The Stanbury Estate by Kimberly Thomas ~ a Review

by Susan Roberts

Two estranged sisters. One crumbling vineyard. And a legacy that just might heal them both.

Amazon affiliate links are used on this site.  A free book was provided for an honest review.

September 2025; Indie; 979-8297534575
ebook, print (336 pages); women's fiction

Sisters Charlotte and Mila Stanbury grew up on a vineyard in Virginia.  Charlotte left, and Mila stayed, and now, almost 25 years later, with a lot of resentment between them, they are co-owners of the family vineyard.

Charlotte realized at a young age that she didn't want to spend her life working in the vineyard and never seeing the world.  So 23 years earlier, she left and went to college in California, and worked her way up to excel in real estate.  Now she is returning to Virginia for her beloved father's funeral with a big secret that she doesn't want to share.

Mila stayed at the vineyard and worked with her dad.  She had a teenage daughter who was making plans to go to college and didn't appreciate any input from her mother.  Mila has a lot of resentment against her sister for leaving her to handle issues with the vineyard and health issues with their father.

Both sisters are shocked when the will is read and their father left the vineyard to them both.  After looking at the financial information, they both realize that the vineyard is losing money and they are very close to the bank foreclosing on it.  Charlotte, who had minimal time there, wanted to sell, but Mila felt very strongly that it was part of their family legacy and a major part of her life, and she wanted to work to keep it.  The sisters are at odds, but as they work together to solve the problem, their distance between each other begins to diminish.  When Charlotte shares her secret with Mila, they both begin to make changes as they work to become close again.  Will the sisters be able to save the family vineyard?  Will they be able to bury years of resentment and become real sisters again?

I love books about sisters and really liked both of the sisters in this story, and I hoped that they would be able to bury their resentments against each other.  This book focused on the financial issues with the vineyard, but also the people in the town and their love of the family and its legacy.  Both sisters found a love interest that they didn't realize how much they needed and how much happiness they would find.  This was a book about letting the past go and finding happiness the second time around.

Buy The Stanbury Estate at Amazon

Susan Roberts grew up in Michigan but loves the laid-back life at her home in the Piedmont area of North Carolina where she is three hours from the beach to the east and the mountains in the west.  She reads almost anything but her favorite genres are Southern Fiction and Historical Fiction.   

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