The Winemaker's Wife

Author: Kristin Harmel
Genre: Historical Fiction
Publisher: Gallery Books, 2019
Pages: 400
Rating: Highly Recommend

Synopsis: Champagne, 1940: Ines has just married Michel, the owner of storied champagne house Maison Chauveau, when the Germans invade. As the danger mounts, Michel turns his back on his marriage to begin hiding munitions for the Resistance. Ines fears they'll be exposed, but for Celine, half-Jewish wife of Chaveau's chef de cave, the risk is even greater-rumors abound of Jews being shipped east to an unspeakable fate.

When Celine recklessly follows her heart in one desperate bid for happiness, and Ines make a dangerous mistake with a Nazi collaborator, they risk the lives of those they love-and the champagne house that ties them together.

New York, 2019: Liv Kent has just lost everything when her eccenstric French grandmother shows up unannounced, insisting on a trip to France. But the older woman has an ulterior motive-and a tragic decades-old story to share. When past and present finally collide, Liv finds herself on a road to salvation that leads right to the caves of the Maison Chauveau.

Review: Two "wow" books back-to-back. It's been a great week for reading.

I'm not sure what compelled me to request this book. I've basically sworn of World War II novels because the market is flooded. I also don't know what is with the current trend of putting "wife," "daughter," "sister," or "girl" in the titles of books. Are publishers/editors/authors that unimaginative these days.

I'm glad I broke all my rules and read this book, although I would still contend the title does the book no justice. It's amazing. The author is right when she says you will never drink champagne again without thinking of this book, these characters, or the history of that part of the world.

If I have one complaint, it's that the present-day timeline was unnecessary, and I had a hard time believing a 99 year old woman would be able to keep up in the way Grandma Edith did, but those are minor details. Okay, so that's two very minor complaints. Read it anyway.

Truly an "unputdownable" novel.

Other Kristin Harmel Novels:
The Paris Daughter