Julia Amante's (Evenings at the Argentine Club) latest protagonist, prickly California winery owner Isabel Gallegos, is as smooth as a good wine and an expert at dining (and wining) potential buyers. She's also on the brink of selling her thriving business for millions when she learns that she's inherited three young orphans due to the death of an Argentinean relative. The notion of being a surrogate mother is unthinkable, so she immediately attempts to transfer custody to their rough-necked uncle, Ramiro. In a choice some may find baffling, however, Isabel takes the children back to America for a several-months' long vacation, with the understanding they will eventually be handed over to Ramiro. Except she doesn't tell the kids that.
The challenge with Say You'll Be Mine is to make readers care about such a self-centered protagonist. Just as you begin to lose interest in Isabel completely, Amante introduces her ex, the lovable Nick, who happens to be dynamite with the kids (and still madly in love with Isabel). This plot device brings forth a softer side to the chilly Isabel, leading readers rooting for her to melt already and snap up the second chance for a husband and family she's been given. Amante wisely leaves you guessing until the last pages of the book as to whether Isabel can get out of her own way for once and reclaim the children from the determined Ramiro.
Say You'll Be Mine proves that mothers aren't born--they're made. Amante knows this from experience; an addendum to the novel details her own role as an adoptive mother to her two children. Amante spent a year in Argentina when she was in her late teens. She clearly adores the country, and this sentiment shines through in this pleasing tale. --Natalie Papailiou, author of blog MILF: Mother I'd Like to Friend