🌄New starts for everyone! Lovely setting with friends, family and a little feud?

4-4.5🌟stars
I really liked the characters in this story set in rural Brittany. I am a big fan of novels that offer romance and new adventures to the over 50 set and this story has a majority of its main and key secondary characters who've experienced life and heartache and are ready to turn the page and begin a new chapter of living.

Divorced grandmother Belinda has career choices and a fractured past to address, plus she arrives in Brittany to find a brusque, confrontational Frenchman who challenges her constantly as she settles in her new assignment: quickly getting a dilapidated camping ground into shape for her hotelier bosses. Belinda aims for modernization to expand their pool of likely visitors; Alain favors the nostalgia of a more rustic, family-oriented refurbish.

Widowed Fern and her ninety year-old mother-in-law are trying to regroup after Laurent's sudden death eighteen months earlier in a car crash. Fern's been through two marriages but now, running a none too busy Auberge that she's put all of her assets into remodeling, she's a bit lost and lonely.

Belinda's story is deepened by her sad memories of ties to Brittany and the wrenching separation of her parents. Her return to Brittany after over three decades away churns up old hurts and disconcerting questions. Fern faces pressure from her son-in-law to upend her life for his family's benefit.

The plot has a good variety of action, emotion and introspection that keeps it moving at a good pace. Yes, there are quite a few sad moments and at times Fern seems to beat the brunt of them, but it's not unrealistic, especially the way her bosses make major decisions that affect her and THEN bring her in the loop, But I think the good food, fond friends and close family moments sprinkled with some clean, sweet romance make it in toto a happy story of reconciling with change and moving forward. I totally enjoyed the book and will be looking in future for others by its author.

Thanks to publishers Boldwood Books and NetGalley for providing an advance copy; this is my voluntary and honest review.

A truly wonderful 5* read, I loved meeting Belinda and following her story as she goes to Brittany to help turn a campsite around. Last year I stayed in a gorgeous campsite in rural France and this story reminded me of that visit and how much fun we had creating memories.

I instantly fell in love with the location and loved the descriptions of how run down the campsite had become and the plans to modernise it. Early on we met Alain and he played a key role in this story with his gruff personality. A story rich in wonderful characters that all bring something different to the table and who you want to keep reading about as you have become invested in their happiness. I shed a few tears during this story as there were some emotional highs and lows throughout.

Set against the back drop of a wonderful location with a whole cast of amazing characters there wasn't anything I didn't love about this story!

This was a lovely story set in Brittany France and is based around two main character's Fern and Belinda. Belinda hasn't set foot back in Brittany since she left with mum at age 17 but now she has returned after being asked to help rescue and set up a campsite by her boss. There she meets Fern who we also learn about her background and decisions she needs to make about her future in Brittany. The two fast become firm friends as they help each other on their own journeys. It was lovely to see the friendship develop between these two and how they supported each other.

The story has many little plots and stories within it that keep you engaged in the story, there are also elements of romance for both Fern and Belinda. It was very easy to read and I really enjoyed it. The only thing was at times to odd sentences or spoken french where I wasn't sure what was said although it did not distract  from the story, however overall this was a lovely, enjoyable summer read.

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

When I read the cover notes for A French Affair by Jennifer Bohnet, I knew this was going to be my cup of tea. It has several things I love:

- Travelling and camping
- Brittany, France
- A flavour of living in France - (I'm learning French so I loved the inclusion of a few french greetings and place names.)

This is a story of Belinda Marshall, a busy manager and chief troubleshooter of a small chain of hotels. Her boss suddenly assigns her a new project to renovate a campsite in Brittany, France. Reluctantly she takes BB her dog and travels to Brittany to assess the size of her new project. Whilst working on the campsite she meets and forms new unexpected friendships.

These friendships help her on a journey coming to terms with her childhood past and a family scandal. Also, it's a journey of finding her new purpose in life following a divorce and her daughter now grown up and moving away with her own family.

An utterly charming story and beautiful written. A French Affair transformed me to a summer of camping in Brittany. What a lovely escape for a while. I didn't want Belinda's story or the book to end.

I really enjoyed this one – it was a lovely story

This was a story that had a lovely main focus, it was all about making new friends and relationships.

It was a slow burn romance that well written with a good natural flow to it.

The characters were really good and worked well together, I loved the interaction and it was a great story of new beginnings and hope.

It is 4 stars from me for this one, highly recommended and a great read!!

An engrossing and entertaining story that I liked. Good characters and plot, lovely descriptions of France.
I rooted for the characters and like the development of the camping.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

I am quickly becoming a huge Jennifer Bohnet fan. She writes wonderful stories which, so far, are all set in idyllic parts of France. I truly believe that a good book can take you away and I have certainly just had a wonderful visit to Brittany.
There are two key characters in this book; Belinda and Fern. Both are carrying the scars of their past and are happy in their current, single, status. Belinda is divorced with a career that more than fulfils her whilst Fern is widowed after marrying her French boyfriend.
Both Belinda and Fern are strong and capable and certainly not looking for new love interests. As is common, I have found, in Jennifer’s books, there is no hint of romance until the reader is past the half-way point of the stories.
I loved reading about Brittany and the peculiar French property laws which govern the inheritance of family homes.
I avoid spoilers so, I shall leave it there.
This gentle book is a perfect summer read and is guaranteed to leave the reader very satisfied. I hope that if you do read this story, you also enjoy visiting the beautiful areas of Brittany which host this gorgeous tale.

I love the descriptions of France. I also enjoyed the development of the campsite. I liked all the characters. The story did feel a bit rushed and lacked depth in parts, but there's enough there to hold your attention. I've enjoyed other books by Bohnet more, but I did like this story.

A nice distracting escapist read. Bit more sad parts than I would have liked but it worked out in the end.

Great book with lots of twists and turns. Good style of writing and kept me wanting to read more. Enjoyed the characters and the story flowed well

This was such a lovely story. Just the right amount of joy and sadness, all set at a suitably gentle pace. It was a page turner in the sense that I wanted to remain in the world of the lovely French campsite and make myself at home in one of the cabins. I didn't want to leave. For the time I was reading the book, I was in France - perfect for the season we are currently in. Armchair travelling.

What a brilliant summer read.
If you can’t go on holiday this year just sit down and open this book and be transported to Brittany and enjoy.
A real feel good book that will brighten your day.

A charming book set in Brittany that includes a French campsite, a B&B owner and friendships that bond the main protagonists. For Belinda the memories of her childhood in Brittany have stayed with her over 30 years...some good, but mostly ghosts that have to be put to rest. Sent to France to help renovate a campsite, Brittany Is the last place she wants to be. She has much to deal with, including getting along better with the current manager of the site. However there are warm moments when she befriends Fern, the owner of the auberge where she is staying while her cabin at the campsite is being renewed. Their friendship takes off immediately, it is warm and endearing as both women lean on one another through some difficult decisions. .

This was an easy book to get into, enjoyable and entertaining. Highly recommended. Peut=etre you may think so too!! Mais oui!

My thanks to Netgalley and Boldwood for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks Netgalley and the Publisher. This was a nice and easy feel good happy read. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Great storyline and great characters.

Belinda is working for Nigel and Molly at their 3 hotels when they say they've bought a campsite in Brittany and want her to go and oversee the renovations. This brings back the time when Belinda was brought up in Brittany and the horrible time when her mother dragged her back to England. Brilliant book

Thanks to Netgalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for a review.

What a lovely gentle story this was. I loved the storytelling and through the detailed descriptions of the area I actually felt like I was in France. Really enjoyed this one and as I look out on the damp and miserable day here I truly wish I was in Brittany with Belinda and Fern.

A French Affair By Jennifer Bohnet

I really enjoyed this book. I loved the setting and all the descriptions were beautiful! I like the mesh of different cultural backgrounds all interacting and seeing all those differences and similarities.

I think the pace of the book was a bit fast but I did like that. Overall the characters were likable- I do think the romance was a bit underdeveloped but I’m a sucker for a love story so it was a huge thing.

The only thing that I struggled with was the French lines, I don’t know any French so I didn’t enjoy the sprinkled parts in French. I can only assume that they were not critical and that I didn’t miss much.

Overall it was a really good read that I enjoyed and would read more books from this author.

What a joy this book is! It is the story of Belinda, a hotel troubleshooter who is sent by her bosses to renovate and rebrand their new acquisition, a rundown camping site in the countryside of Brittany. Reluctant at first due to her past, which is gradually revealed throughout the book, and the unfriendly Frenchman that is currently managing the site, Belinda soon finds herself enjoying the challenge. She meets Fern, an English woman who runs the local Auberge and they soon become good friends.
I read this book whilst shielding during lockdown and loved its gentle pace and emotions throughout the book and the description of the campsite and local areas. It felt like a relaxing mini-break and was escapism at its best.
Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publishers, for an advance copy which I reviewed honestly.

Thank you so much for the opportunity to read this book. I really appreciated the mini vacation I felt I was taking to France (because who doesn’t need a vacay right now!) and the descriptive telling of the environment.
I did, however, find myself slightly bored from time to time. The story line was predictable and the characters seemed two dimensional. Just not enough movement happening to keep my interest.

I absolutely would try another book by this author though- maybe this one just wasn’t a good match for me.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an early review copy.

Thoroughly enjoyed this book from the beginning to the end.

Loved the setting in France and the way the surrounding areas was described.

I felt that there was a distinct difference in the characters, between the French, the English and that one American.

The author managed to create different cultural backgrounds fitting to the characters heritage.

It was nice to read the different points of views of the characters and his the book flowed by switching from Belinda to Fern.

Would recommend it.