A Year at the French Farmhouse – Gillian Harvey

I was excited to be given the opportunity to review this book on several fronts:

• Boldwood Books have become a bit of a favourite for me, in terms of publishers. Ihave a genuine penchant for their genre of book.
• I haven’t read any books by Gillian Harvey, so I am full of anticipation.
• I absolutely adore the cover for this book. I find myself so drawn to a cover that makes me want to be that person, in that very location.
• I confess to being a bit of a Francophile, and as such, enjoy reading about different areas and trying to get the the local sights and smells into my head. I also enjoy reading the descriptions of any local delicacies, and trying to picture, and even taste those tasty tidbits in my head.
  

I immediately felt for Lily, as she got made redundant. It seemed extra harsh, in that she was a woman of a certain age – something that those in power don’t necessarily appreciate. I was fairly astonished at how her Boss spoke to her – as though he had been talking about something of no significance whatsoever – akin to how he might discuss the weather!

Ben seemed a prize arse, for not letting on about his true feelings about living in France sooner, and I wanted to shout from the rooftops when Lily made the journey alone. I loved the melee of characters in France, from chic Chloe, to Frederique and Claude. Lily’s friend Emily did have a point though, when she likened Lily’s new life to the plot of her favourite film anoint moving to France, to the extent that some of her new friends could be likened to characters in the film! I did however enjoy learning a little about Ben and Lily’s past, with the little catch-up snippets from the past, at the beginning of some chapters.

I wanted Lily to succeed in getting her new home in order, but I wasn’t sure whether or not I wanted Ben to be part of it – I think the romantic in me preferred the idea of some kind of liaison dangereuse with one of the new men in Lily’s life. I must confess that the curious incident of the orange speedos at the lake, did make me chuckle!

So, I was totally sold on the idea of Lily’s French farmhouse and I found myself most enamoured with the descriptions of her locale. The lake, in particular, sounded stunning.

However, as Lily met more expats, who had originally had the same dream as her – but could barely speak any French after more than ten years, put her off at all?

Would Lily’s newfound friends encourage her to stay?

Was the romantic front ‘En France’ about to offer Lily anything?

Would Ben change his mind at all?

I thoroughly enjoyed finding out the answers to these questions and more – as I’m sure you will too!

Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/3NZA7fA