A cleverly written story…. about a young girl hidden by the nuns in France during the Nazi invasion and an American pilot looking for the rightful owner of a bottle of wine. Interwoven is the story of French resistance, life in the abbey, and in orphanages in France from 1942 until the liberation of Paris. A love connection makes the story more interesting. Title characters are real. A quick and interesting read.

Enjoyable read even though a predictable story line. Descriptions of the WWII Natzi invasion and occupation in France were interestingly represented. Martine’s life and how she was saved was memorable and heartfelt. Charlotte was an annoying character to me. Full of herself as a woman pilot with many struggles to prove herself in predominately a “male’s” occupation. Julien’ was quite forgiving of Charlotte’s accusations, in my opinion. Thank you NetGalley and Harper Perennial and Paperbacks-Harper Paperbacks for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own. #TheFrenchWinemaker’sDaughter.#NetGalley.

“The French Winemaker’s Daughter” by Loretta Ellsworth was one of those novels I found myself thinking about throughout the day and longing to get back to reading.

The story opens with Martine, a seven year old French Jewish girl who lives on a vineyard with her father during World War II. When the Germans come to take him away, Martine is hidden away in an armoire. Her journey throughout the book completely captivated me and really left me in suspense between chapters.

The dual POV was set in 1990 and told from the perspective of Charlotte, an airplane captain who goes with her beau to a wine auction where he bids on a crate of wine. Unbeknownst to him, the bottle of wine he gifts Charlotte is actually worth a significant amount of money— and more.

Martine’s story was so well done and I found myself anxiously waiting to get to her chapters. Charlotte’s perspective propelled the story forward, but her storyline did read a bit redundantly. I know that it was 1990 and it was uncommon for women to work in male-dominated fields, but hearing that she was the only female pilot and that her biological clock was ticking began to feel a bit like a broken record. I would have liked an epilogue to see how things wrapped up in the future.

I would still give this book five stars in spite of Charlotte’s occasional whinging because it was a great story, and very important in a time where too many people doubt that the Holocaust even happened. It comes out in December 2024.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Perennial for the advanced reader copy.

This is a dual time and narrative story set in WWII and 1990. Seven year old Jew, Martine is placed in an armoire by her father to hide from the Germans. He leaves her a bottle of wine from their vineyard and tells her not to come out until it’s safe. As she runs from the Germans to escape to Paris to her Aunt’s home, she drops the bottle and leaves it behind. She is found in Paris.by a nun and taken to the abbey to be nursed back to health and to live as a Catholic.
In 1990, Charlotte, a pilot, goes to an auction and ends up with a bottle of wine given to her by a boyfriend, she discovers there is a fake label and when she removes it, she discovers a handwritten note from a father to his daughter.
Charlotte begins to research and find the family the bottle belongs to. It takes her to lots of country wineries and she meets some new people along the way that help her to realize that family and history can bring serendipity to one’s life.

I liked this book, but wish it had been longer. It was a fast read. I wish there had been some more background about Martine’s father, Sister Ada and Andre. They were mostly peripheral characters and I would have liked to know more about them. The book was also quite predictable. It didn’t take long to figure out how it was all going to work out. The WWII genre is so over saturated, that it really takes something different and special to make a lasting impression.
Thank you NetGalley, the author and the publisher for the ARC for my honest review.

This is a riveting and emotional story that intertwines a connection between two women from different times and ultimately even different countries. The historical aspect of this book was very interesting and gave unique information than that of your typical world war ll book. However, it was quite predictable early on about how the women’s stories would end up connecting, but not in a bad way. Overall, it was well written with only a couple parts that I felt didn’t go with the storyline.

I dove into this story head first by reading 50% of it the first night. A wonderful historical novel of a young Jewish girl whose father hides her during the German invasion of France in WWII with a note attached to a valuable bottle of wine. This bottle is presumably her inheritance due to its value but she loses it during her sole escape. The premise revolves around how the bottle comes into the possession of an American woman pilot in the 1990's and her mission to learn the history of the bottle and its rightful owner. The novel tugs on all your emotions as we follow Charlotte's quest, her loves, and her disappointments until she finally connects to Martine. And in that journey she finds love.
My rating is actually a 4.5 only because I found the ending a bit predicable but I would whole heartedly recommend this read.

What a great read! The books is a real page turner that reels you in right from the start.
What I liked about it:
- the Dual POV across different time periods was really well done. (This might be just me, but I thought it was really neat how one POV time period / person was written in third person, and the other was written in first person - just making the diction even more clear)
- the story itself : historical world war 2 fiction books are some of my favorites and but what I really enjoyed was the perspective of this particular region during the middle/end of the war.
- the descriptions of scenery and people weren’t drawn out, but rather effective and efficient. I felt drawn to both characters equally (usually I feel drawn to one more than the other )
- the story moves from beginning to end, there wasn’t a scene or chapter that didn’t add value (no fluff chapters)
- the serendipity of it all! The hotel, the “twist” (which is really quite obvious and I didn’t mind it one bit)

What I didn’t love:
- Charlotte has a scene with her boyfriend where she flies off the handle. I liked her up until this point a lot. Essentially it feels like her insecurities get over blown in that moment and she even goes as far as to call him irrational. That part bothered me.
- I’d like an epilogue set in the future, there was a couple of lose ends.

Overall such a great read and would definitely recommend it to anyone who likes Historical Non Fiction.

Thank you NetGalley and to the Publisher Harper Perennial and Paperbacks for an advance copy of this wonderful book!

The French Winemaker’s Daughter by Loretta Ellsworth
The French Winemaker’s Daughter by Loretta Ellsworth is an emotionally charged WW II story of two women whose lives intersect across time periods. Martine is a seven-year-old Jewish girl that lives with her dad, a local winemaker. In 1942 the Germans invade their village. Quickly her father instructs her to hide in an armoire in their home. Her father pins her aunt’s address to her dress and hands her a bottle of wine to care for in case her father goes missing. Fearing for her life, Martine hides until dark. When she emerges from the armoire, she discovers that her father is gone. With the help of a kind neighbor, Marine is transported to a train station and arrives in Paris to search for her aunt. Now it is 1990 and Charlotte an airplane captain, attends an auction with her boyfriend Henri at the Hotel Drouot, an old auction house in Paris, France. Henri bids and wins the auctioning of a box of wine confiscated during the German occupation of France during WW II. Henri gives Charlotte two bottles of wine that were of little value. Charlotte discovers writing under the label of one of the bottles. Thus begins her quest to uncover the mystery behind this bottle of wine. It is a beautiful yet heart wrenching story of how the lives of these two women cross paths through the barriers of time. It is a timeless tale of the value of family, friendship, and survival against all odds.

I really enjoyed this book. It was a quick read. But I really enjoyed all of it. The writing and the storyline was very well thought out.

The French Daughter’s Winemaker combined my favorite historical fiction elements: dual timeline, WW2, and strong women. Charlotte, a badass American pilot, goes on a journey to find not only the owner of a rare bottle of wine, but also her voice and strength as a career woman in a patriarchal society. Martine, a Jewish child who had everything stolen from her, struggles to survive, and uses the grape growing and wine making knowledge her father passed on her in order to thrive.

The two stories intertwine to weave a complex, but sweet, narrative. I did find that the writing of the book was a bit simplistic at times, but overall, it was well researched and well constructed. I will be recommending this book to others.

*** note to author: in chapter 20, you mention that Charlotte’s friend calls her outfit her “Spice Girls outfit,” but the Spice Girls were not formed until 1994, several years after the book takes place. ***

This was a free ARC from NetGalley in exchange for a fair review. I enjoyed this book. The length was a little short for my liking. The concept of a female pilot in the 1990’s as a protagonist excited me. However, in the very saturated market of WW2 novels, it takes a lot to stick out. I honestly think that this book could’ve been fleshed out a little bit more. I liked the writing and still found the book to be a quick read and entertaining.

This novel is split into two timelines – WW2 and 1980 in France with the connection being wine, particularly one special bottle.

Martine is a 7 year old Jewish girl being raised by her father on a vineyard in rural France. While the Germans start taking over the area they live in, her father makes her hide with 2 things, her precious stuffed rabbit and a special bottle of wine. If something happens to him, she is to take herself and the bottle to her aunt’s in Paris. While Martine is running away after everything has happened at their vineyard, the bottle unfortunately goes missing. After days of struggling she finally makes it to Paris where she discovers that her aunt is missing. Still in fear for her life, she keeps running but she is exhausted so collapses by a hotel. Luckily for her Sister Ada finds her and takes her to a convent she is living at. Now will both of them being able to survive the war? Or will the secrets be found out and they end up in concentration camps.

Charlotte in an airline pilot in 1990 for a major airline, she has the perfect route going to Europe frequently so has an apartment in Paris and a boyfriend named Henri. One night she goes to a special wine auction with Henri and he wins the bid on some wine bottles from WW2 that had been in a German soldier’s collection. One bottle in the collection means nothing to him so he gives it to Charlotte. That one bottle has a mystery behind the label and Charlotte starts her quest to find the answers.

In the past few years lots of books have come out about WW2, some of which have had a split timeline. This is one of those books. I was intrigued by it because it was one of the few that occurred in France but I will admit I was a bit disappointed. In a short period of time you can honestly tell where this is going for the ending. There was a surprise or two in there, but it was pretty easy to figure out. What Martine had to live through was amazing and it was thought through well, but Charlotte wasn’t the character she could truly be. A female airline pilot in the 1990 wasn’t actually that common so there could have been something about that in there. All in all though it was a good book and clean.

Thanks to NetGalley and Harper for an ARC of this book.

A split-narrative historical fiction taking place in WWII and the 1990s in Paris and the surrounding wine country. This is a really satisfying read and the split narratives end up tying together nicely. It’s a cozy historical fiction (some sad WWII elements, but mostly behind the scenes) with a happy ending, and I recommend this one!

*Thanks to NetGalley and Harper Perennial and Paperbacks for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review!

This book is historical fiction which is the perfect genre for me. I loved the two POVs and timelines alternating between Martine and Charlotte. The story is such a beautiful tragedy centering around WW2 and the Nazi takeover.
Charlotte, however; comes off very unlikeable. The constant emphasis on her being a FEMALE PILOT was overdone. Her immediately kicking out her roommate seemed very irrational. And her flying off the handle at Julien when he thought (rightly so) the photo was of his mom. She did not treat Julien well and I have no idea what he saw in her.

This was such a good read! I love the characters and how quickly you fall in love with them. For a spoiler free review I will just say that it's beautiful how it all comes together!

I give the book 4.5 stars. I received a free ebook from Netgalley in exchange for fair and an unbiased review. I am Jewish. I have read many books on the holocaust. I have not read any historical fiction on the holocaust. I have never read a book on the holocaust like this book.

The book is very easy to read. It is a hopeful and loving book. Most books I have read about the holocaust are very grim.

The book tells of two different stories. The stories are of different times. It took me a while to understand the connection of both stories. I don't think I have ever read a book about two different stories before. It was easy to keep both stories straight.

The book, even though it is fiction, has a lot of truth to it. I always forget about Frances actions in the Holocaust. It reteaches me what happened in France during that time.

The characters and the character development in the book is really good. I really felt I got to know the characters. The characters are flawed ( which I like, it makes them more believable).

I am so appreciative to Netgalley and the author for the opportunity to read this book. I look forward to reading more from the author in the near future.

If you are interested in stories about WW2, this is a good one. Martine is a young girl whose father hides her from the Germans. He is taken away as they are Jewish. She makes it to her aunt’s building in Paris only to discover her aunt was taken as well. Cold, scared, and hungry she falls asleep in a doorway where a young nun discovers her and brings her back to the monastery. Thus Martinez life begins among the nuns as a “Catholic “ orphan.
Charlotte is a pilot in 1990 who has a boyfriend in Paris. He is a wine collector and they go to an auction where he buys a case of wine. While they drink ti bottles, he gifts Charlotte with one. She later discovers the label is hiding another label with writing in the back, “for my daughter Martine. Charlotte begins a quest to discover more about Martine and the bottle of wine.
What Charlotte discovers is an interesting tale. A good read!

Dual timelines with a bottle of wine at the center. Charlotte is given a bottle of wine confiscated by the Nazis during WWII. She finds a label which identifies the vineyard and she starts on a quest to find the owner, a young girl. In alternating chapters, we discover Martine who survived WWII and how she lost the bottle of wine.

The French Winemaker's Daughter by Loretta Ellsworth is a WWII historical fiction novel based in France. Written from a dual perspective of modern day and WWII during the Nazi occupation of France. WWII historical fiction is one of my favorite genres as well as tropes that include multi-dimensional strong female character leads.
Beginning in 1942, in the Burgundy region of France, young Martine is living joyfully with her father on their small vineyard. Martine is very in tune with the vines and connected to the land. She and her father are Jewish. When German soldiers show up, Martine is forced to hide as her father is taken away. Her papa thrusts a wine bottle into her hands and tells her it is her legacy. Young Martine is forced to flee German officers on her own. The story follows her experiences and journey throughout the war which leads to hiding at a Catholic Convent. (I prefer not to give too much of the story away...)
In modern day, written in first person, Charlotte is a commercial airline pilot who owns an apartment in Paris. Through dating a French man, Henri, Charlotte is gifted a bottle of wine that contains a message under a fake label. Her hunt for the owner of the wine bottle leads Charlotte to discover Martine's journey and make life-altering connections in the process.
I enjoyed the historical aspects of the novel and Martine's viewpoint. Her experiences were my favorite part of the novel.
Personally, I disliked Charlotte as a character. I found her morally questionable and her personality abrasive. I dislike when storytellers add romance when none is really necessary for the storyline. As for Charlotte, I often think about whether or not I would like to meet this person (character) in contemporary novels, In the case of Charlotte, my answer would be no.
Having said all that, I enjoyed the book and will recommend to readers of WWII historical fiction.
Thank you to Goodreads, the publisher, and author for the arc. All opinions are my own.

This was an engaging dual timeline historical fiction. Both timelines were uniquely interesting and the characters fit in their time. At times situations and insights felt rushed, but overall, this was enjoyable, and fans of historical fiction set during WWII will appreciate Elisabeth’s journey in particular.
Thank you #Netgallley for the ARC