🍷Grief & secrets softened by family, friends and an idyllic location🌄

I found Pixie's story moving and uplifting. A new widow with nothing but change in front of her, Pixie rolls with the punches as she learns her beloved husband Frank kept some major secrets from her. Their plan for retirement to a picturesque small chateau in Brittany is ruined by Frank's death in a car crash, but the chateau remains. With her mom by her side 59 year-old Pixie crosses the Channel to inspect the property and finds complications and surprises come with her dream property. And is that Frank coming to her from the grave with advice?!

This story spoke to me through its glimpses into a relaxed French lifestyle adding a sunny atmosphere while focusing on family and handling grief colored with disappointment in the departed's actions. Pixie's not perfect, but her struggle to deal with Frank's death and subterfuge to come through her tunnel of grief and anger was inspiring. And Pixie's mom, who's guarded her own romantic secret for years, has a chance at reconciling with her past. Lots of happy energy in this story, including a lovely three year-old called Ferdie who unknowingly inspires a lot of acceptance and healing.

This is the second novel I've read by Bohnet (both of them centered on mature women and their realistic joys and disappointments) and won't be the last.

Thanks to Boldwood Books and NetGalley for providing a complimentary advance copy of the book; this is my voluntary and honest review.

Summer at the Chateau is a chance to briefly visit some of the characters that we met in A French Affair, as we travel back to Brittany. This story is a standalone tale which means that you will also enjoy it, if it’s your first visit.
Pixie and her Mum, Gwen, are delightful characters and I loved the way Jennifer Bohnet crafted them to be as much like best friends as mother and daughter. Recently bereaved, Pixie is a strong woman who is forced to question everything that she thought she knew about her marriage. Her pain as she discovers that her husband kept secrets from her, is tangible and it would be impossible not to feel moved by her torment.
Gwen is a joy and, despite it being clear that she is carrying a secret from her past, she is unfalteringly supportive of Pixie’s choices. She even gently prompts Pixie in her thought processes, ensuring that she doesn’t make any hasty decisions.
The greatest challenge for Pixie is identifying how her husband knew Justine and why she is living, rent free, in a cottage on the Chateau’s grounds. For the avoidance of spoilers, you will have to read the book to discover the answer to those questions.
Romance is definitely in the air, but Jennifer Bohnet respects the need for grieving and doesn’t follow the obvious route of matchmaking a new widow. That said, there is still room for happy endings including a surprise for Gwen.
This story could have easily followed a formulaic trope and sought out romance for all the characters, it was refreshing that the reader was left to muse what the future may hold instead of needing everything tied up with a romantic bow.
I loved escaping to Brittany, it was a real treat.

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

Every time I read one of this author’s books I am transported to northern France to read a heart warming story. This book is about Pixie, a devoted wife whose husband, Frank, has died unexpectedly, about her coming to terms with his death and trying to figure out how to move on. Pixie is shocked to find out that the property they purchased in the town of Brittany in northern France by way of the viager system has been theirs for the last fourteen months and he never told her. Pixie and her mother, Gwen, go to the Chateau Quiltu with the intent to sell because she doesn’t feel like she could just up and move there, that was her and Frank’s dream, not hers alone. When Pixie gets there, she discovers that her husband has moved a young woman and her small child into the cottage on the property; her fears that maybe she didn’t know her husband as well as she thought. As she manoeuvres trying to decide what to do with the chateau, tries to figure out who this woman was to her husband, Pixie finds herself torn between what she thinks she should do and what her hearts wants her to do.

I was pleased to see the main characters being older women, Pixie and her mother, Gwen are lovely characters, I instantly warned to them and couldn’t wait to read more about them. We also meet up with characters from her previous book that were set in the same area; it was like seeing an old friend.

I cannot wait to read more books by this author. This was a quick read that left me smiling, a lovely read.

I did enjoy this on the whole. It's a light, easy read. It seems to gloss over a bereavement and a betrayal. There is no deep emotion I feel from either Pixie or Gwen, whose stories we follow. Not much from Justine either. Pixie had some big blows, but these seemed to be glossed over. And Gwen spent a long time apart from the man she loved - there seemed to be barely any angst over this. If there was a problem, it got sorted easily. Despite this, the descriptions of the part of France they settled in, and the Chateau itself, were wonderful. I liked the inclusion of different age groups. It's not a bad read by any means, but I do think it could have - should have - gone deeper. With thanks to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book is a slice of french loveliness. It is beautifully written and you really get a feel for life in France. The markets, the winding streets, simply stunning.

It is a beautiful story of friendship and love. The characters work really well together and have a stunning friendship.

It really was a pleasure to read and I thoroughly enjoyed getting lost in the pages.
⭐⭐⭐⭐

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

After Pixie’s loses her husband tragically, she finds out that the chateau in Brittany is now hers and not the person living there.

What’s she’s not aware is she’s inherited something else, along with the lodgers. But who are they and why are they there?

Still grieving, with her Mum, they go to France, with the intention of selling the chateau. Only, when they arrive, they pulled finding out the secrets of the place.

Who are the lodgers? Why are they there and did they know her husband and if so in what way???

Whilst they’re there, her family arrive and it seems, there’s secrets to be opened up, but will they heal Pixie’s broken heart or not?

I received this book for an honest review from netgalley #netgalley

#Summeratthechateau

I'm not going to lie I usually read these books for the setting over the plot. But this one had the goods on both parts it was very engaging and didn't feel like it dragged on too long. A great summer read.

Thanks to NetGalley and Boltwood Books for allowing me to read this novel in return for an honest review.

I was engrossed in this story from the first chapter. I was entranced and intrigued by Pixie’s story and that of Gwen and Charlie and Justine and Ferdie and Frank. It is about the third time this year that I have come across a plot that involves a woman older than 30 odd, one which speaks of the challenges that a woman of a certain age might face. I almost imagined myself at a chateau in France living out the autumn years of my life.

This story is enchanting, intriguing and captivating all at once. It is a thoroughly good read that I heartily recommend.

How I do love a Jennifer Bohnet novel, without fail I feel transported with a location in France, and feel as though I am really there.

And with Summer at the Chateau, set in the Brittany countryside, I felt that with abundance. We get to see the French markets, a gorgeous chateau, and get a feeling for the laidback pace of French country living.

With Gwen and Pixie being our focal characters, but whether Pixie wants to live in the Chateau forever or just sell it on, now that her beloved Frank has died, is open for discussion.

I love how Gwen is in her 80s and Pixie in her 60s as its rather refreshing to have two older characters as the leads, and leads to us having many generations of the family present, which really helped bring the story alive.

And then there is the mystery behind just who Justine Martin is, and why she is living in the cottage in the Chateau's grounds. What was it that Frank had clearly been hiding from his witfe Pixie, while she was still alive.

There is a whole lot going on in this story, but at the same time it felt like quite a gently paced story, that I was really enjoying. Once Pixie's family come over to France for part of the summer, I felt the who book picked up a gear and from then on I think I read the second half in one sitting.

It is just a really enjoyable slice of French life, perfect to have your dreaming of your own escape to the sun, from the comfort of your armchair while at the time of reading it is still impossible.

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

After the sudden death of her husband in a car accident, Pixie begins to discover that he was keeping secrets. Not least of which, that a property they had bought 10 years ago in France, with sitting tenants, has actually been empty and available for them to move into for over a year. So, in the company of her 84 year old mother, she sets off to France to try and solve the mystery of why he hadn't told her. However more secrets and surprises await her there, and her mother has secrets of her own! An absorbing read with a cast of delightful characters.

Great feel good holiday read. This tells the story of a grieving wife finding out secrets from her husband. The chateau in France gives her a new beginning. Lovely feel good read.

It was nice reading about a beautiful chateau in France and how the place has its characters. I liked the fact we don’t know what is happening and you assume the worst of the husband. Was a lovely read.

Thanks Netgalley and the Publisher. Loved this book, made me think of better, warmer days to come. Great storyline, great characters set in a beautiful location, whats not to like

I received an advance copy of, Summer at the Chateau, by Jennifer Bohnet. This was a good book, but I liked her other books better. The characters are ok. This book is about secrets and death and friendship.

Jennifer Bohnet’s newest novel, “Summer At The Chateau,” explores the lengths we’ll go to protect and provide for family as well as the gift of second chances.

When Pixie Sampson’s husband dies tragically, she inherits a chateau in Brittany, northern France. Never having lived in it and planning to quickly sell it, she heads to Brittany to get the house ready for market. When she arrives with her mom, Gwen, to stay in the chateau over the Easter holidays, she discovers a mysterious lodger, Justine Martin, and her 4 year old son, Ferdie. Why are they there? How do they know her husband?

This is a beautiful, quick, easy read that will fill your heart and make you smile. I love a novel featuring family dynamics. We can all relate! Bohnet has written to show the trickle effect that secrets, lies of omission and regrets can have, not only on the current generation, but on future ones, too. You’ll be quickly flipping pages to see how the issues get resolved and see how working together, being gracious and forgiving, can be instrumental in healing old wounds. Every end has a new beginning.

Thank you to Jennifer Bohnet, Boldwood Books and NetGalley for the chance to read this advance copy. It was given freely with no obligation for a review.
Publication May 13, 2021