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4.0 AVERAGE
4.0 AVERAGE
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Although I have read a great deal of historical fiction about World War II, this book offered a unique insight into The Resistance movement of that time. I found the story interesting and engaging. I highly recommend this book.
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