February 26, 2020

The Winemaker’s Wife by Kristin Harmel

Genre/Categories: Historical Fiction/Women’s Fiction, WW11, France, French Resistance Movement, Wine Making

*This post contains Amazon affiliate links.

My Summary:

…secrets, survival, guilt, and love…

Told from multiple perspectives and in a past and present timeline, The Winemaker’s Wife is a story of secrets, survival, guilt, and love.

Through the perspectives of Inès and Céline, we experience the intrigue of their daily lives before and during the German invasion of France during WW11; we learn details of the champagne production at the (fictional) Maison Chauveau in northern France near the city of Reims; and we also hear a little about the French resistance (hiding munitions and Jews). An alternate present-day timeline shares the story of Liv who is mysteriously whisked away from her home in New York to France by her eccentric grandmother. There are secrets from the past to be revealed.

My Thoughts:

A bullet point review for you today!

5 Elements That Worked:

• page-turning dual timeline
• fast reading
• interesting descriptions of champagne production in northern France
• information about the role vineyards played in the Resistance movement
• several plot twists

4 Elements I Wished For:

• I wished for more likable characters (and more believable grandmother).
• I wished for less predictable plot twists.
• I wished for more fully developed characters.
• I wished for a more realistic ending.

Thought-provoking themes include making difficult choices, living with guilt, marriage, love, survival, resistance, second chances, and found family.

Recommended for fans of WW11 historical fiction set in France, for readers who wouldn’t mind histfic with a generous side of romance and all its complications, and for those looking for a quick, page-turning read.

You may have read The Room on Rue Amelie (second review on page) by the same author.

This post is linked up with Lovely Audiobooks Monthly Book Review Link Up.

My Rating: 3 .5 Stars

The Winemaker’s Wife Information

Meet the Author, Kristin Harmel

Kristin Harmel is an international bestselling novelist whose books have been translated into numerous languages and are sold all over the world. A former reporter for People magazine, Kristin has also freelanced for many other publications, including American Baby, Men’s Health, Glamour, Woman’s Day, Travel + Leisure, and more.

Her latest novels — The Sweetness of Forgetting, The Life Intended, How to Save a Life (a long novella), and When We Meet Again — are out now from Gallery Books, a division of Simon & Schuster.

Kristin graduated summa cum laude from the University of Florida’s College of Journalism and Communications (Go Gators!). She lives in Orlando, Fla., with her husband and son.

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QOTD:

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