The French for Always by Fiona Valpy

Escape to France with The French for Always

Review copies available now. Publication 25 April 2013.

What They Say:

Soak up the sunshine and enjoy the local charm in The French for Always from women's fiction author and Bordeaux resident Fiona Valpy. Best served with a chilled glass of wine!

Perfect for fans of Katie Fforde, Carole Matthews or Erica James - and everyone who enjoyed Nick Alexander's The French House.

Five Weddings. The perfect venue. One little hitch...
Leaving the grey skies of home behind to transform a crumbling French Château into a boutique wedding venue is a huge leap of faith for Sara. She and fiancé Gavin sink their life savings into the beautiful Château Bellevue – set under blue skies and surrounded by vineyards in the heart of Bordeaux.

After months of hard work, the dream starts to become a reality – until Gavin walks out halfway through their first season. Overnight, Sara is left very much alone with the prospect of losing everything.

With her own heart breaking, Sara has five weddings before the end of the season to turn the business around and rescue her dreams. With the help of the locals and a little courage can she save Château Bellevue before the summer is over? 

What I Say:

I would like to thank Kim Nash and the team at Bookouture for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Sara has moved to France with her fiancé Gavin to run Château Bellevue, having taken a risk and invested her life savings in the Château, Sara is having doubts about everything.  Not only is it harder work than Sara thought it would be, Gavin has undermined her confidence.

Unsure of what to do Sara is at a crossroads until she catches Gavin in a a compromising position with a guest at a wedding.  Gavin leaves Sara in the lurch saying he cant carry on.  Sara has a choice to make let her dreams die around her or get the Château through the next few months of 5 weddings.

I instantly liked Sara she wasn't afraid of hard work and I instantly hated Gavin for undermining her confidence, when he was caught out I secretly cheered. When Gavin had left, she settled down to make the best she could of the situation and I had my fingers crossed that Gavin wouldn't come back and spoil it all for her.

Enter the handsome Thomas into Saras life, he slowly helps her to get her confidence back and with a little help from your friends you can achieve anything.  Thomas and the rest of the team all muck in to help Sara out, Sara realises that she really doesn't want to lose her home and business.

The books follows Sara and Thomas as they manage to get through the summer season and this includes 5 very different weddings. There's a rock stars wedding not quite how you would think it to be.  A couple in there 80's proving you are never too late to find love.  I won't tell anymore but this is a must read.  I've read reviews that say there isn't much happening in this book but for me there was plenty and you don't always need plenty of plot twists to make a good book,  each to their own but I would recommend this as a nice summer read.

This is a gorgeous feel good book with a lovely story, that is beautifully written.  A perfect read that makes me want to visit France, for me that's a big thing as I have never wanted to go to France before.  

At the time I didn't realise there was a previous book to this The French for Love and will definitely be reading it.  You can read this without reading the other book as I did, this doesn't distract from the story.

5 out of 5 stars

Thanks

Jo x

About The Author

Fiona Valpy lives in France, having moved there from the UK in 2007. She left behind a career in Marketing and Public Relations to explore new avenues and now teaches yoga and writes.

Having renovated an old rambling farmhouse with her husband, she has developed new-found skills in cement- mixing and interior decorating, although her preferred pastime by far is wine-tasting.

Praise for The French for Love

'Overall, this book is so much fun and will definitely leave you feeling warm and fuzzy inside. I highly recommend it.' 4.5/5 ChickLitPlus.com

'I thought the book was a fun, enjoyable read in a beautiful setting.' Novelicious.com

You should just take my word and dive into this book. It’s a perfect summer read that will transport you away from the doldrums commuting or the usual rat race and have you longing to move to France and find a ramshackle house of your own.’ 5/5 Kimtalksbooks.com

I would definitely recommend this book as a summer read to anyone... A little bit of romance, a nice glass of wine and a wonderful summer setting.' Fabulous Book Fiend 

Bookouture: https://www.facebook.com/Bookouture 

Fiona Valpy https://www.facebook.com/fionavalpybooks