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4.0 AVERAGE
4.0 AVERAGE
dark
reflective
tense
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Historical fiction feast. I'm disturbed by war stories. However, historical fiction is safe. Immersing me in the horrors of what were and what might have been.
Twists, turns, drama and delight!! I loved this book!!
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The payoff of this book is the ending. Set in the Champagne region of France, the book follows inès, who has married the heir to Madison Chauveau. It also follows Julie and her grandmother Edith, the latter of whom was the best friend of inès. The book follows the German occupation of France and the affects it had on the champagne houses. Julie travels to France with her grandmother and begins to learn her rather complicated history. I found inès to be annoyingly selfish. With a war going on, she consistently put herself in danger because she felt she wasn’t appreciated enough by her husband. I was also a bit annoyed at Edith because of the way she went about telling Julie the family history. Once the ending was revealed, I did have to take a pause as the actions of the characters started to make sense. This is a good book of you are a fan of historical fiction. It made me want to do my own digging into the resistance that took place by the various champagne houses.
A beautiful tragedy. In the end, I liked it. I didn’t always while I was reading, the characters grated on me and I wanted more about the work of the resistance and less of Liv. But in the end, Kristin Harmel weaved a good story.
This was just okay for me. Characters weren’t terribly likeable but I did learn a bit of the history of France’s Champagne region.
adventurous
emotional
informative
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Not my favorite Kristin Harmel book. This book has many topics: WW2 in France, the resistance, adultery, sexual assault, infidelity, abuse of power, lies, and the devastation of the Holocaust. The most problematic for me was the romanticizing of adultery. What I hated the most is the fact that both women chose to cheat on their marriage and made it seem like a simple consequence of the dwindling emotions of marriage. The complicated story of these people seem hard fetched and unbelievable, not only for the acts of whats happening but also by the actions they take. Another part that was weird was the last sappy part about characters meeting after death. It was sappy and unnecessary. All in all there are far better books about WW2.