Book review of My Grape Year by Laura Bradbury

Welcome to my #FrenchVillageBookworm Advent Calendar where I am featuring a new book every day during December in the run up to Christmas.

#FrenchVillageBookworm advent calendar day four

It is Day Four and my book of the day is My Grape Year: (The Grape Series #1) by Laura Bradbury. This memoir is Laura’s third book about her love of France and life in the winemaking region of Burgundy in the east of France. This book goes back to the beginning to tell the story of how Laura, a 17 yr old from Canada who spoke very little French, came to be on a year long exchange in Burgundy, living with four separate host families, attending French lycée and promising not to drive, take drugs, drink alcohol or date boys during the year. Being sent to the heart of wine making country where one of her first encounters with one of the families was helping with the backbreaking grape harvest, the alcohol rule was looked on with more than a little flexibility from the start, the other rules however were not there to be ignored.

From the first chapter of her first memoir I have enjoyed Laura’s writing style, which is open as well as entertaining and was delighted to get the chance to read more about her time spent in France. It is obvious from the beginning she is a hopeless romantic who as well as wanting to succeed in mastering French and being the best student ambassador she can be, one of her reasons for leaving behind the familiar was the possibility that somewhere else in the world the right man was just waiting for her to walk into his life. She casts her apprising eye over her host brothers, her new school friends and the other people of her own age whom she meets through her new network of friends, but as the months tick by she sadly feels there isn’t actually that much difference between French boys and Canadian boys.

Laura describes the difficulties she encounters settling into her host families, the new foods she tries, the new school she must attend and how she copes in this new life with a language she struggles with. There is honesty, but humour and love for all things French too. Not all the families are easy to live with, but there are some who she develops a very special relationship with. Then things change when she meets someone very special, someone who feels like the ‘one’ and promises he will never hurt her. Life would be just perfect if it weren’t for that pesky little ‘no dating’ rule and the fact that very soon Laura will have to pack her bags and return to Canada.

If you haven't yet read any of Laura's books I would recommend starting with My Grape Year.

My Grape Year: (The Grape Series #1) and all of Laura’s books are available in ebook and paperback and links to Amazon can be found below.

To read my review of My Grape Escape, see here.

To read my review of My Grape Village, see here.

I can’t wait to read more from Laura and her Grape Series. If you would like to experience a small slice of real Burgundian life you can check out Laura's holiday rental website here.

Book review of Toby's Tails, The Christmas Kittens by Susan Keefe

Welcome to Day Three of my #FrenchVillageBookworm Advent Calendar, where every day between now and Christmas I will be sharing a book with you and today I thought it was about time we had Christmas themed book.

Day Three #FrenchVillageBookworm advent calendar

My review today is for Toby's Tails - The Christmas Kittens (Fantasy Farm Tales Book 5) a very sweet short story for children about Toby the Border Collie who lives on Fantasy Farm, a smallholding in France. In this book Toby tells us about the three little kittens who join his family, their antics as they explore their new world and their first Christmas, where they enjoy playing hide and seek in the decorated tree. There are some lovely pictures (real colour photos) of Toby and his kitten friends, which I’m sure will be enjoyed by both children and adult readers. The kittens are lively, entertaining and get into mischief, but Toby is on hand to help them settle into their new family and even holds their paws as they visit the vet for the first time. He is a perfect Dog-Father to the new little ones and happy to share his life on Fantasy Farm.

There is a moral to this tale too and in simple language that children will understand it is explained why young animals do not make good gifts at Christmas. To help the non for profit French animal charity Hélianthus, founded in 2008, 10% of the profit of this book will be donated to them for their work that includes rehoming, fostering and spaying abandoned cats and dogs.

There are four other books in the Toby’s Tails series for children and they are available in English, French and Spanish, in ebook and paperback format, links to Amazon can be found below. I have lined up books one to four on my kindle (in English) and I'm looking forward to reading more about Toby's life in France.

Book review of A Forget-Me-Not Summer by Sophie Claire

Welcome to Day Two of my #FrenchVillageBookworm Advent Calendar, where everyday between now and Christmas I will be sharing a different book with you.

A Forget-me-not Summer by Sophie Claire

Today it is a review for A Forget-Me-Not Summer by Sophie Claire. They say you should never judge a book by it’s cover, but it was the cover that attracted me and once I read the synopsis, I knew I had to read it and I hoped I would love it. I wasn’t wrong. The only thing I didn’t like about this book was that it ended; I would have happily stayed within the pages forever.

Family feuds, loss, and the pain from their recent past created emotionally complex characters in Natasha and Luc who don’t know how to handle their feelings and can’t trust themselves, let alone each other. They both have their strengths, their vulnerabilities and are slightly screwed up, which is a perfect mix for a will-they-won’t-they novel. 

Natasha is a colourful, arty woman with a real eye for detail who has made a successful career following the break up of her marriage. She is enjoying her independence, has goals for her future and the last thing she needs is ex-husband Luc stepping through the door of her florist shop and refusing to leave until she agrees to accompany him to France to visit his sick father. Luc may be a millionaire, but there are only a few passing mentions of his penthouse, and his private jet only sweeps her away once, so I can forgive that. He is sexy, stubborn, hard working, but deep down a real family man. When they were married they didn’t really know each other, but two weeks spent together in France, putting on a happy front for Luc’s family and they begin to discover so much, but isn’t it all too late? Love affects us all in strange ways and creates a real mixed bag of emotions; Sophie’s writing explores them all in this novel that is packed with passion, frustration, pain and hope.

Set amid a backdrop of vineyards, sunflowers and a chateau in Provence, with a sexy Frenchman named Luc. What more could I ask for? 

This is a first novel by Sophie, but I am keeping my fingers crossed  that there are more on the way.

You can follow Sophie on Twitter Facebook and at her website.

A Forget-me-not Summer is published by Hodder and Stoughton and is available in ebook and paperback formats. Links to Amazon can be found below.

This book was previously published as Her Forget-me-not Ex

Book review of Cycling North by Steven Herrick

Advent has arrived once more and following on from the success of my French Food Alphabet advent calendar last year I thought I would challenge myself once again to a post a day between now and Christmas. I've seen a great idea on social media where 24 books are wrapped up in sparkly Christmas paper and one is unwrapped every day during advent. So, without the pretty wrapping but hopefully with the same excitement, here is my #FrenchVillageBookworm advent calendar. Everyday I will feature a different book; some will be Christmas themed, some factual, some fiction and some food related. I hope there will be something for everyone to enjoy.

Cycling North by Steven Herrick

My first post is a review for Cycling North: from the French Mediterranean to the fjords of Norway by bicycle (Eurovelo Series Book 5) by Steven Herrick, a travel memoir of an epic cycling holiday in Europe. In this book we join Steven, his wife Cathie and their two bikes on what is now their annual cycling holiday to Europe. I have been following them in spirit over the years from Steven’s first trip baguettes and bicycles: a cycling adventure across France (Eurovelo Series Book 1) where he cycled from St Nazaire on the west coast of France following the Loire Valley and the Saone River east. His writing never fails to make me smile and wish I too were joining in their fun. Links to the other books in this series and my reviews can be found at the bottom of this post.

In this latest trip (of epic proportions) Steven and Cathie start in Marseille on the French Mediterranean coast and head north, a long way north, to the fjords of Norway. This was a 4000 km trip that many would balk at attempting in a car and included some extremely horrid weather, battering winds, freezing fingers, serious hills, mountain tunnels but also stunning scenery, breathtaking views and lots of the all important refreshment stops.

Sometimes their itineraries seemed to verge on total madness, like the day Steven decided to detour up Mont Ventoux, just to cycle back down again, despite the weather being bitterly cold, wet, icy and very windy. The long, dark mountain tunnels shared with lorries didn’t sound much more appealing, but their sense of adventure and Steven’s descriptions of the many stunning sights they saw kept me page turning. Their accommodation varied from self-catering, small hotels, Airbnb private rooms and even included a Christian retreat centre, and as you would expect from a month on the road, some were good, some less so. Some of their hosts (especially in France) really went the extra mile to ensure these two nutty cyclists had everything they needed during their stay.

As a cyclist I know how important food is to fuel you on a bike ride and Steven and Cathie never missed an opportunity to indulge in a slice of cake, a patisserie or a three-course meal and every mouthful is generously shared with the reader. In fact I would go as far as to say their food experiences were just as important as their cycling ones and certainly left me feeling hungry. If you can’t visit Europe by bike, this book will certainly whet your appetite for the slower paced travel and may even persuade you to get out and cycle a bit too. He certainly gave me itchy bike wheels!

Cycling North: from the French Mediterranean to the fjords of Norway by bicycle (Eurovelo Series Book 5) and the four other cycling memoirs by Steven are available in ebook and paperback versions and links to Amazon can be found below.

To read my France et Moi interview with Steven, see here.

To read my reviews of his first two books set in France see here and Cycling to Bohemia here.

A fat little piggy

Les Gastronomades, Angouleme

This morning I am feeling like a fat little piggy having spent the whole weekend celebrating all that is good about French food and social eating.

On Friday morning I set out for the regular airport run to collect Ade, but we found ourselves diverted from our usual drive home, firstly by the coffee stop that has become our routine and then by Les Gastronomades, an annual food festival in Angouleme that we have visited before (see here). Held in a selection of marquees throughout the town, the festival promotes the local Poitou-Charentes produce, holds a huge market where producers from all over France come to sell their products, puts on displays and demonstrations by top chefs and more importantly encourages everyone, young and not so young to learn more about food and where it comes from. From snails to saucisson, wine to walnuts, fromage to foie gras and breads to Bio (organic) products, we tasted the best of flavours from Brittany in the north to the Pays Basque in the south.

Some of our purchases from Les Gastronomades, Angouleme

There were increased security measures following the recent events in Paris, but I’m delighted it was still able to go ahead and not only that but Friday is the day the event normally welcomes around 2000 school children and this year was no exception. It was lovely to see them tasting, learning and trying their hand at making too. That’s the spirit France, allons-y!

Les Gastronomades, Angouleme

French village pork fest

On Saturday evening we joined over a hundred others to eat a pig feast in the salle des fêtes (village hall), where a small team of experienced family cooks had spent three days preparing lots of different pork dishes. The smell of cooking pork had been lingering over the village and even tempted me to take a peek in the kitchen on Thursday afternoon. The cooked meat from the pig’s head was being mixed together with vegetables and parsley before being poured into plastic water bottles with a homemade gelatinous pork stock. Once set, the plastic bottle was cut away leaving cylindrical blocks of fromage du tête (pig’s head cheese or brawn) that was sliced and served. There were many firsts for me, including the first time attending this annual event despite having lived here for 11 years. The pig’s head cheese was certainly a first as was the boudin noir, a black pudding type of blood sausage and the gigouri a local speciality made using cooked pig skin, belly fat, seasoning and blood. The boudin noir was delicious, the brawn ok but I think I’ll pass on the gigouri in the future. I was always a very fussy eater when I was a kid, so I think I did very well to try what I did. The main course was roast pork, studded with garlic and served with beans, then there was cheese and to top it off (at about 11.30pm) a tasty homemade apple tart. I rolled into bed after midnight feeling happy but very tired and very full.

Rillettes, pate and gigouri

Roast pork with garlic

Sunday dawned and despite not really needing to eat, a Sunday isn’t a Sunday without a breakfast of coffee and croissants from the village boulangerie, so I somehow found room. Thankfully my diary is showing no major eating events until next weekend and I’m back to enjoying my simple vegetable soups, the perfect winter detox.  

Book review of Pardon My French by Allen Johnson

Pardon My French

My review today is for Pardon My French: How a Grumpy American Fell in Love with France  a memoir of time spent in the south of France by Allen Johnson.

I was hooked from the beginning of this book when we are thrust straight into summer in France during the early seventies, with a naked lady by a pool and a rather nervous narrator. Allen certainly made me believe he had a story to tell about his time in France with his wife Nita, where living among the French was as important to them as being in France. We first meet the newlyweds during their year in Grenoble, but this is just part of the story as Allen and Nita return thirty-one years later to spend another year in the country they have fallen in love with.

I’ve read plenty of life in France memoirs but I’m sure I’ve not yet come across anyone else who has made such an effort to throw himself into a social life in France, especially someone who knows he is only here for a year, chapeau Allen. As well as spending time with their long standing French friends, Allen joins enough local groups to give him at least one activity every day of the week, including a hiking group, a basketball club, dance lessons and music lessons. Some were more successful than others, but each time he gave his all and tried his best to make friends with the French. The goings on at activities also gave him ample material to entertain the reader with.

Immersing themselves as they did in France and the French way, it is no surprise that food and big French meals get quite a bit of coverage, especially during the Christmas they spent in France. It is also true that the French way with food is rather different to the American way and I just loved this quote from the book, which I think sums the French way up perfectly:

“The French don’t eat, they dine. They don’t lunge at food, they savor it.”

I enjoyed Allen’s eye for detail and witty writing style that made this an entertaining read. Sometimes I found he was getting a little bit grumpy about some of his experiences in France, but just as I was beginning to feel it was too grumpy he pulled it back and showed he wasn’t really moaning, it was just his humorous way of expelling the inevitable frustration that can arise when dealing with certain aspects of life in France. I was able to sympathize with him here, as I’m sure anyone who has ever lived in France will do too. The end of the book includes a handy section of practical advice and information for those looking to follow in Allen and Nita’s footsteps.

Pardon My French: How a Grumpy American Fell in Love with France is published by Yucca Publishing and is available in paperback and ebook format and links to Amazon can be found below.

And breathe

The flags of our commune bound in mourning

I know I have been a quiet blogger these last few weeks and I’m sorry. The events in Paris came at the end of a challenging week for me and the grey skies and damp days of last week didn’t do much to lift my mood, despite my own troubles having been firmly put into perspective. I don’t want to dwell on the attacks but one of the things I found most difficult was answering Ed’s questions. He is a sensible 15 year old, into music, conscientious (to a point) at school and thoroughly enjoying the increased freedom and time to hang out with his mates that being at lycée has given him, but he has a sensitive side too and is a worrier. When he asked me to explain how some people can go out and shoot random fellow human beings who were just going about their normal daily lives, I struggled to answer him. As a parent it is my job to answer his questions, to help him to understand the world he is living in and to make him feel safe and loved, but how could I give an answer when there seems to be no logical answer. The French President, François Hollande’s answer was to declare that France is at war with terrorism. The fact that my family are now living in a country that is ‘at war’ horrifies me. The President didn’t wait long to back up his words with direct action on ISIS strongholds in Syria, a country that is virtually crippled already and one whose citizens are fleeing in their thousands with many facing a retched winter with little or no food, shelter or clothing in a makeshift camp in Calais, France. This just proves to me that it is a mad and sad world we are living in and I wish I had the answer to make it a better one.

My initial reaction has been to retreat into the warm and fluffy world of books, to immerse myself in the lives of others, some who were real and recounting tales of travel, others who were fictional, but no less real in my head. I’m back now and thought I would share just a few of the personal challenges I have faced in the last few weeks, in no particular order, that I can look back and laugh at now. I also have lots of reviews to share with you in the coming days, including some festive themed books and Christmas gift ideas.

Being on the local council means attending meetings, but a two and half hour political meeting in French that lasted way past my bedtime was quite a challenge. It started with all 150 local councillors united in a moment of silence to remember those who lost their lives, but quickly became a heated political debate that I did my best to keep up with. I certainly slept well that night, but the following day felt rather like my brain had been run over with a steamroller. Sleep is a good healer, but when you have nocturnal visitors whose banging and crashing keep you awake half the night, the following day can be a struggle. Francine la fouine (a stone martin) left her recognisable droppings outside our dining room window before scaling the house wall and trying to break into the loft. I could hear the terracotta roof tiles being moved about and much I hate to think of a single, pregnant mother with nowhere to nest over winter, I would rather she didn’t set up home in our loft. Our builder has since been and straightened all the tiles she spent half the night trying to dislodge and it’s all gone quiet, so fingers crossed she has found more suitable accommodation.

The nice man from Orange

Living in a rural village and often being home alone there are few things more precious than my links to the outside world, so having had a flat battery in the car one week, followed by no internet and a dodgy phone line the following week, I wasn’t a happy bunny. I can now add using a car battery charger to my list of useful life skills and thanks to the lovely man from Orange (who made me smile by turning up wearing orange) we now have a brand new phone line coming into the house and the internet is back, yippee! Some people moan about customer service in France, but Orange were superb. They called me back when they said they would, they arrived to fix the problem when they said they would and everyone I spoke to was friendly and polite.

Tomorrow my American friends and family will be celebrating Thanksgiving Day. I’m thankful for the happy life I have in this small French village and the friends we have made here. I wish all those celebrating a Happy Thanksgiving xx

Book review of Wedding Bels by Lynda Renham

Wedding Bels by Lynda Renham

My review today is for Wedding Bels (previously released as Croissants and Jam) by Lynda Renham. 

Previous cover Croissants and Jam

Visually this book looked perfect; I loved the title, I loved the cover and I couldn’t wait to get stuck into it. What I found was a quick read that was full of silliness and that made me smile.

Annabel is getting married, her fiancé Simon is successful, sensible and everything a single girl approaching her thirties could ask for. Everything has been planned and all that is left is for her to fly to Rome to meet his family and enjoy her perfect wedding day. This is when things start to go wrong and quite quickly spiral way out of control. Before she knows it she finds herself on a disastrous car journey through France, with a stranger in an ancient 2CV, while her friends and family are waiting in Rome for her wedding. The bride may be allowed to be late, but not this late.

Annabel is a likeable walking disaster area, if it can go wrong it will and she will be in the middle of it. I found her endearing although I think some may find her annoying. She lacks control in her life, whether it is her mother, older sister, best mate or fiancé there is always someone there who knows what is best for her and isn’t afraid to let her know. She does so much overthinking I really felt I knew her very well by the end of the book but by then I too wanted to add my advice and was silently screaming at the pages.

This book was a perfect few hours of escapism, ideal for those days when nothing seems to be going to plan as you soon realise things can’t be as bad for you as they are for Annabel.

Wedding Bels is available in ebook and paperback format and links to Amazon can be found below. I’m looking forward to reading more from Lynda.

This blog has been linked to the Dreaming of France weekly link up.