I really wanted to like this book but I was very disappointed. The main character is obnoxious, rude and patronising. She always talks about how she has gone to another country and no one speaks English when really she should be the one to at least try and learn some of the other language. And then she is horrified when sees tourists behaving in the same way that she is behaving – the whole thing is very hypocritical. Plot wise it also kind of didn’t make sense because these letters were left for her mum to find but it has been 15 odd years and she still able to find them and she had it in her head that she was being punished for something. Basically there was no plot, it was kind of a pulled out of nothing. The only reason I’m giving this two stars is because it didn’t offend me. But I did skim read the last 60% of the book.

Jamie has been sent to a France to stay with her fathers mother who she has never met. After being sent to the local village on an errand Jamie meets a local boy Valentin. Jamie discovers a letter that she thinks is written by her father to her mother and is a treasure hunt of sorts. Jamie enlist the help of Valentin to help discover the places that were significant to her parents and to reach the end of the hunt. Along the way Jamie wrestles with her own guilt and conscious that leaves her missing the most important clues of all
This was a great story not only of love but also of heartache and the coming to terms with how best to live you life

Great summer read for the YA market. France, travel and even a treasure hunt make this a brilliant and compelling read. Highly recommended

France is a country that I never visited, though after reading this book it feels like I have. The way the author expertly uses her senses to describe the setting is phenomenal as I was able to imagine the setting as if I was witnessing it.

Aix Marks The Spot follows the story of Jamie, an American-French who lived in America her whole life and is currently in France for summer with her grandmother. Staying in her dad's childhood room, she found an old letter, which was a starting point to a treasure hunt that spans across various cities in France. Having the guilt of almost killing her parents, she was determined to finish the treasure as she thinks its a way to fix her family. She also couldn't speak French fluently, until she met Valentin, who spoke English and helped her translate. He was willing to come along the treasure hunt. A journey of discovering cultural differences, love, heartbreak, and finding one's self, developed throughout the quest.

This book gets a 4-star rating from me because as much as I loved the story, characters, and the setting, I felt that the ending was a bit rushed. Nevertheless, this book is one of the cutest things I have read. I mean not only does it involve a cute banter between Jamie and Valentin, but it also involves France, which is known as the country of love. Overall, this was such an adorable read and I learned a lot about France's culture, food, and art.

**Thank you to NetGalley, the author, & the publisher for a chance to read & review an E-ARC of this novel!**

I went into this novel hoping to love it & unfortunately I came out feeling very meh about it. While I really enjoyed the cultural aspects of this story & the plot of a treasure hunt across Provence was alluring...it just didn't hit the mark for me. I know that parts of this novel are based on the author's real experiences. My review is by no means meant to try & degrade or discredit her experiences...it's just my thoughts & feelings from reading this novel. Please find my extended feedback below...along with some spoilers (beware).
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Things I Liked:
-Valentin: he was super helpful & so sweet! I sort of feel bad that he ended up with Jamie (please see my thoughts on Jamie below).
-JP: Jean-Pascal! While his part in this story was very small...he was so likable & funny! I enjoyed his little appearances more than almost any other character.
-the descriptions of Provence & the surrounding areas: I have always wanted to visit France & that desire is something that drew me to this novel. I loved the way the author provided such visual cues for the reader. It felt like I was really there. :)
-how the author addressed tourist issues: some tourists are really rude & do treat the places they visit like only destinations instead of respecting that these places are homes & communities.
-the twist of the plot: Jamie's mom actually wrote the letters! While this confused the heck out of me while I was reading that last letter...I thought it added some depth to the concept of Jamie's mother trying to learn from her husbands culture...not steal him from it.
-the French phrases & words mixed into the novel: I loved seeing this & enjoyed trying to understand the language even in the small phrases in this novel. French is a beautiful language & this made me want to learn it even more!
-the play on words in the title: cute! :)

Things That Didn't Sit Quite Right With Me:
-JAMIE: Oh Jamie. She was very self-centered, egocentric, whiny, & self-loathing. I found it difficult to like her. She twisted everything to be about her...why someone didn't like her...why people isolated her...why people weren't talking to her...how the accident was all her fault...how she was the reason the family fell apart...how she was the was the reason for her father & his mother's poor relationship...her refusal to enjoy being in France...she made it a challenge for me to enjoy this novel & she is honestly the main reason my rating is on the lower side.
-Mamie: she was just really rude & sour overall. Being hurt is not a reason to cause hurt. I was not a fan.
-how everything was "fixed" by the finding of the letters (Mamie reading them) & Jamie/Mamie traveling to America to make amends: I find that sort of resolution to be fast/pressured & somewhat unrealistic.

Overall, I gave this novel 2 stars. I think it would be a great read for those interested in reading a light YA read with romance, cultural, & familial relationship themes.

I always look out for books that are about girls on vacation or stuck in another country and this was one. This is a love letter to Provence and France and I thought it was beautiful and I loved how it wasn't just a romance. The prose is comical and lyrical and very easy to get into. I also really liked the main character even if she did do some things that annoyed me.

Aix Marks the Spot by S. E. Anderson is an unique young adult romance, and my first book by this author. Jamie had her summer all mapped out, until the car accident, which left her mom having to learn how to walk again. Jamie parents sent Jamie to her French grandmother home in Provence for the summer. Jamie had never met her grandma, and Jamie's French is limited. Jamie meets Valentin, a boy around her age that agrees to translate for her. Jamie discovers an old letter her father wrote, which sends her and Valentin on a journey. I really enjoyed this book, looking forward to reading more books by this author. I highly recommend this book.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

After racing through Sarah Anderson’s fun and compulsively readable AIX MARKS THE SPOT, I’m ready… ready to spend a summer in Provence, soaking in the beauty of the fields dotted with lavender, listening to the steady hum of the cicadas, exploring the museums, and most of all eating all of those delicious foods she describes in such mouthwatering detail. There is a sweet romance, family drama, and a treasure hunt, but above all else this book is a love letter to Provence. #bookstagram #yabookstagram #provence #netgalley #aixmarksthespot

Oh là là! What a delightful book! The fact that this book takes place in Provence and the words, sights, and sounds of France are sprinkled throughout this book is what initially caught my attention and is why I wanted to read this book. I was not disappointed! I love how the French language was spoken and reflected in this book. I was also captured by the story. Jamie, who grew up in the U.S. was sent to live with her estranged French grandmother so her mother could recover from an accident. Jamie arrives forlorn and overcome by guilt relating to the accident. Her arrival in Provence only results in intensifying that guilt when she encounters her distant, emotionally detached, grandmother, and struggles with feelings of homesickness and despair.
Gradually, light appears as she makes a friend (a boy from France of course!) and begins to uncover the pull of the country where her father lived and loved. The plot thickens when Jamie discovers a clue that leads her on a treasure hunt where she hopes to find the key to healing the past and the present.
This book swept me along into the hearts and minds of the characters and it made me yearn to return to France and visit the places in this book. The sights, sounds, and smells within this book painted a vivid picture of Provence and I could imagine myself vicariously partaking of everything described.
Does Jamie find the treasure? Does Jamie ever reconnect with her grandmother? Does Jamie ever find peace? You'll have to read this book to find out! As you embark on your journey of discovery and becoming immersed in this book, I can only say, Bon Voyage!

I love fiction set in France and this was no exception.All round it was a gorgeous book covering a lot of ideas. Anderson really makes France come alive in this.

Aix Marks The Spot is a semi-road trip scavenger hunt romance following Jaime, an American teen who spends an adventurous, romantic summer in her grandmother’s hometown in France.

The travel story is the highlight of this book. Following Jaime along on her journey as she discovers the culture and landscape of France is such a fun adventure. The lush descriptions of landmarks, food, and experiences that Jaime and her new friend and love interest Valentin go through make this book a fun summer read for people wanting a mental vacation to a fun destination.

Unfortunately, the rest of the story falls flat for me.

Our protagonist’s main conflict is that she doesn’t speak French, much to the chagrin of her grandmother. About half of this book’s conversations are in French and only some are given translation or context, so I’m just as lost and confused as our protagonist; it really takes away from a reader’s comprehension of the story as a whole. There are so many conversations happening in (gratuitous, at times) untranslated French where we gain nothing but confusion and a lack of comprehension.

Jamie herself is a very self-loathing protagonist, and because she perceives the whole world as being against her and lets that control most of her actions throughout the story, it’s hard to root for her.

I had hope for Valentin to give her a sense of belonging and trust in this foreign landscape, and though we do get hints of their chemistry at times, for a majority of the story he seems almost lifeless.

I can’t connect with our main characters at all at all; their emotions change at the flip of a switch (or a flip of a page, more appropriately) and their motivation and feelings are all over the place. One moment they have mutual romantic feelings, the next, one of them wants to bail on their scavenger hunt adventure, the next, they never want to speak to each other again, and in the next paragraph they’re back to bated breaths and blushing.

I can say, however, that if you are looking for a quick-paced, easy YA romance, Aix Marks the Spot is a decent read for someone exploring the genre.

Aix Marks the Spot by Sarah Anderson
Rating: 4/5

What an incredibly sweet YA contemporary novel that would make a great beach-read!

After a freak accident, Jamie is sent to the south of France to live with a grandmother she has never met for the summer. She travels to Provence with few expectations of how the summer will go, and is met with iciness and from her "Mamie" and difficulties with the language barrier. During a run to town for some groceries (with a list she can't read...) she runs into Valentin - a local teen who quickly takes a liking to Jamie's outspoken nature. The two quickly become friends and that bond is strengthened when Jamie discovers a treasure hunt that her father left for her mother 17 years prior. She knows the only way that she'll be able to venture across the south of France is with the help of Valentin, and she quickly realizes that "treasure" might not be the only thing she finds on her journey.

This book explores the relationships between friends, families and the importance of self-discovery. Anderson writes characters that are flawed yet relatable and her descriptions of Provence and the surrounding areas was idyllic. I'm all about authors writing in the language of the setting, but I do have to say the extensive use of French throughout made it somewhat difficult to follow. I started off by translating the sentences in French, and then that got to be too much work and I found myself skipping those longer sections.

If you're a francophile or looking for an incredibly sweet summer read, this will be the perfect book for you.

This was an engaging coming-of-age story of an American-French teen, Jamie. Set in Provence, it gave me Love & Gelato vibes but it floated my boat so much more than that book did. That said, I do think fans of that series would be drawn to this story.

Jamie arrived in Provence on a rush, sent by her parents to stay with her rather eccentric Grand Mere she had never met. It became immediately apparent that there was a language barrier and one of the things I liked about this book was picking through the french and translated dialogue peppered throughout. I liked guessing and testing my school French but I was always left understanding what was being said. Jamie was left to her own devices and had to explore the local village where Valentine took pity on her. What ensued was a crazy adventure, a treasure map set by one of her parents nearly twenty years ago and a colourful few weeks of fun.

"A cute, nerdy French boy wanted to show me around a castle and knew exactly what cheeses I was going to like. Talk about a fairy tale…"

Except this really wasn’t a fairy tale, underpinning this whole story was a terribly dysfunctional family, long in the making, that needed to communicate. Grand mere was frankly a little scary, intimidating and giving mixed (French) messages all over. The situation back home was complex and Jamie was stuck in a rut with regards to her thinking about it all.

"They say the opposite of love is hate, but it really isn’t, it’s indifference."

AIX MARKS THE SPOT was a fun read, a cute read even but it had serious tones with a solid plot line and great character development. It’s the kind of book to be demolished in a day or weekend with truly summer vibes which I really appreciated on a hot day locked-down in my garden. Rounded up to 4 stars.

This was hard to rate because of my dislike of the mc, so 3.5 rated down.

I really enjoyed the setting and reading about Provence. It is an immersive love letter to Provence. It made me want to back there (it's been 12 years?!). I liked the spattering of French throughout the book, most of which is not automatically translated in the next line like many YA books with Spanish in seems to do. I also liked the treasure hunt and past romance aspect of the story (the current time romance seemed quite forced and would have been better as a friendship). I love Valetin, his mother, his friends - I wanted to read more of those scenes! This is probably due to the fact that I could not stand the main character Jamie. I could write a short essay on how awful she is as a person (see goodreads for my spoiler list!) I didn't like the constant reiteration of "I caused the accident" when it wasn't a part of the plot, it just kept get repeated and added nothing to the story at that point.

Give me more books set in France/Provence svp!

I received this ARC in exchange for an honest review from the author and net gallery. I really wanted to love this book as the concept was so beautiful and I love books that take place in different countries.... however I found that the conversations that were French and always ended in Jamie saying she didn’t know what they were saying distracting from the story. Along with the “accented” dialogue. It just wasn’t my favorite, but the synopsis was cute and enjoyable enough.

I really loved this book. It's so easy to read, I loved the treasure hunt aspect and how it helped Jamie, find out what she wanted and who she was.
A great summer read!

This is the perfect book for summer! I felt like I was on holiday in Provence the whole time I was reading it.

When American teenager Jamie is sent to Provence to visit the grandmother she’s never spoken to before things are not looking good. She can’t talk to her parents, her Grandmother will only converse in French and her best friend is busy doing the art course they were meant to do together. Then Jamie discovers a letter in her dad’s childhood bedroom that changes everything. It’s time for a treasure hunt and who better to accompany her than handsome local boy Valentin?

Reading about Jamie discovering the country her father is from and the town where her parents met was an absolute joy. It felt like I was exploring with her. She and her family had a lot of healing to do and watching this happen as she grows into a confident young lady was lovely to see. We also get to see Jamie learning French which added so much to the story.

I liked that the letters Jamie finds were used to move the story along and how this allowed us to see how her parents fell in love in the past while watching Jamie falling for Valentin in the present.

A summer adventure full of romance this book was so much fun to read. 4/5🌟 Aix Marks the Spot will be released on the 26th of June and there’s a great pre-order incentive happening - head over to @readcommendations Instagram for details.

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review .

Aix Marks the Spot is a story about identity and overcoming adversity just as much as it is one about love and acceptance.

Jamie is in the midst of an extended identity crisis, but it is how she deals with this that makes her experience in France worthy of praise. At times it can make her impatient and insufferable, but her intentions are good, and you easily root for her growth. Valentin was my favorite character in this story as he brought joy and humor to the book while also being sensitive and giving.

Reading the letters was my favorite part of the book. They are so beautiful and filled with love. The whole premise of her going on a hunt with Valentin that retraces her parent’s hunt is so cute. The parallels between her mother and father’s adventure and hers and Valentin’s was so fun to read, and it never felt forced.
I really loved the author’s writing as I felt like the book was a guide to Provence. I could picture exactly what everything looked like in my mind, and it felt like I was exploring the country with the characters. My mind did not do justice to what the region actually looks like in pictures though (the lavender!). To me, this book didn’t feel just about the journey the characters go on but is also meant to take you on a journey.

The further along I got in the book, the more each page would take me through a myriad of emotions. I got a tad emotional towards the end of the book as I felt I had a stake in what happened with Jamie and her family. There was a big twist at the end that I did not see coming at all, and I immediately had to go back and reread parts of the book with this new information. It was so perfect though and fitting for the story.

I really loved the scene with Jamie experiencing French culture with Valentin’s friends, and I wish I could have seen them more in the book, but if there was ever a sequel based around those characters, I would definitely have to read it. Also, I would have liked a little more information on the aftermath of the accident as I think it would have helped establish Jamie’s feelings a bit more.

Overall, this was a 4.5 read as I fell in love with Aix and the characters and felt that the messages of cherishing and communicating with family were beautifully woven into the story.

This book is indulgent, easy summer fun with plenty of romance to keep you interested. Jamie is spending summer in Provence, France with her estranged grandma who seems to take an instant dislike to her because she doesn't speak French.

The treasure hunt structure keeps the pace going -- I've only just got the pun title, brilliant!

I really felt the struggle of Jamie as everyone around her speaks a different language and her grandma refuses to cut her any slack. At times it made me annoyed with Jamie's character because I wanted her to try harder, but it is a very realistic portrayal of how frustrating it is to try and navigate a country without speaking the language.

There were a few questions about past events that kept me reading -- what the accident was that led to her mum not being able to walk, why Mamie and Jamie's dad hadn't spoken to each other in 17 years, why Jamie had been sent to France for the summer. Valantin is a swoon-worthy character, but I did find him a bit bland. That's probably an age thing though!

The real highlight of the book for me is the wonderful descriptions of Provence. The castles, the landscape, even the long bus journeys were a treat to read because Anderson's description of the view out the window took me right there. She's captured a part of France and bottled it. All you need to do to travel to Provence is to crack open this book!

"Aix Marks the Spot" is a fluffy, fun YA romance novel. Jamie is sent to live with her estranged grandmother after an accident severely injures Jamie's mom. Jamie struggles to get to know her grandmother and understand the language, but quickly makes friends with Valentin, the requisite French hottie. I thoroughly enjoyed the author's description of the culture and scenery, as well as the mysterious letters and scavenger hunt that gave Jamie the opportunity to travel around the countryside and see things through her parents' eyes.

The only negative comment I have is that Jamie comes off as self-centered throughout most of the book - the car accident was all her fault, the estrangement with her grandmother was all her fault, her best friend doesn't want to talk to her anymore... Instead of communicating with the people involved, she blames herself and shuts down. On the other hand, the over-dramatic blame game is pretty typical of YA books and does provide plot points.

Overall, this is a quick, engaging read, and I appreciate the ARC from NetGalley.