Oh my, what a delightful little book this is!!!! One minute I was opening my kindle to begin reading the book, and the next I saw that I had read 70% of it!! It's safe to say that Karen Clarke's 'Little French Cafe' had me hooked - it may have a very colourful cover, but the storyline has so much more to it than pretty colours.

Elle has never met her birth mother and now, due to the passing of her father, she embarks on the journey to France to try and find the parent that 'got away'. However, Elle doesn't know her mothers name, nor does she know her age. All Elle can go buy are the clues she found in her fathers things. But would they be enough? And, if Elle were to come face to face with her birth mother, would she have the courage to ask those all important questions?

Like I say, there is a A LOT more to this book than a French cafe, although the cafe does play a huge part in Elle's journey. Take Dolly and Charlie for example, two people Elle first meets on French Soil - they are such eccentric (well, Dolly is) and warm characters, it would be incredibly difficult not to sit yourself under their wings for safety. I adored them, they really did make the story come alive.

My heart went out to Elle multiple times because the journey she had found herself on was one which was full of uncertainty. She had absolutely no idea whether she would come face to face with her birth mum, nor did she know whether her birth mum would even WANT to talk to her if they did manage to cross paths. I couldn't even begin to imagine the emotions that were threatening to spill out of Elle - it was certainly emotional for an outsider to read though, that's for sure.

Despite Elle's emotional journey, her character had me in absolute hysterics. I thought I was accident prone! Elle put her own little spin on that! I loved getting to know her character, and laughing alongside her with her infectious humour. I felt the community spirit within Cafe Belle Vie tenfold, if only the place and the characters were real! I would move there in an instant!!

'Summer at the Little French Cafe' was an absolute joy to read, I honestly don't think I could have devoured the book any quicker if I tried. I was actually quite bereft when the book came to an end as I could have read more about Elle and Charlie until the cows came home. Yeah.....I was invested!

Karen Clarke has done her characters proud with this book, and I feel that a lot of readers will be falling in love with her little French cafe, just like I have. A cosy, heart-warming novel that left me with a ginormous smile on my face.

This is book #2 in the Little French Café series, it can be read as a standalone book however. Following the death of her father, Elle Matheson has gone to France to look for her biological mother. Finding some of her mother’s belongings which was left with her as a baby, she knows her mother came from the little village of Chamillion and her name begins with an M. Armed with that information and an old postcard, Elle ends up in Chamillion, where she finds the locals all very friendly particularly Charlie, the local café owner’s son. Can they help her find her real mother?

I love this author’s previous books, and this was one was certainly up there as one of my favourites. Elle is a fabulous character and I really got into her story right from the first chapter. The images in my mind of the village of Chamillion were absolutely beautiful and I could just imagine myself settled down in the local café, sampling the French coffee and delicious cakes. All of the characters within the book were all really likeable and, unlike other books, there wasn’t one character who I took a dislike to! I loved the plot of finding Elle’s mother! Everyone with the initial of M and between a certain age could have been a potential suspect, and I was marking them off the list as Elle went through them all!

I have to admit I guessed who Elle’s mother was – well, sort of! You’ll understand when you read the book what I mean and realise that I was sort of on the right lines!! The ‘mother’ storyline took precedence over the ‘romantic’ storyline, which was unusual in books of this genre, but a very welcome change to the norm! It was great to have a little bit of ‘who-was-it’ throughout the story and kept the true story of Elle finding herself at the forefront. The ‘romantic’ storyline was still great though, even when there were two contenders for Elle’s heart!!

A fabulous instalment in this series. It was a story filled with family secrets, love and loss. The storyline was well written with plenty of feeling and emotion, the characters were all really likeable and the location was just perfect! A really enjoyable read which I finished in just over a day, after being unable to put the book down as the storyline grabbed me and didn’t let me go until I’d finished it! Please say there’ll be another book in the series to continue the story!! Highly recommended!

I actually enjoyed this more than the previous book in the series, a lovely light read, nothing too challenging and is a nice fluffy read. Don’t expect much more though

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion

🌞Elle's excursion to charming Chamillon -- delightful!😎
June 27, 2019
👍👍😎🌅
A lovely, cozy little gem! I could just smell those freshly baked French pastries and imagine myself hanging out at the ☕ cafe and indulging in an afternoon of 🌞sun and people-watching. Elle, the principal character, still recovering from her father's recent death and a vital secret he kept from her, is on a quest while holidaying and gets sidetracked from day one by handsome men, a job she literally stumbles into, and the charming residents of Chamillon.

Mathilde, one of the bakers in the neighborhood cafe, is one of my favorite secondary characters. She says little, but her venomous looks at Elle are priceless and the reason for her animosity only surfaces late in the story.

I adored the mix of a 🔎mystery to solve with a bit of 💜 romance on the side. Although the humor made me chuckle rather than laugh out loud, I thoroughly enjoyed the whole reading experience. This is the first Karen Clarke novel I've read but I've already got another queued up on my e-reader.😊

I read a complimentary advance copy of the book provided through NetGalley; this is my voluntary and honest review.

I enjoyed this even more than "The Escape to the Little French Café." Loved Elle, she was a great character. She was definitely loved by her best friend Toni and her sister Jess. Her mom never treated her differently than Jess. Loved how Elle and Charlie thought they could take pictures of goats at a petting zoo and pass them off as Greek mountain goats. The characters from the previous book all make an appearance. Dolly seems like such a sweetheart and loving mom. She was a wonderful help to Elle with her quest to find her birth mother. Madame Bisset's cat Delphine sounds down right scary. When a cat is described as looking like Chucky the serial killing doll, it must me ugly!!!! Loved learning more about Marie, she is such a sweet women. Margot definitely has a story to tell. Chamillon seems like such a beautiful place. Sad to see the book end. I loved reading about Elle, even though she was the worst dishwasher. I'm pretty sure she broke more dishes than she actually cleaned. At least she found out what she needed. I thought the book would end with the wedding.

Definitely recommend the book and the previous one in the series. I can't wait to read the next book in the Little French cafe series.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Bookouture through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Thank you too Bookouture for my copy of this book and for letting me take part in this tour. I loved the first book in this series so I was excited to return to Chamillon and the Cafe Belle Vie. If you haven't read the first book then you could still read this as a stand alone as the main character from the first book isn't in this book. Though she is mentioned.

I was disappointed that Natalie wasn't in this book. I was looking forward to catching up with her. It was really nice to see Charlie and Dolly again.

The main character in this book is Elle. Elle is looking for her birth mum but has very little information to go on. There were a few times where Elle irritated me a little but overall I did like her. She is a sweet girl who is feeling a little lost.

Elle's friend Toni was the best Ioved her. She is egging Elle on the whole time and I think she helps to loosen Elle up and make her take more risks. Elle's sister Jess was also a good character even if we only saw a little of her.

This story did have some romantic elements which I enjoyed but the main focus of the story was Elle meeting potentials for her birth mum. She also developed a lot of friendships with the locals which was really lovely to read.

This book was a great escape and I hope we return to the Cafe again soon....maybe later this year (hint, hint lol)

Beautifully written, especially for people who love France and its gorgeous countryside.
Loved the characters, kept you smiling through out.

Highly recommend and was a great read. This is the first book I read from Karen Clarke, but will be reading others.

First, thanks to #NetGalley for the opportunity to read an e-galley of this book.

I enjoyed this book and think it's a great, heartwarming summer read!

Elle was given up for adoption as a baby. Now that she's thirty, she's decided it's time to go see if she can find her birth mother. All she has is a postcard from the Cafe Belle Vie and the shawl she was wrapped in. It's like trying to find a needle in a haystack, but Charlie, the owner of the Cafe is trying to help her. She also hasn't told her younger sister what she's doing, so continues to have to tell white lies.

Getting to the bottom of where she came from may also help her find where she belongs!
#NetGalley #SummerattheLittleFrenchCafe

I have not been to France a lot but I did spent a hot long weekend at La Rochelle and of course a visit to Ile de Ré was included as well. Reading this book brought back wonderful memories and I see myself basking in the sun, strolling through the village and enjoying a huge plate of seafood again. Awesome!

When you have been to a place that is used as a background for a book, it makes you feel more connected. It was nice to be back and meet up with some of the characters from the previous book. You felt at home again straight away.

Can the book be read as a standalone? Yes, but as always while reading a series it's best to start with the first one, simply because you miss out on some info about recurring characters and you skipped a lovely story.

The author introduces us to Elle. We follow her on her jouney trying to find her past and finding both her past and her future.

A great tale sprinkled with some little jokes makes a perfect summer read. 5 stars.

Thank you, Karen Clarke, Bookouture and Netgalley.

I was thrilled to see that Karen Clarke had written the second in the Little French Cafe series, which sees a return to the Café Belle Vie in Chamillon, which was the location for the first book in the series ‘Escape to the Little French Cafe’. I have never been to the Ile de Ré, but I have been to other French islands along the Atlantic coast, so I can picture vividly what it looks like, and having read two books set in the fictitious village on the island I know that I want to go there one day for a vacation. It was so lovely to return to the cafe and see familiar and much loved characters from the first book.

Although the book is a return to the same location, don’t worry if you have not read the first book because this is a standalone book with some new characters, so you can read it without having read the first book. However, having the advantage of reading the first book, this book fills out some of the secondary characters.

I enjoyed the fact that the romantic element of this book was secondary to the mystery of who Elle’s mother was. There were some funny moments as Elle tried to find her mother, by looking at every woman of a certain age whose name began with an ‘M’. I also found I related to Elle being so accident-prone!

This was a delightful and fast read, mainly because I didn’t want to put it down! Many thanks to Bookouture and Netgalley for a copy of the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Elle's in Chamillon in hopes of finding her birth mother, a quest some might have found impossible given that she has only a postcard, a shawl, and a bracelet. Don't count her out! If you read the first book, you know that the Cafe De Vie is a delightful place, filled with fun characters - but don't worry if you didn't because this is fine as a standalone. There's some light romance but more important, this is about finding yourself and family. I'm a fan of Charlie, who's a good egg. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. A good beach book!

I have never read any Karen Clarke books before and decided to give this one a go while i was on holiday. I read this book as a complete standalone and enjoyed it immensely.

I loved the characters and the reason Elle was in France in the first place, it was a very easy read perfect for when you're looking for something to do as it isn't very long. I look forward to reading more of Karen Clarkes books in the summer.

#SummerAtTheLittleFrenchCafe #NetGalley

4.5 stars!

I couldn't help but get sucked into the world of Chamillon and its lovable characters (aside from Henri)! Clarke painted the perfect idyllic picture of a coastal French village, that I could easily spend days absorbed in.

The characters were engaging and multifaceted with well-developed histories and complex emotions. Elle and Charlie are adorable and I loved the slow burn of their romance. Elle's search was interesting, but did not muddy the entire novel in unnecessary details. Though I was frustrated with Henri from the get-go (and if I'm being honest, his existence is probably the reason this wasn't a full 5 stars for me), I didn't feel he was a poorly written character. He exemplified so many issues women have with men on a regular basis that I spent much of the book seething over the situation he put Elle in.

Filled with emotional twists and plenty of romance, Summer at the Little French Cafe was truly a perfect summer escape.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for providing me with an ARC.

I liked this book, set in a lovely location with a mix of humour, whimsy and poignancy - a perfect summer romance read. I enjoyed the writing style, the story line was well thought through and ending satisfactory! Thank you.

Loved this book! I was taken to France! Great summer read and a good story throughout. Thank you for the opportunity to read the book

I can't stop smiling. Summer at the Little French Cafe was absolutely delightful! From page one until the end, I enjoyed this lovely story about a young woman who admittedly had everything she needed but was missing something important. Karen Clarke does a wonderful job of creating quirky, engaging characters that I missed as soon as the book ended. I felt as though I would be happy to continue reading about Elle, Charlie, Dolly, and Marie (and all the others) forever.

I read Summer at the Little French Cafe in just a couple of days, some of which was spent on the beach. This is definitely a great choice for a beach read.

A fun, heartwarming story about Elle, an English woman visiting a town in France for the first time. This enjoyable read includes a cafe owned by a likeable mother and son, a sweet neighbor, a handsome fisherman, and a search for a birth mother Elle has never met, and doesn't even have a name for. There are a few unexpected turns in the book, and I found the ending satisfying, if not quite what I anticipated. The characters, the town, and the cafe are charming and I found myself wanting to take a holiday there, unlike Elle, who insisted she was NOT on holiday.

This was my first book by Karen Clarke, and it won't be my last! Can't wait to read more about the Little French Cafe and the townsfolk.

I received an advance copy of this book. This review contains my honest thoughts and opinions.

The first thing I thought when I opened up Summer at the Little French Café by Karen Clarke was that it gave me some serious Mama Mia vibes. The beautiful idyllic island, the nice people, the romance and of course the looking for a long lost parent all played a part in that. As the story progressed, the likeness became less noticeable, but it was there nonetheless.

It had been a while since I had picked up a romance novel, and I was craving it so much. This book satisfied all my needs instantly. The story is about Elle, who finds a postcard among her recently deceased father’s belongings that indicates where her birth mother is from: Chamillon, France. Elle has always known the woman who raised her was not her biological mother, but never knew anything more than that. Now that both her parents have passed away, she wants to see if there’s any family left in France. She travels to France and starts working at a little café to get to know the people in the village better. While working the mystery of her birth mother unfolds and she also falls in love.

The way the two main parts of the story are woven together is very well done. Even though some passages were a little far-fatched, I liked them anyway. It is a romance novel after all, so not everything has to be super believable. The fantasy has to live on, even if it never happens like that in real life. The story sucked me in and I couldn’t stop reading.

Eloise (Elle) discovered some information about her birth mother when she was clearing out her father’s house after his death. She’d never really been all that curious, knowing the circumstances of her birth in a most general way, and her mother and father made no distinctions between she and her sister growing up. But now, feeling the losses acutely, Elle has decided to head to Chamillion and find the woman whose first name starts with M, her birth mother.

Of course, Elle finds the Little French Café with Dolly, the ever-present, personable owner who is steadily trying to match up her son Charlie, and with their need for a dishwasher, and Elle’s need for help navigating her search, the deal is made. In the first book of the series we met Natalie and her father, and this is the house that, by coincidence, Elle has rented, and it comes with Marie, the neighbor who helped and befriended Natalie and her father in their relocation to France.

Loaded with the sense of family and community that Clarke’s work brings, Elle may feel like a fish out of water, she is accepted and brought into the circle, and Dolly has taken on Elle’s search as a personal project. While Elle has her search, she’s the “new face’ in town, and while Charlie has a girlfriend that he hasn’t introduced to his mother, Henri, a fisherman, takes on the challenge that is Elle, despite her non-interest in a relationship and focus on her search. Sweet, clever and utterly feeling like a place to find friends and that sense of home, Elle’s search brings her throughout the small village and around the island, until she has her answers and a more perfect solution to all that ails her. Another lovely story from Clarke with heartfelt emotion, laughter, friendship and plenty of possibilities for all.

I received an eArc copy of the title from the publisher via NetGalley for purpose of honest review, I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.

Review first appeared at <a href+ “https://wp.me/p3OmRo-asa/” > <a> I am, Indeed </a>

This is a fun and light summer romance. I would recommend it for anyone looking for a great beach read for your next vacation.