The Vineyards Of Champagne.

 ✰✰✰✰

 CONTAINS SPOILERS

Deep within the labyrinth of caves that lie below the lush, rolling vineyards of the Champagne region, an underground city of women and children hums with life. Forced to take shelter from the unrelenting onslaught of German shellfire above, the bravest among them venture out to pluck sweet grapes for the harvest. But wine is not the only secret preserved in the cool, dark cellars...

In present day, Rosalyn travels to Champagne to select vintages for her Napa-based employer. Rosalyn doesn't much care for champagne--or France, for that matter. Since the untimely death of her young husband, Rosalyn finds it a challenge to enjoy anything at all. But as she reads through a precious cache of WWI letters and retraces the lives lived in the limestone tunnels, Rosalyn will unravel a mystery hidden for decades...and find a way to savor her own life again, inspired by the hope and defiance of the women who toiled to bring in the grape harvest during the war. 

  ❀

Engaging. Mysterious.



This past year, I have read a lot of historical fiction, making it one of my favorite genres to read. Anytime that I read historical fiction, I feel as if I learn something that I was not aware of before. I had never read anything by JULIET BLACKWELL before coming across THE VINEYARDS OF CHAMPAGNE . The title and the breathtaking cover is what captured my attention when I came across the book. I feel as both the title and the covers have a mysterious look to them, will have you wondering and picking the book up. Once I read the summary of the book, I was hooked to the story and knew that it would be a book that I would enjoy. It did not take me long to fall the love with this story. I love that VINEYARDS OF CHAMPAGNE had a mystery aspect to the story, which is another genre that I love. Like Rosalyn and Emma, I was curious about those letters about what happened to them. I was eager to see what Emma and Rosalyn will discover. I love reading the letters that were written during that time.



I felt terrible for Rosalyn, to what happened to her husband. From all of the characters in the books, Rosalyn is the one that changed the most in the book. In the beginning, she kept to herself and did not seem to trust many people. I was glad that she started to open up to others. I love the friendship that she developed with Emma. With everything that Rosalyn went through, with her husband dying, she needed someone like Emma by her side. The two of them made a good team together. The friendship that the two of them had, the way how they were for each other, and how they joked around, it reminded me a lot of some of my friends. The friendship that the two of them had, I knew that it was the type of bond that would last for years to come. I love that the story went back and forth between the present time and the past. However, I do wish that there were more past chapters then the present chapters, more of the history behind the letters. I did enjoy the mystery behind the letters and trying to discover, along with Emma, Rosalyn of what happened to them.



There were a few slow parts in the book. However, it was an enjoyable book to read, and I felt as I learned so much while reading VINEYARDS OF CHAMPAGNE . Now that I have read her book, I am eager to check the rest of her books out. VINEYARDS OF CHAMPAGNE is a story about friendship, hope, love, and second chance. I would highly recommend this book for historical fiction fans.