing and her father pushing to shut it down, Natalie must decide the fate of her family’s business and legacy, all the while fighting the nightmares of that horrible summer that have returned with a vengeance.

As the vintner on Maoilios, Tanner Collins wants nothing more than to get the winery back on its feet after a bad season, but Natalie’s arrival could render all his attempts in vain. Even though he’s battling his own issues on the homefront, Tanner is determined to prove to his childhood friend that they have something worth saving. However, the woman who now stands before him is nothing like the girl he remembers.

I only discovered Catherine West a few months ago. As with most new-to-me authors, I hesitated investing time and money on an author I didn’t know. I worried for nothing. I love the two books I’ve read so far.

The Memory of You delivers a heart-wrenching story that reaches the deepest parts of one’s soul. West tackles deep subjects while gently nudging the characters, and ultimately her readers, toward the Giver of hope.

Raw and realistic characters drew me in. Even though I hadn’t experienced some of the struggles they endured, I could connect with them. I came to feel their sorrows and joys, their failures and triumphs in my own skin. This rang true all the way from the hero and heroine to the secondary cast that surrounded them. Watching Tanner and Natalie reconnect after years and fall in love was pure delight.

The heroine wears a necklace with a zodiac charm which surprised me because it involves the study of astrology and is not consistent with the Biblical values otherwise promoted in the story.

The setting truly pops to life in this book and stuck with me long after I finished, giving me a severe case of book hangover. I longed to return to the wide expanse of vine-laden land and inhale the grape-scented air.

I strongly recommend The Memory of You to readers looking for a redemptive story with romance and family, and a book that doesn’t shy away from tackling the hard and messy issues in life.

I enjoy a novel involving a character at the end of her/his proverbial rope and finally forced to confront the demons of the past. Catherine West is in her element as a novelist when she crafts this type of story, which is why I'm always eager to read her latest release.
Natalie's literal and emotional journey requires returning to her family's winery in California to assess the business's viability. She also has to deal with her unresolved issues from an accident that killed her twin sister many years ago. Of course, Tanner, the hero of the story, was once the object of her affections and is now her grandfather's best employee at the winery.
My favorite aspect of this novel is the tender, respectful, unconditional love depicted in the relationship between Natalie and her grandfather. They both have experienced tremendous hurt within their nuclear family and yet both long for restoration.
The simmering romantic tension between Tanner and Natalie is quite enjoyable, too. They both need the other to help recognize the lies they believe about themselves. While it is the Lord who ultimately heals our hurts, in my opinion, Natalie and Tanner help the other break free of their emotional baggage weighing them down. To me, that kind of character transformation is the mark of a well-written novel.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the complimentary ARC. The opinions stated here are my own.

This was a well done, compelling story of forgiveness – learning to forgive past wrongs and most importantly learning how to forgive oneself. The two main characters, Natalie and Tanner represent two families that have both suffered great loss and are struggling to make sense of the past and how to move forward in the present.

I am usually a little gun-shy with contemporary Christian romance but I needn’t have worried. The characters were honest and real and the portrait of faith was not at all heavy handed. It was a beautiful story that I thoroughly enjoyed and would highly recommend.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy and the opportunity to review this book.

Very moving story about overcoming the past. Readers with past regrets will be able to relate to the characters. This story also points out that PTSD can happen to other people, not just soldiers. This family had many struggles but persevered. Very positive book!

Do you ever read a book that leaves you a bit feeling “hung over” when you are done? You don’t really want to pick up another book, because this one was just so good?
That is how this book was for me. The main character, as we dug into her past, her heart and her struggles, we see the breakdown of PTSD for laymen. We can see what it did to her, how it harmed her life, even years after the incident.
I felt like this made this book unique. It was not the setting, but the people that made this book uniquely special. If you are not someone that has known someone in your everyday life that has PTSD, this may help you understand it, but also relate to the story of a normal, everyday person, not off a battle front, that struggles, but is gifted in many ways still.
I loved the setting in wine country, and learned a few things about wine making that I did not know before. Catherine West has given us another masterpiece of fiction. It is more than fiction, it is a tale of forgiveness, grace, and overcoming when everything is against us.

Y'all, what a story. I must say this might be my favorite Catherine West novel yet. The Memory of You hooks you from the first page, grips your heart, and that glow of a fantastic love story lingers afterward. 

Natalie and Tanner's story is absolutely perfect. And it's not because their lives are perfect, far from it actually. Natalie lost her twin at thirteen years old. Y'all, I remember that age and having to deal with the issues it brings. I cannot imagine dealing with a death, not just an ordinary death, but probably the closet person you could loose, a twin. It shapes Natalie, creates a host of problems that you reaching for tissues and watching your tears appear on the page.

And Tanner. I so get Tanner. I've dealt with similar issues. Recognize the underlying hurt that coats your actions whether you think it does or not. Their pain -- though created in a fantastic fictional world -- is very real. It touches on real issues, which is what Ms. West is famous for. Add the special ingredient of God's love and you have a 5-star read.

Watching Natalie and Tanner navigate their relationship in the midst of life's pain created some laugh-out-loud moments, cheek-splitting-grin moments, and swoon-worthy-sigh moments. This book has it all and it won't disappoint. Move it to the top of your TBR pile and enjoy the ride.

The Memory of You is the first novel I have read by Catherine West. And what a delight it was! I am not a fan of typical romance stories, but this one combines romance with secrets, haunted pasts, restoration within families, and inner healing. This story captivated my heart on so many levels.

Natalie's twin sister (Nicole) was killed in a tragic accident when they were teenagers. This affected Natalie every year since. She finally takes the step to "face her past" and finds her freedom hidden there. There is a parallel story of another family, also with hurt and tragedy in its past, and the connection West is able to draw between the two families is remarkable.

There is a believable element to this novel. It is not a series of far-fetched fantasies that the reader knows would never happen. It reads rather as a series of miracles that God, a loving Father, designed to heal His children. A bonus to this story is that West's research on vineyards and family businesses adds extra interest to the underlying theme.

West's writing voice is compelling. She uses natural, beautiful language to depict feelings, memories, regret, and the mix of other emotions battling within her characters. She uses some glimpses of flashback, and creates meaningful characters who you will not quickly forget.

I will be reading more of West's stories. Who doesn't love a heart-warming tale of hope and redemption?

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Without giving too much away, this book was one of those that takes you on an emotional roller coaster, in a good way. You will laugh, and you will cry (keep the Kleenex handy). Make sure you clear your schedule because this one is a page turner. Cathy West tackles some difficult, messy life situations with grace and heart.

Natalie feels like she is falling apart and in an effort to get back to her roots, so to speak, she goes back to her grandfather's winery. She gets a little bit more than she bargained for in Tanner. Most of the book plays out on the Mitchell family's winery, called Maoilios, and it is here where Natalie and Tanner must face their fears, their guilt and their feelings for one another.

Look out for a certain Christmas scene which is a favourite of mine.

West has a wonderful way of bringing the vineyard to life in such a way that you can almost taste and smell it.

This story is unpredictable, heart wrenching and delightful all at the same time. Another winner from Catherine West!

This book was so very powerful! It was just absolutely tremendous. Catherine West has created characters that come to live inside the reader's heart. Multi-faceted characters with huge heartaches and joys. I was caught up in this story from the beginning and enjoyed every single moment. What an awesome book!