The Vine Witch Paperback – October 1, 2019

Title The Vine WitchAuthor Luanne G. SmithRelease Date October 1, 2019Description from AmazonA young witch emerges from a curse to find her world upended in this gripping fantasy set in turn-of-the-century France.For centuries, the vineyards at Château Renard have depended on the talent of their vine witches, whose spells help create the world-renowned wine of the Chanceaux Valley. Then the skill of divining harvests fell into ruin when sorcière Elena Boureanu was blindsided by a curse. Now, after breaking the spell that confined her to the shallows of a marshland and weakened her magic, Elena is struggling to return to her former life. And the vineyard she was destined to inherit is now in the possession of a handsome stranger.Vigneron Jean-Paul Martel naively favors science over superstition, and he certainly doesn’t endorse the locals’ belief in witches. But Elena knows a hex when she sees one, and the vineyard is covered in them. To stay on and help the vines recover, she’ll have to hide her true identity, along with her plans for revenge against whoever stole seven winters of her life. And she won’t rest until she can defy the evil powers that are still a threat to herself, Jean-Paul, and the ancient vine-witch legacy in the rolling hills of the Chanceaux Valley.Initial ThoughtsOk so this was entirely a “bookstagram made me do it” purchase. @xentatine did an unboxing for this book a while back and it looked so interesting, I had to give it a read. Well, technically, I listened to it as an audiobook, but I was really excited about the premise all the same.Some Things I LikedAdult fiction. I don’t read a ton of adult fiction (I lean more toward YA), but I loved that this was a bit out of my usual genre. I liked that Elena was an older character and I found her to be more relatable because of that.Fantasy grounded in reality. I read too many stories where everything wraps up neatly and precisely. Characters who you thought were bad turn out to be good and everything is happy. The Vine Witch is filled with realism and I loved that. Elena’s circumstances were terrible, and she wanted to do something terrible in return. I don’t want to go as far as calling her “morally grey”, but, she exemplifies a realness in her struggle to sort out her life.Subject matter. I thought the concept of “vine witches” was so unique. I’m not a big wine drinker myself, but I know a decent amount about it from my days as a waitress. I loved the care and detail used to describe both the technical and magical aspects of wine making. Reading this book made me want to like wine more.Series ValueI was happy to see the way this story wrapped up. I feel like I have closure with Elena but there are so many open possibilities of future storylines described throughout this book. I could easily see the next book, The Glamourist, being a spin-off story about one fo the other ladies Elena meets in prison. Or, I could also be happy with another story about Elena. Overall, I’d just be happy to go back to the world Luanne G. Smith created.Final ThoughtsI adored this book. I am so glad I stumbled upon it on Instagram and now I am a lifelong fan of Luanne G. Smith’s writing. She painted a vivid world with an incredibly captivating magic system rich with characters that I am eager to learn more about. This book was the perfect fall read and I can easily see myself re-reading it next year.⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️Recommendations for Further ReadingThe Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern – ok, this is one of my favorite books of all time. I can easily say, if you liked The Vine Witch, you will enjoy The Night Circus. Both stories have such rich world building and are perfect fall stories.A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness – if you liked the supernatural elements in this story, witches, demons, etc., give the All Souls trilogy a try.Serpent & Dove by Shelby Mahurin – once again, if you liked the witches element, do yourself a favor and read this new release by Shelby Mahurin. It’s seasonal, perfect, and has multiple POVs.

“The Vine Witch Book 1” by Luanne G. Smith is a delightful and enchanting novel that will transport you to a world of magic and mystery. The story follows Elena Boureanu, a vine witch who has been cursed and turned into a toad for seven years. When she finally breaks the curse and returns to her human form, she discovers that everything has changed. Her vineyard has been sold to a stranger, and she must navigate this new world with the help of her old friend Jean-Paul and a new ally named Yvette.The book is beautifully written, with vivid descriptions of the French countryside and its vineyards. The characters are well-developed and engaging, and the plot is full of twists and turns that will keep you guessing until the very end. If you’re looking for a charming and magical read that will transport you to another world, then “The Vine Witch Book 1” is definitely worth checking out.4.1 stars

For centuries the vineyards of France have relied on vine witches to help cultivate their crops for their wine. They have the ability to know exactly what the grapes need to become perfect and young Elena loved being a vine witch under grand mère's tutelage. When a curse is placed upon her she vows to find her way back to herself and exact revenge, but when she gets home seven long years later much has changed. Grand'Mere has sold the vineyard to a handsome young stranger, Jean-Paul Martel, and her magic remains largely out of reach. Can she still exact her revenge and save her home?This book was an impulse purchase forever ago and it took me a while to actually get to it. I loved it, don't get me wrong. My TBR is always forever long, but once I started reading it I loved it.We start just as Elena is breaking the curse that was put on her. We occasionally backtrack to get information needed from before the curse was placed on her, but it never takes you out of the story. We also get to see how Elena's relationship with Jean-Paul changes as he slowly becomes more open to things outside of his understanding.I enjoyed the twists and turns as we learn more about the curse and how it affects Elena even after it is broken. The story was well-written and engaging and I would definitely read more by this author!! There is fantasy, magic, betrayal, and a dash of romance thrown in. We even get a bit of budding friendships within the pages. I don't have any complaints on the story from the characters, story-line, or writing.