Happy Thursday all!
This was such a great book! The Champagne region of France during WWI told through old letters.🥖
My Thoughts
WWI France…. A beautiful story about a tragic time. Juliet Blackwell has brilliantly told the story of the Champagne region of France through old letters. Old letters that told the story of the women and children of France living underneath the champagne houses in miles and miles of caves. Entire towns were moved underground homes, shops, bakeries, schools, animals, and of course the people. The only time they came out was to pick the grapes. I was completely fascinated by this part of history I did not previously know, and so was Rosalyn. Rosalyn meets Emma on a plane from San Francisco to Paris. Emma is Australian and traveling to the region to search for more letters and further piece together the story of one of her relatives who was in France during WWI. Rosalyn has recently suffered a loss and is headed reluctantly to France for her work as a wine rep. When Emma offers her an opportunity to help with the researching and translating of these letters, Rosalyn is very tempted. What follows is a beautiful story about friendship, forgiveness, acceptance, Romance, history, Mystery, second chances, and love.
This was a contemporary story with history woven in through these letters. I think this would be a great book for someone new to historical fiction, but it will also resonate with the historical fiction lover. Rosalyn is a sympathetic character and I loved how much her character grew throughout the story. I loved The friendships she made and how she learned to trust and open her heart again. The descriptive writing really gave me an authentic feel for France. I have to say I love the fact that the French people embrace the carbs, I was craving bread throughout this entire book. A lovely story that taught me something I did not previously no.
This book in emojis. 🇫🇷 🍾 🍷 🥖 🧀 🍇 ✉️
*** Big thank you to Berkley for my gifted copy of this book. All opinions are my own. ***
About the Book
Beneath the cover of France’s most exquisite vineyards, a city of women defy an army during World War I, from the New York Times bestselling author of The Lost Carousel of Provence….
Deep within the labyrinth of caves that lies 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 and most defiant women 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 Acosta 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. Let’s Connect
Berit Talks Books 
This sounds like such an interesting story. I just read another review of it and it sounds fascinating. Thanks for sharing.
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It really was quite fascinating! Hope you get a chance to read it!
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