The Vine Witch

Written by Luanne G. Smith

Narrated by Susannah Jones

A Washington Post and Amazon Charts bestseller.

“Cleverly crafted…The Vine Witch is a grown-up fairy tale with a twisty-turn-y story line of magic, love, and betrayal that holds your attention…Pure escapism.” —Forbes

A 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.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Brilliance Audio
• Release date: Oct 1, 2019
• ISBN: 9781799748618

Luanne G. Smith

Luanne G. Smith lives in Colorado at the base of the beautiful Rocky Mountains, where she enjoys hiking, gardening, and a glass of wine at the end of the day. She is the author of The Vine Witch. For more information, visit www.luannegsmith.com.

Reviews for The Vine Witch

[Yogi · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I love paranormal romance but don't usually read any that have to do with witches. I'm glad I took a chance on this one because it was very good.

All the characters have great personalities and are well acted by the audible narrator. A great storyline is filled with murder, mystery and an unexpected surprise at the end.

I enjoyed this book and am looking forward to the next book in this series.

[cris.zileriu · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Even though the beginning was a bit slow, I am glad I continued. I really liked how the story grew and the suspense. Did not think it would end like that with her grandmother...that really caught me off guard. ?

[slytherinfrost · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

It was a good story of mystery, magic and revenge. The characters were well described and their personalities fit for the chemistry.

[Dominique Poshtar · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Beautifully written with des touches of français. Was captivated by the story, pacing, voicing and setting. Looking forward to the sequel.

[Shalane Du Preez · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This was cute, could've been great. Felt as though something was missing

[Leslie · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Recording skips parts. Makes it hard to listen and get the gist.

[Cassie T. · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A fun read and well natrated. The audio was smooth but had the CD change audio.

[Kaley · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I loved it! Just a great little story. Highly recommend.

[Jamie Williams · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A fun, magical, romance adventure with the love of wine at the center.

[Jessica Harris · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

The narrators accents are awful. She sounds like a bunch of 90’s mall brats gone witchy woman. I wanted to love this but for me, the narrators accents and whiney voices ruined it.

[Michelle Ellis · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

The story line was excellent, but
the author almost slipped over the romantic relationship. There was very little discussion of the characters realizing they were developing feelings for each other and little discussion of their giving in to those feelings. And forget about a live scene. This romantic tension is why we read these books, so it was really missing.

[mykl8s · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

 A special kind of witch, doing what she was raised to do, with many problems, a powerful foe, and some helpful friends.

[the_literary_jedi · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Audiobook via Kindle Unlimited - started reading and got bored so audio seemed a fair try. Enjoyed the unique take on witchcraft and it’s mix with wine making, clever concept. Narrator was excellent. Slow start and picks up around the 60% point.

[txbritgal · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Magic in the air!

Considering this is the authors debut novel it is absolute M A G I C!!!! WE start in the swamp of all places. Slightly confusing at first until we realize it's the inner monologue of a toad of all things. Confusing, until we learn she's actually a woman that's been trapped in toad form for seven years by someone unknown. We're introduced to a magical landscape in more ways than one. The French countryside full of vineyards and dazzling wines brought to their peak perfection through the age old courtesy and love of vine witches. What happens when one such witch comes home from her seven year curse to find all she knew had changed. Can she find her footing when her home and love are no longer hers? When she not certain who cursed her and the vines she loves so very much. Her magical tale will weave its way into your heart and beg to hear more! This is one author I can't wait to see more from. Brava

[firesbrigan · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I really wish I could give this book more stars because I really like the idea of the premise, and I loved Elena's character, backstory and journey a lot! However, the pacing of this book was really slow and I struggled to maintain interest. I want to read the next one but don't know if I will honestly be able to finish it. However, beautiful world building and great characters!

[krau0098 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Series Info/Source: This is the first book in the Vine Witch series. There are three books in this series right now. I borrowed this Audible audiobook through Kindle Unlimited.Audiobook Quality (4/5): This audiobook was well done and I enjoyed the narrator. I would recommend listening to this on audiobook if you enjoy audiobooks.Story (3/5): This was an okay historical fantasy. I liked the idea of Vine Witch magic but felt like the story was a bit slow and predictable. The premise of the story is that Elena has been cursed into toad form for seven years, we meet up with her as she finally manages to break her curse. She is a vine witch and returns to her old family home to find things very changed and under the management of a young man who doesn’t believe in magic. Elena is determined to get the curses off of her vineyard and get revenge on the person who cursed her, but to do so she must be sneaky with her magic.Characters (3/5): I never engaged with any of the characters here. They were all a bit shallow and selfish, they also didn’t have a lot of dimension to them. They were okay but not great. Setting (3/5): I enjoyed the historical French setting but we don’t really get to see much outside of Chateau Renard. The vineyard was interesting and it was intriguing to learn about wine making some. However, I would have liked more explanation of the broader world and a broader setting.Writing Style (4/5): This was written fine, there is some beautiful description in here around magic and the vineyards. I enjoyed the idea of Vine Witches and thought the magic was interesting, if a bit ambiguous about how it worked. I did think the pacing was a bit slow and didn’t care much for the characters or the overall storyline.My Summary (3.5/5): Overall this was an okay read. I enjoyed some of the beautiful descriptions here and liked the idea of Vine Witches and their magic. I didn’t enjoy the predictable, slow-paced story and never engaged with the characters all that well. I don’t plan on reading more of this series. If you enjoy historical fiction with some light fantasy touches you might enjoy this.

[purpledog-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is a historical, paranormal, murder mystery. The first 15% or so I had a hard time focusing on the story, mainly because I didn't connect with the MC. However, I stuck with it and ended up liking the story. The plot moved along nicely and even though I knew who the murderer was there were other elements of the story that keep me interested. The ending had a nice twist I was not expecting though I felt it was a little rushed. The narration was good, but not outstanding; therefore, I give that 3.5ish stars. My overall rating is in the 4ish range. I would have rated higher if I had not struggled with the beginning.

[cj82487 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This was such an enjoyable read. Never once did it feel forced or even too far fetched. It's as if we hear of vine witches and all manner of witches on a daily basis how effortlessly I dove into this world. I was hooked in from the first sentence of the first chapter and had life not called my attention, I would have easily finished this in a single day, possibly a single sitting. Such a magical and wonderful story to behold.

[baochuan-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Love and betrayal, good story line that intertwined with wine and beer making. Good description of the characters.

[jillrhudy · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.In this fun fairy tale novel , a “vine witch” in France at the prior turn of the century is gifted with wine-making magic. Witches in this world can have different kinds of magic, including baking magic; sex magic; or brewery or vineyard magic (I’ll take some of each, please). Naturally, there is also black magic, with blood and demons and pentagrams. At the beginning of the book, Elena Boureanu, the vine witch of Château Renard—specializing in Pinot Noir–has been turned into a toad by someone using the forbidden black arts, and changes herself back after seven years hopping around in the swamp. Elena vows revenge against her enchanter, who has also hexed her entire vineyard, which was once legendary but hasn’t turned out a decent bottle in precisely seven years. The grapes mold on the vine and the oldest vines are literally depressed. If any grapes are actually harvested, a resident gargoyle pisses on them, just to make sure the wine will be extra sour.It’s up to Elena to save the vineyard, and the gargoyle is only one difficulty. While Elena was a toad, a distractingly handsome vigneron, Jean-Paul Martel took over the vineyard from her grand-mère, and he isn’t having any of this superstitious magic nonsense with the new Age of Science dawning. Great wine, Jean-Paul insists, is a simple matter of weather, chemistry, and timing. Elena runs into many other magical obstacles as well, but she finds some magical allies along the way, with both astonishing powers and gutsiness in a crisis.This is Luanne Smith’s debut, and it shows considerable promise within the fantasy genre. While I was “all in” the Chanceaux Valley, and didn’t want to put the book down for even a minute, I felt that the novel was rushed and possibly over-edited. Elena is a great character but the other characters were insufficiently fleshed out, the romance was rushed, the friendships were rushed, the showdown with the enemy was rushed, the plot twists at the end were rushed. The only aspect of the book that was not rushed was the magic. Various spells are described in scrumptious detail, and I wanted more of the same for the whole book. I hope that in the sequel, "The Glamourist" (to be released in June 2020), the author takes it nice and slow, as her talent certainly warrants.

[darcia_10 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The Vine Witch gives us an original premise and old world magic full of spells, potions, and curses.I was a bit spellbound by this book. Or maybe I was enchanted. Either way, I really enjoyed the story!Luanne Smith's writing has an easy flow that invites us in and carries us along on the journey. While this is fantasy, the story feels realistic, weaving witches into the community of winemakers, and blending curses with human greed.I felt our witch's connection to the land, love of her craft, and desperation to save the dying vineyard. The romance has a slow build, which I liked, though the connection ultimately felt lackluster to me. I wanted a little more from the ending.Prior to reading this, I didn't know it was the first in a series. It's the perfect opener to this world of witchcraft. This story has a solid ending, so no cliffhangers forcing you on to the next book.*I received a free copy in exchange for my honest review.*

[over.the.edge · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The Vine WitchBook 1by Luanne G. Smith201947 NorthElena awakens from a 7 year curse that ch!mgwd her into a road. Now she is a vine Witch, a witch whose spells help create the world- renowed wine of Chanceaux Valley but confined to a marshland and her magic has been weakened.Jean Paul does not believe in.magic. hes a firm believer in science. Elena can see the vineland us full of hexes threatening the vines, but Jean does not think so. If Elens stays, her past will be uncovered. If she leaves, it could end the vines forever.Revenge, betrayal and self discovery all play a part in this historical fantasy novel of early 20th century France. Looking forward to Book 2.

[n.w.moors-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

When a book starts from the viewpoint of a toad, you know you're reading an original and unusual story. Elena is a vine witch, one who uses her spells to enhance the vineyards of the Château Renard, a common occupation in the Chanceaux Valley. When she finally reverses the curse that changed her to a toad, she returns to find that the Chateau has been sold. Jean-Paul is a man of science who scoffs at the country folk and their witchcraft, but his vines aren't doing well and he doesn't know why.This is such a fun story. Elena comes back for revenge but her inbred sympathy for the vineyards vies with her darker instinct. Jean-Paul is a city man who must amend his deeply held beliefs in order to save his vineyard. There are some good twists that keep the plot moving forward. This is a great debut novel, and I hope to read more from this author in future.