Rating: 
Summary: heavenly
Review: I have read this book three times from cover to cover and I never get tired of its beautifully written prose and vivid imagery. Knox creates a heaven and hell and an angel that are wholly real yet beyond anyone's imagination. The characterizations of even the most minor characters are carefully thought out and placed before her readers to draw us into this very different world. But it is the developing relationship of the two main characters I find so riveting and intriguing because it is so original. Xas is both adoringly innocent and inadvertently sexy. The way his emotions and experiences are depicted, the reader is able to feel everything he feels right along with him. I couldn't recommend this book enough, but be warned, though it deals with heaven, angels, and God, it is not for the average Sunday church-goer. The male/male relationship would probably stop many cold even though Xas and Sobran share a love and lifetime that takes them both on an incredible journey of self-discovery. I'm so smitten by this different angel, I find would love to read more of Xas in future books. The ending leaves the door open. Please Ms. Knox?
Rating: 
Summary: Fabulous, different book
Review: Well, it was funny, gentle, frustrating, beautiful, infuriating, confusing, simple, convoluted, completely believable, sad, happy, strange, familiar, erotic, stern, playful, poetic, choppy. In effect, everything under the sun! The reason to read this highly engaging, luminous novel is the angel; Xas is one of the best characters I have come across. A beautiful, distant, earthy, gentle, erotic, subtle angel, touched by God and Lucifer both, he is well worth all the trying, annoying, bland, and confusing parts that pepper the story. Right behind him is Aurora, a wonderfully written character, so much more strong, gentle, wise, and clever than Sobran (if you don't believe me, just ask Lucifer!). She's another fabulous new literary character, a perfect complement to Sobran and Xas. Like all truly great novels, this one at times is trying, and other times slow, and other times almost self-indulgent, but all of these supposed "inadequacies" actually make the story more real, more strong, more original, more memorable. All the classic novels have their fair share of irritating or confusing parts; it's almost a calling card of sorts. Altogether, the book is wonderful, with highly original ideas, plots, and characters, with twists on every cliche and philospophy of God and religion and angels. Read it!!!
Rating:
Summary: A quasi-engaging read
Review: Knox never fully submerges the reader because of the brief quality of the text. The story is told with an impersonal glaze, very much like a vase of some sort. Very pretty to admire but cold, offering no warmth.
Rating:
Summary: Simply Amazing
Review: An email buddy of mine from New Zealand recommended this book. I purchased a copy mainly because I'd never read a single thing from anyone in NZ. Plus, he told me that there was a gay relationship that 'sort of' pervades the story. Boy was I surprised at how wonderful this story was! Like others who reviewed this story I, too, found that it took me over 50 pages to really get into it since it's completely character driven and written in a style that took a little while to get used to. Once I got into it tho, it was impossible to put down. I found the love affair between Sobran and Xas to be one of the most moving love stories put into print. The fact that it spanned such a long time was extraordinary. The fact that the author is a woman explains how she was so capable in fleshing out Aurora. She was a wonderfully strong character and I enjoyed everything about her. How the author was able to flesh out Sobran, a male, so well, is the mark of how talented Ms. Knox is. Despite the fact that I'm completely non-religious, the angel/heaven/hell/Christianity stuff was NOT a put off at all. It was somewhat quaint (to me) yet completely interesting. I was utterly unprepared for how well it was worked into the story without being in the least bit preachy. Without it, the story would have totally flopped. Ms. Knox is a master storyteller. There's no doubt about it. She even worked in some wonderful phrasing and some very interesting concepts. I got chills several times throughout the book as I read when a certain collision of words struck me as particularly innovative. I can't say that I was sad at the end, altho I expected to be. I was more like upset that the story had ultimately come to an end. By that time the characters had leapt out from the pages and I was into all of their lives. Again, the sign of a master storyteller. Ms. Knox, a big American thanks for this work!
Rating:
Summary: A MAGICAL, SPELLBINDING LOOK AT LIFE AND LOVE
Review: Set in Burgundy and spanning the years 1808 to 1863, The Vintner's Luck tells the magical, spellbinding story of Sobran Jodeau, a vintner from the village of Aluze. On a midsummer's night, Sobran's life is forever changed when he is visited by an angel named Xas, a gorgeous creature with wings that smell of snow. The Vintner's Luck is definitely a character-driven novel and while each character certainly shines, it is the love and friendship shared by Sobran, the Baroness Aurora and the angel Xas that steals the show--and the reader's heart. All, however, is not sweetness and light. The scene in which Lucifer visits Xas and the consequences that follow are heartbreaking to the core. I could find absolutely no mistakes in this perfect novel. The characters were fully drawn and believable, the prose lyrical yet clear, and the pacing perfect throughout. The Vintner's Luck is a book that achieves enormous depth while retaining a simple, fairy-tale quality--all to the good. Anyone who reads The Vintner's Luck should be prepared to bask in its spell for years to come.
Rating:
Summary: sensuous, lovely--an entrancing read!
Review: Knox's dense images and smooth, matter-of-fact narrative of a vintner of Burgundy and his angel is quick to read but slow and sweet in aftertaste. An immensely enjoyable book, perfect for a bleak winter day with some hot tea. Perhaps it is not world-shaking fiction, but it is comforting and gives warmth after all the havoc of more prestigious novels.
Rating: 
Summary: The Vinter's luck will be your bad luck
Review: Tedious in the extreme - other reviewers read it in one night, I took three months. Boring story, dreadful writing with pretensions to prose. Glad its all over. Sorry Lucy and Elise - worst birthday present EVER !!
Rating:
Summary: Read it in 2 days!
Review: A friend of mine recommended this book to me, and one night I picked it up around midnight, thinking I'd read the first chapter before I went to bed. I loved the book so much I stayed up until 7 am reading it. I then finished it the day after. It is not perfect prose, but Knox delivers a interesting, powerful, intellectual and unique story about love and human relationships. What seems like style flaws, one relizes at the end, serve to further a point of her novel. Brilliant.
Rating:
Summary: Thoughtful Relationship Driven Fantasy
Review: It takes about a 100 pages for this book to begin to attract the reader and really involve one in the characters. The structure is built around each chapter being one year in the life of Sabran Jodeau. Every year, he meets with Xas, an angel with a past we learn progressively with Sabran. These encounters alter Sabran's life more than once within the story and the lives of those surrounding him. One interesting reversal during an age of post Enlightenment is what would an atheist (not Sobran, but Aurora, an intelligent woman of his acquaintance) react to the knowledge that angels and therefore God actually exist. Although the theology isn't as detailed as I'd hoped, still, the ideas presented in this book are thoughtful. Recommended for fantasy enthusiasts looking for something a bit different. This book would also be of interest to those who pursue literature featuring homosexual themes.
Rating:
Summary: Interview with the Vampire-like Angel...
Review: Sensual Anne Rice-esque story in a beautifully designed book. Might make a novel gift idea to accompany a wonderful bottle of wine for any friend who enjoys a full bodied merlot while cuddling up with a good book. Easy, engaging read.
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