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4.0 AVERAGE
4.0 AVERAGE
challenging
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I’d give this one 3.5 stars. In regard to Historical Fiction, I prefer Kristin Hannah. I think my annoyance with the selfishness of Ines in the past was too great to lend much credibility to her growth over time. It took her way too long to tell Olivia the truth and then how she ended it annoyed me too. Outside of those pieces it was a fast read and I learned more about French Resistance during WWII.
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
While this was a easy and fairly entertaining read, it leaned more towards romance than historical fiction for my liking (the contemporary romance was especially unnecessary to the story line). I also did not care for the Ines character and guessed the "plot twist" early on.
I really enjoyed the historical aspect to this novel the most set in German occupied France in the late 30s & 40s in the Champagne region. The author’s note made me realize the depth of research done for historical fiction and why it’s my favorite type of fiction l. There were some parts that felt a bit chunky and cliche but more so the modern day story line (they are intertwined). The ending was a bit overdone though I did feel relieved that there was closure for this dramatic war story. And I dig champagne so added bonus here! Bottom line: I would read more of this author’s work. Maybe not the best read during a pandemic but the wrap up at the end redeemed me emotionally at least.
Beautiful settings, didn’t connect with any characters except the grandma.
Aside from one choice the author made at the end, I LOVED this story. I wonder if there were versions with a different ending. I’d love to read them.
kind of a weird book. a decently enjoyable read. the end was definitely a page turner but i think it was weird how the first 4/5 of the book are basically just like super light historical fiction— there’s not really much that is about WWII except for like the fact that it’s set then if that makes sense? and then in the last 1/5 of the book everything happens and is revealed and frankly the end is devastatingly sad. i get its about WWII, so i wasn’t expecting a happy ending , but it was jarring to go from like light fiction to intense, sad, reckoning with WWII. also basically all the characters were not likable. by the end you just feel so bad for all of them, but for most of the book they are literally all just self-absorbed and do awful things to each other and cheat on their spouses with each other. it was genuinely hard to read for how much i wanted to like give each character a good kick in the head. but yeah, the ending was just SAD. and like random . why did grandma edith have to commit suicide??? and we don’t know what happened to celine the whole book and get this unsatisfying end for her ?? i am not cool w this ending but i also didn’t like any of the characters. it was meaningful (read: sad) and super shallow at the same time??
I really enjoyed the plot and the twists and turns along the journey.