Book review of Lavender, Loss and Love at the Villa des Violettes by Patricia Sands

Lavender, Loss and Love at the Villa des Violettes by Patricia Sands

My review today is for Lavender, Loss and Love at the Villa des Violettes, the third book in the Villa des Violettes series by Patricia Sands, who first introduced us to Kat and Philippe in the Love in Provence books.

There is always a lot of love and compassion in the pages of Patricia’s novels, with family and friendships at the core, and this one is no exception. We are back in Antibes at the villa Kat and Philippe are now running as a B&B. It is summer, and as a heatwave sweeps France life for Kat slips into an easy routine of ensuring chores like gardening are tackled in the mornings when it’s cooler, and the evenings are free to relax with friends over apéros or dinner. Kat is the type of person who wears her heart on her sleeve and takes on everyone else’s problems as though they were her own. As she welcomes her summer guests to the villa their shared stories add an extra layer of emotion to the novel. The bond between Kat and Philippe is as strong as ever and although time is catching up with the older generation of Philippe’s family, exciting changes are afoot for his daughter Adorée, who is making a new life for herself in the Luberon.

 

Patricia has a gift for bringing the area she obviously loves to life, and in places this book is like a mini tour of the Cote d’Azur and the Luberon, as she takes us along with Kat and Philippe. From enjoying soirées on a yacht, where the coastline captivates Kat, to days out cycling through the fields of flowering lavender and visiting the well-known sights like Roussillon, Gordes and Les Carrières de Lumières at Les Baux de Provence, I could picture it all as I read. Patricia also weaves in some local history, notably around the Resistance movement in the Luberon area during the Second World War, for added interest.

Antibes

 

Having been lucky enough to have followed in Kat’s footsteps earlier this year, wandering the harbour and lunching in Antibes, and experiencing the lavender fields in bloom for the first time, just like Kat, I felt a real connection as I read this book. It was great to catch up with characters who now feel like friends and I hope there will be more from the Villa des Violettes soon.

 

Fields of lavender

All three books in the Villa des Violettes series are available in ebook and paperback formats, and you can get the ebook collection of all three books in one, on a great value deal, on Amazon. Links can be found below.