A lovely romantic story that has the Cannes Film Festival, at its centre. The setting is glamorous and vibrant. It sets the scene for a tragic past romance and a gentle new love affair. Anna returns to Cannes, forty years after her last visit, determined to confront her past, and lay her guilt to rest. Daisy, a young journalist, visits Cannes for the first time, recovering from a failed love affair, she enjoys staying with Poppy, her sister and reporting on the glitz and gossip from the festival.

The characters are realistic and relatable. Anna particularly draws your empathy. A victim of the prejudice of the last sixties, her heartbreak and need to make things right, is emotional and poignant. Daisy is young and upbeat. She sees Cannes through rose coloured glasses. The chance of romance with Nat is too good to resist, and her romance shows the changes in attitude that have occurred, in the last forty years.

The plot is simple but draws characters and events together well, producing an easy to read emotional and engaging.

I received a copy of this book from Boldwood Books via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

Glitz and glamour and a trip to the Riviera for the film festival – could anything be much better just at the moment? Jennifer Bohnet is a wonderful story-teller, and I thoroughly enjoyed every moment of this one.

Daisy contemplates her future while covering the festival for her newspaper – her life’s in a bit of a state of flux, she has some decisions to make, and her assignment is just what she needs to give herself some breathing space. And then there’s Anna, who’s finally found love in later life – she hopes her visit to Cannes will allow her to reconcile with her past, but things don’t go quite as she planned and the deep secrets of her past are slowly revealed.

The backdrop of the film festival is quite wonderfully recreated – you really feel the buzz and excitement, get in among the thronging paparazzi and the starlets on display as well as getting a glimpse behind the scenes – and I really liked the way we largely saw everything through Daisy’s eyes, sharing her experience and the articles she writes. And there’s the added excitement of the promise of a new romance too – very nicely done, strong and believable.

But maybe the book is primarily Anna’s story, as her visit after a 40 year absence fails to follow the path she expected. She’s a really well-drawn character, and I liked her very much – and I very much enjoyed her relationship with long-suffering Leo, and his extraordinary patience and forbearance when the past begins to raise its head and complicate their lives.

There’s a lovely focus on the importance of family in this book – particularly with Daisy’s sister Poppy and her young son Tom, but also through the many twists and turns of the story. There’s also that theme of coming to terms with the past and moving on – always something I particularly enjoy, and the author has a really perfect emotional touch in its handling.

If you’re looking for a read to escape into, they really don’t come much better than this – with a strong story-line that engages you throughout, both heart-warming and satisfying, leaving you with the loveliest warm glow as you emerge from the cocoon of its pages. I really loved this book – highly recommended by me.

(Review copied to Amazon UK, but link not yet available)

I have never visited Cannes or been to a film festival but after reading this I feel as if I've done both thanks to the rich descriptions in this book. The plot revolves around developing relationships, romance and family secrets and has a very satisfactory conclusion. An excellent holiday read or a virtual holiday in itself for those who are having to stay at home at this time!

Thank you to Netgalley, the publishing house and the author for the opportunity to read a complimentary advance reader copy of this book in return for review based upon my honest opinion.

I love this author’s books, they always leave me smiling. Her locations are always stunning, easy to picture in my mind and her characters are always very likeable and enjoyable to read about.

In this book we follow Anna Carson as she heads to the Cannes film festival for a movie she has produced. We learn that this is not Anna‘s first trip to Cannes but it has been her first trip to Cannes in almost 40 years and she has a past she was finally going to face. We also follow Daisy as she is working the Cannes film festival as a reporter, and hoping to find a story that will set her apart from the others and take her mind off her broken heart. Daisy is staying with her sister who just happens to have rented out her villa to Anna Carson. As their lives intertwine we are treated to a lovely story of love, loss, family and fate.

What a lovely spring read, always love this author’s book. Cannot wait for the next one.

This is the perfect book for this bleak time: heartwarming, it makes you fell good and it's great escapism at high level.
It made me travel to a different place and moment, meet a cast of likeable characters and read an engrossing and entertaining read.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

This is another feel-good romantic drama from Jennifer Bohnet. It is a story of a woman finding a better life after being let down by a long term boyfriend and being made redundant. The interwoven storyline of a girl forced by her parents to give up her illegitimate child for adoption has been used elsewhere but there are some twists introduced to freshen it up. Of course, the back-drop of the Cannes Film Festival helps to make this a great holiday read.

A good read, but I've enjoyed other books by Bohnet more. Too much time was spent on Anna's past. I felt sorry for her new partner, Leo, who seemed to be a consolation prize, and all because of a 10 day romance in Anna's past. I'm also a little tired of the plot (SPOILER ALERT) around a teenage girl having to give up her baby for adoption. I would have liked to hear more from Daisy. I liked the descriptions and learning about the Cannes film festival. Poppy, Daisy's sister, seemed a bit flat. A nice summer read I would have thought, but not one that stays in the memory.

I was hooked when I seen the lovely cover. I was not disappointed in the book at all. It was a lovely easy going read. The book was well written. Lovely location, made me wish I was there . The storyline was great. Nice characters. Perfect read for the summer

It’s a pretty exciting thought to think you’re headed to the Cannes Film Festival! In this book, Anna isn’t that keen to go as she’s avoided it for 30 years or so. Daisy, on the other hand, is very keen to head down to the film festival to beat them all. Why are these two women going, what will they find? Will any of the films be as dramatic as their own life stories?

This book is set over two weeks of the famous festival and the author puts the reader right at the heart of it. You might want to dress up in your finest clothes and wear your sunglasses when reading this!

This is a place where two women’s lives are changed for ever. Anna and Daisy go through quite a lot and there are some game-changing moments for them.

I was lucky enough to receive a ARC of this book.
I liked it, but I didn't love it. The setting of the book was great, and the present-time story caught me up in a whirlwind of the Cannes Film Festival and the lives of Anna and Daisy. However I feel like Daisy was too caught up in her old relationship that really wasn't a major relationship from the way the story was told. And Anna was very unfair to her current partner. I empathised with her, but her obsession with the past was too much. All in all a good light read, but not a book that I will go back to.

I enjoyed this insightful romance novel very much. The storyline flows at a great pace, and the characters are well fleshed out. Highly recommended!

What a simply beautiful story, set over the two weeks of the Cannes Film Festival, this is a book that has everything.

Featuring the south of France, the hustle and bustle of the Film Festival, two very different main characters, new friendships, long lost past secrets bubbling up, fresh romance and some really sweet kids, this really is a joyous book to read.

Well joyous but at times there were tears pricking my eyes due to events I can't specify as they would definitely be spoilers!

We have Anna Carsons who is at her first film festival for 40 years and she is really hoping she can finally put the memories and past to rest, and be able to move on with her life and her new love. Well until a bombshell just before the festival starts threatens to unsettle her a lot.

Then there is Daisy, the young journalist, who has never been to the festival before and it's through her eyes we can see the glitz and glamour, the various parties, just how exhausting the whole two weeks can be for everyone attending .

Both Anna and Daisy are staying with Poppy, so although not a main character we get to know Poppy quite well too, and she is rather central too.

As much as I loved Daisy's story and did really enjoy reading her sections, it was in the end Anna's that grasped me completely. I needed to know why she hadn't been to the festival for so long, just what she was hiding and once we knew that I need had to know, and was reading compulsively to find out how everything would resolve itself.

The blurb is not wrong, lives really are changed forever over this rather special film festival, and I was delighted to be a fly on the wall watching it all play out. I was loving every moment of the book and think it may just be one of my favourites from this author - and I do tend to love all her books!

Thank you to Boldwood Books and Netgalley for this copy which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily.

Lovely book. Anna who has a past is attending the Cannes Film Festival and wants to see the man with whom she was with and to finally put that behind her. But before she attends, she hears that’s he’s no longer alive. She still attends, but as she really wanted to keep away from her past, she finds its all the reporters and people are talking about. She decides to tell her boyfriend, who joins her everything. Soon she’s having to deal with issues relating to that man and secrets come to the fore. Loved the book and especially Cindy and Tom.

This book was so good. I didn't to put it down! The characters were well rounded, and the storyline sucked you into it and made you feel like you were really there. The author did an great job telling this story.