(I LOVE a good play on words) this story follows Jamie, a teenager sent to live with her estranged grandmother for a summer in the french countryside after a car accident with her family that left her mother re-learning to walk. seeing this trip as a punishment and determined to make things right, she sets off on a 17 year old treasure hunt her dad had set up for her mom before she was born. She enlists the help of a local boy named Valentin and together they roam southern France, following in the footsteps of her parents relationship. on the journey Jamie begins to form an important relationship for herself and also learns a lot about family and forgiveness along the way.
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This book gave me all the wanderlust (take me to France asap please) and did such an incredible job at making you feel like you were truly right there. this was a cute coming -of-age, summer romance story and reminded me a lot of #LoveandGelato & #LoveandLuck, however #AixMarksTheSpot was a little heavier. there is a lot of family strife in this book and a huge aspect of feeling like you don't belong anywhere. I found Jamie to be a little dramatic, then again what teenage girl who feels like the whole worlds against her isn't? Overall I really did enjoy this book and now I feel like I need to plan a trip to southern France immediately after this pandemic ends. 3.5⭐️

I received an ARC of this book in exchange for this honest review.

This is a book about Jamie who travels to her Mamie's in France for the summer. Originally she was supposed to go with her parents, but due to an accident her parents are unable to join her. She proceeds on a treasure hunt after she finds a love letter between her parents telling about a special surprise at the end of the clues scattered throughout different cities.

This book was ok. The premise of the book was very cute and mushy and made for an easy ride through the book, but there just wasn't much depth to really make it anything more. There was some mystery around the Jamie blaming herself for the accident that had severely injured her mom which was hinted at over and over throughout the book. It wasn't in a way in which it built on the book though, it was just laid out there over and over. Jamie constantly stating I can't have fun, because I did this to my mom. There's also a lack of character building and I didn't feel invested in them or the story until maybe the last quarter of the book. The wrap up at the end was so fast for all the 17 years of communication issues that had been talked about between Mamie and the parents and between Jamie and her parents. It just was too easy and not flushed out enough. Overall, the idea behind the story was fun, but I wish there had been a little more depth built in.

This is a pretty wholesome book, with themes I’m sure a lot of young people can relate to - a feeling of having no say or choice, and feeling lost or alone. Miscommunication is a classic trope in these sorts of novels, but it’s also pretty close to real life depending on the situation and family dynamic, so it was well done. I loved the world building; the descriptions of the landscapes, buildings, art, food etc were beautiful and so vivid that even I, who have never been to France, could visualise it all quite easily. I feel as if everything in the treasure hunt still being where it was is a bit convenient, and things were wrapped up a bit too fast and too well, but that adds to the wholesome ending.

The romance was a bit forced, I feel a friendship would have been better, or perhaps a slow burn that is hinted at towards the end would have been better. The narrative is also a little confusing, jumping between talking to the mother (You), and the reader.

All in all, a lovely read that I enjoyed reading.

This is honestly a really tough book to review because lots of this hits really close to home and I don't really know how to feel about it sometimes. My situation is a lot farther from Jamie's, as I grew up knowing my parent's home country and their families, but yet sometimes I feel as isolated and pushed out by it, even sometimes my own home country too (like Jamie struggles with but through different motivations). So a lot of the questioning where one belongs/what culture one belongs to hit hard. The letters in the novel themselves also clicked with a lot of my own experiences as I'm also someone who came to a different country to study, and I felt a lot of the same things that Jamie's mother did (like being seen as an American, or even a tourist, is something that makes me cringe a lot sometimes. And it's hard to explain how that impacted my reading experience, or my enjoyment of the book. It just made me feel raw or vulnerable at times, which honestly isn't a bad thing.

Honestly though, Anderson's representation of feeling between cultures, between families, between homes resonated deeply, which must mean that it was well done to a large extent. She captured a lot of what I've felt at times, being 'between' a lot of things myself. The way she portrayed European culture through American eyes was extremely well done as well, even done to the sometimes insanely small showers. Jamie had so many thoughts that I've had myself before, when comparing the two, or what I've heard Europeans say to me about America/ns. It just felt really authentic to reality, and I loved that.

Anderson also did a really great job of building up Provence, of bringing you along on Jamie's journey on her scavenger hunt. You feel her struggles when ordering, with tourists, and her enjoyment in all the new foods. You feel her awe when she comes across castles and beautiful, ancient cities, and I loved that so much. If this doesn't make people want to visit, I don't know what will.

The only reason this is 4 stars is because I found Jamie a little too frustrating at times, especially during her fights with Valentin. People lash out in anger but sometimes those fights, and the current conflict, felt a little forced, or worse, exaggerated. But honestly, this only detracted my enjoyment from very few scenes, as it honestly didn't happen that often.

Overall, I really enjoyed this and honestly didn't expect how real it would feel. I've always kind of avoided the books about Americans traveling to Europe (subconsciously, but still), but this might have convinced me to try and look for more.

Who doesn't love a good treasure hunt through Europe? Our story begins with our American girl Jamie being sent to her estranged grandmother in Provence. It really is quite mysterious as there are hints of a tragic mistake back home but nothing more. Jaime our as her counterparts says "Jaymee" feels a sense of loss as she cannot connect with her gran, the land or the people. Just when we think all hope is lost she finds a letter in her father's old room that will change her life forever. As she rushes to connect the missing pieces of the treasure hunt with her newfound friend Valentin, I must admit that I mourn her treatment of the places she has visited. As a young girl still trying to find herself, I wanted more- more connection with people, more connection with the places and ultimately more connection with herself as a person. While I was semi-happy at the end it made me question, "did she really grow up at all? did she really mature as an individual?"

Okay, so quite simply I couldn’t read this book fast enough! It was just so good. You know those books that keep you up until the early hours because you just have to know what happens? Well, AIX MARKS THE SPOT is definitely one of them.

It is a YA contemporary that tells the story of Jamie as she’s exiled away to France to live with the grandmother she’s never met. Oh and she doesn’t speak French, and the grandmother doesn’t speak English. Immediate conflict—plus the lingering question over why Jamie’s parents are estranged from the grandmother to start with.

And the backstory of Jamie’s mother’s injury is so well developed and incorporated smoothly into the narrative. Plus, how Jamie thinks she can heal her mother by her own actions in France bring in an element of magical thinking and false belief that isn’t often explored in YA fiction—or at least I’ve not come across it before.

Anderson is a master at characterisation. I immediately loved Jamie and Valentin, and loved the grandmother (in the kind of way you love complex characters who seem dark).

And the love story! Or should I say stories. This book has one love story wrapped up in another—it’s so good!

But there’s some really powerful and poignant stuff in here too. Many sentences made me pause and think deeply—you know the kind of writing I mean? The ones that just make you think how delicious this book is?

Oh and there’s humour too! A certain video scene had me laughing out loud.

This book has got everything you could possibly want in a YA contemporary: a complex exploration of family and redemption, powerful characters, and a look at how tragedy can lead to love, all wrapped up in a fun, treasure-hunt-style game.

I couldn't finish this book. Jamie was annoying. The French dialogue here and there also made it super hard for me to understand what was going on. I know sometimes they translated, but still sometimes they didn't translate what was said, and so I was even more confused. If you know French, then you'll probably like this book. I couldn't continue and stopped reading by chapter 15.

I received this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review!

Aix Marks the Spot is a story about love and reuniting a family after many misunderstandings and heartbreak. The story focuses on a young lady named Jamie who has been sent to France for the summer to live with a grandmother she has never meet before. Jamie while half-French does not speak much french, which causes issues between of her and her grandmother. During her time in Provence, France she finds a little that she thinks was written by her father were he has sent her mother on a scavenger hunt through France to all the places that mean a lot to them and where they fell in love.

Jamie during her time in France struggles with the sense of not being waiting, thinking her parents sent her away to France because of a car accident that happened and she feels responsible for causing. During her time in France, Jamie meets a young man by the name of Valentin, and with his help, she is able to trace back the steps of her parents love story in the hopes of finding all the letters even 17 years later, will help her mother heal from the accident.

In the time that Jamie and Valentin were running around France looking for the letters to help her mother heal, Jamie learned about herself, she finally reached out to her parents and told them the issues she was facing and how she felt she was responsible for the accident. After many ups and downs, Jamie finds the answers she has been looking for.

This book has everything you can think of, it has romance, heartbreak but most importantly family love. This book has me dreaming of going to the South of France and exploring. The perfect novel for the summer and a great young adult novel.

This book was unlike anything I've read before. The whole idea of the scavenger hunt? Cute, fun, unique! I loved the writing style as well, it was easy to follow and flowed from one scene to the next!

Paris is always my favorite setting for a novel. It's a character in itself and really added to Jamie's story! Someone please send me there!

I adored the romance between Valentin and Jamie, it was full of both serious and adorable moments!

Overall a cute quick read!

<i>Thank you to NetGalley for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.</i>

This was some good, clean fun. I picked up it specifically wanting a cute romance, and I got that!

Jamie is sent to France to spend the summer with her absent and aloof grandmother after an accident left her mother relearning to walk. She finds an old treasure hunt in her father's bedroom and begins to follow it, convinced that solving this 17-year-old hunt is the key to fixing her family. In the process, she struggles to get accustomed to the language and culture, feels rejected by her grandmother, and meets a cute boy to help her in her quest.

The backdrop for this novel was gorgeous. It made me want to book a flight to France (despite the fact that the book also showed me that my four semesters of French were wasted on me as I barely remember a word of the language!) and go smell that lavender and see the sights.

The relationship with the grandmother hit very close to home for me. Without giving too much of the novel away, I will just say that I can very much relate to an aloof paternal grandmother who showed disdain for me and my mother. I am glad it was fleshed out and explored in this novel. It took a while to get to the heart of the issue, but once they did, they were able to work on resolution.

I left this book feeling warm and fuzzy, so I consider it a success. Sometimes the plot felt a bit choppy and forced, but it was quickly looked past in favor of the lush descriptions and sweet moments. This was a win for me!

Fun read. I loved the story and the adventure that Jamie goes on with her friend Valentine to find clues from letters that were left all over Provence by her parents. Jamie feels tremendous guilt for an accident she was in with her parents. Jamie must learn how to speak French and gain the trust of her French grandmother. There's angst and real emotions that everyone can relate to in this story. I recommend this to all.

Actual rating: 4.5 stars.

Aix Marks the Spot is a sweet story about love and family. In this novel, Sarah Anderson tells a story about a girl named Jamie who was sent to a small town in Provence to live with her grandmother while her mother healed from an injury that left her unable to walk. Told in first person perspective, Jamie is in a dark place after this accident. Though her father is French and her mother is a French lit professor, she struggles with the language barrier, which makes her relationship with her grandmother even more contentious (the first reason being that her grandmother and her father have not spoken since he moved to America).

Then Jamie meets Valentin, a boy her age who offers to help translate for her. When Jamie discovers a treasure hunt that her father left for her mother before Jamie was even born, she believes that this hunt is the key to healing her mother. Valentin is roped into her chasse au trésor, which takes them to the places where here parents fell in love.

This book is about both romantic and familial love, in addition to friendship. Anderson makes the characters realistically flawed and demonstrates the importance of communication--language barrier or no. The setting is so well described that it made me feel like I truly was in the south of France.

If you want a fun summer book in a beautiful setting, with realistic relationships and a perfect ending, I highly recommend Aix Marks the Spot.

This book was adorable, cute and a real comfort in the current state the world is in. It made me travel without leaving my couch. I adored it. I really hope the author comes out with more fun cosy contemporary stories like this one!

This book makes me want to pack a bag, hop on a flight, and fly directly to France. The setting was definitely my favorite part of this book and I loved getting to learn about the art and architecture of France. I had a bit of hard time liking the main character. However, I loved the relationship between the main character and her grandmother as they try to live with each other while not speaking the other's language.

This was a super cute read. I loved reading through Jamie’s journey of traveling to France and coming to accept that that her mother’s injury was not her own doing. I loved watching Jamie’s growth and coming to realize that the world does not always revolve around her- a nice realization brought on by the loyal, sweet Valentin. I just wish that there was more time spent on the description of the actual landmarks and not just finding the letters. That would have brought it up to a 4 star for me.

This book hooked me from the very 1st page to the last. I recommend you save a few bucks so you get this book . It's ridiculously good and a page turner. It's set in Providence and with every page it seems like you are in France. The author is a genius who clearly induces our imagination with the descriptive details in the text. Did I mention Jamie is so lovable (and she can also make you crazy) and Valentin (the handsome neighbor ) is the neighbor I need.

I just loved this book so much. It is so cute. Such a great summer YA contemporary story. The author does a great job describing everything, from the food to the scenery, you will feel transported and never want to leave.

This was a fun novel set in one of my favorite part of the world! Jamie travels to Provence after a rather upsetting event in her life to help her French grandmother. What starts out as a rather boring summer for Jamie soon turns interesting as she finds an old letter from her father.

The story itself had a great premise and plot line. I do recommend the story go through another round of editing, as there were several awkward turns of phrases and obvious grammatical errors. There were also several cliched descriptions, and I think this author has the talent to fix these small hiccups. An enjoyable spring read to enjoy while stuck in self-isolation! Thank you to Netgalley for a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book was entirely a pleasure to read. Anyone who knows me, knows that I will pick up literally any book that has an inkling of being about, or involving France or French culture. I know Aix-en-Provence is in France because I greatly regret not having visited last time I was there but alas I digress. This story is both a treasure hunt and a girl discovering who she really is meant to be.

This story follows Jamie, who goes to France to live with her grandmother after an accident with her mother. Jamie discovers letters from her dad to her mom that lead her on a treasure hunt all around the south of France. Of course, she finds Valentin, a local boy, to come along with her and inevitably develop a deeper connection with.

I appreciated the French used in this book because I could actually understand it! Those years of French actually paid off... This book is just so fun and fluffy and I absolutely loved it. I would highly recommend this title to anyone who wants to escape because the scenery and setting are described so vividly it was like I was there. This is the perfect summer road trip book that I recommend you pick up ASAP!