Rupert, the ailing guesthouse owner, is shell-shocked. Feeling somewhat responsible, and rather generous after a bottle (or so) of wine, heartbroken Emmy offers to help. Changing sheets in the gîtes will help keep her mind off her misery.
Thrust into the heart of the local community, Emmy suddenly finds herself surrounded by new friends. And with sizzling hot gardener Ryan and the infuriating (if gorgeous) accountant Alain providing welcome distractions, Nathan is fast becoming a distant memory.
Fresh coffee and croissants for breakfast, feeding the hens in the warm evening light; Emmy starts to feel quite at home. But it would be madness to walk away from her friends, family, and everything she’s ever worked for, to take a chance on a place she fell for on holiday – wouldn’t it?
Whenever I need a pick-me-up, a book that I'm sure I will enjoy and that will make me smile, I know I can trust on publisher Bookouture to have something on offer that fits my wishes. Last week I was really looking for a feel-good, summer read and I stumbled upon my review copy of Helen Pollard's 'The Little French Guesthouse', which I got via NetGalley. I immediately loved the colourful cover of the book and the summary promised just the kind of story I was longing to dive into. I was excited to join main character Emmy on her holiday to France and hoped I would end up enjoying the book as much as I expected!
Twenty-something Emmy Jamieson can't wait to spend two blissful weeks at La Cour des Roses, a beautiful French guesthouse in the countryside, with her boyfriend of five years, Nathan. However, what is supposed to be a relaxing break to fall in love with each other again turns out to be quite the disaster when Emmy catches Nathan in bed with their hostess Gloria. After the two of them leave the guesthouse, Emmy is left behind to take care of the owner, Rupert, and the guesthouse itself. But what initially seems as a disaster soon turns out to be a blessing in disguise as Emmy meets some great new people and starts to feel quite at home in the French countryside. Question is: what does she really want to do with her life at this moment and is she really ready to make some life-altering decisions while she's far away from home and everyone she loves?
'The Little French Guesthouse' is my first Helen Pollard novel and I have to say I enjoyed it a lot! The book is promoted as a great read for fans of authors such as Lucy Diamond and Jenny Colgan and I definitely agree with that; it's a novel I can recommend to all chick lit fans. I really liked Helen's writing; she even made me fall in love with the setting of the book, particularly the guesthouse, and I'm really not a fan of France usually! The descriptions of the lovely house, the scenery and Emmy's adventures really made me long for summer (and a holiday!) and resulted in a lovely and wonderful read which I really enjoyed.
Emmy was a great main character that I easily warmed to and felt for. Part of the warmth of the novel comes from the wonderful secondary characters, though, which really created that lovely small town feeling where everyone knows and helps each other. I did feel that at times the book could have been a bit more fast-paced, or perhaps another small storyline could have been added to keep the reader entertained at all times, but I do understand this smaller pace of life fits the holiday/summer/French lifestyle. I actually read somewhere that this is the first part of a series and I am really excited to see what the next instalment is going to bring us and I'm sure I will be picking it up. Overall, 'The Little French Guesthouse' is the ideal chick lit read to pick up when you're longing for your summer holiday; a warm, well-written, fun read which I enjoyed from start to finish!
Rating:
9,5/10
Thanks to the publisher for providing me with a review copy in exchange for an honest review.
Thank you for reviewing - glad you enjoyed the book! :)
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