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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☆

A captivating look at Spain during the 1860's colonial period when Mexico has attained freedom, and Cuba is weighing the possibilities.  The story unfolds as the reader considers the life of Mauro Larrea, a miner-turned-mine-owner-turned entrepreneur, whose fortune has evaporated overnight.  He wagers the last of his money on a billiard game, and finds himself the owner of an abandoned house and a vineyard in Spain.  

As he crosses the ocean, the reader is taken on a fantastic journey of deceit and passion and courage and intrigue and love.  Larrea becomes immersed in the wine trade, ever haunted by Andrade, his financial conscience.

A fascinating read, no less than what we would expect from Maria Duenas.

I read this EARC courtesy of Simon & Schuster.  pub date 10/03/17

Nothing overtly wrong with this book. We just couldn't get into it.