Consultant Lea Mortimer has everything figured out. On one hand, she has the career she’s worked hard to build. On the other hand, is her personal life, lacking in any real romance, and tied up in the close relationship she shares with her cousin and niece.

When they tag along on her summer trip to work on renovating a French Chateau, she is determined to ensure they don’t complicate things for her. However, as passions ignite between Lea and the son of her boss, the man her niece also has her eye on, things begin to spiral out of her tight control.

This book was just what I envisioned it to be - the perfect summer age gap romance, featuring all the angsty, forbidden love vibes, and set in the picturesque French countryside. It completely swept me away the entire time I was reading it. The descriptions so vivid and the characters so lifelike, it was easy to get caught up in all of their drama, and oh what drama there was.

What I loved most is that while this is definitely a romance in nature, there is a lot about friendship and family wrapped up in it as well, along with themes of self discovery. It is the epitome of the summer read, and enjoyable all year round.

ʀ ᴇ ᴀ ᴅ ɪ ғ ʏ ᴏ ᴜ ʟ ɪ ᴋ ᴇ :
•age gap
•forbidden love
•French chateau setting
•summer romance
•found family
•mild open door romance

Thank you Chelsea Fagan and Orsay Press for the gifted copies in exchange for my honest review.

I really enjoyed this book; it was incredibly well written, really detailed and rich with French culture. I loved reading about Lea's career and it was very interesting to get insight into a hotel consulting career.

I always throughly enjoy reading these types of books that center around one specific place and project, that takes place in such a niche market. It reminded me of Blush and Gilt by Jamie Brenner which I loved so much.

Lea was a fantastic narrator and I loved her as a person; she also made me quite sad because I thought she deserved so much more. She deserved to be happy, to be respected, to be rewarded for her hard work but to also have a friend who valued her.

Stephanie was horrible. I don't know if I'm supposed to feel that way but she infuriated me in so many ways. I thought the way she treated Lea was disgusting, I thought she was a bad mother and an idiot for acting the way she did throughout the novel. That sounds incredibly harsh but I don't know if I've ever disliked a character more. And that has nothing to do with how she was written - she was written insanely good which I think is the point and why I have such a visceral reaction to her.

Theo was hot, he really liked Lea and he was so smart. I loved reading their moments together and seeing Lea's wall crumble around her. It showed such a softer and more self loving side to her. Throughout the book I was rooting for Lea to stand up for herself and when the climax of the novel hits, I was devastated.

The last quarter of the book threw me for a loop and it wasn't what I was expecting but eventually, it all

As I said above, this is a hot summer romance mixed with a little bit of coming of age, career and self discovery. Being immersed in the warm French summer sun was delightful and really transported you there. You got to know the characters in an authentic way and for a minute, you almost forget that it's a work of fiction.

If you need a book to pull you out of your reading slump, to instill a little heat in your soul, or to read on the beach, The Perfect Vintage will not disappoint.

I like that when u read the book and the way the story is written so well that it has you constantly trying to figure out what what's going to happen or saying oh ok I get it. Overall, this was a very joyous read.

The most absolutely insufferable main character in the whole world. I had sympathy for her in the beginning but she just made weird decision and weird decision and ultimately made everything so awful for herself.

I was concerned that by reading this "summer romance" during the fall that I was setting myself up for not enjoying it, HOWEVER this was surprisingly so engaging out the gate. I found the main character really interesting, especially the way that she navigated her relationships. I appreciate how this romance explores not only the dynamic with a love interest, but also the dynamic with the many well fleshed out side characters. The setting is also a lot of fun, with lots of details that show an appreciation for architecture, culture, and design, but does slow down the plot a bit.

Loved this engaging storyline. Nowadays, a childless lifestyle is common for women. I think this book did an excellent job depicting a now normal part of women’s lives.

Wonderful debut with an engaging storyline. I feel like this is the kind of story that should be told a lot more as more women decide to chase a childfree lifestyle.

A Perfect Vintage by Chelsea Fagan was a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ read IMO. Lea is an American consultant who helps turn rundown French chateaux into boutique hotels. Her best friend/cousin and daughter accompany Lea to her latest job in France in this novel.

Lea butts heads with the owner’s older son but gets along well with the owner and his younger son. She works tirelessly to advise the family and ensure a perfect result.

I enjoyed this book and loved vicariously traveling back to France.

Thank you to the author, Orsay Press and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for my opinions.

Chelsea Fagan doesn't suffer fools. I have never read a MMC with more emotional maturity, and this gorgeous Frenchman is only twenty-four. The writing in this novel is exquisite. The food and scenery description are Elin Hilderbrand level detailed. The story is a fun vacation from other tropey romance novels. I didn't always love the two main women, but not all women have to be likeable. They are no less deserving of their happy ending.

I really wanted to love this as it was so hyped up but I ended up not really enjoying it and had to talk myself into reading this. I found the main character Lea insufferable as she is constantly looking down on others for not being as sophisticated or mature as she is, when in reality she is extremely emotionally immature. I also really struggled with how there is a running narrative that Lea is a strong, independent woman who is secure in her job, when she goes off to cry every time she is challenged. Overall, it was a romance novel where I forgot that it was a romance, and when I remembered that it was, I found myself actively wanting the couple(s) to not get together.

Based on the synopsis, there was so much potential but I believe the story could have been done with a bit more workshopping and editing, and while a variety of themes are covered, they needed to be fleshed out a bit more so that they felt relevant to the story.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I got about half way through this one before I had to call it quits. While I think this would be a great book for some people it was not the book for me. I listened to the audio and struggled to keep up with who all the characters were and because of that it was hard for me to connect and relate to all of the characters. I just wasn't interested in the characters and decided I would rather read other books instead.

Thank you so much for this ARC! This book was perfect! I’ve already purchased it twice for Christmas presents!
Can we talk about that cover though 😍

After hearing so much buzz about A PERFECT VINTAGE, the debut novel by Chelsea Fagan, I was thrilled to receive an ARC from NetGalley and Orsay Press LLC, Orsay Press in exchange for my honest review. However, for me, this novel didn't fully live up to the hype.

The premise of this novel was so intriguing, the cover is stunning, and the setting - the Loire Valley in France - is so lovely! At times, I really enjoyed the plot and writing, eager to read more, but throughout the book I was often distracted by Lea, the main character and her poor decision-making and lack of relatability, and feeling like the book itself was overwritten. I enjoyed Theo as a love interest, and loved the large cast of characters; however many of them also felt underdeveloped. Maya was written much younger than her age, and the secondary love story with Lea's cousin felt a bit forced. I would consider recommending this novel to fans of Fagan's nonfiction, Francophiles, and lovers of the age-gap trope, but in all would struggle to recommend this novel whole-heartedly. It was an enjoyable read, and others certainly found it more enjoyable!

First of all I really love the cover of this book, it was what initially drew me to it. I enjoyed this book and the writing style was fun, it was just an okay book, Nothing major but enjoyable and fast paced.

After the initial pages, I found myself not connecting with the story or characters, so I decided to pass on this book. Did not finish

Thank you to NetGalley and Orsay Press for the advanced copy!

I enjoyed this, but it wasn't quite what I thought it was going to be. I was expecting a bit more intrigue and a bit less midlife crisis when I picked it up. Also, to be honest, I thought Lea's whole hangups about her age were exhausting, especially when she didn't seem to be concerned at all about the fact that he was the son of her client. Girl, if you're going to pick a thing to worry about, the age difference is genuinely the least of it.

I want to preface this review with some info: I just started reading romance a little over a year ago, and this was my first age gap trope read. This book had ~so much hype~ before it was even released, I wanted/needed to get my hands on it, and overall I am happy I read this!

With that being said, it did take me months to finish this book. I found it hard to connect with the MC, which looking back is slightly surprising to me. Don't get me wrong, I love a messy character, especially how she is slightly bossy and not exactly sure of herself (cause really are any of us?), but her flaws were almost too much, and we didn't see much growth with her insecurities until like maybe the last page?

At the end of the day, this is fiction, the relationships and lifestyle were unrealistic, but that is the fun part! The MC's main job sounded fabulous, the setting made me want to travel abroad, and the characters were unique enough that I can remember each of them clearly.

In terms of spice level, this had a perfect amount for me, but as I understand it, it does not really register on the spice scale. There were moments of intimacy but no cheesy verbiage or overdrawn scenes that felt unnecessary.

I did feel as though the book 'dragged' a bit, but overall I am happy I read this book. It is a great book to escape into a world of luxury and lifestyle that many of us are not fortunate to have.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I know you aren’t supposed to judge a book by its cover. I know, but I did anyway, requesting a copy of A Perfect Vintage via @netgalley as soon as I saw it. Thank you to @faganchelsea for a digital review copy!
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Now, I’m not generally a big fan of romance, but again, I was hooked by that cover. My unofficial metric for the corniness of a novel is the number of times I involuntarily say “oh boy.” This book? The count was about 15, so much lower than the typical romance novel.
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The story follows Lea, a career-focused hotel consultant, as she helps a family transform their historic French mansion into a beautiful getaway. Lea’s cousin, Stephanie, tags along to escape the turmoil of her ongoing divorce as does Stephanie’s daughter. The story unfolds as a lot of romance novels do. The family is, of course, full of gorgeous, wealthy, and available men. The obligatory roadblocks to love keep you wondering how it is all going to turn out. In contrast to a lot of the stereotypes about romance novels, Lea has a fully-formed identity and life that she isn’t willing to toss into the trash can in the name of love. All this to say, it’s a nice easy read that will leave you dreaming of a French vacation of your own.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for letting me review this book!

I love me a romance book set in the French countryside, and anything to do with wine. I did enjoy this book; I thought that the take on a woman dating a younger man and all of the drama and judgement that came with that was interesting. I like a book where the main character makes some questionable decisions, but in the end grows and learns more about herself., and you can't help but root for her Will be looking for more books by Chelsea in the future!

3.5 stars. Take me to this chateau in the Loire Valley immediately! I really enjoyed the setting, the parties, the relationships, the food, and the spicy chapters (but not uncomfortable spicy). I started this book after dinner and finished it before bed because I had to know how it ended. While I truly liked the book, I did feel some of the characters were unnecessary/underdeveloped (Marcus, David, Gabriel), and some of the dynamics between friends, colleagues and significant others often felt under-explained. I’m not sure if that was intentional in this female driven narrative, but the lack of context kept me from giving it 4 stars. I’d definitely watch the streaming adaptation! Thanks to Net Galley for my advance copy!