A review by bananatricky
Rosie's Little Café on the Riviera by Jennifer Bohnet
4.0
Three and a half stars.
The story is set on the French Riviera and features three women: Rosie, who is opening a beachfront cafe after spending several years as the on-board chef on a yacht; Erica, whose husband Pascal died in a car crash which traumatised their daughter Cammie, who owns a bric a brac store; and Gee Gee a local estate agent who is struggling to make ends meet after her boyfriend Jay goes off to England to find himself.
The reader gets thrust into this world immediately, for a long time I thought that this might be part of a series and that if I had read the other book(s) I would understand the background, how Pascal died, the story behind Jay leaving etc. I can't see any references to this being part of a series however, so I assume this is just immersive writing.
We spend the summer with Rosie, Erica and Gee Gee as they run their businesses and deal with families and love. This is all about driving to Monaco to go to dinner or a party, copious glasses of champagne or rose wine sitting on the beach after work. About a society where everyone seems to know everyone else. When Rosie's mother has a new boyfriend everyone seems to know him already. It doesn't rain, there are no villains everything is low angst.
I liked this but I didn't love it. There is maybe too much going on with too many people and I felt as though we were just skimming the top of every emotion and interaction. We didn't need to follow Erica and Gee Gee as well as Rosie. But it did make me smile, it was pleasant, low angst, peopled by normal-ish people doing normal, if slightly glamorous jobs
I would say this is a perfect holiday book. And yet, on a very cold January afternoon I really felt like I was in the South of France sipping a glass of wine whilst walking along the beach with a handsome guy. So, if life is getting you down, or summer seems a long way away, why not spend a few hours in the South of France at a little beachside cafe?
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in return for an honest review.
Bumped for review.
The story is set on the French Riviera and features three women: Rosie, who is opening a beachfront cafe after spending several years as the on-board chef on a yacht; Erica, whose husband Pascal died in a car crash which traumatised their daughter Cammie, who owns a bric a brac store; and Gee Gee a local estate agent who is struggling to make ends meet after her boyfriend Jay goes off to England to find himself.
The reader gets thrust into this world immediately, for a long time I thought that this might be part of a series and that if I had read the other book(s) I would understand the background, how Pascal died, the story behind Jay leaving etc. I can't see any references to this being part of a series however, so I assume this is just immersive writing.
We spend the summer with Rosie, Erica and Gee Gee as they run their businesses and deal with families and love. This is all about driving to Monaco to go to dinner or a party, copious glasses of champagne or rose wine sitting on the beach after work. About a society where everyone seems to know everyone else. When Rosie's mother has a new boyfriend everyone seems to know him already. It doesn't rain, there are no villains everything is low angst.
I liked this but I didn't love it. There is maybe too much going on with too many people and I felt as though we were just skimming the top of every emotion and interaction. We didn't need to follow Erica and Gee Gee as well as Rosie. But it did make me smile, it was pleasant, low angst, peopled by normal-ish people doing normal, if slightly glamorous jobs
I would say this is a perfect holiday book. And yet, on a very cold January afternoon I really felt like I was in the South of France sipping a glass of wine whilst walking along the beach with a handsome guy. So, if life is getting you down, or summer seems a long way away, why not spend a few hours in the South of France at a little beachside cafe?
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in return for an honest review.
Bumped for review.