Publisher: Lion Heart Publishing
Genre: Historical Fiction
Triple-gold-medal-winning author Rebecca Rosenberg serves up a triumphant tale of talent and ambition, love and loss, betrayal and redemption, and accepting yourself and others for who they are.
Synopsis
Champagne, France, 1800
Twenty-year-old Barbe-Nicole has inherited Le Nez (an uncanny sense of smell that makes her picky, persnickety, and particularly perceptive) from her great-grandfather, a renowned champagne maker.
Her parents, however, see Le Nez as a curse and try to marry her off to an unsuspecting suitor. But Barbe-Nicole is determined to use Le Nez to make great champagne. When she learns her childhood sweetheart, Francois Clicquot, wants to start a winery, she rejects her parents' suitors and marries Francois despite his mental illness.
The Widow Known as Veuve Clicquot
Soon, Barbe-Nicole Clicquot must cope with her husband's death. Becoming a widow known as Veuve Clicquot, she grapples with a new overbearing partner, the difficulties of making champagne and the Napoleon Codes preventing women from owning a business.
All this while her father takes a military uniform contract from Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte, who wages six wars against European monarchs, crippling Veuve Clicquot's ability to sell her champagne.
Challenging Napoleon
Using Le Nez, Veuve Clicquot struggles through unbearable hardships and challenges Napoleon himself. When she falls in love with her sales manager, Louis Bohne, who asks her to marry, she must choose between losing her winery to her husband, as dictated by Napoleon Code or losing Louis. In the ultimate showdown, Veuve Clicquot risks imprisonment and even death as she defies Napoleon.
My Thoughts
Champagne Widows is a fascinating look at champagne making and the obstacles that Barbe-Nicole overcomes to achieve her dreams and establish one of the largest champagne houses in France still operating to this day.
Set in the aftermath of the French Revolution and during Napoleon's rise to power (1799-1814), the story follows Barbe-Nicole, the daughter of a businessman, from her marriage to childhood sweetheart, Francois Clicquot, the establishment of their winery and the challenges she faces when Francois dies.
Barbe-Nicole has inherited 'Le Nez' from her grandfather, an extraordinary sense of smell that is an asset to a vintner but a curse in other ways. It allows Barbe-Nicole to find the right blends for her champagne, catering to her customers' tastes to ensure success and a growing reputation for an excellent product.
Bonaparte's rampage across Europe, poor harvests, natural disasters and the logistics of fulfilling orders cause problems for the winery. But it is the unfairness of the Napoleon Codes which prohibits women from owning a business that will have the greatest impact on Barbe-Nicole and influence the decisions she makes in the future.
Champagne Widows is a great blend of fact and fiction, bringing to life a different perspective of the Napoleonic Wars through the story of one determined and courageous woman. I found it entertaining, informative and a very satisfying read.
Where to PurchaseAmazon AU • Amazon US
Meet the Author
For more information, please visit Rebecca's website and blog. You can also find her on Amazon, BookBub, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Goodreads.
Blog Tour Schedule
Monday, October 4
Review at A Girl Reads Bookss
Wednesday, October 6
Review at Passages to the Past
Friday, October 8
Guest Post at Novels Alive
Monday, October 11
Review at Novels Alive
Review at 100 Pages a Day
Wednesday, October 13
Interview at Passages to the Past
Friday, October 15
Review at Bonnie Reads and Writes
Monday, October 18
Guest Post at Bonnie Reads and Writes
Wednesday, October 20
Review at Books, Cooks, Looks
Friday, October 22
Review at Bookworlder
Review at View From the Birdhouse
Monday, October 25
Review at Reading is My Remedy
Thursday, October 28
Review at A Darn Good Read
Friday, October 29
Excerpt at Coffee and Ink
Giveaway (US only)
Enter HERE to win a paperback copy or eBook of Champagne Widows by Rebecca Rosenberg!
The giveaway is open to US addresses only and ends on October 29th. You must be 18 or older to enter.
Thank you so much for your great review!
ReplyDeleteAmy
HF Virtual Book Tours
My pleasure, Amy!
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