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4.0 AVERAGE
4.0 AVERAGE
challenging
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
inspiring
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
I love books set during this time period and while this book was pretty good I had a hard time getting past the fact that it was so incredibly similar to The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah. The time period, the writing style and set up of the book were almost identical. It honestly put me off a little.
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book isn’t my typical genre (read it for a book club) and I wasn’t expecting to get into it much. However, it ended up being an engaging and moving story that sucked me in. Putting together all the pieces of past and present as I read was interesting and meaningful. And though I have learned about WWII and the French resistance before, I actually haven’t read much fiction set at that time, so this book gave me more perspective for how that world felt for the French. This was particularly meaningful for me given that I know people who fled the Nazis in France.
Though not the main focus, it was also interesting to see a glimpse into life at a champagne house. Sometimes the characters’ decisions infuriated me, but I thought overall the author did a good job of showing the complexities of imperfect but well-intentioned people.
All-in-all I am glad I read this book and definitely think it was worth the time.
Though not the main focus, it was also interesting to see a glimpse into life at a champagne house. Sometimes the characters’ decisions infuriated me, but I thought overall the author did a good job of showing the complexities of imperfect but well-intentioned people.
All-in-all I am glad I read this book and definitely think it was worth the time.
Already Paris was working its magic on Liv, and as she strolled down the Avenue Rapp late on a Tuesday morning with a fresh baguette, a hunk of Brie, and a saucisson tucked into her canvas shoulder bag, she found herself wondering why she hadn’t come back sooner. When Liv was a child, Grandma Edith used to call the magic that was uniquely Paris le grand soupir, the grand sigh, which used to make Liv laugh. But now she understood. Somehow the city made you breathe in deeply and exhale, and when you did, some of your troubles fell away. A long time ago, before she had met Eric, Liv used to imagine what it would be like to move to France, to fall in love, to find a reason to stay. It was a dream that had come more naturally to her than any other vision of her future, perhaps because she had spent every summer here with her grandmother, making it feel like the one constant in her life. After Liv’s father had died, her mother had had a new boyfriend every few months, a new husband every few years, which meant that Liv had moved a grand total of seventeen times during her childhood. So although Grandma Edith had never been particularly warm, it had been comforting to know that when everything else felt unpredictable, France would always be a place to come home to. Liv was surprised to realize that somehow, after all these years, it still felt just the same.
-The Winemaker’s Wife, Chapter 8
Everyone cheats on each other
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity
emotional
inspiring
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I can’t decide what rating to give this. I would have to say it’s probably a 3. It gets the higher rating for showing a different side to French Resistance (being set in the Champagne region) and the characters show a bit of depth around the naïve nature of many French citizens and how people make mistakes. The characters aren’t very likeable though and the cheesy romance made the surprise at the end not so much of a surprise.
emotional
inspiring
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated