Champagne Widows by Rebecca Rosenberg

Release: February 25, 2022
Format: Ebook
Publisher: Lion Heart Publishing
Source: HFVirtual Book Tours
Find it on Goodreads, Amazon, Kindle

Twenty-year-old Barbe Nicole has inherited Le Nez from her great grandfather. He was a renowned champagne maker.

Her parents, however, see Le Nez as a curse. They try to marry her off to an unsuspecting suitor. But Barbe Nicole is determined to use Le Nez to make great champagne. She learns her childhood sweetheart, François Clicquot, wants to start a winery. Hence she rejects her parents’ suitors. And marries François despite his mental illness.

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. Also, she finds it difficult to make champagne due to Napoleon Codes preventing women from owning a business.

Meanwhile, her father takes a military uniform contract from Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte, who wages six wars against European monarchs. This further cripples Veuve Clicquot’s ability to sell her champagne.

Using Le Nez, Veuve Clicquot struggles through severe hardships and challenges Napoleon himself. Meanwhile, she falls in love with her sales manager, Louis Bohne, who asks her to marry them. But 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.

About the Author:

California native Rebecca Rosenberg lives on a lavender farm with her family in Sonoma, the Valley of the Moon. She and her husband founded the largest lavender product company in America. A long-time student of Jack London’s work and an avid fan of his daring wife, Charmian, Rosenberg is a graduate of the Stanford Writing Certificate Program. Her books include GOLD DIGGER, the Remarkable Baby Doe Tabor, The Secret Life of Mrs. London, Lavender Fields of America, and the Champagne Widows series.

Champagne Widows Review:

Let me begin by saying that I hardly know anything about winemaking and minimal knowledge about Napoleon and the Coalition Wars. The author beautifully took me to the life of Barbe-Nicole. Barbe Nicole is a strong woman, and the story swept me away into her life. On the one side, I loved reading about her love interest with Francois and even Louis. I loved her relationship with Francois and how she supported him even when he had his episodes. On the other hand, I loved the bitter-sweet tale of her feelings and workings with Louis. Even the supporting characters like Jean-Baptiste and Lizzette added wonderfully to the story.

Moreover, I loved how the author brought the life of Napoleon Bonaparte and the Red Man. The author blends Barbe-Nicole’s tale with the life of the French Military Leader and executes it wonderfully. I also loved reading about the hardships of the winemaking industry like harvest issues, economic crises, etc. One of my favorite moments was when Barbe-Nicole witnessed the Great Comet of 1811 and also the competition involving the snake. The author also realistically depicts other incidents, like the impact of typhus and how people feared contracting illnesses during the time.

Perhaps the only downside to the book is the cover. I feel the book cover of the woman sitting on the champagne cork cheapens the exquisiteness of the tale. I would have loved a more regal, sophisticated cover to depict how grandeur of the story.

Overall, “Champagne Widows” is a beautiful historical novel of a strong woman who managed a business in a time when women hardly had any power.

Giveaway:

2 paperback copies are up for grabs! To enter, please sign up here.

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The giveaway is open to the US only and ends on May 13th. You must be 18 or older to enter.

Giveaway Link

I am thrilled to be hosting a spot on the Champagne Widows by Rebecca Rosenberg Blog Tour hosted by HFVirtual Book Tours. Check out my post and make sure to enter the giveaway!