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“They ate lunch outside, sitting in the enclosed small garden area at the back of the farmhouse. Weathered painted furniture, pots of lavender and rosemary, sweet-smelling old fashioned roses, trailing geraniums tumbling down the stone wall, bougainvillea climbing the pillars that the rusty hinges of the ancient wrought-iron gates were embedded in “

I could get lost in writing like this – which I’m sure is the whole point of this wonderful, wistful, gentle story.

Nicole Jacques, reeling from grief and loss and struggling to do the right thing to ensure her thirteen year old son, Oliver, the best possible future, finds herself moving her small family from England to France. There they settle into an olive farm just outside Nice, a centuries old family business run by Oliver’s paternal grandfather, Henri, and his twin sisters, Odette and Josephine.

The atmosphere is gorgeous, – evocative with fields, blossoming fruit trees and flowers; herbs and crumbled stone cottages, begging to be brought back to their former charm; and the sights, smells and foodstuffs that define the timeless allure of the rural and Provençal.

Infused with quiet charm, this lovely read meanders through Nicole and Oliver’s transition to their new surroundings; their introduction into the French “famille” and the challenges encountered as they attempt to slip into new lives, and new relationships; healing and expanding their fractured concept of “home” and “belonging”.

Sure to be a favorite read of lovers of the pastoral and bucolic, as well as anyone who has ever dreamed of a “rooted” life in picturesque France, this heartwarming story hits all the right beguiling and escapist notes.

A great big thank you to the author and the publisher for an ARC of this book. All thoughts presented are my own.

My stop today on the @rachelsrandomresources #blogtour for #FallingforaFrenchDream by @jenniewriter