What an extraordinary historical fiction book!!! The story setting is a winery in Reims, France during WWII. Michel Chauveau and his wife Inez own the winery with Theo and his wife Celine helping to run it. The story tells the scary tale of WW2 and what happens in the region. The resistance, the absolute terror of the times, and the will of the people determined to survive the Germans. Also in the story in modern day Liv Kent and her grandmother Edith. Liv has just went through a terrible divorce and her Edith takes her to France to show her the past. The dual timelines work wonderful together and I absolutely loved the characters in the book. I could not put this book down as I needed to know what was happening. I received an advanced readers copy and all opinions are my own.

I really enjoyed this book and will look up the author's other titles! The weaving together of two timelines and the historical details made this a memorable and truly moving story. Recommended!

This one wasn't for me there is nothing wrong with the writing or story it just didn't capture my attention I struggle a lot with most historical fiction and that's what happened here I read a few chapters and then just couldn't focus on them.

A new historical novel, written by Kristin Harmel, who previous book is The Room on Rue Amelie, delivers another well researched story of the Nazi occupation during WWII. It takes place in champagne producing France, and tells the story of three young couples, struggling to survive Nazi brutality, food shortages and hunger, while continuing to harvest the grapes and make their famous champagne, which the Nazi brass confiscates in alarming numbers.
The author develops strong, interesting characters, that tell their story in two time frames, the war torn years and present day Reims.
My thanks to #NetGalley and #GalleryBooks for the ARC of the interesting tutorial into the process of champagne making, while giving the reader another tragic look at the brutality of war. I thoroughly appreciate the journey.

The Winemaker's Wife is the third Kristin Harmel novel I have read, and this one was my favorite (so far!). I was pretty much hooked from the beginning...devoured it in two days. This book alternates between two time periods: 1940s during the Nazi invasion of the Champagne region of France and present day. Harmel uniquely intertwines the stories of the characters from each period. All the characters have their own flaws and struggles, and we see how they adapt to the hardships they face.

I thought this would be a fairly predictable WWII historical fiction, but I have to say I was pleasantly surprised by a couple twists in the story, particularly in the second half of the novel. One thing of note was that it seemed to focus heavier on romance than I was anticipating - the historical aspect almost became secondary. Regardless, this was worthy of a solid 4 star rating for me.

Thank you to Gallery Books and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book.

This book captivated me from the start. The back and forth from the past to present day is a common technique in historical fiction, along with multiple viewpoints, and both of these elements really work within this story.

I think the characters are the strongest aspect of this book, especially in the WWII sections. All of them are flawed, and these flaws are magnified by the atrocities of war.

This is not as "heavy" or as literary as other WWII books I've read, but it was still a solid historical fiction novel.

The Winemaker's Wife was excellent! A historical fiction taking place in Champagne region in France, during WWII. This book was full of unexpected twists and turns, secrets, bravery and regrets. Beautifully written, blending history and a current time tale impeccably. Engrossing, beautiful and interesting. Thank you NetGalley for the early reader copy. All opinions are my own.

I'm a huge fan of Kristin Harmel, and The Winemaker's Wife was everything I hoped for. Past and present is something Mrs. Harmel does well in her writing and she gives us delicious characters. Liv Kent and her eccentric French grandmother were hard for me to stop reading, so the book kept me up all night and finished in one sitting.

Kristin Harmel is a wonderful storyteller who combines her beautiful writing with her extensive research to bring her readers another outstanding story. This time it's about a family winery near Reims during WWII. Many of the families who owned winerys in the area were part of the Resistance - some on a very small scale by using dirty bottles and bad corks on the wine that was for the Germans but others on a much larger scale - storing guns and hiding downed pilots and refugees in the underground caves where the wine was stored. The Winemaker's Wife is the fictional story of one of those families.

This is a dual time line book that takes place in the 1940s in France as well as current times in the US and France. As you read the story, you know that they will intersect at some point and when they do, it's a real surprise. I enjoyed both story lines and the characters in both time periods.

1940 in Champagne, France. Michael is the owner of champagne house Maison Chauveau. He lives there with his new wife Ines and his chef de cave Theo and his wife Celine. When the Nazis invade their area, they insist on getting all of the bottles of champagne that are bottled. In turn, Michael and his family are treated a little better than most of the people around them. As time goes on, things change and Michael becomes involved in the Resistance. His work with them along with love and betrayal from other people close to him affects the lives of everyone he knows and loves.

2019 in New York City. Liv and her husband have just broken up after 10 years and she is very depressed about the break up when her French grandmother, Edith, shows up and insists that Liv go to Paris with her immediately. After they arrive in Paris, Liv becomes aware that her grandmother is hiding secrets from her that may help explain the questions that she had about Edith's past.

This beautiful well written novel is about family - past and present and about love and forgiveness - not only of others but more importantly of yourself.

Kristin Harmel is a wonderful storyteller who combines her beautiful writing with her extensive research to bring her readers another outstanding story. This time it's about a family winery near Reims during WWII. Many of the families who owned winerys in the area were part of the Resistance - some on a very small scale by using dirty bottles and bad corks on the wine that was for the Germans but others on a much larger scale - storing guns and hiding downed pilots and refugees in the underground caves where the wine was stored. The Winemaker's Wife is the fictional story of one of those families.

This is a dual time line book that takes place in the 1940s in France as well as current times in the US and France. As you read the story, you know that they will intersect at some point and when they do, it's a real surprise. I enjoyed both story lines and the characters in both time periods.

1940 in Champagne, France. Michael is the owner of champagne house Maison Chauveau. He lives there with his new wife Ines and his chef de cave Theo and his wife Celine. When the Nazis invade their area, they insist on getting all of the bottles of champagne that are bottled. In turn, Michael and his family are treated a little better than most of the people around them. As time goes on, things change and Michael becomes involved in the Resistance. His work with them along with love and betrayal from other people close to him affects the lives of everyone he knows and loves.

2019 in New York City. Liv and her husband have just broken up after 10 years and she is very depressed about the break up when her French grandmother, Edith, shows up and insists that Liv go to Paris with her immediately. After they arrive in Paris, Liv becomes aware that her grandmother is hiding secrets from her that may help explain the questions that she had about Edith's past.

This beautiful well written novel is about family - past and present and about love and forgiveness - not only of others but more importantly of yourself.

The Winemaker’s Wife by Kristin Harmel
Source: NetGalley and Gallery Books
Rating: 5/5 stars

Liv Kent has always known her grandmother is a bit eccentric; what Liv Kent hasn’t ever known is what led to and/or caused that eccentricity. With the ugly and unexpected dissolution of her marriage, Liv is completely at a loss as to what she will do with the rest of her life. Just as Liv is reconciling herself to her new reality, her eccentric grandmother appears on her doorstep, tells her to pack a bag, and whisks Liv off to France.

Liv has no idea why her grandmother has taken her to France but the break from reality is a welcome surprise. True to form, Liv’s grandmother continues in her eccentric ways with strange disappearances, inexplicable comments regarding the past, and mutterings about the future. With little understanding of her grandmother’s behavior, Liv begins to ask questions and what she (eventually) discovers indeed changes everything she knew about her life and her past and tremendously alters her future.

Liv’s grandmother has never been particularly chatty about her past and as her story is revealed, Liv understands why. As it turns out, not only did Liv’s grandmother survive the Nazi occupation of France, she was in the thick of the fray. As a young woman, Liv’s grandmother became involved, intimately and otherwise with the men and women of France’s Champagne region. As one of the most successful and prosperous regions in the country, the Nazi party was particularly interested in occupying and controlling the region. As one might assume, this arrangement was only beneficial and only safe for the Nazi Party. For Liv’s grandmother and her friends and loved ones, the situation was not only financially devastating but also emotionally and physically terrifying.

As the months and years of World War II rage on, the people of the Champagne region find subtle and covert ways to thwart the efforts of Hitler’s men. Through sabotage, subterfuge, and spy efforts, Liv’s grandmother finds herself among people unwilling to accept their fate and looking to significantly change the outcome of the war. Though the efforts were truly terrifying and clearly life-threatening, Liv’s grandmother tells the story of heroes, the unsung heroes of the war who fought to preserve their land, their legacy, and their respective futures. In the thick of it from the very beginning, Liv hears stories of heroism, betrayal, death, love, friendship, and even triumph and is completely taken aback by her grandmother’s revelations. Though the past is certainly fascinating and eye-opening, it is the results of that past, the consequences of so many actions and inactions that well and truly stun Liv. What her grandmother reveals alters every part of Liv’s reality and her future.

The Bottom Line: WOW!! What an incredible read!! From start to finish, I was enthralled with this story: from Liv’s crazy grandmother to the stories of the past, I fell into this world and didn’t come out until I reached the final page. The Winemaker’s Wife is a seamless blending of the past and the present with the past being the far more interesting of the two. The descriptions of the time and place, the raw emotion, the terror of the environment and actions are so vivid and so real. As a character-driven reader, I found the characters to be particularly robust, complicated, and both likeable and completely disagreeable. Interestingly, I often found myself liking and hating the same character simultaneously thanks to words and actions alike. When you couple the strong characters with a compelling story, you have a recipe for success. At every level The Winemaker’s Wife is a triumph and not just in the historical fiction genre, but as a whole and as a part of literature in general.

The timeslip novel of this was really confusing and hard to follow. Overall, it was an okay read.

Many thanks to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for my ARC. All opinions are my own.

The year is 2019 and Liv's marriage has just ended in divorce. Her French grandmother whisked in and takes Liv back to Paris. Thus begins a convoluted story. With a great cast of characters and Nazi occupation of France a champagne house tries to survive and make a living. Kristin Harmel's The Winemaker's Wife is full of emotions, secrets, poor decisions, consequences, tragedy and drama. I highly recommend it.

France, wine, WWII, present day, and love - all of this wrapped into one amazing, difficult-to-put-down read.

We meet Inez, Celine, Michel, Thor, Liv, and Liv's French grandmother, Edith, as the story moves back and forth in time.

We find out about the lives of the winemakers during the war and a secret that grandmother has kept for many years as well as a connection that the vineyards, a restaurant, and the characters have to both time periods and to their lives.

Grandmother Edith was my favorite character…mysterious and stubborn all rolled into one.

Liv was likable as well.

Inez, Celine, Michel, and Thor were interesting, and their wine tunnels were fascinating.

We learn more of the war, the resistance, the French people involved in the resistance, and how the danger of making one simple mistake could alter the safety of many people.

THE WINEMAKER’S WIFE is another marvelous, intriguing read about the resiliency and determination of the French people and the entire European population.

Those of us who were not living during this time, do not have any idea of the horrors and hardships endured by the European people.

Ms. Harmel weaved a beautiful tale filled with authentic characters and a story line that kept me turning the pages to learn more as well as cry with the characters.

Absolutely LOVED this book. Do not miss reading this book. 5/5

This book was given to me as an ARC by the publisher via Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.

5 Stars! I kept hearing about this book. I enjoy World War II historical fiction and knew in advance that I was going to enjoy this book. It was gripping, intoxicating and a different kind of WWII novel. It’s a story about love, mistakes, forgiveness and redemption. The story revolves around 3 main characters. Liv Kent is in the throws of a divorce (not of her choosing) when her fiery grandmother flies in from Paris and whisks her away. Ines is young and naive; she believes she and her handsome husband, Michel who owns and operates the famous Maison Chauveau winery are deeply and madly in love and nothing could possibly come between them. Cecile, who is half Jewish, works alongside her husband at the Maison Chauveau and though it is hard work, she has made this place her home. The Nazi’s take over the town and everything changes. Choices are made and those choices have consequences that will affect generations.

I received an advance copy of this novel and all opinions are my own.

This book seems like it has it all — a war, resistance fighters, love, deceit, betrayal, Richter, a Nazi who was sinister right from the get go - all that in the 1940s. Then in the present day, a broken-hearted divorcee and her 99 year old grandmother who whisks her off to France on a mysterious errand. And there were some good twists in the story - e.g. what Eduardo tells Ines when she returns to Reims after the war; that one had me thinking I had misread something along the way. However, the main characters during the war years were difficult to believe in; they seemed shallow and weak, especially Theo. The book did transition well between the 1940s and the present day - not all writers manage the time changes so well.

I have found another author to add to my list of favorites! Kristin Harmel proved to me that she’s a masterful storyteller in The Winemaker’s Wife. This beautiful tale alternates back and forth between World War II and the present day, with well-developed, memorable characters and a few plot twists I never saw coming. I love the historical setting in France and the eloquent descriptive language Harmel used to paint this powerful story of love, betrayal, and heartbreak. I appreciate how the story came full circle, giving a sense of closure although leaving me shedding some tears.

Thank you, NetGalley, for the opportunity to read an ARC of The Winemaker’s Wife and share my unbiased opinion. I heartily recommend this book to those who enjoy fiction that is rich in historical detail.

Thanks to NetGalley for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review. This title will be available August 13th. First I'm glad I finished this book in the privacy of my home instead of the public, like at work or something. I can not lie, I shed a tear at the ending. I loved this book. It had me from the beginning, all the way to the end.

Wonderful book! Loved the dual time lines and the ways the characters lives and stories are all interwoven. Highly recommend this or any of Kristin Harmel's books.

A tale of the winemakers during the catastrophe of WW2 on France. There were surprising moments in the story and seeing how the three women all belonged together led to a satisfying end. This book is a great read and after getting to the middle of the story, I had to keep reading to find out more.