A little ramble about.. A French Affair by Katie Fforde

Author: Katie Fforde Title: A French Affair Publication: Bookouture -- 7 July 2017 (re-release) First Line: ‘I’m saying this more in horror than in anger, sweets, but are you really going like that?’ Faves on 4s: 14% - 'You know, I find it quite hard to see Matthew and Aunt Rainey working together. She was so eccentric and off the walk and he's so -- stuffy!' 34% - His smiles were so rare it reminded Gina of the sun coming out from behind the clouds after a stormy day: it wasn't exactly blazing sunshine but it lifted the spirits. 64% - Gina felt she was in heaven or was the star of the best sort of romantic film. 84% - 'It was so awful when we weren't speaking. It was like I was missing an arm.'

A French Affair is the fourth Katie Fforde book I've read so far. It's a sweet story about two sisters who inherit their aunt's stall in an antique center -- cynical public relations specialist Gina and the more whimsical mum of twins Sally. Of course, part of the deal of the inheritance was that they work with the owner, Matthew -- single, serious and brooding. There's romance and heartbreak and a lot of antiques ... but I didn't feel as much magic as I had with my previous Fforde reads. Maybe if I had more of an interest in antiques it would have been different. It was still a good read, but not one that I'm going to be rushing out to buy in paperback to add to my actual shelves.

Recipe for Love by Katie Fforde (Tuesday Intros & Teaser Tuesday)

"First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros" is the first paragraph (or two) of a book being read now or in the future and is hosted by Bibliophile by the Sea. "Teaser Tuesday" from Books and a Beat asks for a random line or two from anywhere in the book currently being read.

Amazon Description

When Zoe Harper wins a coveted place in a televised cookery competition she's thrilled. It's a chance to cook her way to fame and fortune and the little delicatessen she's set her heart on.
The first task has hardly begun when she finds herself with rather too much on her plate. Not only has she got to contend with the fiercely competitive and downright devious Cher, but she's fast developing an inconvenient crush on one of the judges - the truly delicious Gideon Irving.
All too soon there's more than canapés, cupcakes and cordon bleu at stake. Will Zoe win the competition or is Gideon one temptation too far? And is Zoe really prepared to risk it all for love? 

*****

As of right now I'm only 16% in to this gem of a book and I already know that it's the kind of book I need someone at Hallmark Channel to fall in love with and decide to make into a movie. It's absolutely delicious! It was originally published in the UK in 2012 but those geniuses at Bookouture are doing a U.S release on September 14th and I was fortunate enough to nab a copy on NetGalley. If you love cooking competitions a la MasterChef and romance you'll love this book. (At least the first 16% of it. I doubt my opinion of it will go down over the remaining 84%, though!)

Rambling About.. Katie Fforde's A Summer at Sea

Title: A Summer at Sea
Author: Katie Fforde
Publication: 12 August 2016 - Bookouture (this edition)
First Lines: Emily and Susanna, midwife and mother-to-be, were quiet and settled in the candlelit room. Everything was going to plan; so far it was a textbook birth.
Favorites on 4s:
4% - 'I shouldn't have come,' she muttered. 'I shouldn't be about to take a summer job -- something I might have done when I was a student. I'm thirty-five, with professional qualifications. It's ridiculous!'
34% - 'Us Celts, we're like icebergs, there's a lot more under the surface than there is showing.'
64% - 'What? Are you telling me, while you were huffing and puffing, you were observing body language and jumping to conclusions?'
84% - It was always going to be sad, but in a beautiful, poetic way. Now it was sad because she'd quarrelled with a man she loved and was never going to be able to explain and put things right between them.

Ramble:
'It was always going to be sad, but in a beautiful, poetic way.'
That line sums up Katie Fforde's A Summer at Sea so well! I know that the cover says that it's "a gorgeous feel good summer read,"  but I've come to realize that "feel good" often translates into "grab your tissues before you start reading."
Emily has taken a leave of absence from her position as a midwife in order to head to Scotland to help her friend Rebecca by being the cook on their puffer boat. Normally Rebecca would be cooking for the guests and crew herself, but she's seven months pregnant and finding it difficult. Emily readily agrees when asked because she needs a break from the headaches being given to her from her local health care colleagues who don't believe in things like home birth.
Emily had always been in the mindset that she was perfectly happy being single and that she didn't want children -- just her career delivering them. Of course, all of those feelings got capsized the more time she spent on the puffer with the delightful guests, Rebecca and her family, and especially Rebecca's brother-in-law and his daughter. She began second thinking and second guessing and then rethinking and reguessing everything all over again.
The pacing felt a bit slower than a lot of the books I've been reading lately, but it was still a fairly fast and enjoyable read. I adore Emily's friends and especially her new ones -- Kate, Maisie and Lizzie. The romance angle felt predictable to me but they all do. I'm really looking forward to the next time when I don't see the big pair-off within the first couple of chapters.

Rambling About.. Katie Fforde's Summer of Love

I've been meaning to read something of Katie Fforde's for a while now. It's been on my "to-do list" ever since I fell back into the chick lit spell in December. She has so many books that all look so wonderful, though, that I hadn't been able to decide where to start.

Bookouture to the rescue!

I received my copy of Fforde's Summer of Love for free thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture. It was originally published in 2011, but Bookouture is re-releasing it digitally on July 8! Of course, as always, the freeness of the book has absolutely no bearing on my review -- only the fact that it exists. If it hadn't popped up on NetGalley I would likely still just be playing "eeny-meeny-minie-mo" with her bibliography in hopes of finally picking one to read! Now I just have to play it in order to decide which one to read next.

It's a lovely book even though I found myself more interested in the story of the main character's neighbor than in the main character herself. Fiona is worth five stars and then some! Of course, fifteen years ago when I was a mid-20-something Fiona probably would have seemed like a cute aside to me and Sian would have been the more relatable one. As it is, I kept hoping for more of Fiona's escapades and wanted to shake Sian and tell her to grow up. Luckily, though, their two stories overlap heavily so I never had to go very many pages without my Fiona fix.

Amazon Description (2011):
Sian Bishop has only ever experienced one moment of recklessness - a moment that resulted in her beloved son Rory. It's not that she doesn't love the outcome of that wild night, but since then she has always taken the safer route. So when dependable, devoted Richard suggests a move to the beautiful English countryside, she leaves the hustle and bustle of the city behind, and she throws herself into the picture-postcard cottage garden, her furniture restoration business, and a new life in the country. Her good intentions are torpedoed on a glorious summer's evening with the arrival of Gus Berresford. One-time explorer and full-time heartbreaker, Gus is ridiculously exciting, wonderfully glamorous and a completely inappropriate love interest for a single mum. But Gus and Sian have met before...Sian has no use for a fling, she simply mustn't fall in love with the most unlikely suitor ever to cross her path - even if he has now crossed her path twice. But who knows what can happen in a summer of love...

Amazon Description (2016):
Sian Bishop has left the hustle and bustle of the city to throw herself into an idyllic new life in a charming countryside cottage. 
With her young son, her picture-postcard garden and her furniture restoration business, she's very happy and very busy. She is not - repeat not - looking for love. 
But Sian’s good intentions are torpedoed one glorious summer’s evening with the arrival of Gus Berresford. One-time explorer and full-time heartbreaker, Gus is ridiculously exciting, wonderfully glamorous and a completely inappropriate love interest for a single mother. 
But she and Gus have met before. And, despite Sian's best intentions, it isn't long before she's falling for him all over again ... 

First Lines:
'Er, hello!'
Sian put down her fork and looked over the garden wall. A woman was smiling at her, holding a bottle of wine in one hand and a jam jar full of flowers in the other.

Favorites on 4s:
4% - 'I've trained myself to believe that shop cake isn't worth getting fat for, but I'm not sure I believe it.'
24% - 'I'm possessive about some things, but not about plaything I discarded years ago.' He became serious suddenly. 'I do hope you don't think I discarded you. I never would have done that.'
64% - 'I can be positively daunting if I put my mind to it!'
           'And if you don't, your positively adorable.'
74% - She didn't want to be who she had been. That woman was foolish, romantic and idealistic. Now she wanted to be a bit more pragmatic and sensible.
94% - 'Hmm, well, I suppose if she didn't tell you, I can't blame you for not knowing.'

Teaser Tuesday -- Katie Fforde's Summer of Love

(p 24 of 285)

Amazon Description Sian Bishop has left the hustle and bustle of the city to throw herself into an idyllic new life in a charming countryside cottage.

With her young son, her picture-postcard garden and her furniture restoration business, she's very happy and very busy. She is not - repeat not - looking for love.

But Sian’s good intentions are torpedoed one glorious summer’s evening with the arrival of Gus Berresford. One-time explorer and full-time heartbreaker, Gus is ridiculously exciting, wonderfully glamorous and a completely inappropriate love interest for a single mother.

But she and Gus have met before. And, despite Sian's best intentions, it isn't long before she's falling for him all over again ...