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4.0 AVERAGE
4.0 AVERAGE
Disclaimer: I got an advance reader's copy from NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.
I've said it before, but it bears repeating... I don't like giving or reading 3 star reviews. It's so hard to accurately convey how one feels about a book without the benefit of half stars!
At first I was fairly certain I was going to either DNF this or skim through it and give it a pretty low rating. Mostly this stems from the fact that none of the characters are terribly well fleshed out, maybe three protagonists was a wee bit much?! Or maybe it was because Ines and Céline were just too conveniently polar opposites of one and other; one a spoiled young woman with no awareness of what really happens in war and the other a perfect, selfless angel.
Also though the novel is set partially in 1943 in occupied France I feel like Harmel only superficially touched upon what living in this time and in this place would have been like. And though wine is central in the lives of the characters I feel like grape growing, and wine making didn't get the page time they deserved. Setting-wise I feel like caves and brasseries were over represented... I wanted descriptions of grapevines for as one can see, the smells; dry, green, ripe, whatever!
Liv our contemporary heroine was also poorly fleshed out. Other than her biography which we learn in her first chapter we don't know anything about her career, her likes, dislikes, aspirations.
The plot 'twists' were rather obvious when they were finally revealed, and yet I did find myself getting a little weepy in the end, so Harmel is clearly doing something write...
I like time shift novels, I do, maybe just with more thrills thrown in.
I've said it before, but it bears repeating... I don't like giving or reading 3 star reviews. It's so hard to accurately convey how one feels about a book without the benefit of half stars!
At first I was fairly certain I was going to either DNF this or skim through it and give it a pretty low rating. Mostly this stems from the fact that none of the characters are terribly well fleshed out, maybe three protagonists was a wee bit much?! Or maybe it was because Ines and Céline were just too conveniently polar opposites of one and other; one a spoiled young woman with no awareness of what really happens in war and the other a perfect, selfless angel.
Also though the novel is set partially in 1943 in occupied France I feel like Harmel only superficially touched upon what living in this time and in this place would have been like. And though wine is central in the lives of the characters I feel like grape growing, and wine making didn't get the page time they deserved. Setting-wise I feel like caves and brasseries were over represented... I wanted descriptions of grapevines for as one can see, the smells; dry, green, ripe, whatever!
Liv our contemporary heroine was also poorly fleshed out. Other than her biography which we learn in her first chapter we don't know anything about her career, her likes, dislikes, aspirations.
The plot 'twists' were rather obvious when they were finally revealed, and yet I did find myself getting a little weepy in the end, so Harmel is clearly doing something write...
I like time shift novels, I do, maybe just with more thrills thrown in.
THE WINEMAKER’S WIFE by Kristin Harmel
This is my second book by Kristin Harmel. I loved The Book of Lost Names so I had high expectations for this one.
A dual storyline set in the 1940s Champagne region of France and present day 2019 New York. The story follows four women; Inés Chauveau (a young and naïve girl newly married to vineyard owner Michel Chauveau), Celine Laurent (the half-Jewish wife of Theo who is the wine cellar master or chef du cave), Olivia “Liv” Thierry (a 44 year old recent divorcée trying to figure out what to do with the rest of her life) and Edith Thierry (Liv’s 99 year old spunky grandmother who immediately whisks Liv off to Paris after her divorce was finalized).
The atmosphere and setting is what I really loved about this book. The beautiful detailed descriptions of how wine is made/processed by the people of the area really made the story come alive.
Unfortunately, some of the characters were so unlikable! I was most irritated with Inés because she wasn’t just young and stupid, she was self-centered and reckless. The love interest part felt rushed and contrived. I feel the story would have been fine without it.
Overall, this is about love, betrayal and how the small and big choices we make shape the future. I liked it, but I didn’t love it.
Rating: 3.5/5 ⭐️
#TheWinemakersWife #KristinHarmel
This is my second book by Kristin Harmel. I loved The Book of Lost Names so I had high expectations for this one.
A dual storyline set in the 1940s Champagne region of France and present day 2019 New York. The story follows four women; Inés Chauveau (a young and naïve girl newly married to vineyard owner Michel Chauveau), Celine Laurent (the half-Jewish wife of Theo who is the wine cellar master or chef du cave), Olivia “Liv” Thierry (a 44 year old recent divorcée trying to figure out what to do with the rest of her life) and Edith Thierry (Liv’s 99 year old spunky grandmother who immediately whisks Liv off to Paris after her divorce was finalized).
The atmosphere and setting is what I really loved about this book. The beautiful detailed descriptions of how wine is made/processed by the people of the area really made the story come alive.
Unfortunately, some of the characters were so unlikable! I was most irritated with Inés because she wasn’t just young and stupid, she was self-centered and reckless. The love interest part felt rushed and contrived. I feel the story would have been fine without it.
Overall, this is about love, betrayal and how the small and big choices we make shape the future. I liked it, but I didn’t love it.
Rating: 3.5/5 ⭐️
#TheWinemakersWife #KristinHarmel
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
I really wanted to enjoy this one more. But I had a hard time liking any of the main characters except for Liv, who was rather poorly developed. This one was a miss for me, both in the category of historic fiction and romantic fiction.
I'm normally a big fan of this author's work. I've read six of her other novels, and on average they were good to great. But this one just didn't do it for me.
I thought the premise of how the Resistance efforts in the Champagne area of France would be interesting - but this story focuses more on the love triangle of the people, which doesn't appeal to me at all. I wanted more Resistance, and less cheating. I also just didn't like the characters - in either timeline. I didn't care what happened to them because they were boring or unlikeable (or both).
This was a DNF for me at less than 40%.
I thought the premise of how the Resistance efforts in the Champagne area of France would be interesting - but this story focuses more on the love triangle of the people, which doesn't appeal to me at all. I wanted more Resistance, and less cheating. I also just didn't like the characters - in either timeline. I didn't care what happened to them because they were boring or unlikeable (or both).
This was a DNF for me at less than 40%.
medium-paced
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
3.5 stars! The story had great twists I didn’t expect, however the characters were very unlikeable. I was a bit irritated by their actions more often than not. The love triangle was stressful and it seemed as if none of the characters had redeeming qualities. Some of it came together in the end, but I’m still frustrated with the ending of some characters. Cannot wait to discuss at book club
emotional
mysterious
reflective
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
This review is also available on my blog, Wine Cellar Library.
First, I would like to thank NetGalley and Gallery Books for providing me with a free Kindle ARC edition of this novel in exchange for an honest review.
Please make a movie! Please please please!
I absolutely loved this book. Honestly, what's not to love? World War II history, winemaking, a love triangle, and a sharp grandmother who keeps you on your toes in between sips of her martini!
There are two alternating timelines with three different narrators. The stories of Inès and Céline begin in 1940, whereas Liv's story begins in 2019.
Inès is the wife of Michel Chauveau, who owns the winery Maison Chauveau. She struggles with feelings of loneliness and inadequacy, which drive her to make rash decisions that endanger her life and others'. Despite Michel and Céline's judgments of Inès, the author writes her character in a way that allows you to sympathize with her...to a point.
Céline is married to the chef de cave of the Maison Chauveau, Theo. The couple lives in a cottage on the winery grounds, so their lives are closely intertwined with Michel and Inès. Half Jewish, she is in constant fear for her father and her paternal grandparents as Jews are increasingly arrested under frivolous charges. Her husband is keen to ignore everything outside of the work at hand, imagining that everything will blow over in due time. Working in close proximity, Céline finds solace with Michel, and despite her good intentions, things will become complicated.
Liv, recently divorced, is whisked away to France by her elderly grandmother without explanation. The more she figures out her grandmother's reasoning for doing so, the harder her grandmother pushes her away. Has she brought Liv across an entire ocean to play matchmaker? Or is there a deeper reason...a painful history that is too difficult to share?
Although there are many true historical facts about the contributions of the people of Reims to le Résistance, the main characters and the Maison Chauveau are fictional. There are also phrases spoken in French and German throughout the book. I believe the phrases in both languages are written with enough context to allow someone who speaks neither language to understand the phrases without the help of a translator.
This book was captivating: heartbreaking yet heartwarming, tragic yet uplifting. It is now at the top of my recommendations list for anyone who loves historical fiction!
#netgalley #thewinemakerswife
First, I would like to thank NetGalley and Gallery Books for providing me with a free Kindle ARC edition of this novel in exchange for an honest review.
Please make a movie! Please please please!
I absolutely loved this book. Honestly, what's not to love? World War II history, winemaking, a love triangle, and a sharp grandmother who keeps you on your toes in between sips of her martini!
There are two alternating timelines with three different narrators. The stories of Inès and Céline begin in 1940, whereas Liv's story begins in 2019.
Inès is the wife of Michel Chauveau, who owns the winery Maison Chauveau. She struggles with feelings of loneliness and inadequacy, which drive her to make rash decisions that endanger her life and others'. Despite Michel and Céline's judgments of Inès, the author writes her character in a way that allows you to sympathize with her...to a point.
Céline is married to the chef de cave of the Maison Chauveau, Theo. The couple lives in a cottage on the winery grounds, so their lives are closely intertwined with Michel and Inès. Half Jewish, she is in constant fear for her father and her paternal grandparents as Jews are increasingly arrested under frivolous charges. Her husband is keen to ignore everything outside of the work at hand, imagining that everything will blow over in due time. Working in close proximity, Céline finds solace with Michel, and despite her good intentions, things will become complicated.
Liv, recently divorced, is whisked away to France by her elderly grandmother without explanation. The more she figures out her grandmother's reasoning for doing so, the harder her grandmother pushes her away. Has she brought Liv across an entire ocean to play matchmaker? Or is there a deeper reason...a painful history that is too difficult to share?
Although there are many true historical facts about the contributions of the people of Reims to le Résistance, the main characters and the Maison Chauveau are fictional. There are also phrases spoken in French and German throughout the book. I believe the phrases in both languages are written with enough context to allow someone who speaks neither language to understand the phrases without the help of a translator.
This book was captivating: heartbreaking yet heartwarming, tragic yet uplifting. It is now at the top of my recommendations list for anyone who loves historical fiction!
#netgalley #thewinemakerswife