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3.93 AVERAGE
3.93 AVERAGE
Perfect summer read! The plot moved along at a nice clip, I was invested in the characters, and the subject matter was engaging. :)
This book was okay, I was compelled to keep reading. 2.5 round up to 3. I've read a lot of WW2 books and nothing about this particularly grabbed me. It was a bit too melodramatic and predictable for me. I was happy when I finished.
Story was slow to get going, picked up around the midway point and was hard to put down until the satisfying conclusion.
Read for a change (I knew it would be light contemporary fiction.)
Quality of writing is middle of the road.
Chic Lit of the inoffensive and bland variety.
Story line doesn’t feel believable apart from the family’s struggle with their past and carries virtually no weight into actual everyday life.
Several characters are unbelievable as well.
The perspective of France is light and it feels ...I don’t know...Americanized?
Read in about 3 hours so that tells you the weight of
substance and the complexity of the writing.
Take aways: absolutely none and that’s the real shame about this book.
Quality of writing is middle of the road.
Chic Lit of the inoffensive and bland variety.
Story line doesn’t feel believable apart from the family’s struggle with their past and carries virtually no weight into actual everyday life.
Several characters are unbelievable as well.
The perspective of France is light and it feels ...I don’t know...Americanized?
Read in about 3 hours so that tells you the weight of
substance and the complexity of the writing.
Take aways: absolutely none and that’s the real shame about this book.
I really enjoyed this story. The past with the current and how history makes the future. It's a sad story but also a happy story. How things were and how they are today. I highly recommend this read
I initially gave this 3 stars, but I decided it's deserving of 4. What really turned me off was the forced feeling of the romance part of the plot, which was just unnecessary to this beautiful story. Otherwise, I thought this was a particularly well-balanced dual narrative. The intimate and intricate details of both Kate and Hélène's lives completely transport the reader into the story, and it's impossible not to cheer on and worry about each of them. It really was an immersive experience, with so much detail about the history of Vichy France for the average people, the challenge of the modern Master of Wine exam, and living as a woman in a man's world in general. I highly recommend this for fans of historical fiction, women's fiction, France, wine, or all of the above!
Mah is clearly a woman who knows wine, travel, and the human heart, and she writes about them with great effect here. I hope to have time to seek out some of her other work, both fiction and non-fiction.
The fine print: received ARC from Edelweiss.
Mah is clearly a woman who knows wine, travel, and the human heart, and she writes about them with great effect here. I hope to have time to seek out some of her other work, both fiction and non-fiction.
The fine print: received ARC from Edelweiss.
sad
tense
slow-paced
This is a good story but not a literary masterpiece. I thought the writing was a little sloppy, in need of a good editor, and too "neat" in how it all worked together. That said, it did stir some emotions. A good, quick, easy beach/vacation read ... that made me want to visit more of France, eat more cheese, and drink more wine.
I want to give 4.5 stars to the Helene story but 2 stars to Kat/JeanLuc, which honestly added nothing to the story. Their romance was so flat and unbelievable but yikes, Vichy France. Complicated doesn’t start to cover it.
I’ve been taking a (long) break from WWII books but picked this one up for a book club read and was pleasantly surprised. The dual timelines were well maintained and perfectly paired (like a fine wine and cheese…had to), and I appreciated the atmospheric setting of both current day and occupied French vineyards. Mah expertly weaves mystery, heartbreak, and perseverance together alongside prep for a Master of Wine test, family drama, and even a dash of romance.