Reviews with content warning for Animal death - Der Zauber von Wein und Lavendel

I enjoyed this book, however I feel it had a lot of potential that it just didn't live up to. It felt in need of fleshing out, particularly where intercharacter relationships are concerned. We are told of developments in relationships but never shown how or why such developments have occured. I also think that there were interesting characters and ideas that were not fully explored, which was a little disappointing while I was reading. Having said all that, I found the book exciting and found myself looking forward to reading it, so still worth a read if the premise appeals. Also, this is the author's debut novel, so I'm hopeful that her later works will have a little more meat on the bones.

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akgeekgirl's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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fixxon's review against another edition

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dark mysterious fast-paced

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

2.5

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ladynavalon's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? N/A
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

1.0

So, this started as a 10 stars book. A with who makes wine? Come on! How I didn't read this first? How I didn't write it myself? Just by few first pages of this book is a 20 stars read, the first scen with Elena breaking free from the curse is 🤯
But by page 100 you are really wondering what are you doing reading this book! The characters don't according to what they are suppose to be, there is no chemistry between the main couple and come on! The villain is there from the beggining, sipping wine and eating biscuits and surely laughting because Elena is nothing like she was promised on page one and the vengeful witch who broke free from the curse just became a whinning, stupid girl.

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sophs_mood_reading's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

A wonderful witchy novel following Elena’s awakening from a 7 year curse to discover the life she has always known has changed. We follow Elena learning how to fit into this changed environment including a new owner of the vineyard who is against all things magic and superstitious, rediscovering her magic, trying to save her beloved vineyard all while seeking revenge on the man she believes is at fault for all her sorrow.

This novel is beautifully written and you easily fall into the world of the vineyards and witchcraft. I did find myself cringing with the arrival of the dreaded “wrongly accused hero” trope however it was short lived as the focus moved quickly onto new intrigue and another adventure began.

One thing I found difficult is I really found it hard to figure out when the book was set in time. I still am a little confused. It made it hard to adjust to what knowledge and prejudices may be current and it wasn’t until about half way though I think I worked out it was set in the early 1900’s but even now I’m not certain.

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anastashamarie's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious relaxing medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

🎧 Note that I listened to the audio book of this, which may have swayed my opinion because it is a GREAT story to have read to you, and the narrator was delightfully soothing.

🍷 This comes across as a grown-up fairytale with vivid descriptions of wine and food thrown in for good measure. Set in the French countryside. Simple magic system. Mystery and clearing one's name as the central storyline. Not a lot of brain power required, but not boring either. Just an enjoyable late summer read, especially as part of the evenings getting cooler and breezy where I live.

🌾 -1 star because the romance was too much telling and not enough showing (honestly, it was hardly a part of the story) and because of the villains ridiculously long monologue. But regardless of that, I very much enjoyed this beginning to end.

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