This book wasn't "exciting" or "thrilling," but the more I read the more I liked it. The writing is lyrical, gorgeous, and hauntingly beautiful. The main character, Marianne, is 60 years old, but this story is like a "coming-of-age" for her as, following a failed suicide attempt to escape a loveless marriage, she discovers who she is inside. The description of the settings and the food are particularly beautiful. Thank you, Netgalley, for this arc.

Cute little book. I really enjoyed the setting and the characters. It's usually a setting that draws me into a story. This one doesn't dissapoint

I was really looking forward to this novel at the author's last book made my favorites list, but I'm sorry to say that this book didn't do it for me. I kept wanting to be swept up the same way as I'd been in 'The Little Paris Bookshop', but it was like high and low tide. Starting high and strong and just when I thought I'd be swept out to sea, it would just let me gently down. I tried to like it but I frequently lost track of the point and didn't really get back into it. Once I lost interest, no matter how much I read I couldn't really remember what the book was about.

Another terrific novel about life, love, and adventure from Nina George. No one writes about the heart and romance better.

From the writer of "The Little Paris Bookshop" comes another translation from the German, this time about a woman who thinks she's lost it all. Marianne Messman is wanting to end her life after 41 years of being in a loveless marriage to Lothar Messman. It's been an unhappy and controlled marriage and Marianne can see no other way out. But nothing goes according to her plan.

At once going into a river to end it all, she is pulled from it and her life finally begins. During her hospitalization she sees a painting that calls to her, and calls her to a place inscribed on the painting like a map - Kerduc. So she escapes, both literally and figuratively, into the unknown to go to her destination.

On the way, she meets a group of nuns who take her part way to Kerduc and when she arrives, she's caught in a storm and takes refuge on a stranger's boat. The boat is called the Gwen II and belongs to local resident Simon. He takes her to the Ar Moor restaurant where she becomes a legend instantly.

Her tale of being taken from the water by Simon and her appearance without being able to speak the French language make her instantly an ally to everyone. She wins over chef Jean-Remy and works to get him to admit his love for waitress Laurine. Madame Genevive Ecollier who runs the Ar Moor also finds a friend who helps ease the pain of losing her love Alain Poitier, who is closer than we realize at first. While staying at the restaurant quarters to work, she also makes the acquaintance of Pascale Goichon, a local "white witch" whose affiliation with Marianne has everyone even more convinced she possesses special powers. Other characters include Yanna Geme, Pascale's husband Emile, Colette Rochan, a gallery owner, Sidoen, a sculptor, Marie-Claude, a hairdresser, and Simon's friend Paul whose wife Rozenn has left him for a younger man.

All characters are past middle age and all are seeming to find themselves like never before. As Marianne gets closer and closer to the villagers and starts to become a part of their lives, her past with Lothar seems to fall away, but her secrets are never far behind. As Marianne gets closer and closer to a local artist, her fate seems to come full circle from the painting that led her to Kurduc, but her husband starts a media campaign searching for her and Marianne must answer herself as to whether she's running away or running towards something.

Nina George does an excellent job of communicating romance with intellect, something that's not been able to be done in recent literature. As an author, she is good at providing laughter to go along with heartbreaking scenes of love and those of endings, and translated from the German, nothing is lost. It's a novel that deals with the choices in our lives on our way to becoming who we're meant to be-no matter what age, no matter where.

Nina George writes about destiny as someone who knows that when it calls, it must be answered whether we're ready or not.

Here's hoping we all get to reach our destinies and have a little Nina George writing with us to help along the way.

Certainly for book clubs. And always for those who are looking for a little bit more.

A second winning work from an internationally bestselling author.

There is a Catch-22 to have written a book as lovely and charming as The Little Paris Bookshop. On the one hand, folks will line up for your next novel. On the other, it's nearly impossible to meet expectations. The Little French Bistro would certainly fade in a head to head matchup with George's earlier work, but take the expectations off the table and you have a lovely novel that is a fabulous way to while away a few summer hours. The Little French Bistro has some elements of the works of Fredrik Bachman, Graame Simsion, and Jonas Karlsson and readers of those authors are sure to enjoy picking up this book.

Marianne must decide between committing suicide because of a loveless husband and marriage or to find happiness on her own with a new beginning. A sweet love story just in time for the summer!

Her life is not her own. She lives in her husband's shadow and does whatever he allows her to do. She's been doing that for years and she suddenly despairs. She tries to drown herself. Unfortunately, someone saves her...

Crown Publishing and Net Galley allowed me to read this book for review (thank you). It will be published June 13th.

When she wakes up in the hospital, all her husband has to say is how much she has embarrassed him and he's leaving without her. She can come home after the hospital releases her. She doesn't wait for the hospital to release her. She sneaks out and begins a journey to a town she's never seen before except in a picture.

Starting life over with nothing is not an easy thing to do. Especially since she never had any freedom at home. She's just lucky enough to find a restaurant that could use another worker. They even have a room she can use for no charge.

It doesn't take long for her to make friends. The villagers welcome her, take her under their wings, and help her move on from the past. The problem is the past is following her.

Just when she's feeling secure, in love (maybe for the first time), and enjoying her life, her husband shows up. He didn't even recognize her at first because a friend had updated her hair and another one helped her buy clothes. But when he does, he asks her for a second chance. She runs again. But not far. She has to decide, once and for all, how she wants to live the rest of her life...

Did you read and love The Little Paris Bookshop, George's first big American hit? If so, pick this one up also; if not, you still need to pick up this book. Set in Brittany, France, this is the story of Marianne, a sixty-year old woman whose life needs a directional change. Following a botched suicide attempt, Marianne literally runs away, leaving behind her German husband, an autocrat with whom she has spent forty loveless years. When asked why she was in Kerdruc, Marianne replies "I was on a quest for death...then life intervened." Thanks to the kismet of a little painted tile, we meet the quirky characters of the small Breton seaside town of Kerdruc: the white witch of the forest who battles dementia, the beautiful young waitress and cook who refuse to acknowledge their mutual love, the man who tangos his wife back into his arms, the hotelier with a desperate lost love, and an artist who can see deep into Marianne's soul. This is a beautifully told tale of love lost, found, forgotten, and forsaken, asking the question "Does love have to be earned through suffering?" No one dies, there is no dark mystery, nor stomach-churning tension. Instead, this book touched my soul, leaving me feeling bereft of my book friends as I turned the last page. The Little French Bistro will leave you with your heart full.

Nina George's "The Little French Bistro" is a compulsive read, the heartwarming story of a German woman in despair. Late in life, she realizes how empty an existence she has accepted, living (forty-one years!) with a controlling husband (Lothar) and making no choices of her own.

With him on a business trip to Paris, Marianne throws herself into the Seine but is rescued. In hospital, still intent on ending her life, she picks up a brightly painted tile at the nurse's station, and the picture on it leads her to a small town on the coast of Brittany, where she ends up working at the bistro and becoming central to many others' lives ... which in turn influence her own for the better.

An insightful story into one woman's search for her true self. Although this is a work of fiction, many of the lessons found in this story were so apropos for anyone who has had to live in an abusive or unfulfilling relationship.

I enjoyed the main character's story. Initially, she attempted suicide, but as she set out in her new life, she daily discovered reasons why she wanted to live. I enjoyed the stories of the side characters too. Unfortunately, near the end, the romance side of the main character's story got a little sappy.

I read an ARC of this novel via NetGalley. The novel centers on the story of Marianne, who, while on a trip to Paris with her husband, comes to the conclusion that no longer wishes to live. As her story progresses, it's clear that perhaps she just no longer wished to live as she has been with her husband Lothar. He has never appreciated, respected, loved, or aroused passion in Marianne. He leaves her in a hospital in Paris to follow him home upon her release. Marianne comes across a painted tile of a town in France called Kerdruc. The tile inspires her to the extent that she feels drawn to the place. She goes and a new life as an assistant chef presents itself to her. She makes friends, finds passion, inspires others to dream, and creates herself as she always has been beneath the surface of the life she previously led. She meets and falls in love with the artist who painted the tile. She befriends a woman, Pascale, who has dementia. Pascale reminds Marianne that we never truly lose or change ourselves; we simply forget who we are. Marianne brings the friends she makes closer to remembering who they are, and she does the same. This is an inspiring novel about living life and rejecting the notion of living death in life. Like The Little Paris Bookshop, it has a depth to it, as do the characters that lead Marianne home to herself. I highly recommend it: five stars.

A charming summer read not great literature but fun nonetheless. A good story for those who want to start over, at any age.

So . . . I seriously hated the opening sections, this mousy little German woman named Marianne, in a desperately unhappy marriage, who could only think of committing suicide to get away from her jerk of a husband. And while she's in Paris with her jerk husband, she tried to kill herself, and failed, but kept suicide as her one goal, and kept that as her one goal for what seemed an interminable number of pages. And I almost said forget this, and read something else. But then she ran away to the wonder that is Brittany, and a wonderful array of characters who simply accepted her and let her be who she was really meant to be. And then the story really took off, and parts were simply wonderful. The people who lived in the village were so real, so wonderfully drawn, and so very interesting. I loved the myths and the little bit of history that was included. And I loved the way this strong, loving, talented woman emerged from the quiet, desperate greyness that was her life, with just a touch of the mystical world surrounding her. Many thanks to NetGalley and Crown for letting me read an ARC of this wonderful book. This novel comes thiiissss close to being a superb, magical little novel. In fact, this story would make an excellent movie. 3.75 stars because I hated the suicide parts; rounded up to 4 stars for the beautiful sections that followed. Most definitely worth reading!

I received this as an ARC from Netgalley. I chose this book honestly because George's first book has been so popular at my library. The first thing that sticks out to me is the title feels a little misleading. It makes it seem a bit like the story is going to revolve entirely around a bistro; when really it is more about it being one of the places that helps bring the main character alive. Beyond that, I felt the character of Marianne was very well developed. We got to see her weaknesses, her growth and her spirit. She was definitely the best part of the book and very human in her portrayal. I do feel the book dragged a little once Marianne started doubting herself again. It made it difficult to finish the book. I did enjoy the cast of characters though and the overall ending.

The story of a 60 year old emotionally abused wife running away from her old life and being reborn in Brittany was straight from the Hallmark Channel. Unfortunately the translation was not very good and the vocabulary was turgid and overblown. I found myself skimming the sections of mysticism and self-discovery which was about half the book. Much of the dramatic tension seemed contrived ( the young man who writes 73 love letters but couldn't deliver them) and Marianne's super powers of cooking, music, birthing babies and practically any other gift you could imagine were, I'm guessing, meant to feed the daydreams of under-appreciated house wives. Unfortunately, it was not my cup of tea, or glass of cognac. If I want to be true to the setting.

Although the characters in this book span all age ranges, the main ones are in their middle years. Or even edging a bit past them. Even so, this is a book that will intrigue all ages of adults. The messages are universal, the wisdom expressed can enrich the lives of readers regardless of age. The richness of the setting. The inclusion of magical realism as part of the local culture. All of this increases the texture of this book.

Having said that, I believe that at this time of Baby Boomers reaching their later years, there is a genre of fiction which is especially meaningful to them. Where the main characters are not their children's ages but in their senior years. Boomers can readily identify with these characters, be emboldened by them as they reach out, take chances, grab life and savor it. I hope there will be more books like this. Books that debunk the negative stereotypes of aging.

Congratulations to Crown Publishing! And to the author for creating this reading experience.

4 1/2 out of 5 stars -
LOVED IT! I particularly loved that most of the main characters were older, and several were dealing with the effects of old age. This is such a fun and inspiring book about second chances, about grabbing life and taking hold for all you're worth, regardless of age or circumstances. Not happy in your life? You have the power to change it! There is humor and sweetness alongside some fairly profound ideas. I very much enjoyed this book. Highly Recommended!

Enchanting and charming; this is a book of second chances and rediscovering life. Step into the small French village of Kerdruc, where Marianne finds parts of herself that she never knew existed and learns that compromising is not always the best of options. Find out if she has the courage to accept a life that never even entered her wildest dreams. Full of loving and delightful characters that will warm any heart, this book will leave the reader full of endless possibilities.

Marianne has made a decision. After being married to a controlling and unfeeling man for forty-one years, she has decided to end it all while on a trip to Paris by throwing herself in to the Seine. Rescued from the frigid waters, she begins a journey to the Brittany Coast also known as "the end of the world".
Once again Nina George has taken us on a journey of discovery, life, love and second chances. Through her beautiful and vivid descriptions, I longed to experience the sights, sounds, tastes of Brittany and meet all the interesting characters she encounters. A delightful novel that shows it's never too late to start living and not just existing.