July is coming to an end, and so to is Paris in July! I just had time to squeeze in one more read set in France, and only just enough time to actually write the review!
I have read a number of Jo Thomas books over the last few years and I have enjoyed them all. I love the way that she incorporates food into all of her story. Over the years I have visited Italian towns with lasagne wars, a chocolate school in the alps, an oyster farm in Ireland and a German Christmas market amongst other places. This time we are in a small town in France!
Juliet has just gone through treatment for cancer and as a result she wants to make some changes in her life. She convinces her husband Pete that a holiday in France is just what the doctor ordered. There they find an unused water mill and in her mind she can see that it will make the perfect salon de thé. The only problem is that she can't see herself doing this with Pete. He is quite content with his life that is filled with routine. Juliet does not want that anymore. Her children are all grown up with lives of their own so they don't need her as much as they used to. Can she follow her dream of reinvigorating the water mill on her own?
Juliet's plan after refreshing the décor is to open a salon de thé where she can serve cakes and tea in an elegant lake side setting. However, it isn't too long before she hits her first hurdles. First, there is the mayor who wants Juliet to reopen the town boulangerie which has been closed for years and he won't support her plans unless she agrees to it. Now, there is only a tabac in town, and that only has a few customers. The town is served by a bread vending machine which is maintained by a slimy baker from a nearby town. He is not happy at the prospect of a rival taking his customers, especially given that Juliet rejected his advances.
As an aside, recently I was at the supermarket when I witnessed the check out operator doing something that I thought would be sacrilegious, but apparently the customer was asking her to do it. He had bought at least a dozen bread rolls including several baguettes which she folded in half to fit in a shopping bag! I made a joke about man not being able to live on bread alone. Turns out he didn't speak English and so he didn't get my joke. I was shocked at the folding of the baguette, so the idea that you could buy a baguette from a vending machine in France is similarly shocking to me
Back to the book, the biggest issue is that Juliet doesn't know how to bake bread, particularly not the delicious, crusty, fluffy French bread that the town deserves. And in order to be called a boulangerie, the bread must be baked on premises. Juliet can make a lovely Victoria Sponge and a very nice Lemon Drizzle cake, but not bread. Juliet is going to need all the help that she can get, especially in getting the right ingredients to give it the right taste and texture. After all, there are only four ingredients in bread - flour, water, salt and water. But in order to get the help she needs she is going to win over the gorgeous tabac owner Laurent and her grumpy upstairs neighbour who is initially opposed to Juliet's plan for her own reasons.
I liked that the author showed that it isn't easy to just decide to move to France anymore. Juliet had to meet certain criteria in order to get the right visas to be able to keep her French dream alive and the mayor's conditions might put that all at risk. Whilst this story is all about taking a chance on a new life, but I was really moved by Juliet's friendship with Annie who is undergoing her own treatment back in the UK.
Once again, food and community are right at the centre of Jo Thomas's books. It would have been nice to have a bit more of a feel about where in France the book was set but this was another fun read from an author who really knows how to draw the reader in, and to make you wish that you could eat a delicious baguette right now!
I am sharing this review with the New Release Challenge hosted at The Chocolate Lady's Book Reviews, with Weekend Cooking which I host here, with Foodies Read hosted at Based on a True Story and with Paris in July hosted at Words and Peace.
Rating 4/5
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