Top Ten Tuesday: Arches and Windows

 Welcome to this week's edition of Top Ten Tuesday which is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week's theme is Cozy/Atmospheric Reads

I am going a bit rogue this week and I am choosing covers which features archways or windows. It's an idea that has been calling to me for a couple of months now, and today is the day that I make it happen! These are all books that I have read this year!

The Lost Garden by Angela Petch - This is the book that made me think about doing this as a topic. (my review)

Winter Nights at the Bay Bookshop by Jessica Redland - This arch kind of reminded me of the arch window on Play School, which is the window I hoped they would choose every time. Australians will get this, or at least Australians of a certain age! (my review)

Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett - This is the first book in the Emily Wilde series. It probably almost doesn't count but the frame forms an arch like shape. At least that's my story and I am sticking to it. (my review)

The Magic of Provence by Alison Roberts - love the view extending out through the arch here. (my review)

The Santorini Writing Retreat by Eva Glyn - It looks like this might be a picture from a balcony but the flowers form an arch to look out across that iconic Santorini view. (my review)

The House at River's Edge by Rachel Burton - The windows are flung wide open on this cover (my review)

A Greek Island Gift by Mandy Baggot - Love the colours on this cover! (my review)

Under a Riviera Moon by Helen McGinn - How nice would it be to sit outside on a beautiful warm Riviera evening and look at this view. (My review)

Full Moon Coffee Shop by Mai Mochizuki - I am really looking forward to reading the follow up to the book soon! (My review)

The Secrets of the Rose by Nicola Cornick - I do love it when you see an series of arches covered in flowers like this! (My review)

Top Ten Tuesday: It's a flower!

Welcome to this week's edition of Top Ten Tuesday which is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week's theme is Book Covers that Give off Fall Vibes (Or, if you’re not a cover person, share the books in general that feel like Fall.). It is Spring here, so I am choosing to focus on gardens and flowers this week. 

The Lucky Sisters by Rachael Johns - This book isn't even out yet but how could I not include it in a post about flowers on covers!

The Lost Garden by Angela Petch - The title says it all really. This garden is found again in WWII Italy. (my review)

Once Upon  a Thyme by Jane Lovering - This book is set in a herb garden (my review)

The Whisky Widow by Karen Brooks - I love the thistles on the cover of this book (my review)

The Woman Who Got Her Spark Back by Fiona Gibson - The main character of this book runs a plant hospital (my review)

A Secret Garden in Paris by Sophie Beaumont - This books takes it's characters on a walking tour of the gardens of Paris. (my review)

Fresh Water for Flowers by Valerie Perrin - This books features a cemetery caretaker who takes care of the garden and the graves (my review)

Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett - I love the cover on this book! (my review)

The Magic of Provence by Alison Roberts - I like the way the flowers frame the arch on this cover. I am thinking about doing a TTT all about books with arches on the cover. (my review)

The Secrets of the Huon Wren by Claire van Ryn - This cover is so pretty with all the flowers cascading down the cover. (my review)

Have you read any of these books?

Blog Tour: The Magic of Provence by Alison Roberts

 

The Magic of Provence is the third book in the A Year in France series and we finally hear more about Fiona Gilchrist. In the first two books in the trilogy, Fiona was always off stage, one of the family but choosing to stay away and it was never really clear to the family or the reader why that would be.

The book opens when there is an incident at Fi's work and she is given an ultimatum which ultimately sees her escaping to the south of France where she knows her two sisters will welcome her, and hopefully not ask too many questions. Fi doesn't know if she will ever be ready to talk to her sisters about the things that have happened to her in the past that have caused her to withdraw from everyone but she knows this is where she needs to be.

To say her sisters are surprised to find her sitting near the donkeys Coquelicot and Marguerite in the early morning is an understatement but they try to give her the space she needs. There is something about the little cottage which has helped each of the sisters in their time of need, and Fi is not immune to its magic. The donkeys also play a big part in that.

Fi is a farrier by trade and soon finds herself helping out the local vet with a herd of wild donkeys that he volunteers to take care of. Fi is attracted to Christophe but she knows that she cannot let himself in because she knows that no one will ever want her and that she can't normally trust men in general. Christophe has his own issues. He was hurt very badly as a young man and he is determined that he won't ever allow that to happen again, despite the best efforts of his mother and ailing grandmother to try and guilt him into finding someone to love.

In addition to Fi's story, we also find out more about why their dad disappeared all those years leaving them to be raised by their mother.  

There is a lot of past trauma in this book, and so it is probably a bit heavier than the previous books in the series. Having finished it now though, I am glad that we got to see all three girls come to a place in their lives where they can move on from their individual and collective traumas. Of course, it won't ever truly be gone, but they are in a place where they can deal with it all better than they could previously. Importantly, they can do it together!

This book had me searching on the map for the town of Menton which is one of the places the characters visit. It is a town that is right on the border with Italy so it has a real mix of cultures. I would love to visit for the lemon festival which is held each year in February and also take the train ride from Puget-Theniers to Annot. 

In her author's note, Alison Roberts talks about part of the reason for writing this trilogy was wanting to bring Provence to life, and I would say she was very successful in this regard. All the way through the trilogy I found myself wanting to visit the places mentioned in the book like St Paul de Vence and Menton, to try the food, see the local art and the crafts and to just generally enjoy the Provencal atmosphere

Here are the links to my previous reviews for this trilogy

Falling for Provence

From Provence with Love

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 4/5

About the Book

The Magic of Provence

Sometimes facing your fears can be the start of something wonderful

Fiona Gilchrist has spent years running from her demons. But deciding to take back control, she packs up her life and makes the trip to Provence to be reunited with her sisters. And almost instantly, there is something about La Maisonette which is healing and Fi knows she’s ready for a chance to start again.

When an opportunity arises to work alongside vet Christophe Brabant, Fi, although hesitant cannot resist saying yes. Because immersing herself in what she loves is the ultimate distraction. And while Christophe may be utterly charming, he’s also committed to his job so Fi knows she’s in safe hands. Yet, what starts as a blossoming friendship quickly turns to something deeper. Because for the first time in her life, Fi begins to feel relaxed and completely at ease. Could it be that Christophe’s heart is more like hers than she realises? Or has she allowed him to penetrate the boundaries she always considered unbreachable?

Coming to France took a leap of faith, but in doing so it has allowed these two damaged souls a chance to find each other while Provence works its magic…

Purchase Link - https://mybook.to/TheMagicOfProvence

About the Author 

Alison Roberts is the author of over one hundred romance novels with Mills and Boon, and now writes romance and escapist fiction for Boldwood.



Social Media Links –

Twitter: @RobertsAli54060

Newsletter Sign Up: https://bit.ly/AlisonRobertsNews

Bookbub profile: @rosi3

Blog Tour: From Provence with Love by Alison Roberts

 

Last year I read Falling for Provence by Alison Roberts and at the end of it I was really hoping that we would get to read more about the sisters in the story. Luckily for me, we do, and this is Laura's story. 

Laura Gilchrist is a woman in control. She's a successful real estate agent who is charge of her own life, organised and efficient, and who knows what she wants and what she doesn't. After inheriting a share in a run-down cottage in France, what she wants right now is to get it done up and sold. If that means that she has to be in communication with the absolutely gorgeous, motor bike riding French realtor Noah Dufour then so be it. And if that communication turns into flirtation, and that flirtation turns into a whirlwind weekend affair, then again, c'est la vie.

Whilst their weekend affair is brief, it is also intense and they cover a variety of subjects including the fact that neither of them want children. So when Laura realises that she has accidentally fallen pregnant she isn't looking forward to telling him, especially not over the phone, and she also needs to come to terms with her own change in priorities as well. 

When Laura has to travel to France for a family celebration, she has the opportunity to tell him face to face, and he pretty much reacts as expected. However, while I realise that sentence probably makes him sound a bit insensitive, which he is, he also has his reasons and as he works through his past traumas and heartbreaks hopefully he will see sense.

Noah is depicted as a successful bad boy. He knows all the best restaurants for wining and dining, but he is not afraid to share his favourite places with Laura, so he is not just a one dimensional characters. One other thing about Noah. When we first meet him he is a smoker. Ugh...so horrible to even read about. Just shows how ingrained the anti-smoking message is these days. 

The book is broken into three parts. The first few chapters are in effect a recap of the last book, but told from Laura's perspective, rather than Ellie's. At the same time, we are seeing what is going on with Laura and Noah. I recall Ellie having some kind of thought in the first book but boy, it was much more intense than she thought. The second part are the weekend and the immediate aftermath, and then the final act is about dealing with the fallout after the announcement. 

In fiction there is something about Provence. I did go there many years ago but I would love to go back now and see if I could catch the magic that so many other people do. In the mean time, I will just have to make do with feeling the magic through the pages of books like this. At one point Noah says

"The South of France is like a sigh, n'est-ce pas?" he asked. "Like breathing out slowly because you've found what you've been looking for all along, even if you didn't know what it was that you were looking for."

It certainly made me sigh.

Alison Roberts again brings the medieval villages, the lavender fields and the food and restaurants to life in the pages of this book. Bonus points that some of the book is set at Christmas so we get some festive descriptions as well.  She did live in the location that these books are set in, and it shows in the writing. Roberts also has written many straight romance novels, and I do think that there are times when that shows as well, but I am okay with that!

The stage is all set for us to find out now what the story is with Fiona Gilchrist, why she has been estranged from her family and only on the very edges of the story for the last two books. I am looking forward to seeing what her story is!

I am sharing this review with the New Release Challenge hosted by The Chocolate Lady's Book Reviews. 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 4/5

About the book

From Provence, With Love

A lifechanging encounter, a whirlwind affair... an unexpected consequence

Laura Gilchrist has always made sensible choices. But a trip to Provence to sell an inherited stone house leads her face to face with Noah Dufour. Her wild, irresistibly attractive real estate agent. And within an instant she’s bewitched. Without a second thought, she decides she’s going to accept his offer to ride on the back of his motorbike and see the beauty of the South of France though his eyes. She’s never acted on impulse before, but Noah makes her feel spontaneous and free – and a little bit excited.

Weeks later, with the memories of their passionate fling refusing to fade, Laura waits for her life to return to normal. But she can’t shake the feeling something has changed. And then her instincts are confirmed by the sight of two blue lines. Their connection was a whirlwind; perfect yet brief. But Noah has become a chink in her buttoned up armour and she knows her news is going to blindside him. Now she must return to Provence to find out whether they can both take a leap of faith based on one brief yet perfect holiday romance…

Purchase Link - https://mybook.to/ProvenceWithLove

About the Author 

Alison Roberts is the author of over one hundred romance novels, joining Boldwood to write ‘wish you were here’ fiction set in the South of France.

Social Media Links –

Twitter: @RobertsAli54060

Newsletter Sign Up: https://bit.ly/AlisonRobertsNews

Bookbub profile: @rosi3

Top Ten Tuesday: A new start

Welcome to this week's edition of Top Ten Tuesday which is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week's theme is "Destination Titles (titles with name of places in them. These places can be real or fiction!) (this was a topic Rachel @ Sunny Side came up with for a freebie week last year and has let me steal it!)". 

Now I have done this topic numerous times in one variation or another and I probably could just do another whole post with Paris in the title and not duplicate from the last time I did it, but I will save that for Paris in July next year.

Instead, this week, I am going to keep it simple. These are the last ten books I have read where one or both of the main characters has moved to a new location. Most of these will be escape lit - set in other countries like France and Italy but others are just new starts in the character's home country:

Poppy's Parisian Patisserie by Daisy James - Poppy is a baker who goes to Paris to help out in the patisserie owned by her brother's friend. (review)

An Island Promise by Kate Frost - Three friends come back together in Ibiza ten years after a momentous holiday. (review)

A French Country Escape by Jennifer Bohnet - A brother and sister move to France for a new start (review)

Falling for Provence by Alison Roberts - Ellie agrees to stay in Provence to renovate the cottage that she and her sisters have inherited (review)

The Little Provence Book Shop by Gillian Harvey - Adeline and her daughter move to France after finding out that she was adopted as a child (review)

One Winter at the French Chalet by Mandy Baggot - Journalist Orla accepts a last minute job in a small village called Saint-Chambéry to write a story about a mute man and a pregnant reindeer. (review)

In Italy for Love by Leonie Mack - Jules moved to Italy for love, but it didn't work out. Now she is going to work on a homestay farm for as long as it takes for her to be able to head back to Australia. (review)

A Recipe for Christmas by Jo Thomas - Clara takes a risk and moves to Switzerland where she is going to do a fun course in chocolate making. I am planning to review this one shortly

The Bookshop at the Cornish Cove by Kim Nash - Dennis is visiting his grandmother in Driftwood Bay when he meets Nancy who runs the local bookshop (review)

A Little Place in Prague by Julie Caplin - Anna is moving to Prague for a few months for a cultural exchange. She doesn't expect to meet her ex, Leo, there. (review)

Do you enjoy a new start romance?

Blog Tour: Falling for Provence by Alison Roberts

 

When Ellie and her sisters inherit a house in Provence from an uncle they have never even heard of before, she can have no idea of the impact it will have on her life. The plan was to tidy the place up and sell it straight away. Ellie and Laura head to the house just for a look and then to the local town. Ellie is surprised, even to herself, when she impulsively decides to stay in the house and do the renovations herself.

Ellie hasn't been doing anything on impulse of late, lost in grief following the tragic passing of her young child. So the fact that she is taking an interest in something is a good thing, but it isn't without challenges. She can barely speak the language, she is terrified of the thought of having to drive on the wrong side of the road and she doesn't know the first thing about renovating a house.

Along with the house, Ellie has inherited ownership of two donkeys, Coquelicot and Marguerite. One night she finds a small boy near the donkeys, and soon after she meets his father, who proceeds to berate her for neglecting the donkeys and tells her to fix the fences. It's not quite the introduction you would want when you just move into a house and you know no one.

Julien, the grumpy neighbour, has his own issues to deal with. He is raising his son, Theo, after his wife died in a car accident. Whilst he has support from his family, it is still a challenge given his career as a busy doctor. He is definitely not looking for any complications that might arise with the neighbour next day.

We witness Ellie as she slowly begins to breathe again, to begin to remember who Ellie the person is. The Ellie who used to be an artist, who loves to sit outside and watch the sunset, the Ellie who can open her heart to a small boy. She also finds herself looking after a stray dog called Pascal. In other words, we see her world expanding. The question is how much can Ellie allow herself to feel, especially seeing as she knows that she is only in Provence for the summer. 

Now, if I had an unknown uncle who had a house in Provence, you can bet I would definitely be on my way there in a heartbeat. The author has obviously spent some time there, and was able to bring it to life in the pages. And yes, that means lavender for example, but it also means tiny details in the tiles in the town square, visiting the town market to try the local speciality, socca and so much more.

This is a gentle read for the most part, although there are some dramatic moments, particularly later in the book. It does take a little while to pick up, but to me that is quite clever in that it ties in with Elllie's healing and growth.

It turns out that this isn't my first read from Alison Roberts. I apparently read a previous Mills and Boon book by her more than 10 years ago. I love a good "wish you were here" novel, especially when it is set in France. I think the set up was there for another book connected to this one featuring Ellie's sister, which I will be reading.

I am sharing this review with the New Release Challenge hosted by The Chocolate Lady's Book Reviews. 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 4/5

About the Book

Falling For Provence

She came to Provence in the hope of a fresh start, she never expected she would fall in love in and find herself along the way.

Inheriting an old stone house in Provence, along with her sisters is the catalyst Ellie Gilchrist needs to put some distance between her and her grief. But when she arrives at the run down ‘La Maisonette’ hidden amongst overgrown Lavender and Ivy, she wonders if she’s made a mistake?

That is until she meets her guarded neighbour Julien and his adorable little boy, and she’s surprised by the flutters of excitement she never thought she’d feel again. Add in rescuing a stray dog and she has the much needed distraction she needs. Ellie decides to stay temporarily and work on bringing the little house back to life again. If only she can ignore the fireworks that explode every time she’s around Julien. They both have hearts they want to protect, but a little temporary affaire can’t be too dangerous, especially when Ellie has stated she will be leaving after the last summer market of the season. But something in the alchemy of what she discovers in this part of France seems to be casting an irresistible spell making it difficult to walk away.

Purchase Link - https://mybook.to/fallingprovencesocial

About the Author –

Alison Roberts is the author of over one hundred romance novels, joining Boldwood to write ‘wish you were here’ fiction set in the South of France.

Social Media Links –

Twitter: https://x.com/RobertsAli54060

Newsletter Sign Up: https://bit.ly/AlisonRobertsNews

This week...

Max

It's hard to believe but it is has been 2 years since this handsome boy came into our lives!

I'm reading

I have had a bit of a book hangover this week. I finished The Beforelife of Eliza Valentine by Laura Pearson. My review isn't due for a couple of weeks but ....spoiler...I loved it! I had bought another couple of books by her before I even made it quarter of the way through the book which is always a good sign.

I eventually decided to start reading Falling for Provence by Alison Roberts.

Finally I started read The Resistance Bakery by Siobhan Curham which I need to review in a couple of weeks.



I'm watching



This week we watched Jack Whitehall: Fatherhood with my Father. We love the travel series that Jack and his dad, Michael Whitehall have done previously, and this was more of the same. The idea for this one is that Jack has become a father himself, so he is taking a look at his own relationship with his father. They also look at what it means to be a father in the modern world.

Given that we have been away for a while we have a few Bake Off episodes to catch up on, so currently we are watching the Canadian and New Zealand series, and the new Australian series starts next week.

On Firday night I was flicking through the channels and found something called Ottolenghi and the Cakes of Versailles. A few years ago, the New York Met Museum was hosting an exhibition about Versailles, and they invited Yotem Ottolenghi to put together a special night. He invited 5 very different pastry chefs to put their own spin on the theme. This show was combination food porn, food history and Versailles, which made it an interesting documentary.

We have been watching a bit of the Louis Vuitton Cup sailing which is the qualifier for the America's Cup.

Finally we started watching Kaos starring Jeff Goldblum, which has been very interesting. We will be finishing this week I thin!



Life

We were back at work this week which, I won't lie, was challenging. I have a lot of thinking to do about work.

Posts from the last week


Afternoon Tea Diaries: The Library at County Hall
Sunday Salon: Historical Fiction Reading Challenge - August stats



I've linked this post to It's Monday, what are you reading? as hosted by Book Date