This book is the definition of summer reading vibes: light, refreshing and satisfying. APV is a page turner with a younger-man romance, female friendship and some family drama that ends in the perfect explosion.

Lea Mortimer is a hospitality consultant who specializes in the transformation of historic French estates into boutique hotels. Her best friend and cousin, Stephanie, and her daughter Maya tag along on her latest job in the wake of Stephanie’s messy divorce. This latest job — the one that could finally land Lea the prestigious press coverage she’s always coveted — becomes even more complex after Lea falls for the much younger son of the chateau owner.

If you liked “The Idea of You,” you’ll love APV. What I liked most about APV was Lea — it is exceedingly rare and really refreshing to read a female main character like Lea. She’s confident, good at her job, and lives unapologetically. This is not a Hallmark movie where a character like her comes to some lame reckoning about what they want out of life. This is is a celebration of strong women.

APV is almost 400 pages, but I was so engaged by Lea and her work that I flew through it.

I've loved Chelsea's writing for a long time and was so excited to read her debut novel. This was a great summer romp.

This was a slow paced novel with unlikable characters, but the French setting was a character in and of itself. I was immersed in the story because of that, and I’m not sure I would have finished it otherwise.

Thank you @netgalley and to the publisher for allowing me to read this ebook!
Enjoyed the story! This was a very quick read.

I have been a Chelsea and The Financial Diet fan for years - so this was such a treat to see her venture off into romance novel writing. My sister and I actually went to her LA book signing for this book and it was so lovely to meet her and hear about her journey to A Perfect Vintage.

Her writing is unique and elegant somehow. Her scenes are set with such detail, I find it comparable to how well Elin Hilderbrand describes the East Coast and food. The Chateau was easy to picture and I've never been to France.

I love a romance novel that gives us supporting characters, and I loved that we had that here with Marie, Stephanie, and Nico. As for Lea and Theo, I really enjoyed Theo's character but Lea fell short for me, which from what Chelsea says, was intentional. I don't think she was created to be likable and I do appreciate a FMC that wasn't a typical goofy, aloof, charming lead.

Overall, this is a great summer read if you're dreaming of a luxury European vacation.

Well written romanance novel! It was my first age-gap genre/trope. I enjoyed reading A Pefect Vintage. Looking forward to more from Chelsea Fagan

I really liked this book, it was different than anything else I've read which was a breath of fresh air. I will be recommending this to my friends, and auto buy this author!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an advanced copy of A Perfect Vintage by Chelsea Fagan.

I loved everything about A Perfect Vintage, especially Chelsea Fagan’s beautiful writing. I was completely immersed in this romance. It’s glamorous, sexy and complex. I could not get enough of the gorgeous descriptions of France and the Chateau setting. Another one I stayed up way to late reading- I highly recommend.

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for the ARC.

I was drawn in by the BEAUTIFUL cover, intriguing set up, and of course being a fan of the author's other projects. The strongest part of this book for me was the setting. Spending 350 pages in the south of France at a chateau in the summer heat had me living my best season 2 of White Lotus fantasy. I was craving Aperol spritzes like my life depended on it the entire time.

Fagans debut romance was seriously the perfect summer read. I mean France, chic people and an age gap? What more could you want.

<i>First, a thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read an eARC of this book.</i>

I have to be honest. This is maybe the pettiest/oddest reason I have DNF’d a book.

I follow Fagan on tiktok. I love her content. She’s great!

Normally, a romance novel like this would be right up my alley. So of course I want to read the romance novel by one of my favorite TikTokers.

My reason:

I could only hear her voice in my head as I read this book. I got 6% in. It’s not that I don’t like her voice. But it was slower than I can read when I get fully into a book and don’t really “read” anymore and just “see” (iykyk). It was just too painfully slow having Fagan narrate the book to me in my head. Sorry. 😭 And I just imagined her sitting right next to me reading this book to me and it was just too much. I don’t want to be perceived or think I am perceived while reading. When I read my physical husk becomes like a gremlin. I don’t wanna think of one of the most put together individuals on the internet seeing me like that.

Since this is firmly a me issue, I’m giving it ⭐️⭐️⭐️. But I can’t really do more because… you know… I only got 6% of the way done.

Sorry Chelsea, I’m sure it’s a…banger?

I thought this book was a very fun romance. Romance typically is not my genre, but I found this book to be a fun read. I enjoyed how all of the romance tropes were executed and thought they were well done (the conflict that drives the couple apart, for example.) I also appreciated the growth of the lead character as well as the way the author clearly was very familiar with the setting. And while there were a lot of themes in this book that while at times were a little heavy handed at times, for the most part worked to strengthen the plot. I also appreciated how specific the location was.

I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a fun read!

I have mixed feelings about most of these characters but that just means I care haha. Chelsea is such a good writer and can’t wait to see what she comes up with next!

While this synopsis sounds like a dream novel and the cover is show stopping, I felt like this had a lot to be desired. If you prefer telling over showing, this has plenty of descriptions to keep your imagination running but between not connecting to the characters and the writing style, I’m afraid this was a miss for me personally.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for granting me the opportunity to review in exchange for my honest opinion.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an advance copy of A Perfect Vintage by Chelsea Fagan to read and review. From the moment I saw the cover, I knew I was going to love it! I mean, come on - who doesn't love a book set in France! This was a great escape from reality with all the heavy stuff going on in the world and I couldn't put it down once I started reading it. THANK YOU so much for allowing me the opportunity to provide my opinions.

An enjoyable book but not quite what I was expecting, I felt it was a bit slow and I really disliked the main character. A good storyline and great writing, overall a great debut from the author & what a brilliant cover.

So I picked this one up simply because I ADORED the cover of this book, such an aesthetic! Safe to say I did enjoy the read in itself, a steady pace and good holiday read. It reminded me much of a piña colada on a winter's day – a bit unexpected, a touch breezy, and definitely better enjoyed with a dash of sunshine. While the characters were loveable, I can't say I wouldn't of enjoyed to see a bit more action in parts. I didn't feel massively surprised at any points in the book. I loved the setting of this book, it was based in an idyllic chateau in the Loire Valley in France. The walls of the chateau saw us rattling with love, betrayal and a whole lot of wine drinking. The wine in this novel was more than just a beverage; it was a character, adding its own notes to the unfolding love story. Overall, a good read.

Rounded up to 4.5 stars. Chelsea Fagan is a debut fiction writer, but also the CEO of The Financial Diet (women’s personal finance media company)- it was so good!! It’s the perfect summer read- it takes place in Loire Valley, France, where a 30-something women transforms French chateaus into boutique Hotels- talk about wanderlust. And there’s a romance with a younger man (think The Idea of You). A heady combo of travel, wine, chateaus, design and romance made for a great, lighthearted book.

A slow burn worth the wait.

It took me awhile to get fully invested in the story, but once I did I couldn’t put it down!