The vine witch

Luanne G. Smith

Book - 2019

"A young witch emerges from a curse to find her world upended in this gripping fantasy of betrayal, vengeance, and self-discovery set in turn-of-the-century France. For centuries, the vineyards at Chateau 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 sorciere 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."--Provided by publisher.

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1st Floor SCIENCE FICTION/Smith Luanne Due May 10, 2024
Subjects
Genres
Fantasy fiction
Paranormal fiction
Romance fiction
Published
Seattle, [Washington] : 47 North [2019]
Language
English
Main Author
Luanne G. Smith (author)
Physical Description
256 pages ; 21 cm
ISBN
9781542008389
Contents unavailable.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review

The vineyards of the fictitious Chanceaux Valley play home to magic, romance, and mystery in Smith's contemporary debut fantasy. Before the start of the novel, vine witch Elena Boureanu is transformed into a toad by a curse. When she returns to her body, she discovers that her Grand-Mère has sold Chateau Renard, Elena's renowned vineyard home, to handsome former lawyer Jean-Paul Martel. The Chateau's vines, grieving Elena's absence, have begun to produce mediocre wine, and scientifically minded Jean-Paul refuses Elena's offer to use her magic to cure them. But as Elena works to restore her vineyard to health and seeks revenge against her ex-fiancé, Bastien, who she believes is responsible for her curse, she and Jean-Paul grow closer, and he comes to accept that her magic is real. When Bastien turns up dead, a biased, antiwitch policeman arrests Elena for his murder, and Jean-Paul takes the case as her defense attorney. The specter of savage, early European witch hunts ups the stakes, mixing real history with folklore. Though the conflict of science vs. superstition never quite comes together with the theme of female empowerment, this is an ambitious debut from a promising author. (Oct.)

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