I do so love a Juliet Blackwell book. She is an auto buy for me and this is my favorite. I will never look at a glass of champagne the same way very again. Could not put this one down and some of the most like-able and endearing characters ever. Truly a gem of a book.

Rosalyn works for a vineyard in Napa, California, and is told she has to go to Champagne, France. Who wouldn't want to go to Champagne, France - well...Rosalyn isn't too excited about going.

On her flight over, Rosalyn meets Emma who has found letters from a soldier and a woman that corresponded during the war. She asked Rosalyn to help her put all the letters together and to make some sense out of them, but Rosalyn declines the offer. She said she has to do what her employer asked her to do.

When Rosalyn finds one of the letters in her bag that Emma must have not picked up after they all fell to the floor, she becomes interested in the correspondence as she translates the letters through all the grime and worn out and unable-to-be translated words.

Rosalyn wishes she would have told Emma she would help her. She could do that if she gets organized and finds the business card Emma had given her.

Translating these letters would be much more interesting than going from one local wine producer to the next trying to drum up business.

I tend to agree with Rosalyn....I would prefer dealing with the letters to uncover the past than dealing with wine makers. I always enjoy books that have the characters finding items from the past that uncover secrets and a past life.

Readers get a marvelous glimpse of France’s quaint, cozy homes, the warmth of the French people, and the history of Champagne and how its citizens coped during the war.

If you love champagne, history lessons, learning about wine making in France, unraveling secrets, reading old letters, exploring old houses, meeting marvelous characters, and being treated to a terrific story line, do not miss reading THE VINEYARDS OF CHAMPAGNE.

Juliet Blackwell has given us another pull-you-in read.

THE VINEYARDS OF CHAMPAGNE will have you falling in love with the characters and the Champagne Region of France, and have you looking at how you need to focus on making yourself happy. 5/5

This book was given to me by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was an amazing book and unexpectedly deep. From the title I was expecting another romance set in a lush, exotic part of the world - the Champagne region of France to be exact. This book was so much more than that. It concerns recently widowed Rosalyn travelling to the very small town of Cochet in France to meet with champagne producers to make connections for her boss, an importer in Napa Valley. On her flight over she meets Emma Kinsley, a very wealthy Australian woman on her own mission. Emma is researching letters between her great-aunt Doris and Emile Legrand, a French soldier in WWI. Rosalyn accidently pockets one of the letters and ends up translating it for Emma which leads to an intriguing look at the French countryside during the German invasion as well as cementing her friendship with the bold, colorful Australian.

During WWI civilians in the Cochet and the surrounding countryside evacuated to caves under the champagne wineries that had been used to produce and store champagne for years. In spite of the hardships, these people continued to harvest their grapes and produce the rare Victoray vintages. The story switches back and forth betweencenturies. In present day, absorbed in researching and translating the letters, Rosalyn grows from a lonely, grieving woman craving solitude to a confident women following a new direction in her life having formed a deep bond with a close group of friends. World War is shared through Lucie's eyes, a young woman who ends up teaching children who sought refuge in the caves, and through Emile's letters to Doris, his adopted godmother in Australia.

The timeline was easy to follow and the characters so well developed I expected to run into them in the next room. I knew next to nothing about WWI and champagne production and enjoyed learning much, much more about both. Blackwell's description of war torn France was hearbreaking, and balanced by the personalities of Lucie, Rosalyn, Emma and their French hosts and hostesses. The description of the champagne and the French vineyards is delicious - I actually looked up flights to and tours of the area. Author Juliet Blackwell obviously loves her subject and the region which makes this well-researched book an even better read. I think anyone who loves to read would enjoy this, especially fans of historical fiction mixed with a little romance and friendshiip. I plan to look up the rest of Blackwell's extensive repertoire. Pour yourself a glass of your favorite bubbly, snuggle up and enjoy!!!

While I've only spent a few days in the Champagne region of France, this book did a fantastic job taking me back- and expanding on what I had experienced and seen. The contemporary story in this book followed Rosalyn, a young widow struggling to move forward, as she travels to France for work and is swept up in the search for historical information along the way. The other part of the story tells about the lives of people in the region during World War I- the devastation of their towns, living in the champagne caves, the loss of life and horrors of living through war. Though melancholy at times, this story was a lovely testament to the region and to the wine.

This book should be right up my alley. A present day storyline with a historical storyline weaving through with letters throughout, but for me it didn't completely work and I will explain why.

Rosalyn is the main character in the present storyline and she lost her husband to cancer a few years ago and has still kind of been stuck in a rut until her boss sends her to Champagne, France to experience new things and possibly become a better asset to his company. While on the flight there she meets an interesting woman who has historical letters that she is trying to piece together and when they land in France they will meet back up and go on an adventure.

I liked the characters in this book, that wasn't the problem. The problem for me was I wanted more from the historical storyline. There were chapters throughout the book, but I just wanted more! I felt as though that storyline was lacking and I wanted to learn so much more about that time in France and the ins and outs of living underneath their land.

I still love this author and will read future books, but for me this one isn't my favorite of her collection.

If I don’t get my Christmas cookies baked this year (2019), it’s Juliette Blackwell’s fault. She has written another compelling novel that had to be read as opposed to baking.

The story takes place in, and below, in France’s Champagne region. I first learned about the numerous cave systems that run throughout the area when I read Kristin Harmel’s “The Winemaker’s Wife.” Fascinating reading.

This story has one of my favorite storytelling devices: dualing timelines. The present day starts off in California’s Napa Valley. Recently widowed Rosalyn Acosta, a wine rep for Small Fortune Wines, is begin sent to Reims, France, to call on the smaller growers there in hopes of gaining the rights to represent them in the States. There are only two drawbacks to this assignment. First, Rosalyn doesn’t want to go to France, Paris in particular. It was where she and her late husband, Dash, honeymooned. Second, Rosalyn abhors champagne.

On the flight to Paris, Rosalyn lives every long-distance flyer’s nightmare. A chatty seatmate in first class. Turns out that the seatmate, Emma, is also headed to Reims. With her she has letters from Emile Legrand, that date to World War I. The letters are are between Emile and Lucie, a childhood friend,and Doris, Emile’s marraine de guerre, or war godmother. Women who wrote to the soldier’s that didn’t have no one back home. Emma knows that to get the complete story, she must find other letters. Letters that have been sitting in attics, backs of closets, in tiny museums for decades. That is her quest and it’s clear early in the novel, that Emma pretty much well gets what she wants.

As Rosalyn is reluntanctly brought into Emma’s quest, she becomes fascinated with how the people of the Champagne moved into the cave system in order to avoid the German bombs that fell incessantly. They had schools, shops, resturants, everything that was accessible above ground.

So now Rosalyn has two goals while she is there: Land some new accounts and help Emma translate the letters.

I enjoyed reading what life was like in the caves. It sounds rather romantic, but the facts lead to a different conclusion. I really enjoyed this novel and “The Vineyards of Champagne” receives 6 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world.

When Rosalyn travels to the Champagne region of France on business, she's at a bit of a crossroads. She's grieving the death of her husband, struggling financially, hating her job, and fighting to find a path forward. But once she begins to learn the history of Champagne during World War I, she immerses herself in the stories of people living in caves to avoid shrapnel and risking their lives to pick grapes for victory vintage wines.

I love the way this book portrays the magic of being at the right place at the right time, and the way strangers can become a lifeline during difficult times. As a wine lover, the setting of this book drew me in right from the start, and I really enjoyed the lesser known historical events included. I would have liked even more of the flashbacks to World War I, as Rosalyn's story lagged a bit for me in the middle. But overall, a transporting and thoroughly enjoyable novel.

This was a very special book for me, because there were themes in the book that surprised me and were incredibly relevant given my year.

I thought the Vineyards of Champagne was going to be your typical pleasant vacation in France with a side of historical fiction (World War I) enjoyable winter reading book. While it was that for sure, the setting was lovely, I enjoyed feeling like I was spending time in France and brushing up on my French language skills. But, the thing about Rosalyn is she is a widow who has been stuck living in her grief and unable to move forward, and that is what the book is really about. This was timely for me, having just lost my dad six weeks ago, and just beginning the journey with grief. Instead of making me feel worse, this book was comforting to me. Reading about others in this space felt less lonely.

The premise of the book involves a woman, Rosalyn, who is working for a wine seller in California and is sent to France to a month to seek our new vineyards to sell in the shop in the U.S. So Rosalyn goes to spend a month in France and while there begins working through the grief process in a way she couldn't at home and opening herself up to friendships and new adventures. While on her flight, Rosalyn meets Emma, who is going to France to find the letters her great-aunt wrote to a French soldier during World War I. A small part of the story is that of this young man, Emile, and a young woman, Lucie, living through the war in France, partially told through letters. It is a smaller part of the book than Rosalyn's story, but weaves in well with Rosalyn's story to form the main plot of the book.

I guess this story may not be for everyone, but it was certainly the right book for me at the right time. For me, this is 5 stars and one of my favorites this year. I recommend this book for anyone.

I did get a free copy of the book from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review, but I cannot wait until it comes out in January, because I want to run out and buy a copy to read again in two months.

I thoroughly enjoyed this novel, the characters were very personable and the tone of the book was inspiring. Rosalyn, a wine sales rep, is in a deep grief from the loss of her husband. She is sent to the Champagne region to find some new producers for the company she's working for. She isn't too thrilled about the trip at first, but over time, she comes out of her depression and is able to enjoy life again. We also get to hear about how the people of the Champagne region dealt with the German attack during World War I. Through letters that Rosalyn comes across, we find out how some of the people survived by living in caves and cellars. The historical details are fascinating, I wasn't familiar with the events of that region at all. This book is recommended to anyone interested who likes strong characters and reading about rich details regarding a particular area.

An introspective story about healing, found while searching through historical records and exploring the champagne district of France.

Set among the vineyards of Champagne this is a story of love, loss, survival, and finding your life and yourself when you feel like you can not go on. Rosalyn works for a wine distributor and is sent on a trip of a lifetime, a working vacation to Champagne but Rosalyn does not want to be there and does not understand the fascination with champagne. On the plane she meets Emma and is drawn to Emma and the project she is working on, searching for World War I letters from her aunt in Australia to a soldier in France. As Rosalyn searches for more letters and what happened to Emilie she finds herself and a life she never imagined.

I enjoyed this book very much. I almost always like dual-timeline historical fiction, and this explored a time and place I don’t know much about already- World War 1 in the Champagne region of France. I liked the telling through letters and the focus on civilians rather than yet another trenches story.

I have enjoyed two of the author's paranormal series (Haunted Home Renovation and Witchcraft), so I wasn't sure what to expect with her new novel. It was totally different, but I was not disappointed. Rosalyn, a wine sales rep, has been sent to the Champagne region of France to get some new clients. She meets an interesting Aussie woman on the plane, and gets involved with translating some letters from World War I. Apparently some older women, called marraines de guerre, wrote to the French soldiers in the trenches to help morale. The particular marraine, Doris, was from Australia. I loved the fact that the chapters alternated between the past and the present.. The love story of Lucie and Emile during the war captivates Rosalyn (who has a lot of personal baggage herself), Blondine (a French woman working for the winery), and Emma (the Australian woman who started the research project), who has secrets of her own. The author has done considerable research into champagne, both the region and the beverage, and the terrible suffering experienced there during the Great War. Highly recommended. Thanks to Berkley and Netgalley for the ARC.

Wonderful places to hide, these underground chambers where wine is aged and stored. Controlled temperature. Lots of room. Whole schools and businesses relocated there during the German Occupation in WWII.

In the present day, two women who were strangers, meet on a Trans-Atlantic flight to France. Find they are going to the same obscure place -- Champagne -- to a small town called Cochet. Where Gaspard Ble and Ble Champagne are located. Rosalyn and Emma soon learn that they are looking for related bits of information, and that they can help each other get answers.

An interesting look at a not-well-known slice of French history.

I read this EARC courtesy of Berkeley Publishing and Net Galley. pub date 01/21/20

From this nondescript title, a powerful story unfolds. Like that first taste of champagne, this book is to be sipped and savored, slowing enjoying the eclectic relationships between the characters and their life stories, As the bitter grief over her husband's death washes over her, Rosalyn must learn to enjoy life again with the help of friends made during an impromptu business trip to the vineyards of Reims. While on the flight to France, Rosie is introduced to letters written by three people struggling to survive World War I. One in the trenches, one in the Champagne caves, and one in Australia. Her seatmate, Emma, was on a search to find more letters that may have been written by her great aunt. Doris. Emma befriends Rosie, much to her chagrin, and enlists her aid deciphering the letters. I would highly recommend this well written, well researched, engaging book. The horrors of World War I, and the resilience of the human spirit are more alive to me after reading this book. One must always live the questions.

In present day, Rosalyn is living in Napa Valley and has been booked by her boss, Hugh, to depart California for Paris, then the Champagne region who has hired her as a wine representative tasked with finding additional French vineyards willing to let his firm rep their vintages in America. Rosalyn has a complicated history and Hugh knows it. She is trying to ignore her heartbreak over the unexpected death of her husband, Dash, a charismatic winery owner who died leaving her not only heartbroken but deep in debt. Hugh gave Rosalyn the job to solve both his own problems as well as hers.

The book takes a great turn on the flight to Paris when a reluctant Rosalyn meets chatty Emma. They are both going to the same place and during their impromptu meeting Emma tells Rosalyn about the package of World War I letters she is carrying with her in hopes of both translating them and learning more about the family history related to them. The letters and shared destination and passion for wine draw the two women together. As their stories intertwine, along with Rosalyn’s natural curiosity a beautiful story reveals itself in the history of the people of the Champagne region of France who struggled to both stay alive and keep the grapes and the vintage alive during the difficult days of World War I in France.

I thoroughly enjoyed the book and the characters. It was a bit of a “neat” set up with Rosalyn meeting Emma on the plane and her connections to the other characters we meet later, but none of that bothered me as the history was enthralling. I loved learning about “des marraines de guerre” – the incredible women who wrote to the soldiers and kept them going through such difficult times. It made a great twist for this particular story. The story of the caves that saved both the French people of the vineyards as well as the wines was also fascinating and would make an incredible tour on the ground in France even today.

I highly recommend.

This thoughtful and compelling book is both a toast to champagne- the drink and the region in France as well as a salute to the human spirit. Champagne- so bubbly, light on the tongue, effervescent, it’s the nectar of celebrations, a beverage of joy. But this is not a giddy story. The Vineyards of Champagne is a lyrical and lovely look at the past and present, its sadness and challenges.

When we meet Rosalyn, sitting in first class on her way to a small village in the Champagne region of France, she is not at all a poster girl for champagne, surprising since she is a wine sales rep. She lives in the shadows and suffers by crouching in front of her medicine cabinet, ever since Dash, the vibrant love of her life died.

On the plane, she is seated by a human force of nature, Emma from Australia, a wealthy wine investor. Emma is not married, she is not a widow, or “veuve” but she is in the same mold as the famous Madame Clicquot, the first woman to head a champagne house. The Veuve Clicquot is well-described in this book, so I looked her up. “In an era when women were excluded from the business world, she dared to assume the head of the company, a role she undertook with passion and determination. Madame Clicquot’s character might be summarized with two words: audacious and intelligent.” Audacious and intelligent also describes Emma.

Once in France Emma and Rosalyn meet and stay with the family of a small champagne house and grow quite close to Blondine, a wonderful character. The three of them team up because of their champagne connection, but they grow close as they investigate a century-old mystery. Emma is in possession of some letters that her great-aunt wrote to a young French soldier serving in the trenches during World War 1. Their epistolary relationship is a highlight of the book. What ever happened to the soldier, and his lover?

This is not a thrilling or suspenseful story; rather, it echoes the strength and timelessness of the Champagne region. The soil and its caves can nourish as well as save. Growers and producers of champagne face hard constant toil and must be as strong as the land that creates the grapes. The characters in this story are connected because they all face trials of the spirit.

I commend the author for creating a readable story that is filled with such entertaining depth . Juliet Blackwell is able to teach us about grapes and champagne, from Napa Valley to France in an appealing way. She is quite adept at creating full characters that are so real and authentic. Emma seems to Australian. The French characters are so French in their words, thoughts and actions. This is one of the saddest depictions of World War I have read.

I have not traveled that much in Europe, but as a college student, I did make it to Reims. I remember seeing the beautiful Cathedral, but nothing else. Oh, to have known more about the history of the place, the people living in the wine caves and cellars during the War! Thanks to this book, I now feel connected to the region.

The next time you drink Champagne, think of the stories behind it. Maison Veuve Clicquot has produced luxury champagnes sine 1772. It proclaims on its website, “Let Life Surprise you”. I highly recommend thi

I enjoyed this book. It had multiple timelines, between WWI Era France and the current time. Roslyn is sent to the Champagne region of France to get some champage clients for her employers buisness back in Napa, California to sell. She is sent there after the death of her husband and doesn't really wish to go. However, on her flight over she meets a lady who has discovered some letters to and from soldiers during the war from the area she is going to and becomes interested in them. This leads to a mystery to be uncovered. I liked the plot and the characters were relatable. I would recommend this book to fans of historical fiction.

I would like to thank Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy free of charge. This is my honest and unbiased opinion of it.

The prologue begins in 1916 with a group of people living in caves below a champagne house in Reims France. The story gripped me immediately and I was desperate to know how these people came to live in the caves and what eventually happened to them. The story switches to the modern day with an interesting assortment of characters trying to track down these very answers. I eagerly followed along with them as they uncovered the truth of these characters, primarily through letters written between a French WWI soldier and a wealthy Australian widow acting as a "marraines de guerre" or godmother, writing to a soldier at the front to keep his spirits up. I liked the mystery of the story, along with the bit of romance thrown in. I also learned quite a bit about the production of champagne, and who doesn't want to know more about champagne. I thoroughly enjoyed this story and will be buying a copy for my library in addition to suggesting it to several book clubs, especially those with a focus on historical fiction.

This book was received as an ARC from Berkley Publishing Group in exchange for an honest review. Opinions and thoughts expressed in this review are completely my own.

Popular stories among our community are Historical Fiction that focus on building your life back together or rediscovering your path from past artifices that ultimately will save your life. Just like the struggle Roselyn went through while visiting the Champagne vineyards in Paris. Even though she was on for a business trip, she discovered letters dated back to WWI that uncovered a secret that was missing in her life after the passing of her husband. These letters uncovered the truth about the refugees that escaped the German hostility of the War and the lives of the families that were in the Vineyards as a hideaway. Roselyn later discovers that life is way to precious to waste on depression because it could be a lot worse. I was so captivated by this story that it almost brought me to tears and I can't wait to share it with everyone in our community.

We will consider adding this title to our Historical Fiction collection at our library. That is why we give this book 5 stars.