Reviews

The Memory of Lavender and Sage by Aimie K. Runyan

elnorman's review

4.0

I really loved "The Memory of Lavender and Sage" by Aimie Runyan. It is a great look the main character Tempesta looking into and reconnecting with her family history and also leaving New York City to move to a small town in France. I loved seeing Tempeste making sense of her family and creating / connecting with a new community in Provence. Issues such as keeping alive small towns who are losing their youth and learning family secrets after the older generation dies came to life. I fell in love with several of the characters and the small town in Provence. Recommended.

reading_at_the_zoo's review

adventurous funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

cherylg123's review

emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted relaxing slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

daisychainbookco's review against another edition

hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective medium-paced

4.5

This was such a beautiful small town story of love, friendship, and found family. I especially loved the setting of a French village with its characters and charm. I want to visit this place!! Such a lighthearted, inspiring book, so satisfying. 

adriennel's review against another edition

adventurous inspiring lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

sam_h's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

4.75

abercrombie1986's review

inspiring reflective

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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.

bethreneereadsbooks's review

5.0

This story is every bit as lovely as lavender and sage. I’m pretty sure it cast a spell on me, because I listened to the audiobook with rapt attention, finishing in a day because I couldn’t put it down. Witnessing Tempèsta coming into her own, experiencing life in a small French town, learning more of her family history, was just wonderfully enchanting.

Caroline Hewitt did a fantastic job narrating the audiobook.

Thank you Aimie K. Runyan, HarperCollins Focus, Harper Muse, and NetGalley for providing this ARC for review consideration. All opinions expressed are my own.

sarahsbookstack's review

inspiring lighthearted medium-paced

4.75

Tempèsta has always felt lost in her family where her mother died when she was only 13 and her father threw himself more into work and her Grandmother couldn't stand the sight of her (it seemed).
Now her father has passed and she goes to live in a small village in France where her mother was born.

She buys a manor house in need of improvements and is unwelcome by many in the village, most of all the grumpy old mayor. But as she learns more about her mother and brings to life a greenhouse with healing herbs, the village slowly softens and they all start to heal.

The beauty of this novel is breathtaking! I felt I was right there in this beautiful village and healed a bit myself while Tempèsta did. I loved the eventual repair of the relationship with her brother. 

kcherry's review against another edition

hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5