A Washington Post and Amazon Charts bestseller.“Cleverly crafted… France.
For centuries, the vineyards at Château Renard have depended on the talent of their vine witches, whose spells help create the world-renowned wine of the Chanceaux Valley. Then the skill of divining harvests fell into ruin when sorcière Elena Boureanu was blindsided by a curse. Now, after breaking the spell that confined her to the shallows of a marshland and weakened her magic, Elena is struggling to return to her former life. And the vineyard she was destined to inherit is now in the possession of a handsome stranger.
Vigneron Jean-Paul Martel naively favors science over superstition, and he certainly doesn’t endorse the locals’ belief in witches. But Elena knows a hex when she sees one, and the vineyard is covered in them. To stay on and help the vines recover, she’ll have to hide her true identity, along with her plans for revenge against whoever stole seven winters of her life. And she won’t rest until she can defy the evil powers that are still a threat to herself, Jean-Paul, and the ancient vine-witch legacy in the rolling hills of the Chanceaux Valley.
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This was the perfect book leading up to October. It had enough other-worldly intrigue, but not enough to be scary or gory. I loved the characters, and their journey. It was a smart read that kept me engaged through the whole novel.
The Vine Witch by Luanne G. Smith is a uniquely different take on witches. I love the concept of this book, as it is refreshingly good.
Is Elena willing to commit murder?
Elena Boureanu
Elena Boureanu is the main character and the character that we follow the most. She is a vine witch that was cursed for seven years to spend the rest of her life as a poisonous frog. She started off wanting to hurt her ex-fiancee, as she thought was the one who was cursing her. Instead, she decided she would do what she does the best, working in the vineyard to bring another good wine to fruition. She has grown a considerable amount from the time we begin the journey to the end.
I like that Elena doesn’t take no for an answer and that she also makes good choices at the end.
Jean-Paul Martel
Jean-Paul Martel is the novice winemaker that has bought Chateau Renard and has been trying to make good wine for the past three years but hasn’t been able to. He doesn’t believe in the country vine witchcraft nonsense that everyone is telling him. To make good wine is in the science of it. Well, that is until Elena walks back onto the grounds. He lets her stay and makes her his silent partner. Over time Jean-Paul also goes through a lot of character development. I liked the result of the new Jean-Paul as he is more openminded.
I like that Jean-Paul assisted Elena when she needed it and that he was gentlemanly to Elena and her grandmother.
Five Stars
The Vine Witch by Luanne G. Smith is a great book, and it feels like the intricacies of magic within the world are so well put together that you don’t even doubt what the author is saying. Ms. Smith has crafted a beautiful and unique world of magic that sucks you into it. I enjoyed the different types of witches to how it’s different from the country to the city about their beliefs in witches. It’s all just so fantasizing, and it mesmerized me in.
I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Thank you for dropping by! I hope you enjoyed this review of The Vine Witch by Luanne G. Smith.
Anyways, until next time,
Karen the Baroness
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3.5 Stars…
The Vine Witch is not my typical read. Typically, I read series and not stand alone books. That being said, I enjoyed the read. The overall storyline was intriguing and unique. I found that even though the first chapter threw me for a loop, once I got past that I wanted to read more. The author’s writings flows effortlessly and she weaves a very interesting tale.
So why 3 1/2 stars? For me the first chapter was somewhat rocky and I came really close to putting the book down. Execution for this chapter was a bit off for me. Once I got past that I was hooked. Last but not least, the last 2 chapters felt rushed and lacking. I was left wanting more to wrap up the story. Again, I enjoyed the read and this was the first book I’ve read from this author.
I’m in the middle of reading this, and it’s such a treat to come to at the end of the day! Enjoy with a glass of wine, if you’re so inclined. I have no doubt the ending will be all I’m hoping for. Fantastic writer!
This story draws you in and keeps you there until the end. Elena comes out of a curse and is set for revenge. She in a vine witch, who helps the vineyard make the best wine possible. She finds out while she was gone everything has changed, especially who owns the vineyard. Jean-Paul does not believe in vine witches, but the vineyard is not doing well and he can’t take an other bad year. Elena shows him the vineyard has been cursed and they work together to fix things. This was such a well written story and Luanne Smith is so descriptive you feel you are there with the characters. This is a first novel for her and I for one am looking forward to her next.
Three and a half
I saw this beautiful cover and having read the synopsis was really keen to read this book. Its essentially an historical look at the possibilities of Witches in France and has a fabulous beginning with of all things a sentient toad or does it ? Actually no because for seven years Elena, a Vine Witch has been under a curse and when she finally breaks it her return home isn’t exactly a pleasure because the Vineyard has been sold . So not only does she have to track down who cursed her but also deal with the new owner !
I liked this but did think the big bad was extremely obvious. Now having said that the final third of this story was very unpredictable because the author added a twist which made everything fall into place. If blunt I thought the romance was lukewarm and pretty one sided unfortunately but I did love the supporting character Yvette as she was so vibrant and I would love read a story about her.
This voluntary take is of a copy I requested from Netgalley and my thoughts and comments are honest and I believe fair
‘The Vine Witch’ was all right. It started off a little slow, and then it picked up to where I thought, okay, I can get into this. But then after one of the most climactic parts, it slowed down again and stayed that way through the remainder of the book. While I did enjoy the worldbuilding surrounding the witch culture and all of that, there were some aspects of the book that felt like a puzzle piece that is being forced to fit where it shouldn’t. I didn’t really like any of the characters, except for the monk (Brother Anselm). The characters weren’t bad, and there were plenty of good qualities (writing-wise) among them, but I just never really felt like I could connect with them and therefore didn’t care what happened to them. One of the most crucial parts of a story, for me, is the ending. And in regards to this book, I thought that the ending was a little meh. Did I feel that things were resolved? Sure, but how the ending played out was not the best which was a wee bit disappointing.
Magic and wine. Do I need to say more?