Review: Kristen Harnisch’s THE VINTNER’S DAUGHTER – Historical Romance set in France and California’s wine country

It begins slowly but soon becomes a good story and an interesting mix of genres. It’s marketed as historical fiction but the first half reads like women’s fiction—it’s Sara’s story. The hero and heroine aren’t together in the same place until the last half of the book and that last half is pure historical romance. Running throughout is Sara’s spiritual journey and the inspirational theme of forgiveness.

It begins in the Loire Valley in 1895 when Sara Thibault's father is killed in a mudslide and her mother sells their vineyard to the Lemieuxs, a rival family, crushing Sara’s hopes to one day make the vineyard her own. Worse, her sister, Lydia, marries Bastien Lemieux, the evil eldest son of the buyer’s family. One night, fighting off her brother-in-law’s brutal attempt to rape her, Sara kills Bastien. Afraid of poor justice, Sara escapes to New York with her pregnant sister.

Meanwhile, Bastien’s brother, Philippe, who long ago left France, lives in California where he intends to grow his Eagle Run winery into the largest in the Napa Valley. When he receives word of his brother's death in France, he resolves to bring the killer to justice.

Still on the run, Sara ends up in Napa working in Philippe’s vineyard. When she realizes she is in the vineyard of the brother of the man she has killed, she knows she must seek his forgiveness but she cannot bring herself to tell him who she is. To add to her problems, she is falling in love with him and he with her.

Unlike his brother, Philippe is kind and noble of heart. He is instantly taken with Sara and not only her expertise about growing grapes and making wine. She is clever and witty and handsome. Some wonderful secondary characters add to the tapestry. 

The story is well written, well researched and rich in details of the wine-making business. I learned much. A recommended read.

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