This was a well written novel about a time period and people I knew nothing about. I highly recommend! Especially if you love champagne!

I found this one really difficult to get into and found that after the fourth chapter I still couldn't get into the book, I will try again as I was drawn to the book by the cover I thought it was great I'm going to give it 3 stars sorry I couldn't finish it.

I really enjoyed reading "Champagne Widows" with it's in depth look at how Veuve Clicquot came to be a growing champagne name and company and the story of a strong woman for her time, so full of passion and innovation. I try to read as much as I can about the history of the Champagne region and I thoroughly enjoyed learning more about Barbe-Nicole and her family life, The history is what really captured my attention and I appreciated learning more about the Napoleanic Wars and times which I previously knew little about. The changing declarations and continual growing tensions with other countries presented a whole new side for me of Barbe-Nicole and Veuve Clicquot, with the fact that widows were not able to keep their assets being an utter surprise.

Reading "Champagne Widows", allowed me to learn even more about the process of making champagne and it brought me back to a past trip walking through the vineyards of the Champagne Region and other regions in France. I absolutely enjoyed this book and will be looking adding it to my Drink In Life Book Club Reading List soon.

This fabulous book delves into the process of harvesting grapes and storing and bottling the wine, along with a downright entertaining history lesson of Napoleon’s quests. Oh, and there is plenty of levity, showstopping scenes, and romance too -- a delight for all the senses.

Never again will I take a sip of Veuve Clicquot. without thinking of this book. Beautifully written I felt myself stepping back in time to Champagne, France in the 19th century.

Barbe-Nicole is in her 20's and she has inherited Le Nez. An amazing way to understand smells. People see this as a curse especially her parents who just want to marry her off. She has a childhood sweetheart, Francois Clicquot, However her has an illness of the mind. She rejects all the presented suitors in favour of Francois who's dream is to run a winery.

The book takes us through a time of Napoleon Bonaparte. Wars. Suicide and loss. Love. But overall a story of a powerful woman who wants to use Le Nez

Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read an ARC

Champagne Widows tells the story of Barbe-Nicole. She inherited Le Nez from her great-grandfather, a renowned champagne maker. Francois Clicquot, her childhood sweetheart, wants to start a winery. Barbe-Nicole marries Francois and the challenges begin. Francois commits suicide and Barbe-Nicole must now cope with the difficulties of starting a winery and the Napoleon Codes preventing women from owning a business.

The historical facts, the strong female protagonist, the Champagne.. These characteristics make a great novel. I really enjoyed reading this book and I learned a few things about the history of Champagne. Highly recommended to wine lovers!

The title of this book drew me in and also the cover very bright and punchy, this book was rather interesting . Not something I would normally read but throughly enjoyed and but recommend.

An epic story of love, loss, perseverance and survival. A strong-willed woman way ahead of her time, goes above and beyond by refusing to give up her dreams even when her own family stands against her.
The author did a great job at bringing to life Barbe-Nicole and vividly describing the landscape as if one can almost smell the various scents and taste the bubbly champagne while going through the pages.

This story tells the origin story of Veuve Cliquot champagne. Barbe-Nicole has inherited Le Nez, an unbelievable sense of smell, that causes problems in her life. That changes when she begins running the family vineyard and her nose is an asset to making the champagne. When her husband dies she becomes Veuve (widow) Cliquot and struggles to find a way to keep the vineyard. This is the time of Napoleon and no one is safe and her father is embroiled in politics which is even more dangerous. This is a story of strong women and family and creating a brand that continues today.

I sadly did not enjoy this book. I read an ebook copy of this book and the font and formatting was very awkward. Even looking past that I really did not enjoy the writing style or any of the characters and was just completely disappointed.
Thank you netgalley for an Arc to review .

Anyone interested in Champagne have heard about the pioneering spirit and talent of Veuve Cliquot.
Rebecca Rosenberg gives real feelings and emotions to an icon, without the shadow of a disapointment. the description of the personal life of the heroin is pure fiction, but, one wonders if Rebecca had not by any chance some type of access to private archives. Everything matches, the whirpool of creativity, business opportunities, and what could have been experienced as feelings. In the background, historial figures and facts are providing explanations to facilitate the understanding of the greatness of Barbe-Nicole. But the pleasant surprise lies in all the accurate descriptions of the Chamapagne tasting, The whole book is so clever, there is no time ot get bored, and the reader will have one strong expectation at the end of the book: to be enlighten again about another Maison de Champagne !

This was enjoyable. A different subject…a powerful woman and champagne. I liked learning about the champagne process along the way. Recommend it.

There is plenty to like here even if you have no interest in the craft of wine making. Just the right amount of historical analysis is provided as we are taken on a fast paced journey which cleverly crosses drama, romance, mystery and tragedy. Enough context is provided regarding both the historical context and the business of wine making to allow the reader to really engage. But ultimately it is the lead character who makes this novel a real winner. What a woman!

A really wonderful novel Rebecca Rosenberg write so beautifully her characters come alive.The history of champagne the involvement of strong women,I enjoyed this book from first to last page.#netgalley#lionheartpublishing

I enjoyed this book! Very well researched and captured me in the first few pages. Thank you for the opportunity to read.

They really need to have half stars because I'd give this a 3.5. I really enjoyed learning about this fascinating history of champagne and how hard those women had to fight to keep it going when it seemed the whole world was against them. And I adore the cover! The only reason I took off a star was because the language could seem a bit modern at times.

I was originally drawn to this book because I was interested in the life of a widow trying to maintain ownership of her winery under the Napoleonic code. However, all the characters were very one-note and were inconsistently written. I had trouble wanting to root for Veuve Clicquot because she read as hypocritical and immature at times. Veuve Clicquot's story is interwoven with that of Napoleon and his efforts to conquer Europe. The sections with Napoleon were better written than those pertaining to Veuve Clicquot. The few interactions between those two characters seemed forced, although the Napoleon sections did help give additional context to the difficulties Veuve Clicquot was facing in selling champagne during the 1800s.. This book had a good premise but it could have been enacted better.

This was a truly enjoyable, and for me, very educational read about the years surrounding the French Revolution and the conquests of Napoleon. I learned so very much about the man, the times, and how his conquests progressively affected not only French society but also the champagne and other businesses so adversely. Champagne Widows tells the story of Barbe-Nicole “Le Nez” who becomes the de facto head of her family/husband’s champagne business despite challenges in the male-dominated business world.

The story of Barbe-Nicole’s personal loves, first love and marriage to to the tormented Francois Clicquot and later her love for Louis Bohne, make for romantic reading, though Louis ultimately marries someone else. After Francois’ death, Veuve Barbe-Nicole Clicquot faces many challenges with the weather affecting her grapes and shipping issues occasioned by Napoleon’s conquests.

I highly recommend this book and thank #Netgalley for an advance copy. I will be reading more of this author’s works.

This is a love story, of a girl and wine, of a girl and a boy who grow to man and woman, of France, a girl for her family, and more. It takes place following the French Revolution, and involves Napoleon and the many wars that occur during his reign. It is really about one Champagne Widow, Barbe-Nicole Ponsardin, the granddaughter of a famous winemaker.

Barbe-Nicole isn’t certain if her nose is a gift or a curse. It’s a highly sensitive nose known as Le Nez. It’s a wonder for winemakers, allowing her to blend various varieties and years of wine to make the perfect cuvee, or mixture, to bring about the best possible wine. But it’s a curse because she can never remove herself from odors, good or bad. It affects her life beyond winemaking as she prefers to be around people whose scents she prefers. He mother’s gardenia scent is overpowering. The two are often at odds over that, and other things, especially her mother’s matchmaking. How could a person with Le Nez marry a pig farmer?

Bur marry she does, to her childhood friend, Francois. Francois has been changed by his participation in war. He has also inherited a condition from his mother. All together, it brings him mental health problems, and he attempt suicide more than once. Still, Barbe-Nicole loves him completely, and they live a good life making wine together, enjoying their daughter, and enjoying spells of happiness and spells of strife, for war makes it difficult to do anything without problems popping up.

Since the men have all been conscripted, Barbe-Nicole uses their wives and widows to help with the planting, harvesting, wine-pressing, and more. She inspires her female workers and makes sure that they have food and money to see them and their children through the difficult times without their spouses. They form their own little community as they work together to make the best wine possible.

Barbe-Nicole comes into wine-making as an amateur, knowing little beyond the scents she smells in the various varietals. She works to perfect her ability as she deals eith love, loss, and successfully overcomes all, with the Napoleonic wars as a backdrop.

This is an interesting book, not exactly what I expected, but good nonetheless. What it needs is a better proofreading by a professional proofreader. There are missing words, misused words (like coal-thickened lashes, instead of kohl), anachronistic words that didn’t exist, at least not as used, at the time the story takes place (like zugzwang and boules ball). Yep, I looked them up on multiple dictionary sites and received the same information on all, that these are words of the Twentieth Century. Also, Napoleonic Code repeatedly referred to as Napoleon Code. At the time the story takes place, it would likely have been referred to as the Civil Code.

Beyond the need for additional proofreading, this is an interesting book. I enjoyed watching Barbe-Nicole as she worked her way through the problems that she faced, and liked her spirit. The other characters were also interesting. In addition to Barbe-Nicole and her family, husband, and the women she works with, Napoleon makes several appearances to interact with her and those who surround her.

Napoleon’s storyline brings with it a bit of fantasy. That appears in the embodiment of the Red Man. I won’t offer details as I don’t want to spoil anything. Just know that it’s a theme that has appeared in many other tales. I haven’t decided if it helped the story or not. I’ll leave you to decide that for yourself.

I originally received a copy of this book from Netgalley, but then bought the book in kindle form on Amazon. I thank all who were involved for their generosity, but it had no effect on this review. All opinions in this review reflect my true and honest reactions to reading this book.

Very good book! I love wine and this was very intriguing! It's like learning about wine and history while being entertained by fictional characters. It's a man's world, but it would be nothing without a woman or a girl!