Unfortunately I really struggled with reading this book. I just couldn’t understand or even connect with any of the characters and therefore the story just dragged. Not my favorite..

Thank you to Atria Books and Net Galley for the chance to read and review this book. Like several reviewers before me, I found this book hard to read. There was just little connection with the characters. It was not my favorite.

I tried to like this, but I had a hard time connecting with the characters and the story didn't quite do it for me. Maybe it was just not the right time to be reading it.

I tried really hard to enjoy this book, but I really didn't connect with any of the characters. The translation seemed like it was off, and the pace was terribly slow, and it just wasn't interesting.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for the opportunity to read this book in return fo rmy honest opinion.

This was a lovely story. I enjoyed the way the story was written and the storyline was enchanting. I wish I could read in Spanish as I am sure the original book is so much more and I feel I the characters intonations would have been more vivid. I feel that I would have enjoyed it more if there weren't so many locations, but overall I really enjoyed this book. It was a lovely love story.

I don't do this very often, but I added this to my did not finish pile. It isn't because the writing wasn't good or that the subject didn't intrigue me but that I just couldn't get into the story. I gave it my usual 100 pages and stopped reading. I will try and pick it up sometime in the future and give it another go. Sorry to disappoint.

I truly wanted to like this one as it is from one of my favorite publishers but I struggled through it. I found Mauro Larrea to be on the obnoxious side and the romance fell a bit flat for me. While parts of the prose were beautiful, much of it was long-winded and uninteresting. I've found myself wondering since I finished it if it reads more beautifully in its native language but unfortunately I cannot read Spanish well enough to see if that is true. Either way, it wasn't for me but I appreciate the opportunity to read it.

I apologize for the previous review for another book. I hope at some point to get to The Vineyard and then I will send the appropriate review to you.

I tried so hard on this one. It's historical fiction. It has multiple locations. The title is The Vineyard, for crying out loud. It should be so me! But I struggled. Oh, how I struggled. It might have helped if I could like Mauro at all or understand his motivations, but he annoyed me to no end. The author alternated from using the perfect amount of (interesting) detail to using too much detail to using too little detail, which gave the narrative a patchy, unbalanced feel. The ending is conveniently-ever-after, one of my greatest pet peeves. And the vineyard doesn't show up until about the last 5%, and there's nothing to it except a convenient ending! I am wildly disappointed, because the idea was good and some of the writing was good and I'd also hoped to one day read The Time in Between, but I doubt that will happen now. So much potential, and I just don't know what happened.

Mauro Larrea has become a self-made man in 1860s Mexico City by means of courage and brawny determination. Over decades, this native Spaniard has risen from silver miner to wealthy entrepreneur, owning a lavish colonial mansion, but thanks to an investment mishap involving a deceased gringo, he’s lost most of his fortune. If knowledge got out, it would not only ruin him personally but also disrupt his grown children’s social prospects. Now, at 47, he’s faced with starting over. Indebted to an unscrupulous moneylender, then traveling to Havana on an errand for a family friend, he gets caught up in a marital squabble, which leads, eventually, to his winning substantial properties in Andalusia—an abandoned house, vineyard, and winery—in a bold gamble. He travels to the small Spanish town of Jerez, at the heart of the sherry trade, hoping to quickly sell them to a new buyer. Then Soledad Claydon, the former owner’s cousin, makes her appearance.

The narrative is eventful, the translation is nimble and smooth, and each of the three settings is presented in abundant, skillfully realized detail. It’s also refreshing to see mature people in leading roles. However, what prevents The Vineyard from being an engrossing story from start to finish is that Mauro doesn’t demonstrate significant depth in the beginning, and the story is his alone for nearly half the book. The strong and intelligent yet vulnerable Soledad, a London wine merchant’s wife who insists on telling Mauro about her lost family legacy, is the novel’s real star. Through the pair’s interactions, many nuances get added to his character. Finding her company intoxicating, Mauro gets drawn deeply into the Montalvo family’s affairs, which conceal many secrets. As a romantic epic with a hint of mystery, The Vineyard works well, though it takes a while to hit its stride.

(from the Historical Novels Review, November 2017)

Ok read, I think some of my friends would enjoy this book more than I did-- I will spread the word. Thanks!

Maria Duenas is not a familiar author to me at all. I’ve seen her most well known novel The Time in Between, come up on my recommended reading list more time that I can remember, but I just never think to give her books a second look.

I think mostly because her books seem to be more about culture and heaving than something I would normally read, however when her latest book THE VINEYARD came up for review, I loved the cover and the description sounded like it would be right up my alley.

It’s been compared to authors such as Kate Morton and Kristin Hannah which are big names so I thought, why not? It would be something different if nothing else.

Mauro Larrea sees the fortune that he had built after years of hardship and toil come crashing down on the heels of a calamitous event. Swamped by debts and uncertainty, he gambles the last of his last money in a daring move that offers him the opportunity to resuscitate his fortune. But when the unsettling Soledad Montalvo, wife of a London wine merchant, comes into his life, her passionate intensity lures him toward an unanticipated future.


The Vineyard spans diverse worlds, from the young Mexican republic to magnificent colonial Havana; from the West Indies to the Jerez of the second half of the nineteenth-century, when its wine trade with England turned the Andalusian city into a legendary cosmopolitan enclave. A novel replete with glories and defeats, with silver mines, family intrigues, vineyards, and splendid places whose grandeur has faded in time, The Vineyardis a story of resilience in the face of adversity, of a lifeline forever altered by the force of passion (summary from Goodreads).

This book was a little outside my comfort zone in terms of location. Normally I tend to read books set in Europe or Russia, because that’s where my interests are historically. While this book was set in a number of areas such as Mexico and Cuba, it had hints of European roots which helped make me enjoy it. Though I will say that at times I felt like there was a little too much going on in terms of location. I think it might have been easier to digest if there had been more of a focus on one region rather than trying to incorporate so much.

I loved Duenas’s lyrical hand at descriptions and her whimsy with the storylines and plots. Her details are vivid and vibrating with richness. In that sense I felt like she did a marvelous job and I can see why she has been compared to Kate Morton and Kristin Hannah.

I also enjoyed how she explored the national identity of the characters. That was something unique to this book and I appreciated how well she illustrated the Mexican people and heritage in a way that was so much more than something simple. She went to great effort to showcase the people as they were rather than what was imagined. Well done!

This book was a 4 star for me, I liked the story and the characters but at times I felt like the movement of locations was just too much and overwhelming. I appreciated the effort but I was much more wrapped up in the characters than the locations.

Book: The Vineyard by Maria Duenas

ebook 544 pages
Published October 3rd 2017 by Atria Books (first published May 2015)
ISBN 1501124536 (ISBN13: 9781501124532)
Review copy provided by: Publisher/Author in exchange for an honest review
This book counts toward: NA

Hosted by: NA
Books for Challenge Completed: NA
Recommendation: 4 out of 5

Genre: Historical fiction

Memorable lines/quotes:

Duenas makes the countries/places involved characters as much as the characters. Full of lush descriptions, great characters, this beautiful story will keep readers hooked.

This is an intriguing piece of historical fiction that uses Mexico, Cuba, and Spain as back drops for the story of Mauro, a self made man who seems to have an incredible ability to travel at a time when few did. I think I might have enjoyed this more if it had been in one locale, rather than globe trotting. The romance with Soledad didn't grab me. Sorry to say this was one I did not finish. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. I'm happy to see more world literature available in translation and hopeful that this novel will be a good read for someone else.

"'That's what this game is all about, Mariana. I didn't make the rules. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. And the higher the stakes, the bigger the fall.'" (Mauro, Location 610 in Kindle edition)

"The Vineyard" tells the story of a man, fallen from his self-made tower, and his resilience in the face of adversity. María Dueñas takes her readers on a wild ride from the silver mines of Mexico to the sensuous streets of Havana and, finally, to the lively wine region of Andalusia, Spain in the late nineteenth century.

On the verge of losing everything, Mauro Larrea sets out to maintain his family's livelihood, reputation, and prominent position in society. By nature, Mauro is a risk-taker; fortunately, his gambles have all paid off until now.

Dueñas brings her readers into the story using vivid descriptions and rich language. I loved the way her writing clearly painted a picture of each scene in my mind. I highlighted this particular passage illustrating the streets of Mexico City:

"Throngs of people of diverse complexions filled the streets bustling to and fro as they did every day. Indigenous women carrying huge bunches of flowers, their infants wrapped in shawls on their backs; dark-skinned men balancing on their heads big earthenware jars brimming with sweetmeats or lard; beggars and soldiers, honest citizens and charlatans, all moving about ceaselessly from morning to night." (Location 670 in Kindle edition)

As someone who longs to visit the wine regions of Spain, I adored Dueñas's mastery of setting the scene, especially in the last section of the book. I literally smelled the old wine scents that lingered in the winery and about the town of Jerez.

However, even with all of the beautiful scenery, "The Vineyard" carried on too long. I did not relate to the characters or their circumstances; hence, reading this book felt like a chore. Even though my mind engaged with the language, my heart simply could not connect with any of the characters or their personal dilemmas.

Perhaps the only exception to this is Larrea's right-hand man, Santos Huesos. Santos Huesos, loyal to the bitter end, falls in love with an enslaved woman on their visit to Cuba. This story line and Dueñas's discussion of slavery were, at the very least, interesting to consider from the perspective of Larrea, a non-American during the Civil War era.

"The Vineyard" escorts readers into a world of luxury and shows just how far desperation can lead a man. For a reader who loves long reads, lush language, and history, "The Vineyard" would be the perfect accompaniment for a cozy, fall day.

This review will be published on my blog on Thursday, September 28.

Thanks Atria Books and netgalley for this ARC.

This is a great book for a relaxing read outside, in, or waiting for appointment.

The author's sense of place and descriptive writing was most entertaining and probably historically correct re. 1860s Mexico, Cuba, and Spain. The plot, however, was not convincing. and the characters "over the top."

The Vineyard is a story set in the late 1800's about a man traveling abroad to reinvent himself after financial ruin. The mining fortune he amassed in Mexico has fallen apart, so Mauro Larrea decides to venture to Cuba in search of New World business opportunities. There, his new business network eventually leads to him acquiring a dilapidated vineyard in Spain by way of a billiards game. After he travels to Spain to sell the vineyard, he becomes increasingly familiar with the vineyard's family and their complex pasts. Along the way, Mauro faces numerous situations where he must evaluate how important his social standing is and whether he actually wants his old life back.

I like the settings in the story. I prefer to read historical fiction on my tablet so I can easily Google the story's places and street names. It helps me live vicariously in the setting. The settings of the Mexican settlement, Havana as a thriving port city, and the coastal Spanish province Cadiz have no shortage of enticing images. I was able to find some of the major squares but not many of the street names.. The author is descriptive of those cities and the settings are prominent in the story. I also like stories that help me learn a handful of new words, and this book was good about that, too. I found it interesting how much of the story's progression relies on Mauro's new network. He is both vulnerable to some people and cunning with others. It's interesting to see how he chooses who to trust and how that unfolds in the story.
On the other hand, the story is a little slow to launch in Mexico.. I found the love story a little under developed and was somewhat conflicted about who to root for in the end.

WARNING: You'll need an antidepressant or strong glass of something in order to get through the garbage that is The Vineyard.

If ever there was a book that could actually ruin reading for me (even though, CLEARLY, that is not physically possible), The Vineyard would be that book, hands down.

This book is cringe worthy, shudder-inducing, and frustrating beyond belief. I cannot fathom how the author was able to get away with publishing such trash. It makes a mockery of writing, publishing, and reading.

I'm embarrassed FOR HER.
I am in total shock at how bad this book is...

It's ghastly, is what I'm trying to say.

It was so tedious that I need a new, better word for tedious. It was tediously written, and it was BEYOND TEDIOUS to read.

It was so bad that I found myself literally feeling angry and frustrated as I read it.
It brought my entire mood down.
I dreaded coming back to it and picking up where I had left off.

The characters were shockingly simple and one-dimensional. Nothing made sense. The plot was all over the damn place.
Nothing was enjoyable, least of all the descriptions.
Oh. My. God.
The descriptions.
The author gave descriptions for her descriptions.
How is that even possible?!?

Worst of all, the synopsis did not even match the plot!! Soledad wasn't widowed until the very end of the story, and the MC does not want to restore the vineyard to its former glory until the very, very end. Wtf?!

SoOoOoOoOo tedious!!!

Good riddance to this "book." (I cringe at even calling it that--it's such an insult to the rest of the books in this world.)

If I could give this piece of trash ZERO STARS, I would.


*An ARC was provided to me by NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.*

I received this ARC from netgalley.com in exchange for a review.

Set in 1860's Mexico, Mauro Larrea's fortune is gone after a sudden disastrous event. Gambling the last of his money on a vineyard in Spain, he restores the vineyard to its former beauty.

This book fell flat for me and I didn't connect with the characters. Reading was comparable to listening to a long rambling historical narrative.

3☆