The Winemaker's Wife
By
Kristin Harmel
Champagne will have a new and special meaning to me after reading this book. "This champagne represents history, my dear. Heroism. Bravery. The people behind these wines helped save France." There's so much history to the craft of winemaking and the winemakers who produce this product. As the author took me back to the 1940's and the invasion by the Nazi's into the vineyards of northern France, I found myself immersed into the story as if I were living it along beside the characters.

Historical fiction is my favorite genre and Ms. Harmel has written a novel that made me take a look at what happened in history through these pages. I became one with the characters living the horror and dread of what was unfolding during the invasion and the rounding up of a people just because of their religion. I felt the fear of never knowing when their lives would be changed. Living in dread day after day. I joined the Resistance Fighters who put their lives on the line to protect the Jews and their beloved country of France. It was as if I were there.

The characters are in complicated situations. The story is written in a dual time line about characters that are related to each other. I enjoyed the way the present day story was intertwined with the past and how as each piece was placed it became a whole picture. There are characters I fought with in my heart and drew the courage to do what they had to in order to protect each other. I hurt, I cried, I felt the betrayals and the dread. I felt the forbidden love and yearning to express that love. I felt the loneliness. There are secrets that can't come out and what the consequences of what that would be. The author has a talent for bringing the story to life in my mind.

The setting the author put this story in had me envisioning the tunnels of the caves where the champagne was kept in the barrels, the lush vineyards and grapes, the beautiful House of Chauveau, and just being in the country of France both in the past and also the present. I am intrigued by this history and how it resulted in the efforts of the French Resistance. It would be frightening to do what they did, but survival and determination would make that strength rise up.

There are so many passages that Ms. Harmel wrote in this book that made the characters have the depth and ability for me to relate to.
"We all make mistakes. But life goes on, and we can always become better. It's not the decisions in your past that matter, but the choices you make about your future."
"So you see," Rene concluded triumphantly, "when you drink a glass of Chauveau, you are really tasting heroism in all those bubbles. The Maison Chauveau helped save France."

That last passage takes me back to the first sentence of my review....I will always appreciate how the author wrote this story to honor the spirit and determination of the French people. I love learning new things from history and this book has taken me to that place. I want to thank Ms. Harmel and Netgalley for the honor of reading this book! A five star read for me.