Oh this book was incredible! I felt like I traveled the world without leaving home. The writing was perfectly brilliant! It was lyrical, beautiful writing! Powerful unfolding of a powerful mystery!

The Memory of Lavender and Sage follows Tempèsta Luddington as she moves to her late mother’s hometown in Provence after inheriting a small sum. Searching for connection and healing, she purchases a rundown manor and slowly uncovers the mysteries of her mother's past while building a new life for herself in the tight-knit community. What stood out to me was the beautiful portrayal of Provence and the warmth of the friendships Tempèsta forms along the way. The story took a bit to hook me, but once the focus shifted to her personal growth and the village’s secrets, I was fully invested. It’s a charming story about finding your place and discovering the magic in everyday life.

The Memory of Lavender and Sage by Aimie K. Runyan is a captivating historical novel that blends heartwarming relationships with vivid descriptions of the Provençal countryside. Set during World War II, the story follows a young woman who finds herself caught between the war’s turmoil and her quest for personal freedom. Runyan’s attention to detail brings the setting to life, immersing readers in the beauty and struggles of rural France.

The novel beautifully intertwines themes of resilience, friendship, and love while highlighting the bravery of women in times of conflict. With well-drawn characters and an emotionally engaging plot, The Memory of Lavender and Sage is a moving and atmospheric read that will appeal to fans of historical fiction.

This book was like a love letter to Provence. The author vividly portrays the essence of this region with its scents and scenery and village life. The narrator really helped bring this story to life
3.5 stars

This beautifully descriptive story takes you on the journey of Tempesta Luddington as she finds herself after a lifetime of not feeling like she belonged in her family. She was very close to her mother, Nadajeta, who passed away when Tempesta was thirteen. She was never close to her grandmother or her father who ran Luddington Foundation with her brother, Wal. When her father passed away fifteen years after her mother, Tempesta took the small inheritance her mother left her and went to Sainte-Colombe, her mom's hometown in France..

There she found a home to renovate with the help of Tiberi. She also met Esteva and her grandfather who is the Mayor and very cranky because he thinks Tempesta and her ancestors are witches. She also met Jenofa who was her grandmothers friend.

As Tempesta starts the job of repairing her house and greenhouse, she's also getting to know her new friends and starts to care about the small village that's not thriving. Will she be able to help? She also realizes something special is happening.

This is my first book by Aimie K. Runyon. I listened to the audio book which is narrated by Caroline Hewitt who did an amazing job. Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Collins Focus/Harper Muse for a copy of "The Memory of Lavender & Sage". I really enjoyed it and think you will too.

This was my first book by Aimie K. Runyan and I loved it -

It was the story of a community and so well done!.
I loved the subtle hint of magic in the book - the scenery alone inspired a magical feel.
The author paints pictures so vividly - that you can smell the herbs and the scents of the city!

Some people will say it is a trope that has been done before and predictable but it's ok - I loved it all!

I also had a chance to listen to the book and loved the narration and narrator!



Thank you to Net Galley and Edelweiss Plus and HarperCollins Focus for the advanced copy!

This story was beautifully written and really hit me in the heart. Laughed and cried in all the best ways books allow us to feel. Would definitely recommend

This book really grew on me! I wasn’t sure I’d like it at the beginning with the brother and grandmother being such mean caricatures. But we ditched them early on as Tempesta used her inheritance after her father’s passing to move to her mother’s home town in Provence, France. I loved how she came into her own- learning about her mother’s past and discovering her true passions in life. It was such a charming story and now I’m ready to visit the area!
*Thanks to HarperCollins and NetGalley for the audiobook copy

This is a highly recommended feel good audio. The plot itself is fairly predictable. Young girl not welcomed by surviving family goes off to find herself and learn of her family's history. This is full of deep and meaningful life lessons told suttley. The descriptive and love of the French countryside and culture really shines through in this story. The Natrator did a good job of telling the story I felt the emotion of the characters . I loved the way it was about regeneration both for the characters and the place.
Recommended for anyone needs a feel good story .thank you netgallery and publisher and author and narrator.

Wonderful is how I describe this book. The secrets immediately caught my attention.

I loved the permission and the story was really well constructed and lived up to everything the premise promised.

As for the writing, it is very fluid and it is very easy to get into the story. I highly recommend it.

The writing instantly hooked me. A misunderstood misfit who inherits money and journeys to Europe to the land of her ancestors. Add a love of gardening and a cat, and I’m in heaven. This is the perfect beach read and a wonderful book to read with your grandmother.

This novel is a little different from Aimie Runyan's historical fiction novels. Her foray into the contemporary fiction genre takes us on a journey with Tempesta Luddington as she grows in self-discovery and confidence, and in finding family and friends along the way. She finally finds where she belongs. Extra goodies from the novel are the recipes and the lessons on herbs. A great read (4.5) I look forward to more contemporary fiction from Aimie Runyan.

This book isn't usually one I'd pick out for myself but I'm glad I got it. The reader for the sudiobook has a very calm voice and the book was pretty interesting. I loved learning a little about the French culture and words/phrases the French use.
Thank you to the author and NetGalley for the ARC of this book.

I have read several books by the author, Aimee Runyan, and was looking forward to getting lost in the pages of this contemporary fiction story. I was pleased to be able to enjoy this delightful book. A story of loss, legacy, self-discovery, you will journey with Tempèsta Luddington as she discovers aspects of her mother she never knew. As she grows in confidence and discovers her true calling in life, you will be transported to a small village in France. There is a touch of romance, but it is not over the top syrupy and just adds to the depth of story and have you absorbing every word on every page. “Even something as simple as a spring of lavender and sage” can reveal the magic and beauty in the everyday. When you have read the final word and closed the book, you will sigh with satisfaction and know that your time has been blessed through the author’s gift of words.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Muse for my advanced review copy. All opinions and thoughts are my own.

For more reviews, please visit my blog at: https://www.msladybugsbookreviews.com/. Over 1000 reviews posted!

This was the most delightful weekend read! I'm planting herbs now! The narration was wonderful and so much better than me mangling the French pronunciations on my own! I want to visit Saint-Colombe. Heck, I'd rent a room from Tempesta if she'd let me...scorpions and all. It was magical, uplifting, and I really want the green dutch oven! I can't recommend this enough!

The Memory of Lavender and Sage by Aimee Runyan is my first book by her and I adored it. It is the story of a young woman who sets out on a journey to learn about her mother’s past. In the end, she finds her future. Very well written. Wry thoroughly researched. The narrator was excellent. Highly recommend!

Tempèsta is a food critic and has always felt like the odd person out in her family. She lost her mother when she was 13 and after her father recently passed, she learns he left his entire estate to her younger brother, except a small inheritance left for her by her mother. She decides to move to a small village in Provence, where her mother grew up. She slowly learns her mother’s legacy and gets to know her mother in a different way through the village community.

This is Aimie’s first contemporary fiction and it was so beautifully written! This is Tempèsta’s story towards healing and finding herself. This is a very atmospheric story and will fully transport you to southern France!! While the community didn’t fully embrace her from the beginning, each member is so likable and adds much to Tempèsta’s found family. There is a bit of magical realism in the story and I loved this element and how it was weaved into the characters! This felt very reminiscent of Rachel Linden’s stories as well!

Highly recommend it if you enjoy:
💜Heartwarming stories
💜Found family
💜Atmospheric setting - the story takes place in southern France
💜Foodie stories
💜Magical realism
💜A little bit of romance

First off, A Memory of Lavender and Sage has one of the most beautiful covers of any book I've read this year. If I hadn't known what the book was about, and didn't know that the author is amazing, I'd have bought it just for the cover alone!

This book is a reminder that there doesn't need to be a shocking twist or a major death for it to be an excellent read. Everything about it felt cozy and while I listened to the words, narrated wonderfully by Caroline Hewitt, I was happily transported to and ensconced in a small French village. I wanted to be part of the community and become friends with the villagers, see the sights, smell the smells, taste all the things. Aimie K. Runyan mainly (only?) writes historical fiction and , while I have loved every book I've read so far, I think this move into the contemporary is a complete hit. I WANT MORE! This is exactly the kind of book I'm going to reach for on the beach, on a rainy day, on holiday -- just anytime, anywhere.

This book captured my heart completely. The beautiful writing, the gorgeous setting, fantastic characters and a story about self discovery that you won’t be able to put down. I loved every page.

"Always so concerned about making a living that you never take a time to worry about making a life."

The memory of lavender and sage is a story of a food critic / journalist Tempèsta Luddington who lost her mother when she was just 13. She is never welcomed by her paternal grandmother who brainwashes her father and brother both to stay aloof to her.

When her father passes away too after 15 years, she knows that there's hardly anything left for her to stay in the big city of New York anymore so impulsively she buys a ramshackle manor house in Sainte-Colombe, a small village in Provence, where her mother had grown up.

Hesitant at first she starts to warm to village and stubborn people of the village. This felt such a cliched story written just to make a movie based on and yet a part of me really loved it. What makes it standout though is the main character Tempesta, she is so well balanced character and even when she has faced so many difficulties in life, she did stand straight and strong and it made this book a very important one in my opinion.

Unfairness of the situation didn't make her break down but fight harder.

"I became the woman I'm and will become despite this family."

I don't like when heroines whine throughout the book about how unfair things had been in their lives if they had been treated as badly as Tempesta is treated by her family. She never annoyed me, she knew what to say, when to say and how to say (not a single annoying thing she said whole book) and I could not help but love her. She is the most likeable female protagonist I have come across in very very long time.

But that's not all it is about, it is about making a difference without harming the goodness of old things. It is also about not losing ourselves in the chaos of modernity and technology.

The audiobook narration is totally amazing which kept me hooked to the book.

Thank you Netgalley and HarperCollins focus| Harper Muse for the wonderful audiobook ARC in exchange of an honest review.