The synopsis provided for this story is a bit misleading. Less than 15% of the story deals with the French Resistance; and moreover, it goes into little to no details about what they did other than hiding the munitions as stated in the synopsis. The members are never named, the groups are unknown, and the effect of their cause is anonymous. The reader never sees the outcome of what came from their help with the resistance and there is no action regarding the resistance movement.

The premise for this book was an interesting concept showing a different perspective of WWII German-occupied citizens: the winemakers. It was interesting that they were treated differently since the Nazi soldiers needed booze, and I would have liked more interaction between them.

This novel relishes in marital problems, affairs, and wine. The chapters alternate between Liz, Ines, and Celine. The reader is quickly made aware of Liz’s divorce in 2019 which causes her to fly to Reims, France to stay with her 99-year-old spunky Grandma Edith. Meanwhile set in 1943 during German-occupied France, Ines and Celine both express their own marital problems. The first half of the book primarily focuses on Ines and Celine’s relationship problems with their spouses. Ines constantly feels left out and insignificant, and for the reader it frequently feels like she is whining and can become annoying to suffer through the pages of her moaning about no one caring about her

Overall, there was little depth to the main characters, so none of them really resonated with me. I didn’t like any of the characters set in the past, and I felt like it was hard to get to know them as a reader. On the other hand, I did like Grandma Edith and it was her relationship with Liv and the connection that was to be made between her and the past that caused me to keep reading. The ending was carefully crafted and enjoyable. 

This is a good light read for those interested in both romance and wine. (There are many paragraphs throughout beautifully describing how wine is made.) 

Thank you to Gallery Books, Kristin Harmel, and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

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