Reviews with content warning for Rape - The Winemaker's Wife

The setting, and historical side I found riveting. I also enjoyed the usage of multiple timelines and POVs to tell the story. Over all it was engaging and captured my attention. The holocaust is a tragedy of such proportions I won’t attempt to capture it in words, and all stories from and of that time period are so meaningful.
However I seriously disliked how absolutely stupid Olivia was. Even when she had facts put in front of her, she still kept saying “what? Huh? What is going on??” It made me want to scream. The early miscommunication with Julian was obvious from the beginning and I thought it absurdly drawn out.
Inez I realize is supposed to be a complex character, showcasing the trauma that selfish and flighty behavior can get you, but having two dimwit female main characters felt hard to swallow about 70% in. I was just wondering when someone would find a brain. Her post-chateau story felt unbelievable, especially so after the ending, and we see her cowardice is still strong.
The novel did have a good finish, so I’m glad I stuck it through, but I wish the women would have developed more through the storyline.

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annaluckylark's review against another edition

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challenging dark hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

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sarahflanders's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful mysterious medium-paced

3.5

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jennjoy's review against another edition

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dark emotional informative reflective sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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wagrobanite's review against another edition

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emotional tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Holy moly. It's fitting that my last book of 2023 would be such a rollercoaster! Harmel does it again by taking you on a rollercoaster of emotions, from hating the main characters to crying at the end. I was about ready to knock down a star because of not giving one character their happy ending but she did.

My only tiny, almost microscopic annoyance is that the French words aren't translated and even though, normally that would knock off a star, Harmel's masterful storytelling overrides it.

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