Publisher: Lion Heart Publishing

Publication Date: March 5, 2023

Length: 368 pages

I received this advanced reader copy from the author in exchange for an honest review. Look at that cover! This is one of the most beautiful covers I have seen in a very long time.

This is the second book in the Champagne Widows series authored by Rebecca Rosenberg celebrating the strong, vivacious women that crafted champagne. Madame Jeanne Alexandrine Pommery is suddenly widowed. She had never been involved in her husband’s business, women didn’t do that. How will she provide for herself, her young daughter, and her son? The banker explains her financial circumstances and urges her to sell her husband’s business. After all, what would a woman know about running it? He tells her that she won’t have any problem finding another husband as an attractive widow. If she remarries, her new husband will, by law, be in charge of her estate. After thinking about her options, she makes her decision. Madame Pommery is going to change the family business to the production of champagne. She will manage the estate her husband left her. The banker is in disbelief. He believes she will fail immediately. Will he be correct? How could a woman compete with men?

The banker’s lack of respect is just one of the many injustices she will endure. The grape growers are hesitant to sell to her. Hiring enough workers is a challenge. Most men don’t want to work for a woman. The Franco-Prussian war takes all able-bodied men, including her son, to fight – leaving her without workers. Once again, she uses her ingenuity to solve the problem by using local women as workers. The first bottles are filled. Now she will need a distributor. A chance encounter leads her to meet the man who will champion her champagne in England. As orders begin to trickle in, she realizes that she has nowhere to store the champagne while it is aging. With the war on, no one is available to help her build. She investigates and discovers that she can excavate the catacombs adjacent to the town dump and store her champagne. She again uses the local women to clean up the dump and excavate. As soon as she solves one problem, others will present themselves. Madame Pommery will rise to each challenge.

Rebecca Rosenberg beautifully tells this inspiring story. Madame Pommery is a tribute to the strength of women and their ability to persevere. Never does she retreat in fear. Madame Pommery sets her mind to the task at hand and calmly proceeds. Madame Pommery seems like a modern woman entrepreneur, well ahead of her time. Her ability to rally people around her is a primary key to her success. She has the strength of character to stand in the face of adversity and not be overcome by the so-called experts. This is a wonderfully inspiring story, told beautifully, without over-embellishment. This novel is perfectly suited for book clubs and other types of group discussions. Read it with a friend, or solo. JUST READ IT!

My Rating: 🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻/5