The Moon Tavern takes the reader on a romantic and culinary journey through the Islands of Croatia, where dark family secrets are revealed, quirky friends and relatives are found, and love is discovered.

Vesna, or Ves, is a cookbook writer from Minneapolis who travels to the remote, exotic island of Lastovo off Croatia's Mediterranean coast to reconnect with her biological grandmother. She'd been adopted as a young child after her parents died in the Yugoslav Wars of the 1990s. Ves is also fleeing a frayed relationship with her live-in partner, Reed.

In Lastovo, she meets Dinko, a single, handsome, and wealthy vineyard owner, and his cute daughter Mia. With his help with the translation, Ves discovers her biological family's history and the dark secrets of what happened during the war. Romance, travel, and cooking ensue. She ultimately learns what matters most to her: simplicity in life, closeness with family, and someone to share love with. And, of course, food!

The Moon Tavern is a delicious hybrid - a historical novel . . . a contemporary romance . . . a travelogue . . . a celebration of food and wine! With humor and joie de vivre, Stephanie Hansen and Kurt Johnson bring to zesty life both the characters and setting, giving readers a book to savor, as well as the bonus recipes. - LORNA LANDVIK, bestselling author of Patty Jane's House of Curl, Your Oasis on Flame Lake, and The Tall Pine Polka