From the very first page The Vintner’s Daughter by Kristen Harnisch held me rapt within its pages. It transports us back to the 1800’s and into vineyard life at the turn of the century. It is historical fiction at its best offering us a bit of romance, love, hope, and an interesting look into the wine-making process during this time so long ago.
Sara Thibault is a young woman to admire. Living in a time when women were generally thought of to only belong in a kitchen she fought to prove otherwise. Her one dream is to work and eventually run her family’s vineyard. Her father indulges her quite a lot in this as he has no son but the fact remains she is a woman and her only duty is to marry and have children. When Sara’s father dies in no tragic accident her life changes forever.
To Sara’s horror and dismay her mother sells their family vineyard to a rival of her father and his eldest son marries Sara’s sister Lydia. Once again tragedy strikes and Sara and Lydia are forced to escape to New York. However Sara’s hardships aren’t over and it isn’t long before she forced to move on again, this time to California where she hopes to get into the wine-making business.
The one thing she didn’t bargain on was meeting a man there who could melt her heart and have her believing in love and marriage. Yet this man, this man who has stolen her heart also has the power to destroy her for they share a bond that he knows nothing about. If he learns the truth about Sara will she once more lose all that matters to her?
The Vintner’s Daughter was a really good read – one of my favorites this year. Sara, with her strength and independence is a great character and I connected with her and her story instantly. The Vintner’s Daughter is the debut novel from Kristen Harnisch and is the first in a series portraying vineyard life at the turn of the century. I’ll be watching for the next one for sure!
For fans of historical fiction The Vintner’s Daughter comes highly recommended!
Read an excerpt
Author Links: Website, Facebook, Pinterest
Buy at: Amazon, Amazon Canada, IndieBound
GIVEAWAY DETAILS – OPEN TO US & CANADIAN RESIDENTS
1 copy of The Vintner’s Daughter by Kristen Harnisch
*CLICK HERE* and fill out the form to enter
Draw Date September 7/14
Good luck!
(comments are very much welcomed but do not count as an entry)
Thanks for the giveaway.
I have always been fascinated with the making of wine and different spirits. The way the types of vines, the weather and the sugar content of the grapes comes together perfectly to make a great wine is just fascinating. It’s not like a recipe that one can make food to turn out the same way each time. It’s Mother Nature and almost luck that makes a great wine.
OK. Now that I’ve rattled on, I would like to say that I would be thrilled to be your winner! I cannot wait to read this book. It sounds fantastic.
Thanks for the terrific giveaway!
Connie Fischer
conniecape@aol.com
Darlene, thank you for hosting this fabulous giveaway. I will share it in my blog’s sidebar. The book sounds like historical fiction at its best.
Your reviews do not help me keep my TBR stack at a manageable level! LOL.
Thank you, Darlene for featuring The Vintner’s Daughter this week! And Connie, you hit the nail on the head. I loved researching and writing about winemaking in the late 1800s because there was so much I didn’t understand. The process combines science and art (with a dash of Mother Nature) and winemakers have passion and persistence – which I greatly admire! Thanks for reading, gang!
Kristen
Pretty cover and sounds like a good book! Love reading the ‘turn of the century’ stories.
What fun to enjoy a first book so much and know you have more to look forward to!