I'll admit the premise of this had me early on (the gameshow!) and with all the gushing that was coming off the screen at me from other bloggers I was excited to read this. Coincidentally it came at the same time as I started to read The Birthday by the same author which is a thriller. I had cut my Kindle Unlimited connection just a few days before and so lost this and was beyond bereft (I honestly mean this and it reminds me to go buy it now!) as I was only a little into the book and was hooked beyond belief!

Anyhoo back to this, with Bryony Masters deciding she has absolutely explored all other avenues of finding her long lost sister and so she heads off to France to take part in a game show she hopes her sister will see. I enjoyed the game show and the characters that came with it but for me the star of the show was really the diary extracts that gave us pieces of the puzzle.

All in all I enjoyed although I wasn't sure of my agreement of the reason of Hannah's disappearance but every person is different so what fits one won't fit the other. Funnily enough, with the epic descriptiveness throughout that puts you right there and somehow has the slightest tinge of darkness to them, this is a book that will send me running back to get to all of Ms. Wyer's thrillers, which I can only assume will continue to be epic!! Thanks so much to Canelo and Netgalley for the book in return for an honest review. 

Rating: 4/5

Carol Wyer: What Happens In France.

My only experience of Carol Wyer's writing are her police service featuring Robyn Carter and Natalie Ward, so I was interested to see how she handles the lighter side of fiction, and I'm mightily impressed. The premise of a game show is incredibly inventive, and I loved reading about Bryony and Lewis’ adventures as they tackled the weird and wonderful challenges demanded of them. There is lots of humour in these situations which I thoroughly enjoyed.
Bryony and Lewis are joined by a great bunch of characters on the game show, and I really enjoyed finding out more about their lives too. There's Oscar, a dancer who goes everywhere with his dog, and Jim who spends a lot of time with his family and caring for his disabled wife. There's the presenter, Professor Potts, whose public persona is very different to his personality, and the producers who try to keep everything running smoothly. They all have their own stories and provide humour and things to think about in equal measure.
As with most chick lit novels, there are some more serious subjects in What Happens In France underneath the comedy. I was fascinated by Bryony's search for her sister and the reasons why she may have left. I have also never come across Sydenham's Chorea before, and so was Interested in the symptoms and how they affected Bryony and the people around her.

I found this to be an endearing and heart-warming story. There are some serious issues lurking below the surface through Hannah's disappearance and the guilt her family still feel for this. I loved the format for the book which was provided through the quiz show and was delighted to read the author's account, at the end of the story, of how she researched the question of entering quiz programmes by actually entering them herself. This certainly accounts for the authentic feel that these sections had.

There are some humorous parts to the story and I loved following Bryony through France. It was a lovely interlude in a snowy winters day back in the UK. I found that Carol's writing style flowed easily and the pages flew by. It is an enjoyable read with some genuine laugh out loud moments and a great cast of characters.

In short: A wonderful mix of romance, mayhem and laugh out loud moments.

Thanks to the author for a copy of the book.

A fun and touching rom-com. I loved this book and couldn't wait to find out the end. Highly recommend.

Many thanks to Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for my ARC. All opinions are my own.

Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for this early copy!

I went in blind to this Contemporary fiction. It was well-written with an interesting plot and good characters. I recommend it to others who enjoy contemporary fiction! :D

This is such a cute book I could barely put it down!

Bryony is searching for her big sister Hannah who left home after a life changing event in the family. Racked with guilt and on a quest to find out what out happened to her beloved sibling, Bryony and her friend Lewis take part in a new reality/game show in France in the hope of highlighting Bryony's cause.

This is a riot of a read with enough poignant moments to hit you in the stomach. The cast of characters include a retired army man, a ballet dancer and a instagram famous pug who is just downright adorable!

What else I love about this book is how through the research is which I won't say anymore about as I do not want to give anything anyway.

All in all this a funny and touching read that you make you laugh and loud and hit you right in the feels.

Big up to Biggie Smalls!

Thank you so much to Canelo and NetGally for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The story is based on Briony’s obsession to find her long lost sister so that she can be reconciled with her family. Her father has had a stroke so Briony is desperate for her sister, Hannah to come home. Hannah left when Briony was six and hasn’t been heard from since. In the story Briony auditions for a game show called ‘What Happens In France’ and her application is successful. Briony’s aim is to gain publicity and get people looking out for her sister. The challenges in the competition are quite interesting as are many of the characters. The descriptions are good and many of these are quite realistic and I really liked reading about the main competitors, including the dog, Biggie-Smalls and the odious Professor Potts. Overall the book is a gentle read with fairly predictable outcomes. I thought some of the events were unrealistic – what are the chances of the man she had just met (Lewis) applying and being accepted for the same quiz show and then being partnered with him? I got the feeling that it would have the required happy ending and for me the book just lacks depth and I am not sure I would read another book by the same author.

OMG I loved this novel by Carol Wyer, it was also my first introduction to her work but it definitely won’t be the last. I was transfixed with the storyline spilling out from the pages. It was warm-hearted and whacky but had a poignancy behind all the craziness that touched my heart. I desperately wanted to know the outcome of the many trials and challenges from the story and the author did not disappoint me and kept me hooked all the way through.
There’s something about stories set in France that have that certain magic for me and I just devour the setting, the culture and the characters and find myself entranced by it all. I think I secretly harbour for a life in a French country chateau!
Carol Wyer has written a fun romantic comedy with a twist of a real-life mystery that will break your heart.
I loved the fun side of this story with the reality quiz TV show and it was great to see a behind the scenes look at this. The author has such a great imagination and I’d love to see this gameshow ‘What Happens In …’ on our TV screens, it sounded like a cross between Treasure Hunt and It’s a Knockout with abit of Mastermind thrown in.
The characters were so wide and varied and written with warmth and very relatable. You’ll fall in love with a little pug with a penchant for fashion.
Bryony Masters has lived with painful memories for a long time. Missing her sister and never giving up hope of seeing her again. Bryony hopes that appearing on a TV game show would be the ideal exposure she needs to spread awareness of her sister Hannah who ran away almost 30 years ago.
A gorgeous fun romantic comedy that will steal your heart.

A really enjoyable story of a game show set in France. Bryony hopes that appearing in TV in a game show will, perhaps, be a way of reaching the sister who walked out years ago. She persuades her friend, Lewis, to be her partner in the show wiith other couples who are also attempting to unpack clues and win a prize. The frontman for the TV series is smarmy and has previously caused Lewis problems. Nevertheless, a fun time is had by all including the pug dog, Biggie Smalls. In the midst of all of this Carol developes the characters and their idiosyncrasies so that they become not just names on a page but endearing contestants.
This is an enjoyable, lighthearted and fun book with which to pass away a dull weekend.

I absolutely loved this book. Bryony made me laugh from the start. From meeting her alongside Melinda and her neighbour, to the relationships that grew between them, loved every second. The antics at the parties made me laugh out loud and set out a fantastic backdrop to how she got onto the game show.

Once the part about the game show developed, Bryony’s passion to find her sister was clear. I loved the fact that she was allowed to pursue this throughout the whole show.

Biggie was one of my favourite characters and helped to draw some brilliant asides and ease some tension. (He needs his own book!)

Some of the locations were familiar to me so it felt like I was an onlooker to the game show challenges. How can this book not want you to get on a plane to France, a private jet would be even better!

This is a must-read book for anyone going to the area and anyone who loves a good story!

Found the last chapter very hard to read, don’t read this bit on the tube. What an ending! Tears flowing...

Sweet story and that's despite it's woe is me -- disease, father in need, missing sister. The surrounding characters -- Jim, Oscar, Biggie Smalls, etc. all have their charms, including the Professor.

A fun lighthearted read set around the TV world of game shows. I loved the quirky characters
in this story and the gentle storyline following Bryony (the main character) gaining public support in trying to find her sister who ran away from home at sixteen. The only unlikable character in the tale it the gameshow host, and it makes you wonder if it's based on a real celebrity once you find out that Carol, the author, has been on a few gameshows herself (for research of course). Almost from the start you're willing all the characters to have a happy ending, but you're going to have to find that out for yourself by reading the book !

An original storyline and likeable characters means you’ll struggle to put this down. You’ll also want to book a trip to Nantes!! I really enjoyed this, from the lighthearted romance, to the more complex back story of Hannah’s disappearance. Bryony is instantly empathetic and you’ll find yourself rooting for her, in the competition, and in life.

I really enjoyed this book. A light easy read with some lovely characters. I loved Miranda and Oscar as they really add to the humour in the book. Although funny its also an emotional read as Bryony is trying to find her sister Hannah who went missing years earlier. This is a book full of lots of love and laughter and a few tears along the way.

Brilliant plot, excellent main characters that you invest in. I read this book in one sitting and I would highly recommend it.

A story of Bryony, a woman searching for her sister Hannah, who ran away from home at 16. But really a story about Bryony, a woman who thinks she is to blame for her sister leaving and is so unsure of herself. As the story progresses, there are tears and laughter and I really felt like I was in France, rushing around the countryside and doing the quizzes and meeting all of the different characters. What a fabulous ending too! Loved this book!

A lovely easy read that I thoroughly enjoyed. There were many times that I laughed out loud.
The concept was unique yet still tackled delicate subjects in a sincere manner.
I really enjoyed reading about Bryony & Lewis and I warmed to both immediately and was invested in their relationship from the very beginning. A must read!

To be honest, it took me a while to get into this book. However, once i got into it, i quite enjoyed it. Anyone that loves a quiz show,nice friendships, a little family drama and a little romance, then you will like this story.

I admit it, the reason why I wanted to read this book is because it's set in France. And as a French person, I felt the need to read it, mostly to see if it was yet another novel with a really cliché image of France. And thank god, this book is not (you heard me). Another thing I really liked is that the story does not take place in Paris, but throughout Brittany. And it felt so good (after all, France is not only Paris, and people tend to forget that).

Now, when it comes to the book itself, although I did enjoy it, it wasn't perfect. Bryony's idea to participate to a game show in order to appeal to her long-lost sister to return home was great, but to me it was just too big. I did enjoy the game itself, and I liked the fact that the author has auditioned for a couple of them herself allowed us readers to be truly immersed in this world. But the the rest was a bit hard for me to swallow.

I really liked Bryony and Lewis' relationship, and I liked how it didn't take over the rest of the plot. Indeed, this book is not a romance. There is romance in this book, it's just not the most important part of it.

Another thing that bothered me was the POC and LBTQ+ representation, or rather the lack of representation. The author could easily have had a bisexual character but missed this opportunity, and I must admit it really frustrated me and left me bitter throughout my read.

Overall, this was a good read. Not perfect, but still, it was good. It's cute and funny, and everything I needed at the moment. I'd definitely recommend it if you're looking for a cute contemporary set in France and not taking place in Paris (well, technically the whole book doesn't take place in France, but you get what I mean).

I really enjoyed this book and read it in one sitting. Bryony’s sister Hannah disappeared when she was a teenager and despite their best efforts the family have been unable to find her. Bryony decides to audition for a game show to try and bring her search to a wider audience hoping against hope that Hannah will see the show and get in contact. The story is about family, love and friendship set against a zany game show in France with some wonderful descriptions of the locations. The characters are very endearing and I really hope that we will have the opportunity to find out what happened after France.