The Winemaker's Wife by Kristin Harmel was the oldest title on my NetGalley shelf, but as of today, it's lost that prestige. I have borrowed and returned the audiobook through my various library apps over the last year and finally decided to listen. Thank you to the publisher for the digital copy - I'm sorry I waited this long.

I enjoy Harmel's talents as a writer. She weaves magic, emotion, poignancy, and personality into her creations, but I was worried this wouldn't hit the mark. Historical fiction can be not what you wanted... and WWII fiction sometimes all reads the same. As I began to listen, I didn't agree with many of the choices the characters made and didn’t love it at first.

However, the further I got into the book, I was reminded that we often glamorize war - especially in WWII fiction, it seems - and everyone is a hero or the enemy - we caricaturize the roles and experiences. Harmel did an excellent job of portraying humanity and weaving it into a tale that centered on a group of friends - it's their story and interactions and emotions, with war as an influence and magnifier and background to the exoeriences of three (and more) lives entwined and forever changed by love, lust, anger, fear, sacrifice, and betrayal. In any case, by the last chapters, I was sobbing in my car and was happy I *finally* decided to take this off my TBR list and will admit that maybe I judged Ines and Celine too harshly.

Firstly I want to thank NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This was pretty good. Not my usual genre but it was well written and I can see the audience for it.

Thank you netgalley, the publisher and author.
I love Kristin Harmel writing, I enjoy her storytelling, I love her characters.
This one does not disappoint, I read this novel in a few sitting.
Thank you again

I loved the beautiful setting and atmosphere that Harmel created with her words. I have traveled in this area before, so reading a story set in this wine region was amazing. The history portion was also enjoyable. I loved the characters and the romance.

2.5 stars. Beautiful setting and atmosphere. Unlikeable and irritating characters.

This book had so much potential. A popular champagne house in the French countryside during WWII. Fields of grapes and rolling hills. Hidden wine caves. Resistance work. Past and Present timelines. All of these aspects drew me into this intriguing storyline. However, the characters and romance aspect spoiled most of my enjoyment potential.

The main character is the wife of the owner of the champagne house. She is a selfish character who irritated me from start to finish. I couldn’t sympathize with any of her decisions. Quite honestly, she ruined the story for me.

A large issue I had with this story were the romances. The love triangles in the Past timeline were too much for me. They didn’t feel real. They weren’t something I could root for. The repercussions of these love triangles are what push the story forward and since I wasn’t bought into the romances to begin with, I had no investment in what happened. For me, the heavy romance aspect took away from the serious nature of the wartime situation. The Present day romance was not believable for me — overdone and obvious. It felt forced, unrealistic and convenient for the success of the storyline.

Overall, I liked the champagne house setting and atmosphere of this book. I learned new pieces of this time in our history which I appreciate. However, the characters didn’t work for me and the heavy unbelievable romance aspect overshadowed my sense of historical fiction enjoyment. I would recommend this to readers who enjoy romance, no-grit, lighter wartime stories.

Audio review: Overall, the narrators were enjoyable. Their french accents added to the narrative. Some of their character voice changes were over the top, but for the most part, the audio was well done.

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster Canada for my review copy!

Kristen Harmel’s latest novel is set in France’s Champagne region during and after WWII, and is based on historic facts surrounding la resistance- citizens risking their lives to sabotage the German occupation and to hide Jewish citizens. While the premise and storyline is fascinating, I found Harmel’s characters to be too thin. I would have liked more depth to support and explain the characters’ behaviours. I also found some inconsistencies in the writing in this ARC that were hopefully resolved in the published version. Overall, recommended.

The Winemaker's Wife is set in France in the early 1940's as well as present day.The story is told from three perspectives-Ines, a young wife, Celine the Jewish wife of the winemaker, and Liv a recently divorced American. The plot is a heartbreaking tale of the struggles and bravery of those in France during the way.A fantasic historical fiction read,.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

The Winemaker's Wife is an interesting read which has two timelines. Set during WWII, it is a story of two couples whose lives intermingle while living and working at a vineyard. Ines and Michel are newly married and own the vineyard, while Tao and Celine work at the vineyard. This is where it now gets complicated. Throw in a sadistic Nazi, the French Resistance, multiple affairs, deceit, and an unexpected ending, The second timeline is 2019 and involves Liv and her grandmother. After a disastrous marriage, Liv is whisked away by her grandmother to northern France, and this is where the two timelines meet.

The only criticism that I have of this book is that I did not feel sympathy for Ines, who is a central character in this story. Her atonement seemed contrived and did not evoke a sense of empathy from me. Also, Liv's love affair is could have done without as it too seemed very contrived. Perhaps sometimes it is better to leave some threads of a story untied.

Overall, a very good read!

What a story. It’s both complex, yet simple and embodies the feelings, ideas and fears of people, and how they vary in extreme situations (in this case WWII). You may be thinking, another WWII book; let me assure you there are thousands of WWII stories that are all very different and worth telling. Kristin Harmel tells one of them here.

Protection
During great adversity we are reminded of what the essentials are for human beings; and what are great luxuries. The Nazi's were obsessed with ensuring they received all the luxuries; even so far as to remove paintings from museums and galleries. Here we see this greed and selfishness shown in their desire for good champagne. And this in turn offers our characters (including one with Jewish connections) protection, of sorts. The problem with protection during an adverse time like this is the enemy is not playing fair. And so, of course, the Nazi's take advantage of their advantageous position by demanding, threatening, and belittling our characters.

Spoiled Products
One of the most interesting pieces of The Winemaker's Wife is that our characters making the wine can choose to make it sub-par. They know how to tweak it to make it amazing; and how to spoil it just a little. We see them scheme, along with fellow champagne makers, to trick the Nazi's into thinking they are receiving the best product; whilst preserving the actual best product for the future. It's dangerous, but clever.

How It's Made
Making champagne (or wine) is such an interesting process. I loved learning about it throughout this story. With a bit less detail, Kristin Harmel takes us though the process of making wine much like Lisa See did for tea in her novel,The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane, What's cool about learning about creation or farming processes like this, via fiction, is that it's far less boring (at least to me) than reading a non-fiction novel. You also get to see the impact things like weather, harvest delays, machinery breaking, etc. has directly on the process and people involved. The Winemaker's Wife is the next best thing to actually going out and making champagne in France yourself.

Lust and Sex
If you ever wanted to encounter a love-square/rectangle this is your book. Harmel gives our characters lusts for one another that make their lives a lot more complex than they needed to be (in an already complex time). That said it is what ultimately allows for our grand finale to be so stunning. Don't be surprised that there is a lot of sleeping around in this story. Scenes are all written tastefully, this is not smut and not really even romance; it's just a part of the story that affects people's interactions and motivations.

Overall
I really enjoyed The Winemaker's Wife. Harmel brings us a WWII story that is unlike any other I've read. The scheming between characters (even those who are working together) is brilliant and the complexities of scamming the Nazi's are well explained. While not my favourite WWII fiction, this novel deserves to be on a shelf alongside most other recent WWII fiction. If you enjoy these types of stories about people persevering and surviving in war times then you won't be disappointed.

Please note: I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. This is an honest and unbiased review.

The Winemaker’s Wife is a stirring, immersive story set in France during the early 1940s, as well present day.
The characters are vivid, courageous, vulnerable, and resilient. in a tale that gives us a unique view into World War II and characters who lived through it..

This is a historical romance, not a historical fiction. It’s an important distinction because if you’re looking for a historical fiction you will be disappointed. There is some history in this book but the focus is on the relationships of the people in the story.
I was a bit surprised to find that this is the authors 12th book. It reads a lot like a first novel. The characters didn’t feel complete enough.
This book made me cry, as all books about WWII do. The atrocities that were committed by other humans is heart wrenching. As mentioned before, this is very much a romance but there are a few parts that deal with Jews in France and the horrible things done to them by Germans and other Frenchmen.
ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

After Ines’ divorce her grandmother makes a visit and insists she accompany her to Paris. Her grandmother has an ulterior motive which gradually presents itself in a riveting tale. Meanwhile the ‘tale’ is being told by two of the main characters, Liv (Olivia), and Celine.
Liv has just married Michael and moves to his vineyard in Champagne. He is protective of his wife, but also doesn’t consider her capable of learning the intricate process of making champagne. She is bored and frustrated and tries hard to help. Celine, a half Jewish lady and wife of the chief winemaker Theo, help in the cellars. Then the Second World War begins and the Germans begin to occupy the region, demanding all the champagne and begins to roundup all Jews. Luckily Micheal has hidden most of the champagne behind a secret door and Celine is only half Jewish. Michael and Celine become part of the local resistance, but Michael refuses to let Liv have anything to do with it, but is forced to allow her to work in the cellars. Many of the workers have been called to war. Liv is frustrated wanting to take part and takes thing into her own hands. A fascinating story, well worth the read, I highly recommend it.

This is a brilliant book. I am so glad to have read it. I will review it on Amazon.com once it has been published; they are saying Aug 13 (it is impossible to review books not yet published on Amazon.com).

I love stories based during WWII and this one did not disappoint. Intrigue, guilt, deception, lust, redemption...it had it all.

love this!

This is the newest offering by the successful American author of The Room on Rue Amélie. This historical fiction is set both in the present and WWII occupied France and is a fictionalized account of the various ways the owners of the Champagne houses fought with the resistance. The story includes romance, danger and betrayal and a fascinating glimpse into the world of champagne making. If you are a fan of historical fiction with a touch of romance, this is a great choice.

Thank you to Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This is the first time I have read a book that takes place in France during WWII and about this particular district, Champagne. The location of this story brings with it a certain feeling of romanticism in spite of the turmoil and fear of daily life at the time. It shows the different ways of survival that people clung to, whether it was to fight or to toe the line and hope that you wouldn't be noticed.
We are introduced to two couples, Michel and Ines, and Theo and Celine. Michel is running the winery left to him after the death of his parents with Theo who is his head winemaker. The four of them do their best to keep the winery producing after many of their workers leave after being either conscripted or sent to work camps.
For Ines, this is a challenge as she has no experience in this field, unlike her husband, Theo and Celine. She feels undervalued and inconsequential, living a life unlike what she had envisioned. Her unhappiness leads her to make choices she will forever regret and to live the rest of her life trying to redeem herself.
Michel and Theo have different theories on how to survive the times, with Michel wanting to thwart the Germans at every chance and Theo thinking they should just follow the rules, keep their heads down and ride out the war the best they can,
Celine has more to fear than any of the others since her father is Jewish, making her half Jewish and the possibility of being sent to a work camp. Her relationship with Theo starts to deteriorate when he is unwilling to understand her fears for her family.

This book is not as dark as a lot of the WWII books that I have read but doesn't gloss over the perils of the times either. This is a book about choices made, right or wrong, and the consequences that come about. Decisions made in regret and decisions made to try and redeem past mistakes.
Great read sure to be loved by all!

** spoiler alert ** Thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Shuster Canada for a digital galley in exchange for an honest review.

Kristin Harmel presents a well researched and detailed story set in wartime Reims France( 1938-1943) and the other in contemporary France( 2019). I gravitated to this story because I have visited Reims and its gorgeous cathedral Notre-Dame-de- Reims( the site in which many French monarchs were crowned) and was intrigued at the angle of the champagne industry and it's resistance during German occupation. Also, I did enjoy the author's 2018 book The Room on Rue Amelie

But what often had me considering DNFing or giving this a lower rating on Goodreads was the descent into historical romance. Michel, Ines, Cecile, and Theo were all so weak and I honestly hated all of them. It was so incredibly difficult to relate to characters that just kept cheating on each other( Ines, Cecile, Michel) or stuck their heads in the sand( Theo). I totally get it that ordinary people do exist and they cannot all be superheros, but this book hurt my heart.

In the contemporary storyline, American Liv and her grandmother, Edith arrive in Reims where Liv is told that this trip is significant. Of course, a romance is thrown into the mix and the big "reveal" was not a surprise at all.

Disappointing.






Goodreads Review 16/06/19
Publication Date 09/07/19

The Winemaker's Wife is historical fiction at its best. Set in the Champagne region of France, the story alternates between the years of WW2 and present day (2019), focusing primarily, but not exclusively on the champagne house, Maison Chauveau. Michel Chauveau is the owner of Maison Cheveau, and when the story opens, he meets, through Edith Thierry, her young and innocent friend Ines ,and, a wedding quickly follows. Michel, the quiet and serious type, leaves Ines to fend for herself at Maison Chauveau, while he works. Ines tries to fit in with the couple, Theo and Celine, the Chef de Caveau and his wife, but she finds herself alone most of the time. Complicating matters is the stress of the war, and there is no consensus at Maison Chauveau how to behave in light of the German occupation. In the present Day (2019) part of the novel, Edith Thierry, is 99 years old, and she is on a mission, taking her 40year old recently divorced and childless granddaughter, Liv, on a spur of the moment trip to France. When Edith brings Liv to the Champagne district, the two time lines begin to connect. But the story takes a lot of unexpected twists and turns, before everything comes together at the end.

I absolutely adored this book because I love historical fiction about France, and it was so interesting reading about the history of the Champagne region, especially #Reimes. Kristin Harmel managed to get the perfect mix of history and fiction to keep me reading. Honestly, I could not put the book down. She captures the courage and determination of the French people, and their belief in equality and fraternity in the characters of Michel and Celine, who try to protect everyone they love and care for. Sadly, this was simply not possible.

If you love historical fiction, and particularly about France, I highly recommend reading The Winemaker's Wife! Absolutely a 5 star read. Thank you #netgalley for allowing me to read this #e-arc.

The Winemaker's Wife will take a hold of you at the beginning of the book and not let go to the final page.

The story takes place in both past and present.

There are family secrets, there is war, there is courage, hardship and above all strength .

You don't always like the main characters but that is what makes them so much more likeable as the book progresses.

The courage that people from The French Resistance had was and is beyond remarkable.

You learn about Champagne .

Please take the time to read the author's notes.

The Winemaker's Wife will stay with you long after you have closed the book.

Thanks to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster Canada for a wonderful read.

This was an incredibly moving story, told from the perspective of Ines in the 1940's and Liv in the present day. I could not put this book down. It hooked me almost from the very beginning. I'm a sucker for a good WWII resistance story, and when you add wine (another passion of mine) into the mix, how could I resist?! The story was unexpected and so touching and I was in a flood of tears at the end. I highly recommend this to anyone interested in the WWII era, or to anyone interested in learning more about wine/champagne. I will absolutely be purchasing this book as soon as it is released and looking into other works by the author.