When advertising whiz Becky Thorne has a meltdown at work and is signed off on stress leave for a month, she can't believe it. She certainly doesn't believe that her twitching eye and trembling legs are physical signs of stress. What is she going to do for a month? How on earth is she going to tell her driven, successful mother who doesn't believe in poppycock like burn out?
Part of the trigger for her stress is the fact that she has inherited a cafe with an apartment from her Aunt Maud who she hasn't seen in years after there was some kind of family fall out. The cafe is in a small French town called Vaudrelle in the Loire. Becky just wants to get it sold so that she can use the money to buy a fancy new flat in London and get on with her life.
The fact that there is a tenant is causing some problems and so Becky goes to France so that she can get to the bottom of it all, much to her mother's dismay. There she meets the tenant, Pascal. He is a writer who has been keeping the cafe going. He shares a letter with Becky from her Great Aunt Maud, asking her to at least spend a month working at the cafe before she makes any major decisions. Understanding that with French bureaucracy things are going to take time anyway, Becky agrees to stay but she starts renovating the cafe in preparation for when she can sell it.
Thankfully, she has the support of her best friend Amber who she can call on at any time. However, when Amber isn't as available as Becky needs she is somewhat perplexed. Amber always helps her navigate her difficult situations, including her difficult relationship with her mother.
Becky isn't really that nice a person for the first part of the book. She is very self-centred and not a great friend to Amber who keeps on trying to tell Becky that she has issues of her own. She also kind of bulldozes her way into town, making decisions about the cafe before she truly understands the town and it's people.
As you would expect though, taking some time out turns out to be exactly what she needs. She begins to understand who her aunt really was, and what prompted her to move to France all those years ago. She is also reminded that underneath her brittle shell of ambition and drive, there is someone who does appreciate different aspects of life including art and taking things slowly.
It is interesting to see the topic of burnout addressed in fiction. I have taken a few months off of work and whilst I haven't really used the term burnout. there's no doubt that my mental health has improved as a result of taking some time out.
I love Gillian Harvey's books about people making a new start in France. I didn't get the same sense of place that I normally do with this one though. I guess I was thinking that given that the setting was in the Loire Valley there might be a visit to a chateau or two or a mention of the river. I was looking for the Loire that I visited a couple of years ago in the pages.
I loved all of the film and pop culture references that were scattered through the book such as all the quotes from Jerry Maguire. There was also a bit of twist in the second half of the book that was as much of a surprise to me as it was to Becky. I liked how this really helped Becky understand a few things about her family.
Gillian Harvey is an auto-read author for me these days. Her books are always very readable, and this was no exception. I galloped through it in a couple of hours. I am already looking forward to her next book. I do have a couple of her earlier books that I still need to read in the mean time!
I am sharing this review with the New Release Challenge hosted at The Chocolate Lady's Book Reviews and with Paris In July hosted by Words and Peace. Be sure to check out other stops on the tour shown below. Thanks to the publisher, Netgalley and Rachel's Random Resources for the review copy.
Rating 3.5/5
The Village Cafe in the Loire
High-flyer Becky Thorne cannot believe what she’s being told. She doesn’t need to be signed off for burnout! Life has been a bit chaotic lately, that’s all. As if dealing with her enviable job and permanent meddling from her mother aren’t enough, she’s also inherited a café in the Loire from an estranged great-aunt, complete with sitting tenant who refuses to budge.
But nobody stands in Becky’s way! Ignoring her best friend Amber’s advice, she decides to storm over to France and sort the tenant out. Then she can finally get the café sold and jump back on the career ladder.
What she doesn’t count on is the tenant being Pascale, who is six feet of tall, dark, handsome and extremely grumpy about her plans for change. Not to mention the village and the secrets it holds about her past.
Becky’s path to success is all planned out. But the Loire has a magic she might not be able to resist…
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