For fans of Under the Tuscan Sun, French Kiss, and The Pairing, this story is pure romantic escapism—warm, intoxicating, and just a little messy (in the best way).

Alice is the kind of heroine you root for immediately: smart, stuck, and quietly unraveling in the chaos of New York City. When she impulsively agrees to attend a wine harvest in rural France, she’s thrust into a world of sun-drenched vineyards, long communal dinners, and a kind of freedom she’s never tasted before.

Enter Henri—broody, skeptical, and French in all the right ways. Their connection starts prickly, but the chemistry is undeniable. The romance unfolds like a good vintage—unhurried, rich with feeling, and full of unexpected depth. As Alice learns to let go (and literally get her hands dirty), she finds not just a romance but a rediscovery of self that feels earned and empowering.

This book is:

🍇 A love letter to French countryside living

🥖 Full of wine, wit, and wistful longing

💔 Romantic without being cheesy

🔥 With just enough spice to keep your heart racing

If you’ve ever fantasized about throwing your phone in the Seine and finding yourself (and maybe a handsome Frenchman) among the vines, this one’s for you. Sip slowly—you’ll want to savor every page.

3.75⭐️

I really enjoyed this book the way it was fast paced but still had the connection building between Alice and Henri was perfect. It was on the shorter side which I did enjoy it still had all the same elements that a longer romance book would have but it was just short and sweet. I liked the kind of open ending it had as well you could kind of use your imagination of where there relationship went after Alice extended her trip and extra day I usually like when we get an epilogue that tells us but for this book I thought it went along perfectly! The characters in this book were so strong as well going from not knowing each other to making strong connections you could tell they formed a close bond!

This book feels like a dream set in the middle of France. However, it is poorly written and has an out-of-touch FMC.
2.75

There was nothing inherently wrong with the story; I just wasn’t captivated by the story or the characters.

The romance between Alice and Henri really fell flat for me. I’m not sure why, but I was just uninterested in their storyline.

This was a beautifully written story. The authors usage of words painted such a vivid picture of the scenery, grapes, and emotions. I really enjoyed it!

Thank to 831 Stories for the ARC!

I love all 831 stories and this was no exception! Just a delight to read. Loved the setting!

I absolutely loved this story. The ending made me sob and it was so beautifully written and articulated the untethered feeling of your late twenties so well. The author also captured the way that a moment in time can make you reevaluate the way you’ve been living perfectly. Such a beautiful story about love and friendship.

Grape Juice by Eliza Dumais is a beautifully written romance that sweeps you into a love story as lush and intoxicating as its title suggests. The characters are tenderly drawn, their connection blooming with subtlety and emotional depth. Dumais writes with a softness that makes even the quietest moments feel charged with meaning. The setting—rich with sun-drenched vineyards and golden light—is as easy to fall in love with as the romance itself. This is the kind of book that lingers, like the last sip of something perfect on a warm evening.

Another hit from 831stories! I adore these books, and the latest was no exception. I felt like some parts of Grape Juice were familiar because my cousin had worked in the wine industry for several years and would often tell me about her European travels to wineries. I loved how the author brought me right into the setting and captivated me with adventures. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

Alice gets the opportunity to work a wine harvest in France for the month. While there, she meets Henri and is surprised to feel a spark. The prudent thing would be to ignore her attraction to Henri. After all, Alice will be back in NYC in four weeks and Henri’s relationship status is complicated…
An enjoyable, quick read - I loved the confident and smart writing (and the way Alice describes wine!).

Thank you to 831 Stories and NetGalley for the opportunity to read a copy.

Grape Juice is a beautifully written book about a young woman, Alice, who's facing adulthood-ennui as she relocates to Dance for a month of harvesting grapes at her boss' friend's vineyard. This is where she meets our love interest, Henri, a young man dealing with his dream bar's shutdown. I loved how this book felt lyrically written while sharing Alice's adventure to shake her out of her doldrum life. The only thing I wasn't a fan of was the insta-love between Alice and Henri. In the beginning it almost felt like Alice would have crushed on any of the supporting characters who showed her any attention, however, by the end of the book I found it hard not to fall in love with Henri.
Thank you NetGalley and 831 Stories for the eARC.

Thank you to Eliza Duais, 831 Stories and NetGalley for giving me access to this book in exchange for an honest review.

These 831 Stories books? My ride or die. Every single time, I fall just a little bit deeper.
But Grape Juice? This one hits different.

It’s not bursting at the seams with heat or chaos, but rather simmering with emotion. Quietly devastating in its own way. It’s the kind of slow burn that doesn’t rush to seduce you. It lingers, nestles in close, and before you know it, you’re in it. Deep.

The emotional complexity of this one carved itself into me. From the characters to the setting to the delicate pacing, it felt like stepping into something intimate and tender. The slower buildup didn’t take anything away. If anything, it added to the experience. I wanted to curl up and stay in this story a while longer.

I’ll be honest, I’m not even done with this book but I’m obsessed with it. When you know, you know.

I’ll adjust the rating after if I feel it is necessary. My Goodreads review is currently ongoing, like a journal of sorts. And I also made a post on Substack…I’m having feelings.

My condensed GR review:

6/30

Again and again — I could wax poetic for almost every work published under this house. They have a talent for picking the ripest uncut gems.

Grape Juice, I can tell, is special. Even that feels like a bastardization, but I have no other words. To explain: it has inspired a 5-star review, and I am only halfway through the first chapter.

Reading these words imbues an unencumbered sense of romance. It makes me smile, feels like flirting. This is where it may appear as if I have lost the plot—for me, the romance renders in a platonic, almost auto-romantic way. It is the kind of love only I could fathom and only I would understand. My heart speaking to my unknown desires. A rendition of my fugue dream states. And that is something I can’t attest to having felt before.

I am in love. With myself and with this novel and with this publishing house and with the fraught world. Now let me get back to my book.

7/1

I hunger for the content of this book; the kind that is not resolved by any matters of the flesh.

As I fall deeper, I see an infinity mirror…echo chamber, of my own separate thoughts. But it is art, not parasocial activity. Perhaps this isn’t love, but some other primal entity that runs impossibly deeper.

7/2

I want to clarify that I’m not even necessarily obsessed with the main character, the love interest, or the environment/scenes. What is attractive about this story transcends the typical fun bits that you appreciate from your everyday romance novel. I think I’m living for the sound bites…

I just want to keep getting into the characters’ heads, observing their body language, and following along to see where things go. There are so many short snippets that hit hard. I almost want to scream, stop resonating with me!

7/3

A trip. A life-changing non-entity.
The concept of love without ownership.
Of life without plans.

Maybe poetry finds you again. Something not chase-able. Like romance or affection, it finds you. Your choice is whether or not to hold on longer.

Perhaps I am better for reading this. Less afraid of falling, in and out of love. Perhaps it is just a vividly brilliant work of fiction.

—

Finally, I am finished. Alas, you are stuck with my five stars.

Wow!! This was brilliant. It really was such a witty and refreshing take on the romance genre. Growing up, my favorite “romcom” novel was “Anna and the French Kiss” so I am no stranger to the “American lost in Europe Finding Herself and Falling in Love” schtick. This was that book’s older more sophisticated sister and my god was it a pleasure to read! I don’t often find myself really connecting with the prose in contemporary romance books that make up the majority of what is published by the bigger houses. This was such an enjoyable shift from the predictable, bubble gum pink. It takes care in its depictions of love and whole and developed characters.

This was a quick read with a really pretty setting and a lot of wine. Alice is from New York and takes the chance to go to rural France at a wine harvest where she meets new friends from around the world and Henri.

I really liked the writing, setting and characters in this book. The descriptions and characters personalities made it so entertaining and easy to differentiate between them. Toward the end of the book it was cute how sentimental everyone was on their experiences. I also like how wine was at the center of everything. 🍷

I do just wish that there were more scenes with the main character Alice and the other people at the harvest besides Henri, since I liked them too. I also didn’t really understand how she was immediately attracted to him without much detail. Lastly, I wish we got to learn about Alice and Henri and little more deeply outside of their relationships and basic backgrounds.

Overall I would definitely recommend if you want a quick and fun read with a rich setting and interesting characters! Thank you NetGalley and 831 Stories for the ARC!

3.5 stars!⭐️

This was such a beautifully written story. You will fall in love with France, Alice, and Henri (and will want to book a trip to make French wine immediately!). The friendship between all the characters makes the story feel so rich and full.

Thank you to NetGalley and 831 Stories for the ARC!

3.5/5

Super super short little romance story (as 831 does)! I believe this was under 150 pages.

I read this in two sittings, but you can totally do it in one without even trying.

This follows Alice, she goes to middle-of-nowhere France to help with a wine harvest. She (and other people in her life) thinks that this will help get her out of the rut she finds herself in. And she meets an attractive French man who finds himself in a similar situation. Given this is a romance book, I'm sure you know how this progresses.

This was fun and super easy to read. I also just think the name of this book being Grape Juice is cute, I just really liked that, I don't really know why. It's whimsical, I guess.

I think a lot of people will enjoy this book, for some reason, I can especially see Abby Jimenez readers liking this.

Thanks to NetGalley for the e-ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review! My Goodreads review is up and my TikTok (Zoe_Lipman) review will be up at the end of the month with my monthly reading wrap-up.

Absolutely devoured this gorgeous book in less than a day. The writing was so evocative, lyrical, and really made you feel as if you were in a French vineyard.

I adored Alice and Henri’s love story. It made me feel that giddy new love excitement while still somehow realistic and grounded.

Grape Juice follows Alice as she sets out to rural France for a summer working at a vineyard during harvest season. She joins a group of international seasonal workers, all unique in their own ways and adding both emotional depth and comedic relief to the story. When she meets Henri, a fellow summer harvester, sparks fly and their connection is instant. Through conversations between the vines as they pick grapes, Alice's cold and reluctant heart begins to melt and she comes to many realizations about herself, her life back in NYC, and her past relationships that have pushed her to this penultimate summer in the French countryside with Henri.

Eliza Dumais has done what no author has done for me before: managed to make me fall in love with her writing in just a few pages. From the first few scenes of this novella, I knew this was going to be one of my favorite books of the year because of the writing style alone, not even knowing where the romance was going to go. All of her characters felt so utterly real, not just the hero and heroine of the romance at the center of this book. I found myself setting my e-reader down to merely process her words and soak in the meaning behind each and every one. With beautiful prose, immersive settings, and the most vulnerable romance, Grape Juice is sure to top my best books of the year list and I will be anxiously awaiting for another book from Eliza Dumais!

I absolutely loved this, and if you've enjoyed any of the other novells in this imprint I think this will be right up your alley (and if you haven't - you absolutely should read them because I'm obsessed!). Also if you like stories about letting yourself live and love again.

This story packs so much in so little. I loved the writing and the descriptions, and how it transported me to a vineyard in France. Spending time with this story was really beautiful. I also found the romance with Alice and Henri really refreshing, and I loved the whole set of characters. Seeing their connections form was so lovely.

Definitely pick this one up - you won't regret it!

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC. All views are my own.