The Vineyards of Champagne

This was a very special book for me, because there were themes in the book that surprised me and were incredibly relevant given my year.

I thought The Vineyards of Champagne by Juliet Blackwell was going to be your typical pleasant vacation in France with a side of historical fiction (World War I) enjoyable winter reading book. While it was that for sure, the setting was lovely, I enjoyed feeling like I was spending time in France and brushing up on my French language skills. But, the thing about Rosalyn is she is a widow who has been stuck living in her grief and unable to move forward, and that is what the book is really about. This was timely for me, having just lost my dad six weeks ago, and just beginning the journey with grief. Instead of making me feel worse, this book was comforting to me. Reading about others in this space felt less lonely.

The premise of the book involves a woman, Rosalyn, who is working for a wine seller in California and is sent to France to a month to seek our new vineyards to sell in the shop in the U.S. So Rosalyn goes to spend a month in France and while there begins working through the grief process in a way she couldn’t at home and opening herself up to friendships and new adventures. While on her flight, Rosalyn meets Emma, who is going to France to find the letters her great-aunt wrote to a French soldier during World War I. A small part of the story is that of this young man, Emile, and a young woman, Lucie, living through the war in France, partially told through letters. It is a smaller part of the book than Rosalyn’s story, but weaves in well with Rosalyn’s story to form the main plot of the book.

I guess this story may not be for everyone, but it was certainly the right book for me at the right time. For me, this is 5 stars and one of my favorites this year. I recommend this book for anyone.

I did get a free copy of the book from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review, but I cannot wait until it comes out in January, because I want to run out and buy a copy to read again in two months.

To hear more thoughts about the book, check out my booktube episode where I talk about the book: