This was a wonderfully rich and emotional debut novel that provided a welcome escape into a magical world of culinary riches and captivating characters.

The reasons behind Sophie Valroux’s fall from culinary grace at a top-rated New York eatery are nearly as infuriating as the fact that the industry doesn’t give her a chance to fight back. Her decision to escape the negative spotlight by travelling to her Grand-Mère’s château in the South of France has her facing secrets from her past and her own self-doubt head on.

With lyrical writing and perfect pace, Vérant transports readers seamlessly from the hustle and bustle of Manhattan to the decidedly slower-pace of life at the château. As a top chef, Sophie’s story is all about the food and you can hear, smell and, yes, taste everything right alongside her. I have never been hungrier—especially for cheese—when reading a novel.

Supported by a cast of charismatic and engaging secondary characters, led by the fierce and opinionated Grand-Mère Odette, Sophie battles to regain her confidence both in her cooking and her life. Along the way the author tackles several serious topics without making it too heavy or hard to read.

THE SECRET FRENCH RECIPES OF SOPHIE VALROUX had me riveted from page one and saying “just one more chapter” until it was done. I highly recommend you get yourself a copy when it releases on September 8.

Thanks to Berkley Publishing Group and the author for the advance reading copy.

French born American Sophie Valroux is working as a cheft at one of New Yorks top restaurants, Cendrillon. She get's in a conflict with the head chef, who accuses her of adding something to a recipe, which is truly sabotage to her from the other chefs, who now blame her that the restaurant lost on of its three Michelin stars. and this is widely reported in the media. Sophie can say her dream career as a chef goodbye.
When she is right in the middle of this mess, she learns due to a phone call that her beloved Grandmere, who lives in France has suffered from a stroke a few days earlier, and is in bad health condition, and takes the first flight she can to France. This is where she partly grew up, and she discovered that her Grandmere has turned her childhood home in a succesfull chateau, complete with two restaurants, guest rooms, and a true French vineyard. Here she meets someone from her past, who gives her the cold shoulder because he never heard from Sophie again when she left for America. And there are more people who see her more like an intruder then a good guest. But her grandmother and more people are very fond of her, and for a reason. Grandmere feels that her time is running out, and tells Sophie that no one but she will inherit the chateau, with the promise that she will make it a success, as her grandmother trusts her abilities as a chef as she was the one who supported Sophie in the past to go to culinary school. During the first week, Sophie's organizing and cooking abilities for a dinner with 100 guests are put to the test, and in the meantime she has to make peace with the past and with her life back in New York, who want her back in Cendrillon, but she decides her future, with a new love in her life, is in France.

Altough we are just half past this year, I think I can say that this book is one of the best that comes out this year! I was drawn to read it because of the lovely cover, and what is inside is just a jewell!!
The story line and the plot are just outstanding!! Sophie goes from feeling like a total loser (which she isn't of course) to the winner of everything that went in her way. From the moment she is picked up of the airport by Remi, who she was childhood friends with but lost touch with, (due to Sophie's coldhearted mother who committed suicide) he gives her the cold shoulder, but slowly on, she finds out why and then a romance between them starts slowly, which was very cute and truly added to the story where everything was woven into perfectly together. The backdrop in the French countryside was very realistic, you could just imagine it in front of you as the author described it into detail, just as the French way of living and the exquisite cuisine, and the dishes that Sophie prepares in the end for the big dinner party. What also was magical was the interactions between Sophie and grandmere, who was just the kindest grandmother you can imagine, as they talked about the past, and grandmere's wishes for the chateau in the present. Although the discussions were sad because grandmere was slowly passing away, they women were honest, and the result was that the wounds of the past were finally allowed to heal.

I loved loved loved this book, and highly recommend it, don't miss it when it comes out this September!!

While it seems the author has some firsthand knowledge of the kitchen brigade, there is something off in the way it is described to the reader. People follow the Michelin starred chef, not the random underlings in the chef's kitchen. This makes the story seem like Sophie is all up in the melodrama of herself and there ain't no place for tears on the line. So, going into the story from that point of view, I questioned a lot of the plot. I adored the setting, loved Grandma, but for my tastes, the seasoning needed to be adjusted.

This one just didn't work for me. I just didn't care for the main character Sophie. I found her a bit childish. I did, however, enjoy the food descriptions. I think their is a wide audience for this book and anyone who loves France and loves food should give it a read.

Sophie Velroux French born spent summers with her grandmother at her chateau in France learning to cook. Sophie moves to California and ends up working in a Michelin star restaurant but gets fired by being sabotaged by a chef that she works with. She finds out her grandmother has had a stroke and flies to France to see her and help run the kitchens at the chateau. Family, love, dreams and success make this a wonderful book.

I loved this book! Sophie is set up to take a fall at the New York restaurant where she's been working her way up the ladder for years. Fired and disgraced, she visits her ailing grandmother in France and finds herself suddenly in charge of her family chateau and restaurant. Family secrets are unearthed, and Sophie rediscovers her passion for cooking. And in vivid food descriptions, the beautiful French countryside and a hunky love interest and the end result is a delightful story about family and second chances. Highly recommend reading this one with a croissant and a cup of hot chocolate!

Sophie’s career in New York as a chef is devastatingly sabotaged and she is left to retreat to her sick grandmother’s kitchen in France. Once there, she finds that it is not only her grandmother who is in need of healing, but that she herself is carrying old wounds in need of attention so she can fully move forward in her career and in her life as a whole. Sweet and uplifting, this tale of broken relationships, reconciliation, and rediscovering your passion was one I enjoyed! I love a good foodie read and the rich descriptions of both Sophie and Grandmère’s recipes had me craving beautiful meals like the ones described!

This story was very predictable in its plot, but I enjoyed the setting as well as the menu descriptions. These and the appealing supporting characters carried me through to the end, despite the lack of surprises. Beautiful cover!

Cute story, very interesting especially the lengths people in the restaurant industry will go to get ahead. Sometimes this involves sabotaging another chef. In this case, Sophie, who was born in France and spent summers there with her grandmother.. She moves to New York City and works in a Michelin Two Starr restaurant. She is hoping to become the only female chef to earn three stars. Then another chef sabotages her and she loses her job and reputation. That's where the story begins. I liked this book because it was different and in these troubled times it was nice to read a light hearted book.

The Secret French Recipes of Sophie Valroux is a fun behind the scenes look at the life of a top level female chef in a male-dominated industry. Sophie Valroux flees to France to care for her ailing grandmother, and escape the humiliation of a sabotaged career in NYC. Her grandmother hands over the reigns to her chateau, vineyard and two restaurants, where Sophie has a chance to re-establish herself and tell her own story through her recipes. The descriptions of food, cooking and recipes are mouth-watering! I also loved how atmospheric this novel was, I could picture myself in the French countryside and staying at the sprawling chateau where the novel took place. A delectable story of finding yourself, family, friendship and true love.

My only concern with The Secret French Recipes of Sophia Valroux was the casual approach to mental illness and suicide (in my opinion).

If you are a Francophile or a foodie (or both!) this is the perfect book for you. Occasionally the descriptions of the food were a bit too appealing - probably best not to read on an empty stomach! Overall, an enjoyable, escapist read.

Sophie has always had a dream of being a star chef. But when she's denied the opportunity in New York, she returns to her grandmother's chateau in the south of France to lick her wounds and recover her confidence.

This is an enjoyable, if somewhat predictable, book of family secrets, romance, and (most of all) food. I'm not a real foodie and don't speak French, so I occasionally had to "Google" some of the terms, but I learned a lot about being a chef, particularly the rarefied air of Michelin "stars". The story is pleasant enough and the characters (especially the secondary ones) are appealing and believable. It was a bit too predictable and too "happy ever after" for my taste, but there are certainly moments of humor, pathos, surprise and tender emotion. If you're a fan of the movie "A Good Year", this is a similar story. It did make me want to take a trip to southwestern France and find this chateau!

With the pandemic and civil unrest, the world seems to be in a state of chaos. It was so refreshing to read this book. Sophie Valroux had one dream, to be a Michelin star chef. When her reputation was shredded by an envious colleague, Sophie decided to visit her grandmother in France and get back to the roots that fueled her dream. As she fights to get her reputation back, she learns along the way what true dreams should reflect. I truly loved this book. I came away seeing that, despite our current state of affairs, we can have peace in our personal lives once our dreams align.

I didn't get very far in this book because it was so overwritten. It would have been more interesting if we got to the conflict very early on and then saw how she got there. All the dancing around a kitchen playing with the vegetables just seemed too much.

Sophie Valroux, born and raised in France, now finds herself working as a Chef De Partie in a 2-star Michelin restaurant in New York City. Until she is sabotaged and the restaurant loses a Michelin star. She is out of a job. She's soon to be out of her apartment. She makes a life-altering decision: she will return to France and spend some time with her grandmother. Gather her wits. Make some plans.

WELL!! What she finds in France is nothing short of a miracle. You'll absolutely love her adventures!

I read this EARC courtesy of Berkley Publishing and NetGalley. pub date 09/08/20

This was a light entertaining novel which did tackle some heavy issues. Overall, it was fun to read. What's not to like about France and food?

This wasn't my usual genre of book, but I thought I would give it a try! I'm glad I did because it was an easy, entertaining read.

Sadly, I was disappointed in this. I wanted to like it a lot more than I did, but Sophie was infuriating. She was an emotional mess for most of the book and I lost track of the number of times she burst into tears or wallowed about how much her life sucked. She was treated unfairly, I get that, but the self-pity thing was just way too overdone. As for the other characters, Jane was nasty for the entire book and is suddenly helpful and pleasant at the end. Remi had no chemistry with Sophie and he also didn't seem to understand that she wanted to take things slow. Sophie herself was so indecisive about what she wanted and then she miraculously realized what she wanted practically overnight. I will say the recipes at the end were a nice touch, if you are into gourmet food. I'm only rating this so low because I just didn't care for the characters but I do think there is an audience for this. Anyone who likes novels about France and food will probably enjoy this.

The Secret French Recipes of Sophie Valroux is the perfect summer read. Although it tackles a number of hard subjects including toxic work environments, mental illness, and family secrets, Verant's writing will transport readers to France and have their mouths watering as Sophie creates fabulous dish after fabulous dish.

Sophie herself is a wonderful character. Her reactions and development are realistic, and her determination and heart truly shine as she works to find her place at her grandmother's chateau and amongst its employees. I particularly loved the interactions between Sophie and her grandmother as they discussed the past; although the discussions were sad, both women were honest, and the result was that the wounds of the past were finally allowed to heal. I also just liked Sophie's grandmother, who was as feisty and hardworking as Sophie and who cared for everyone around her. It was lovely to see Sophie step into those shoes and truly begin to live her dreams.

I also enjoyed the drama in this book. I'm not usually a fan of miscommunication as a means to create conflict between characters, but in the masculine, cut-throat environment of a Michelin-starred kitchen, it doesn't seem unbelievable to have sabotage and split-second punishments result in a firing such as Sophie's. However, karma does its job and the truth is eventually revealed. Similarly, the coldness between Sophie and Remi, her childhood friend, resolves fairly quickly instead of dragging on simply for the sake of keeping them apart, which allowed their relationship to develop and build upon their friendship of years past.

Overall, this book is a fantastic blend of France, food, and family that tackles some tough topics while still managing to stay light-hearted. I would recommend this title to anyone looking to escape their surroundings for a few hours and to fall in love with a kind-hearted chef, her food, and her French family.

Sophie is one lucky girl.

Not even 30 yet, she’s living the dream. She’s reached the pinnacle of her career, has a gorgeous boyfriend who is willing to wait for her, a large, historic chateau to her name, a bevy of friends in New York and in southwestern France, and no college debt, no car loans, no mortgage, no rent. She’s not exactly a typical millennial or Generation Y young woman.

No wonder this stuff sells!

I am not a chick-lit, romance, or kitchen/restaurant dream reader. I generally read literary fiction, but I enjoyed this fantasy trip to the terroir of “The Secret French Recipes of Sophie Valroux” for the pleasure of escaping all the real terrors of the real world.

Sophie has seven major conflicts to resolve in the year-or-so time frame of this short novel, and true to form, she manages to come out ahead in all of them. Readers of these genres know that’s going to happen, and the fun is in how she gets there.

Author Samantha Veránt has done her research (as far as this non-foodie can tell) and creates vivid pictures of the New York restaurant culture and the South-of-France manner lifestyle (although in both places, I kept wondering who is doing the dishes). Mostly set in that chateau in southwestern France, Sophie is presented with both the challenge of a lifetime and the dream of a lifetime, running her grandmother’s chateau—guesthouse and restaurant—and perhaps winning her personal holy grail—a three-star Michelin rating. Standing in the way is a jealous, talentless and sabotaging former boyfriend and his accomplices, a trashed reputation in the insular high-end restaurant industry, pain and hatred over her mother’s suicide, an unidentified father, a mean girl chateau manager, an enigmatic childhood boyfriend, and a large dose of insecurity over her skills.

That’s a lot to handle—perhaps more than most of us have to deal with in our early 20s. But unlike most of us, Sophie was to-the-manner-born, and every reader knows that everything is going to come out okay. That’s the way these stories go. If you’re used to reading books with a little reality, a bit of a real mystery and an ending that you’re reading to discover, this book isn’t for you. But if it doesn’t bother you to know that the answer to every issue she faces is clearly signaled along the way, and you need a break for today’s overrated reality, you will love this book.