Book review of A Winter Retreat at the Paris Cheese Shop by Victoria Brownlee

A Winter Retreat at the Paris Cheese Shop

My review today is for A Winter Retreat at the Paris Cheese Shop by Victoria Brownlee, the first part of her debut novel that is being released as a series by Quercus. Part two, A Summer of Love at the Paris Cheese Shop was released today.

In addition to the gorgeous cover, what initially attracted me to this series was the challenge main character Ella sets herself when she discovers her local cheese shop in Paris. Newly arrived, lonely and in need of someone to talk to, she makes a point of returning to visit and sample a different cheese every time. This is so me and those of you who have been reading my blog for a while may see the similarities to my patisserie challenge.

A Winter Retreat at the Paris Cheese Shop is just the first part and sets the scene well. We meet Ella and find out why an Aussie who had hopes and dreams of marriage suddenly finds herself alone in Paris, looking for work and stumbling around in a cheese shop. It tickled my taste buds, but ended far too soon, with merely a hint of the cheese selection promised. However, this is to be expected as although the book will be available in full later in the year, it is currently being released in four parts and this first taste certainly left me hungry for more. While I do love the anticipation, I was also a little frustrated I couldn’t carry straight on.

Part two was released today and parts three and four can be pre-ordered from Amazon, links can be found below. I can’t wait to get back to Paris with Ella.

You can read how author Victoria Brownlee likes to enjoy a LazySundayinFrance here and you can follow Victoria at her website, on Twitter and Instagram.