Skip to main content

Member Reviews

This was such a great read, I could not put it down and finished it in two days! The story went back and forth about Martine a young Jewish girl caught up in the war in 1942 and Charlotte an American in present day 1990. It was a great story told about a bottle of wine Martine lost and Charlotte ended up with in present day.

Was this review helpful?

I was hooked to this book right away due to my love for WW1/2 book. I love historical fiction/non-fiction it's one of my favorite genres. This novel is told in Two timeframes are used to tell the story: the present (1990s) from the perspective of Charlotte, a female pilot, and Martine, a 7-year-old Jewish girl attempting to escape the Nazis during World War II. Although Charlotte's partner doesn't seem to be providing her with what she needs in a relationship, he does take her to a wine auction in the hopes of finding some nice vintage wine bottles. When he doesn't think it's worth anything, he buys a few bottles and gives one to Charlotte as a gift, telling her to enjoy drinking it. Martine had to conceal flees the Nazis, spends the war in a convent, and receives a bottle of wine from her father, which she is instructed to preserve since it is her heritage. Do we believe that the wine might have a significant role in the Charlotte timeline?

It was so beautifully written and I couldn't put it down. The author interweaves some of the terrible realities of Jewish people in France during WWII with the kindness and selflessness of people who refused to see their countrymen treated in such a way. It is a true story of how love and friendship know no bounds when people put others' needs before their own. I loved Martine's story and how almost 50 years later it was able to be told through Charlotte's own adventure.

Was this review helpful?

First time reading this author
I really enjoyed the story of wwii, love, loss and finding your way back

Will definitely recommend this book
Thank you for the ARC

Was this review helpful?

3.5 stars

A historical fiction novel following young Martine in 1940’s France and Charlotte, a female pilot in the 1990’s.

Martine, the daughter of a French winemaker, escapes the Nazis to Paris where she is rescued by nuns. While on the run she loses a bottle of wine her father gave her before he was captured that was to be her inheritance.

Charlotte, dealing with misogyny in her career, is in a constant need to prove herself. She’s gifted a bottle of wine from an auction by her French situationship and the bottle turns out to be worth over 100k and also contains a note from a French winemaker to his daughter. She goes on a hunt to find the winery, winemaker, and/or daughter.

Having a dual POV of present and in the past is always fun in a historical fiction. The mystery of the wine bottle and finding the vineyard owners was interesting. And I appreciated the woman airline captain. I’m sure women pilots still face the same misogyny she did even 30 years ago.

It was kind of a slow start and started getting interesting after halfway through.
Charlotte became a little annoying later on in the book, like I was so frustrated with her for a bit there.

Overall the ending tied up nicely, a cute “twist” that could be seen a mile away but I didn’t hate it.

Was this review helpful?

Two women find themselves connected by one bottle of wine.

1942: Martine is only seven and already lost her mother, and now the Nazis have come for her father for the crime of being Jewish. The winemaker fears for his future and that of his daughter as he tucks her into an armoire in her bedroom to hide with her aunt’s address in Paris pinned to her dress and a very valuable bottle of wine to fund her future. When poor Martine finally leaves the armoire hours later, the frightened little girl drops the bottle on accident in the dirt and catches a train to Paris with the help of a neighbor. Unfortunately, her aunt is nowhere to be found, and a young Sister Ada finds her asleep on the porch of Hotel Drouot and brings her back to the abbey outside the city to care for her.

1990: Charlotte is one of very few female pilots in the commercial airline industry. Having recently made captain, she has seniority picking trips. Though based in Chicago, she has an apartment in Paris where she flies the most. Her latest love, the very French Henri, takes her to an auction house at Hotel Drouot as he is starting his wine collection. Together they leave with a crate with a few valuable bottles. They drink some and he gifts Charlotte with one of the inferior bottles. After returning from a trip and Henri ghosting her, Charlotte examines the bottle again noticing a peeling label. This anomaly sends Charlotte on a trek through France to discover the bottle’s origins and the girl referenced on the label.

Martine and Charlotte’s stories are ones of perseverance as they prove themselves in life and in their careers in industries dominated by men. Both women are pragmatists, who protect their hearts, but fate will find a way. This dual timeline novel reads very quickly and will likely make you want a nice glass of wine while reading.

Thank you to NetGalley, Harper Paperbacks, and author Loretta Ellsworth for the advanced copy of the book. The French Winemaker’s Daughter is out on December 10th! All opinions are my own.

Was this review helpful?

An emotional, heartwarming story of how a bottle of wine started a woman on a journey to find out how the bottle ended up at a French auction house 40 years later. From a little Jewish girl that was hidden by her winemaker father from the Nazi’s to a modern day woman pilot on a quest to right a wrong this was a wonderful book. Thank you Netgalley and Harper Perennial for an early copy. This review is my honest opinion.

Was this review helpful?

What a great WWII novel. I loved how Henri, thinking the wine was worthless left it with Charlotte. I loved how this sends Charlotte on a quest to find the original owners of the bottle Martine and her father.

The author takes us through the French countryside and vineyards. It makes you feel as if you are right there with them. I thoroughly enjoyed this novel and was able to read it in one day. I couldn’t put it down!

Was this review helpful?

A nice piece of historical fiction. Spanning over 50 years, two stories come together. It seems a bit unrealistic, but still romantic. An interesting story taking place in World War II and during the 90's. I enjoyed the 90's references and the character development of a female pilot trying to make it in a man's world. The end is really probably completely unrealistic, but that is acknowledged under the guise of serendipity.

Was this review helpful?

Teetering between a 3.75 and full 4 stars rating. The story is moving, but lacked some depth. I do love a WW2 / France historical fiction read m, and this certainly checks those boxes.
Primarily FMC Charlotte fell flat for me, the singularity of being a female pilot / captain in the 1990’s left room to give her character depth through dialogue and thought, and I feel like that lacks in the authors writing overall. However, the alternate timeline set during the war is excellent. The story of Martine and the refuge she finds is well done. Every character in that timeline is important and beloved.
If you’re in it for the historical timeline - highly recommend.
All in all a worthwhile historical fiction read.

Was this review helpful?

Thank you NetGalley and HarperCollins for the opportunity to read this historical dual timeline novel. In
The French Winemaker’s Daughter a valuable bottle of wine connects the lives of a young Jewish girl, Martine during WWII and a airline pilot, Charlotte during 1990.
It is a story of love, friendship and hardships.. Though the novel lacks depth in its characters and the times they live in, it is a fast read that kept my interest.

Was this review helpful?

When I first started this book, I wasn't really sure how I felt about the plot or the characters. It did take me a little bit to get into the story, but once I was invested, I needed to know what would happened. I loved that this switched from past to present chapters. I liked that it captured what happened with a girl in the war who was jewish and hiding as well as a pilot who was looking for the story behind a wine bottle. I did find the book to be a little predictable and guessed what had happened to the girl, but I really loved this whole story overall. If you enjoy WWII historical fiction, then you will probably enjoy this one as well.

Was this review helpful?

if there’s a historical fiction set during WWII that focused on a female protagonist, i’m going to read it and i’m going to enjoy it! this follows a split timeline, one during WWII and one in the 90s, and focuses on two women and how they are connected by a bottle of wine stolen by nazis. it’s a story where you know more than the main characters, so you’re waiting for them to catch up and realize how things are connected. it’s a beautiful story and i absolutely loved the characters. especially charlotte (in the 90s) who is a smart, successful pilot that made intelligent decisions which i always appreciate! definitely recommend for any fans of historical fiction or anyone that’s been wanting to try reading historical fiction, it’s a great starting point!

thanks to netgalley and harper perennial for my advance copy of the french winemaker’s daughter by loretta ellsworth. all opinions are my own.

Was this review helpful?

The French Winemaker's Daughter is a dual-time line from 1942 and 1990. This follows the life of Martine Viner an 8 year-old who separated from her father when he's hauled off by the Germans. She escapes and ends up on the steps of an old Hotel--then found by a young nun and taken to an Abbey where she is hidden throughout the rest of the war. Never to return to the vineyard of her youth. And forced to leave the bottle of wine behind given by her father with a promise to "never give it up".

In 1990 we follow Charlotte. A rare female captain of commercial airlines who flies internationally regularly to Paris. Her favorite city. Her journey in the story starts when she's gifted an old "worthless" bottle of wine by a boyfriend as he tells her goodbye. Realizing she got left by the jerk, she examines this worthless bottle she was given by him--discovering a hidden label under the main label. It's written in French which she doesn't understand well enough to translate--after taking it in for translation, she finds it's a note from a father to his daughter dated 1942. And thus begins her adventure to find out more about the daughter of this father and what happened to her.

Martine and Charlotte's stories are part of a beautiful web of serendipity.

Clean? No. It's got some sex.
Language? it's got some swearing.
Violence? No.

The premise was good--but it matched other stories I've read with similar types of plots. It wasn't really unique. I've read so many WW2 books, I'm looking for unique stories or stories that suck me in.

This one was okay. Not great. Not terrible. Just average.

3 STars

*Thanks to the publishers and NetGalley for a copy of this ARC. All opinions are 100% my own. :)

Was this review helpful?

Thanks to Harper Paperback & Negalley for the ARC copy in exchange for a honest review.

In 1942, Martine has to hide in an armoire when the Nazis storm her family’s vineyard to take her father away. Her father pins an address to her coat and gives her a bottle of wine to keep safe. Afterwards, she drops the bottle of wine, never to see it again. Neighbors take her to the train station so she can join her aunt in Paris - however, the aunt is nowhere to be found. With nowhere to go, Martine wanders the city, eventually falling asleep at Hotel Drouot, where Sister Ada finds her and takes her to the abbey, and watches over her.

In 1990, Charlotte attends an auction where a rare Nazi taken bottle of wine is put up for sale. Henri, Charlotte’s boyfriend gives her the bottle of wine, unbeknownst to him that it’s a valuable bottle of wine. While cleaning the label, she finds a hidden label, which leads Charlotte down a rabbit hole of finding out the mystery behind the bottle of wine.

Absolutely devoured this book. I couldn’t put it down - the twists and turns kept me guessing along the way. Loved the historical part a lot - Martine, Ada and Andre’s stories tugged my heart. Charlotte, at times seemed whiny and childish, and I found myself skimming her sections, just wanting to get back to the historical parts. If you’re looking for a bit of a different historical fiction, I’d recommend this one. I enjoyed it and gave it 4 stars.

Was this review helpful?

I enjoyed this dual timeline WWII novel quite a bit. The story combines the tale of Martine, a young French Jewish girl fleeing her family's winery after her father was taken by the Nazis with Charlotte's story of grappling with sexism, relationships, and family issues as she navigates life as a female commercial pilot in 1990.

The stories combine, as this genre of books typically do, in a bit of a predictable narrative. The two women's stories combine through a bottle of wine that Martine's father saved as her inheritance. I liked both women's stories - Martine's ability to survive despite the odds and the very real threat of persecution during the Holocaust, as well as Charlotte's unique story of succeeding as a woman in a male-dominated industry and navigating the difficulties of love and family alongside that. I will say that in many ways this book was more women's fiction/romance lite rather than a true World War II historical fiction novel, but the story was well written and accurate to the best of my ability to tell. It was easy to keep track of the characters and I found most of them very likable.

It was a good book to get me out of a bit of a reading slump, and I would read more by this author.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for this eARC. All opinions are my own.

Was this review helpful?

I love any book that has a dual Pov in different timelines. This book historical fiction was written with grace and respect for the historical aspects. It was mid provoking, and sad, and beautiful. A great, and fast read for me.

Was this review helpful?

If you enjoy World War Two historical fiction you will want to grab The French Winemaker's Daughter. This a dual timeline story sharing the suvival of a little Jewish girl during the war and Charlotte searching for information on a bottle of wine where she discovered a hidden note, a note to a child.

Experience the challenges of an eight year old girl, Martine, trying to reach Paris all on her own after her father was taken from his vineyard. He gave her her legacy. She has to flee in fear after hearing the Germans. She accidentally leaves it behind as she ran. She would never forget leaving it behind. Experience the coldness she experiences instead of the compassion she needed. I did a happy dance when she was found by the right person. Martine's life gets very interesting. I couldn't wait to see how her life would be going forward.

Charlotte's search for the owner of the wine takes the reader through wineries in 1990. Her conversations with villagers illustrate how things have changed and how some things have remained the same. I was left thinking about the justice of land and homes that were confiscated during the war. This story is a reminder that many of those that survived the war refuse to talk about the war. Those of us in the present time need to learn as much as we can by reading and asking those that were there to tell their stories.

Was this review helpful?

Another entry in the new sub-genre of Holocaust romance. Not as offensive as most of them and the author at least attempts to get the Jewish parts right, which impressed me. This time we have two parallel stories. Martine is a small Jewish child forced to flee from her home and the family vineyards as the Nazis take over; the town. Before the Nazis snatch him, her father hands her a special bottle of wine and tells her to guard it; it is her legacy. Of course she is a small child on the run so she loses it. She eventually finds herself in the care of an order of nuns, one of whom is secretly a Jewish resistance fighter. The other track takes place in Paris in the 1990s, where Charlotte, a commercial pilot, receives a bottle of wine as a gift from her boyfriend, a faithless Frenchman she soon dumps. She realizes the bottle is something special and begins researching the winemaker, which leads her to a better romance. No spoilers here, but the final outcome is pretty predictable long before the end of the book. The characters are pleasant but not complex. The writing is smooth, and the book offers a couple of hours of escapism while avoiding any graphic horror of the Holocaust. It is foremost a romance, after all. Mine main quibble is the writer never ties of the thread about Charlotte's grandfather -- an unsuccessful winemaker who was traumatized by his experience fighting in France in WW2. This thread is never really tied off and it doesn't add anything to the story. I would have advised the author to cut it out completely if she wasn't going to finish it off.

Was this review helpful?

Thanks to NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this ARC. The story starts when Martine is a little & it is about all the turmoil that she lived when her father was taken by the Nazi’s.

Was this review helpful?

Loved this book! It had me hooked from start to finish. I enjoyed the characters, the setting, the push and pull. All of it… couldn’t put it down!

Was this review helpful?