Last year I read Falling for Provence by Alison Roberts and at the end of it I was really hoping that we would get to read more about the sisters in the story. Luckily for me, we do, and this is Laura's story.
Laura Gilchrist is a woman in control. She's a successful real estate agent who is charge of her own life, organised and efficient, and who knows what she wants and what she doesn't. After inheriting a share in a run-down cottage in France, what she wants right now is to get it done up and sold. If that means that she has to be in communication with the absolutely gorgeous, motor bike riding French realtor Noah Dufour then so be it. And if that communication turns into flirtation, and that flirtation turns into a whirlwind weekend affair, then again, c'est la vie.
Whilst their weekend affair is brief, it is also intense and they cover a variety of subjects including the fact that neither of them want children. So when Laura realises that she has accidentally fallen pregnant she isn't looking forward to telling him, especially not over the phone, and she also needs to come to terms with her own change in priorities as well.
When Laura has to travel to France for a family celebration, she has the opportunity to tell him face to face, and he pretty much reacts as expected. However, while I realise that sentence probably makes him sound a bit insensitive, which he is, he also has his reasons and as he works through his past traumas and heartbreaks hopefully he will see sense.
Noah is depicted as a successful bad boy. He knows all the best restaurants for wining and dining, but he is not afraid to share his favourite places with Laura, so he is not just a one dimensional characters. One other thing about Noah. When we first meet him he is a smoker. Ugh...so horrible to even read about. Just shows how ingrained the anti-smoking message is these days.
The book is broken into three parts. The first few chapters are in effect a recap of the last book, but told from Laura's perspective, rather than Ellie's. At the same time, we are seeing what is going on with Laura and Noah. I recall Ellie having some kind of thought in the first book but boy, it was much more intense than she thought. The second part are the weekend and the immediate aftermath, and then the final act is about dealing with the fallout after the announcement.
In fiction there is something about Provence. I did go there many years ago but I would love to go back now and see if I could catch the magic that so many other people do. In the mean time, I will just have to make do with feeling the magic through the pages of books like this. At one point Noah says
"The South of France is like a sigh, n'est-ce pas?" he asked. "Like breathing out slowly because you've found what you've been looking for all along, even if you didn't know what it was that you were looking for."
It certainly made me sigh.
Alison Roberts again brings the medieval villages, the lavender fields and the food and restaurants to life in the pages of this book. Bonus points that some of the book is set at Christmas so we get some festive descriptions as well. She did live in the location that these books are set in, and it shows in the writing. Roberts also has written many straight romance novels, and I do think that there are times when that shows as well, but I am okay with that!
The stage is all set for us to find out now what the story is with Fiona Gilchrist, why she has been estranged from her family and only on the very edges of the story for the last two books. I am looking forward to seeing what her story is!
I am sharing this review with the New Release Challenge hosted by The Chocolate Lady's Book Reviews. Be sure to check out other stops on the tour shown below. Thanks to the publisher, Netgalley and Rachel's Random Resources for the review copy.
Rating 4/5
About the book
From Provence, With Love
A lifechanging encounter, a whirlwind affair... an unexpected consequence
Laura Gilchrist has always made sensible choices. But a trip to Provence to sell an inherited stone house leads her face to face with Noah Dufour. Her wild, irresistibly attractive real estate agent. And within an instant she’s bewitched. Without a second thought, she decides she’s going to accept his offer to ride on the back of his motorbike and see the beauty of the South of France though his eyes. She’s never acted on impulse before, but Noah makes her feel spontaneous and free – and a little bit excited.
Weeks later, with the memories of their passionate fling refusing to fade, Laura waits for her life to return to normal. But she can’t shake the feeling something has changed. And then her instincts are confirmed by the sight of two blue lines. Their connection was a whirlwind; perfect yet brief. But Noah has become a chink in her buttoned up armour and she knows her news is going to blindside him. Now she must return to Provence to find out whether they can both take a leap of faith based on one brief yet perfect holiday romance…
Purchase Link - https://mybook.to/ProvenceWithLove
About the Author
Alison Roberts is the author of over one hundred romance novels, joining Boldwood to write ‘wish you were here’ fiction set in the South of France.
Social Media Links –
Twitter: @RobertsAli54060
Newsletter Sign Up: https://bit.ly/AlisonRobertsNews
Bookbub profile: @rosi3
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