Categories book review, france | by Mardi Michels
This is part of my Summer Reads series where I’ll be sharing book recommendations – a series of “not just cookbooks”.
I’ve got a feel-good French read for this week’s #summerreads instalment by one of my favourite Francophile authors – Gillian Harvey. The Riviera House Swap releases tomorrow, June 11th!
From the publisher:
Nina has always played it safe. But when her divorce papers come through on her fortieth birthday she decides enough is enough.
She’s always chosen the sensible route, staying in her stable job and marrying her rather boring ex. In fact – she realises – she’s chosen security over excitement for years. Ever since she refused to elope with her first love: beautiful, poetic, thoughtful Pierre, the man she met aged 17, on her French exchange. The only man who ever made her heart race.
Maybe it’s time to take a few risks?
Impulsively she goes online and finds another kind of French exchange… a house-swap. She can’t imagine what French businessman Jean-Luc wants with her terraced home in rural England, but she can’t wait to stay in his beautiful, spacious, bougainvillea-strewn villa on the French riviera.
She’s not just there for the house though. She’s decided to find the love she missed all those years ago. But will Pierre still be the man of her dreams after all this time?
Harvey is an author I’ve read a lot of over the past year (I wrote about One French Summer last year and have since read all of her books set in France), including most recently, The Bordeaux Book Club. Harvey is a freelance journalist and the author who lived in the Limousin in France for the past twelve years (she recently moved back to England). Her books set in France are all peppered with inspiration from her real life experiences there and while many of them are definitely the stuff of Francophile fantasies, many of them also delve into more serious issues and are deeper reads than a your typical scratch-the-surface #lifeinFrance novel.
The Riviera House Swap is a cute story – girl meets French boy on school exchange, they fall in love, and hope to spend the rest of their lives together but parents get in the way. 20 years later girl is newly divorced in a job she doesn’t love and takes a risk on a month in the south of France, convinced that what she needs in her life is the French boy from all those years ago. Cue some angst, some misunderstandings and some drama and an ending you’ll most likely predict halfway through! This is a fun and fast beach read (but I think I preferred The Bordeaux Book Club – that might just be bookish old me though!) – perfect for the summer (or, to be quite honest, curled up on the couch in front of a roaring fire!).
Check out Harvey’s other novels here.
Follow Harvey on Instagram for news of upcoming books!
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Disclosure: I received an advance e-copy of the book from NetGalley and Boldwood Books in exchange for an honest review. I am not receiving any compensation for reviewing the book. Neither the author nor the publisher reviewed this post prior to publication. All opinions are my own.
Buy The Riviera House Swap on Amazon (this affiliate link should bring you to the Amazon store in, or closest to, your country).
For free worldwide shipping, find The Riviera House Swap on Blackwell’s.
Support your local Indie bookstore and purchase The Riviera House Swap on Bookshop.org.
Please note: This post contains affiliate links. I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. This post aslo contains affiliate links for Blackwell’s and Bookshop.org. This means that if you click over and purchase something, I will receive a very small percentage of the purchase price (at no extra cost to you). Thank you in advance!
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Buy my books! In the French kitchen with kids and French Food for Everyone: le goûter (after school snacks), le dîner (dinner) and le petit déjeuner (breakfast) are out now! Click here for details and how to order!
