Book review of The Club for Rebellious Ladies by Siobhan Curham

The Club for Rebellious Ladies by Siobhan Curham

 

The Club for Rebellious Ladies by Siobhan Curham

Who wants to be taught to be a wallflower, existing only so a rich man can bag a meek trophy wife? Not us. In our secret club, we have our own dreams. One day, we’ll run away to Paris, make our own money and fall in love for real.

Provence, 1919. When Elodie Sinclair is sent from Boston to a glamorous finishing school for socialites in training, she is determined to do all she can to rebel. Setting up The Wildflowers Club with best friends Genevieve and Lucille, the women make secret plans to escape their insufferable conversation classes. But just weeks later, a terrible scandal leaves the women reeling. And Elodie Sinclair is presumed dead.

2025. Looking for a fresh start after her drawn-out divorce, Rae Morgan finds herself in a crumbling clifftop manor house in Provence. The mysterious elderly owner, Madame Devereaux, speaks of a glitzy charm school and the tragedy that closed its doors. Though she refuses to say any more… until Rae finds a slip of yellowed paper titled The Wildflowers Club Vows left with the keys. Intrigued, Rae knows there is more that Madame Devereaux wants her to uncover.

Elodie Sinclair’s diary is hidden somewhere within the walls of the tumbledown chateau. If Rae finds it, she’ll discover a devastating secret hidden for a generation, and a spirited woman desperate to escape…

A totally gripping, sweeping and heartbreaking romantic tale full of mystery, lost love and enduring female friendship. Fans of Kate Quinn, Marie Benedict and Evie Woods will adore it.

The Club for Rebellious Ladies by Siobhan Curham

My review

This is another well-written, page-turning, dual timeline novel from one of my favourite authors, but with a difference. The focus isn’t on events from the historical period, rather it’s the social customs and norms of the time that are in the spotlight.

When life at a private French finishing school becomes unbearable for Elodie, she sets up a secret club, where a select few find freedom in opposing all the rules a lady in 1919 should obey. Their dreams are not to become dutiful wives, but to follow their north stars, push the boundaries and do all they can to achieve their passions. For Elodie, this was to make a name for herself in the Paris art scene, but when tradgey strikes in Provence, it leaves behind a mystery to be unpicked.

The Club for Rebellious Ladies by Siobhan Curham

Enter Rae, who finds herself in Provence in 2025, following her passion to bring to life a forgotten manor house. As work progresses, the former school slowly begins to reveal secrets from its past, including a diary detailing the exploits of The Wildflowers Club. As Rae tries to delve into the past, all sorts of adventures, in Paris and Provence, await her.

This book contained a delightful mix of forbidden love, loss and determination, with a huge emphasis on the importance of following your dreams. Add in heroines who will not be tamed, unlikely heros and decades of buried family secrets, and reading it left a huge grin on my face.

It will make a great companion to your summer holiday.

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Siobhan Curham

Author Bio

Siobhan Curham is an award-winning author, ghost writer, editor and writing coach. She has also written for many newspapers, magazines and websites, including The Guardian, Breathe magazine, Cosmopolitan, Writers’ Forum, DatingAdvice.com, and Spirit & Destiny. Siobhan has been a guest on various radio and TV shows, including Woman’s Hour, BBC News, GMTV and BBC Breakfast. And she has spoken at businesses, schools, universities and literary festivals around the world, including the BBC, Hay Festival, Cheltenham Festival, Bath Festival, Ilkley Festival, London Book Fair and Sharjah Reading Festival.

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Book review of The Paris Promise by Suzanne Kelman

The Paris Promise by Suzanne Kelman

The Paris Promise by Suzanne Kelman

Paris, 1943: Keeping her eyes fixed on the Nazi officer, Antoinette slowly reaches under the pillow for the knife hidden there. Her hands are shaking, but she knows what she must do to save her husband and child…

When the Nazis invade Paris, Antoinette Valette’s world shatters overnight. In an instant, she goes from being a celebrated violinist, to fearing for the life of her Jewish husband and son. With nowhere to flee, hiding in plain sight is her family’s only choice.

But when their secret is discovered and her beloved husband is torn from her arms, Antoinette’s heart breaks. She knows she must act quickly if she is to save her son from the same fate. Desperate, she asks the Resistance to secure him a place on the last train leaving Paris. Holding him tightly against her chest, she promises she will find him again. But is it a promise she can’t possibly keep?

Alone and with nothing left to lose, when the Resistance ask her to use her musical talent to spy on high-ranking Nazis, Antoinette doesn’t hesitate. Playing her violin at elaborate dinner parties each night gives her the opportunity to listen to their conversations. And although she risks her life every day, it is the only way to get her family back.

But when a Nazi commander makes advances towards her, Antoinette realizes that she will have to make a dangerous and impossible choice. Can she find the strength to do the unthinkable, in the hopes that it will save her family, and countless other innocent lives?

The third gripping novel in the Paris Sisters series, this novel tells the story of the power of a mother’s love, in the face of unimaginable darkness. Perfect for fans of Roberta Kagan, Kristin Hannah, and Fiona Valpy. 

The Paris Promise by Suzanne Kelman

My review

Having enjoyed the previous books in this series, I was eagerly awaiting book three and looking forward to discovering the Occupation story of another of the Valette sisters.

Antoinette’s war differed from that of her sisters from the outset. As the wife of a Jewish musician, whose family was torn apart when the Nazi’s invaded Paris, her personal loss was heartbreaking to read. This traumatic time gave her the strength and determination to agree to work for the Resistance, using her music to infiltrate the occupying forces. The beauty of her violin playing contrasted with the risks, sacrifices and danger she put herself in and often had me holding my breath as I was dragged deeper into the book. I can’t imagine the emotions she felt as she made difficult decisions that would have repercussions lasting many years.

As with the previous books in this series, it is not just Antoinette’s war story that we follow. Suzanne Kelman is a master at cleverly crafting dual timeline novels that add another dimension and even more emotions to the story. We join Deanna, Antoinette’s granddaughter, as she sets out to uncover the mystery of a precious violin uncovered in her father’s attic. Unravelling her family’s mystery proves to be a journey that takes her to some dark places emotionally as well as some exotic locations.

This book, (and the previous two) are ones to add to your reading list this summer if you enjoy family mysteries, history and the Occupation.

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French Village Diaries is a participant in the Amazon EU Associates Programme, an affiliate advertising programme designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.co.uk at no extra cost to you.

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Suzanne Kelman

Author Bio  

Suzanne Kelman is a 2015 Academy of Motion Pictures Nicholl Finalist, Multi-Award-Winning Screenwriter and a Film Producer. As well as working in film she is also an International Amazon Bestselling Fiction Author of the Southlea Bay Series – The Rejected Writers’ Book Club, Rejected Writers Take the Stage and The Rejected Writers’ Christmas Wedding. Born in the United Kingdom, she now resides in Washington State.

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If you haven’t yet read the first two books in the Paris Sisters series, I recommend that you do – you can read my reviews here:

The Last Day in Paris

The Bookseller of Paris 

The Paris Promise by Suzanne Kelman

Book review of Where Do We Go From Here by Nick Alexander

Where Do We Go From Here by Nick Alexander

Where Do We Go From Here by Nick Alexander

When all seems lost, can she find herself again?

For years, Wendy has put others first. A loving wife, mother and nurse, she has never taken time for herself. But now with her children flying the nest, she decides, alone, to rent a little house in a forgotten corner of the French Alps where she can try and answer the question: what next?

But when she arrives, Wendy starts to regret her decision. This retreat suddenly looks so very different from the dream. As she walks the hill paths alone, thoughts of her family leave her with a pang in her chest.

With no one else to care for, Wendy is suddenly forced to confront something she’s tried her best to hide: the real reason her family is falling apart. Is she strong enough to face it alone?

Then, just when she thinks she’s hit rock bottom, she discovers that help can come from the most unlikely places: a newfound friendship giving her the strength to start again. Wendy always thought she knew how her story would end but she’s learning that this is only the beginning.

An absolutely heartbreaking and uplifting story about love, loss, unlikely friendships and finding strength you never knew you had. Perfect for fans of Mike Gayle, Amanda Prowse and Matt Haig. 

My review

Wow, I have to admit that it has been a while since I read a Nick Alexander book and although they have never disappointed, this one turned out to be a much more powerful  read than I was expecting.

To begin with I felt sorry for Wendy, acclimatising to time alone in her mountain cabin, in the wilds of the Alps, just above Nice, although I enjoyed the memories the views of her vistas gave me of our holidays in the area. As her story was revealed, I felt hurt and angry for her, at the traumas she witnessed as a nurse in England during the pandemic and her family’s seemingly lack of understanding at what she experienced. Then things took a darker, more difficult twist. I don’t think this is a spoiler, but I do feel there should be a trigger warning for alcohol issues in the description of this book, meaning that at times it wasn’t an easy read.

Where Do We Go From Here by Nick Alexander

Wendy wasn’t always an easy character to like, but there was an ever-present optimism in my head that she would find the signs she was hoping for, and in doing so “find herself”. The people she met in France, or those from her past who she tried to reconnect with, all had interesting stories to throw into the mix of emotions that this book stirred within me. It was a page-turner, but not how I imagined it would be. 

If you are looking for something a bit grittier and more grown-up than cosy, and that is guaranteed to make you think, then add this book to your kindle today.

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French Village Diaries is a participant in the Amazon EU Associates Programme, an affiliate advertising programme designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.co.uk at no extra cost to you.

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Author Bio  

Nick Alexander is a bestselling British Author of nineteen novels. He has sold more than two million copies of his books to date. His works have been translated into nine different languages and he has had bestsellers in France, Germany and Norway.

Nick lives in a sleepy village in the southern French Alps with his partner, three cats and a mischief of screechy magpies that the cats just love to hate.

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Where Do We Go From Here by Nick Alexander

Book review of The Paris Inheritance by Natalie Meg Evans

The Paris Inheritance by Natalie Meg Evans

The Paris Inheritance by Natalie Meg Evans 

A family heirloom, handmade in Paris. A wartime sacrifice that changed everything. And a secret kept for generations.

Paris, 1940. Clutching a delicate silver dove-shaped brooch – the last gift from her beloved Otto, with a message of love engraved in the back – Lally flees her home in Paris. With her closest friend by her side, she dodges the Nazi gunfire echoing all around the city streets. But as they become more and more desperate during the darkest days Europe has ever known, one must make a terrible sacrifice for them both to survive…

France, 2014. After her father’s death, grieving Hope starts a new life in France. All she knows of her father’s family is that they were separated in World War Two. And her only inheritance is a unique, dove-shaped brooch.

Exploring an antique market one day, Hope’s breath catches in her throat at what she finds. A wartime picture of a green-eyed girl, a silver brooch pinned to her dress, shaped like a dove in flight. Hope has only ever seen one like it before.

Certain it’s her family heirloom, Hope is desperate to find the woman in the portrait. But it soon becomes clear that some wartime secrets are dangerous to uncover…

Will Hope’s discoveries change everything she ever believed about her father? And even if she does find the truth, will it bring her healing – or tear her apart?

Fans of The Letter, The Nightingale and We Were the Lucky Ones will be utterly swept away by this heartbreaking and unforgettable tale about family secrets in World War Two and the bonds that held people together during terrible times. 

The Paris Inheritance by Natalie Meg Evans

My review

Hope’s French market find of a wartime painting brings her and Yves together to untangle the mystery of his grandmother Lally. Each new discovery, from artwork to photographs, to pages from a memoir, helps them to piece together her traumatic past. 

Lally is an English girl in Paris at the start of the Occupation, with the added complications of an exiled German boyfriend and a needy young English friend, Pauline. They must escape to free France, but seem to be thwarted at every turn, throwing the reader into an emotional story of sacrifice and survival in the harshest of circumstances. I easily became totally immersed in the pages, and as keen as Hope and Yves to discover Lally’s war story and work out how she was linked to the broach Hope’s father held so dear to him. 

The Paris Inheritance by Natalie Meg Evans

Lally was strong, determined and despite the daily challenges she faced making her arduous escape to rural France, always did what she felt was best for those she was trying to protect. Her actions inevitably led to repercussions that lasted for generations, but this is also a heartbreaking love story, where betrayal and forgiveness go hand in hand. Moving on takes bold steps, often from the new generations, but Hope and Yves now have the chance to release a village trapped in the past.

The Paris Inheritance is another fabulous read from Natalie Meg Evans, whose gift for storytelling never fails to whisk me away into the lives of her characters. If you enjoy historical fiction, I am sure you will love this book.

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French Village Diaries is a participant in the Amazon EU Associates Programme, an affiliate advertising programme designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.co.uk at no extra cost to you.

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Author Bio  

Natalie is a RITA nominated, USA Today best-selling author of ten historical novels: The Dress Thief, The Milliner's Secret, The Wardrobe Mistress, A Gown of Thorns, The Secret Vow and The Paris Girl (featuring sisters, Katya and Tatiana.) Two further novels are set in southern Italy: Into the Burning Dawn and The Italian Girl's Secret, both featuring young women faced with hard choices.

The Girl with the Yellow Star takes the reader to wartime Cornwall and introduces Gwenna and little Lotti, the motherless child who arrives in her care. Natalie's latest novel, The Locket, is a split timeline novel featuring Irene, a country girl living next door to a new American airbase, and her grandaughter Ruby, returning to the family farm and discovering Irene's lost past. Natalie writes page turning stories of wartime, love and challenging choices. 

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Book review of The Resistance Bakery by Siobhan Curham

The Resistance Bakery by Siobhan Curham

The Resistance Bakery by Siobhan Curham

Paris, 1943. The scent of fresh baguettes hangs in the air as Coralie unbolts the door to her bakery with trembling fingers. She must get out of the city. Hiding her precious leather recipe book inside her coat, she promises never to let the secret locations of the people she worked tirelessly to save fall into German hands…

Present day. Raven is unhappy about being shipped off to the other side of the country for the summer to stay with the mysterious French grandmother she barely knows. And discovering a tattered, leather-bound book with yellowed pages full of handwritten recipes and coded numbers, she is stunned.

Her grandmother has never baked for her. And she refuses to talk about Paris, or the past. Flipping through the book, a faded photograph of a laughing couple falls out. As Raven scans the writing on the back she can scarcely believe her eyes…

What really happened in that tiny French bakery all those years ago? And could this forgotten recipe book finally bring healing to a woman still haunted by wartime secrets? Or has Raven’s discovery shattered any chance of bonding with her grandmother, before her time runs out?

The Resistance Bakery is an unforgettable page-turner about forbidden love and family secrets in World War Two. Fans of The Letter, The Nightingale and Fiona Valpy will be totally hooked.

The Resistance Bakery by Siobhan Curham 

My review

The Resistance Bakery is another moving, historical fiction from Siobhan Curham that made me think about the dark days of the Occupation in a different light. Having read several books set during this time, this is the first fiction book I’ve encountered to acknowledge the horrific economic situation the Germans had to endure in the inter-war years, something that undoubtably had a huge part to play in the second world war.

We know from the prologue what Coralie does as she bakes her last patisseries for the Germans occupying the prestigious Lutetia Hotel in Paris. The dual timeline then guides us tantalizingly slowly, through what led her to make such a risky move, as she looks back on her war story with granddaughter Raven, a troubled teenager in 1980’s America. This happens forty years after she fled the hotel kitchen and is the first time she has revealed the horrors she witnessed during the Occupation.

The Resistance Bakery by Siobhan Curham

Coralie and Raven were both free-thinking, outspoken women who were braver than they imagined, and I enjoyed watching the relationship between them develop. As they learned about each other, they were able to break down some of the barriers they had both been hiding behind and ultimately help each other navigate the future.

Food played an important role in this novel and I loved the idea of Coralie folding emotions and feelings into her baking, and how food connected so many of the characters, despite differences of generation or nationality.

I think my favourite character had to be Madame Monteux, Coralie’s benefactor in Paris. She was colourful, positive and almost always full of optimism despite the desperate situation they found themselves living in. The vivid image of her Madame Butterfly Metro performance will stay with me for a long time.

This isn’t just another novel set during the Occupation, Siobhan has once again come up with something refreshingly different, emotional and thought-provoking. There were some things I thought might happen as I was reading, but there were also surprises and twists, that turned out to be the icing on the cake. 

As I finished reading, I looked up the Lutetia Hotel online, feeling such a connection to it from this book, and wanting to make sure it really did exist – it does and looks to be just as majestic as it’s described. I’m just not sure I’ll ever be lucky enough to book into a suite there for the night though.

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French Village Diaries is a participant in the Amazon EU Associates Programme, an affiliate advertising programme designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.co.uk at no extra cost to you.

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Siobhan Curham

Author Bio

Siobhan Curham is an award-winning author, ghost writer, editor and writing coach. She has also written for many newspapers, magazines and websites, including The Guardian, Breathe magazine, Cosmopolitan, Writers’ Forum, DatingAdvice.com, and Spirit & Destiny. Siobhan has been a guest on various radio and TV shows, including Woman’s Hour, BBC News, GMTV and BBC Breakfast. And she has spoken at businesses, schools, universities and literary festivals around the world, including the BBC, Hay Festival, Cheltenham Festival, Bath Festival, Ilkley Festival, London Book Fair and Sharjah Reading Festival.

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You can read my reviews of some of Siobhan’s previous books here:

The Secret Keeper 

The Paris Network 

Beyond This Broken Sky 

An American in Paris 

Book review of The Bookseller of Paris by Suzanne Kelman

The Bookseller of Paris by Suzanne Kelman

The Bookseller of Paris by Suzanne Kelman

Paris, 1940: Madeline tries to scream, but she can’t breathe. A German soldier is working to free her from the rubble – but if he reaches her, he will find the books hidden beneath her clothes…

When the Germans seize Paris, its peaceful streets fill with terror overnight, and nowhere is safe. Desperate to help her friends, Parisian bookseller Madeline Valette turns her bookshop into a sanctuary for those in hiding, but she knows it’s only a matter of time before she’s found out.

So when she is asked to join the Resistance and smuggle banned books from Berlin, she accepts, desperate to defy the Nazis. And while she wants to save precious books from destruction, she also hopes her trips to Germany might help her find the last living connection she has to her beloved husband…

Because Madeline has received a letter from a German woman called Ada, the mother of her husband’s son. Facing persecution, the Jewish boy is in terrible danger. But where are they now, and can Madeline help them before it’s too late?

When Madeline finally finds Ada and the child, she realises Ada is at the mercy of a high-ranking Nazi official and both their lives are now at risk. Can Madeline get them to safety? Or will the unthinkable happen to this innocent child?

The second unputdownable novel in the Paris Sisters series, this is the story of two women’s bravery in the face of the darkness of the Second World War. Perfect for fans of Roberta Kagan, Kristin Hannah, and Fiona Valpy.

The Bookseller of Paris by Suzanne Kelman

My review

Having read book one in this series, The Last Day in Paris, (plus the prequel, Paris Orphans), it was a delight to continue reading about the courageous Valette sisters and their lives during the Occupation of Paris. What is unusual about this series, is that the events in each book take place at the same time, rather than running sequentially.

In a similar format to The Last Day in Paris, this book’s dual timeline gives us alternating chapters between Madeline’s life in Paris and Berlin, and Olivia’s in 2011. At an estate sale in Oxford, Olivia makes a shocking discovery about her family history, that takes her to Scotland and Germany as she tries to unravel her estranged grandfather’s past. Unable to ignore what she has discovered, Olivia needs something to focus on as she rebuilds her life, but her grandfather is distant and reluctant to revisit his childhood. It was easy to slip into the pages, and once again, it was the modern day unravelling of the family mystery that particularly captivated my imagination as I read. I wanted so much for Olivia and Kurt to heal their hearts, find peace and move on.

The Bookseller of Paris by Suzanne Kelman

The emotional writing was engaging, and I found myself rereading the beautiful scenes between Madelaine and Jacob when they spoke about adversity giving us courage and a strength we never knew we had. The bravery and risks of the resistance fighters once again left me feeling very humble. There were many heartbreaking moments as the characters navigated difficult situations and made decisions that impacted those they loved. Be prepared to have a tissue at the ready as you near the end of this book.

If you enjoy books set during the Occupation, I can 100% recommend this series and I am already looking out for book three.

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French Village Diaries is a participant in the Amazon EU Associates Programme, an affiliate advertising programme designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.co.uk at no extra cost to you.

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Suzanne Kelman

Author Bio  

Suzanne Kelman is a 2015 Academy of Motion Pictures Nicholl Finalist, Multi-Award-Winning Screenwriter and a Film Producer. As well as working in film she is also an International Amazon Bestselling Fiction Author of the Southlea Bay Series – The Rejected Writers’ Book Club, Rejected Writers Take the Stage and The Rejected Writers’ Christmas Wedding. Born in the United Kingdom, she now resides in Washington State.

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You can read my review The Last Day in Paris here.

  

Book review The Girl from Provence by Helen Fripp

The Girl from Provence by Helen Fripp

The Girl from Provence: Absolutely gripping and heartbreaking WW2 historical fiction by Helen Fripp

 

South of France, 1942. Twenty-one-year-old Lilou is selling lavender honey in the village square when the Nazis arrive in her beloved Provence. And when her best friend is dragged away simply for being Jewish, Lilou is horrified. As the village begins to take sides, Lilou secretly swears through angry sobs that she’ll sacrifice everything to fight for what’s right.

Drawn into the French Resistance, soon Lilou is smuggling hidden messages in fresh-baked loaves of bread and meeting Allied pilots in remote moonlit fields. She lives in fear that Kristian, a blue-eyed German soldier, knows about her work – but does he keep her secrets because he is undercover, too?

Everything changes when Lilou is given her most important task: to keep a frightened little boy, Eliot, hidden safe in her farmhouse. All alone in the world, Eliot refuses to speak as he clutches his treasured children’s book close to his chest. Inside is a beautiful story of stars, planets and the night sky. But why is this innocent child the one, among thousands, who Lilou must save?

When she is told Eliot’s book will help her decipher coded messages, Lilou knows he must have knowledge that could change the course of the war. But the day Kristian arrives at her farm searching for hidden Jewish families, Lilou is terrified that Eliot is in more danger than ever…

Can Lilou trust the one person who could tear her world apart? And will she ever help Eliot find his way home?

A totally stunning and heartbreaking read about the incredible sacrifices ordinary people are forced to make each day in wartime. Perfect for fans of Fiona Valpy and Rhys Bowen.

The Girl from Provence by Helen Fripp

 

My review 

A book that starts with a scene on a bicycle, whooshing down into a Provence village, on market day, under a perfect blue sky – is a book I knew I was going to love, and I wasn’t wrong.

 

Lilou Mistral is a gentle soul, more in tune with nature and the seasons than the war and Occupation of German forces in northern France. It’s 1942 and the German’s sudden arrival in her village turned her world on its head. As those around her began to disappear, she pledged her allegiance to the local Resistance, and as strong as the wind that shares her name, she wasn’t afraid of the dangers she must face.

 

With so many historical novels set during the Occupation period, it was refreshingly different to have one set in the south of France rather than in Paris, but that wasn’t the only feature about this book that set it apart from others I have read. I am a huge fan of stories where characters from the real world appear, and snippets of their lives are woven into the storyline. Imagine my delight to encounter a legendary French aviator/author whose path crossed with Lilou and Eliot in this book, and the important role that was given to his best-known work. This gave a real magic to the storyline, where despite the atrocities Eliot witnessed, the secrets of the stars and the night sky relit his childhood innocence and wonder. The blurring of fact and fiction just added another dimension of intrigue to this book. I was gripped, but it was also brutally emotional too. 

Who can Lilou trust at a time when friends become enemies and the enemy isn’t always who they seem to be. As the net closed in on the Resistance cell, the heart stopping moments came in thick and fast and kept me turning the pages late into the night, hoping against hope.

 

I enjoyed the previous novels by Helen Fripp, The French House, set on wine domaine in the Champagne region of France, and The Painter’s Girl, set in 19^th century Paris, but I think the magic woven into The Girl from Provence tops them both. She really drew me into the period, the setting, and the lives and feelings of her characters. If you enjoy historical fiction, please add this to your 2024 ‘must read’ lists – it’s one of those books that will stay with me for a long time.

The Girl from Provence by Helen Fripp

 

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Helen Fripp

 

About the author

 

I love delving into the past and uncovering new stories, and in my writing, the tiniest historical detail can spark an idea for a whole chapter. My female characters rail against the social constraints to which they are subject and often achieve great success, but they are of course flawed and human, like the rest of us. It’s the motivations, flaws, loves and every-day lives of my characters that I love to bring life, against sweeping historical backdrops - and I will find any excuse to take off and research a captivating location or person for my next story.

 

My first novel is set in the Champagne region in France, and I’m currently working on my next one, set in late eighteenth century Paris. I spent a lot of time in France as a child, have lived in Paris and spent a year with my family in a fishing village in South West France, so that’s where my books have ended up being set so far. Who knows where next!

 

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You can read my reviews for Helen’s previous novels here:

The French House

The Painter’s Girl 

French-themed reading bingo

This year I’ve set myself a reading challenge bingo, with twenty-five different types of French themed books to tick off. I can now tick off “A book set during The Occupation”.

French-themed reading bingo 2024