An interesting story to be sure. As someone who loves all things French, this book caught my eye and made my TBR list. I liked the book overall, Cady's timeline was probably my favorite of the three. The two historical timelines help set up the present day storyline and the mysteries there. The story was a little slow in spots but it held my interest to the end of the novel. The ending was good, although I kind of wanted a little more. A good read, overall.

I love Provence and France so this book (with a gorgeous cover) appealed to me right away. Entertaining but left me wanting something more, slightly disappointed.

Charming, heart wrenching and heartwarming, A wonderful addition to Juliet's work. The Paris she paints is evocative and exciting. An excellent read.

While the authors love for France and carousels shines through, I found this book to be too disjointed. It was told from too many eras and view points for my taste.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review this book.

Thank you so much for the copy. I tried to pick this one up but it did not work for me. Thank you for the opportunity to be an early reader.

Oh this was such a great escapist read! I was transported to Paris and then to a small town in Provence and a dilapidated chateau with an incredible history. The book has three time lines - present day, early 1900s when the carousel was being built, and occupied Paris during World War II. Some of it heartwarming and some is heartbreaking but I found all of it interesting.



I liked Cady right from the start and I felt quite a bit of sympathy for her. She's had a hard time of it and some of the baggage has led to her never feeling like she belongs or that she's likable. She's not overly prickly or hard but she's unsure of her role in people's life and in her own abilities. Watching her get to know the people in Avignon was really sweet and while the conflict was easy to guess I was happy with how it was resolved. The two past timelines were much more heartbreaking but made it possible to see how the carousel came to be and what shaped the people that lived in the Chateau Clement.



This was a wonderful way to visit Paris as well as the countryside of Provence. Blackwell engaged me, transported me, and kept me thoroughly entertained throughout this story.

I don't know what it is about Blackwell that I just love. Something from the very first page always draws me in. In this story we are given, Cady, an orphan from Oakland who has gone to France, looking for the answer to her future essentially, and a figurine she's had for years, photographing carousels along the way. There she meets an old French man, and a younger man, both part of the Clement family in Provence, who are tied to the old family château and both have diverging interests on what should be done with it. I think the driving interest in this book is characterization. We have this tableau of characters from the very top with Cady going on down that never relents and keeps you diving into the story. You want to know what's going to happen with everyone in the story and it keeps you going back. No one in Blackwell's stories are one dimensional. Fabrice isn't just a crochety old Frenchman, he has layers. This is true of every character; there is at least one more layer. But the fact that we also have a story within a story, within a story at times too also drives so much more. This isn't just about Cady, there is also Maelle's story and her drive to become a recognized artist and carver. There is the story of Fabrice and his family during WWII. Plus, add in a touch history and a dash of mystery to keep the reader guessing. Ah, and what a story you weave! Thank you so much for this! I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Cady is off to photograph old carousels in France, and submit for a book that is being put together. But along the way, she is going to find more than just carousels, but maybe even find who she is in the process...

This was a great read, and I really enjoyed it!

The story of 3 generations are tied together by a carousel and the people who created it, who own it, and who are documenting them for history. From present day France and a destroyed carousel to the woman who was instrumental in its creation past and present collide.

I'm a big fan of multiple timelines and having them all connect. I loved all the strong women in this story. A very enjoyable read!

The Chateau Clement, once a bustling estate, sits in disrepair with its elderly owner. Photographer Cady Drake finds herself drawn to the chateau, its carousel, and hidden history. What secrets lurk behind the aging estate? As Cady finds photographs from the past, she seeks to find out these secrets and stitch together a family torn apart. If you liked Letters from Paris, you'll love this addition from Juliet Blackwell.

I love how Juliet Blackwell transitions seamlessly between an engaging present day story with interesting yet flawed characters to two separate time periods with more unique personalities with their own stories to tell. The Lost Carousel of Provence is just such a book.

Cady Drake has lived a difficult life, devoid of much human attachment, outside of her dear friend Maxine, who has just recently passed away. Cady's only other friend Olivia encourages Cady to travel to Paris and pursue a photography project involving carousels and to try and learn the story behind Gus, an antique carousel rabbit that belongs to Cady. Cady's journey through France leads her to an aging chateau and its curmudgeonly resident Fabrice Clement. As Cady's story develops, we also learn about how the carousel came to be at Chateau Clement and also about Fabrice's past.

I really enjoyed this book and it kept me coming back to read more. The descriptions of the carousel as well as the French countryside are so vivid that it truly created a picture in my mind. I felt all three narratives were equally compelling and I very much enjoyed this book. A solid four star read for me!

I received an ARC courtesy of Berkley Publishing Group through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I was tempted to read this book by its titled. Having lived in Europe I have fond memories and wanted to see if Blackwell’s writing lived up to my memories. The Lost Carousel of Provence is a complex book in three points of view in multiple settings and time frames from the Belle Epoque to World War II to modern day France and California, all tied together with the spandrel of a burnt-old carousel. The author handled the shifts in POV well, and I never felt lost or was taken out of the story to re-orient myself. Her descriptions of the landscape and people of Provence are spot-on. Her research on carousels and their restoration was fascinating and her descriptions of carving evoke the desire to pick up a chisel.

Themes of family, what constitutes a family, and what it's like to have no family run through the book. Cady is a tough orphan from Oakland. She has been given an antique carousel rabbit and goes to France to determine its provenance. A second very-likable character is Maelle Tanguy. In the early 20th century she serves as the only female assistant to Gustave Bayol, famous for his carved carousels. Like any good artist, she is driven to be a sculptor. Jean-Paul is a Frenchman who befriends Cady in Paris then again in Provence. The most endearing character is the grumpy, irrascible, reclusive Fabrice. He participated in the French Resistance against the Nazis. The threads of their lives come together. from World War II. All three threads are related and come together to form a cohesive narrative as family secrets are unraveled to reveal the truth.

This is a bit of a genre-bending story: mystery, women’s fiction, and romance. The romantic elements are sweet, but minimal, There is some romance here, and while the romance was sweet and charming, it didn’t overwhelm the rest of the book.

While I enjoyed the ambiguous ending, readers who like a definitive closure to a book may not.

As a lover of both carousels and France, I would have chosen The Lost Carousel of Provence by title alone. Since I am also a photographer and the main character is a photographer, that part also appealed to me.

The book begins in 1901 at Chåteau Clement, Provence France with the chapter focusing on Josephine. Josephine is the wife of Yves Paul Clement. He is having a carousel built for her and she loves the extra people around the chateau, especially the young female apprentice.

The next chapter is in present day, Oakland, California and introduces us to Cady Anne Drake. Cady is an American photographer, she is mourning the loss of Maxine. A woman who owned an antique store and who took Cady in when she had no where else to go. One of Cady’s prized possession is Gus, a wooden carousel figure. According to Maxine, Gus was carved by famous French sculptor, Gustave Bayol and would have been a part of the carousel at Chåteau Clement.

When Cady finds a mysterious photograph inside of Gus and she is offered a chance to photograph old carousels in France, she decides this is her chance to find out if Gus is indeed a part of the famous carousel.

From then on the story bounces between present day and the past. Cady slowly unearths the mystery surrounding the carousel.

Well written, lovely descriptions and characters that I found appealing.

I received an ARC of this book.

It took me several tries to get this book read, the first few chapters did not grab me but I'm glad I persevered. Cady Drake needs to get away when her friend and foster parent dies. Cady had bounced around the system for a long time before Maxine took her in and loved her. She instilled a love of reading and antiques into Cady. Now Cady is traveling to France to photograph old homes. She has an antique carved rabbit she takes with her and she is hoping to find the artist who made it. When Gus, the rabbit is damaged she finds and old photo inside that leads her to Château Clement, in Provence. Bouncing back and forth between present day and old family owners the two timelines work well together. I received copy of this ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I have conflicting feelings about this book. I love the story but not the writing; it feels too neat and tidy to be realistic. The dialogue feels written instead of spoken and real and the foreshadowing feels like a sticker placed over the natural story.

There are errors such as “Latine Quartiere” instead of Latin Quartier or Quartier Latin (hopefully this was fixed for the final book as I read an ARC) and having Caty, a photographer, make individual prints of images from unknown rolls of film rather than a contact sheet to see what the pictures are. I really enjoyed the magic of carousels infused throughout the story.

We jump between Maëlle in 1900, Fabrice in 1945, and Caty in “present day.” Sometimes the switch felt premature and the two earlier settings felt fake and forced, but for the most part it was interesting to see the different points of view and time. I definitely enjoyed Caty’s POV the most.

So the details and the writing weren’t great, but the story... it was moving as it is and could have been made into something incredible with a bit more polishing up.

I was given a copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is one of the better dual narrative novels I've read in awhile. It was incredibly detailed and balanced between both timelines, which is often not the case. The details of both carving and photographic art, history, historical research, characters, setting... everything just wove together to create and engrossing read. I feel like I've had several of Blackwell's books on my vague "that looks interesting, maybe I'll check it out someday" list, and now I feel like they need a more official "to read" status!

Book review: Pursuit of family, dreams common themes amid storylines in 'The Lost Carousel of Provence'
By Sandy Mahaffey For The Free Lance–Star Sep 22, 2018

There is something magical about a carousel. It always conjures up joyful childhood memories for me. In “The Lost Carousel of Provence,” a carousel is the only happy memory Cady Drake has.

She was orphaned at an early age and spent her youth living in a series of foster homes. She is convinced that she is unlikable and too difficult to love—until she steals a few small items from Maxine’s antique shop. The older woman senses some goodness under Cady’s bad-girl façade, and convinces her to work off her debt by helping in the store. They have some wonderful years together, but when Maxine dies, Cady is once more adrift, left with her prized possession, a small wooden rabbit, Gus, which she believes was originally part of a carousel.
This is a tale with several timelines. Maelle is a young French girl with unusual ambitions for France in 1901. She has learned the skill of wood carving from her father and wants to make a career of it. She leaves her small village and heads to Angers, where the renowned craftsman Gustave Bayol and his workers create enchanting carousels. She eventually arrives in Avignon with a group sent to install a carousel ordered by a wealthy couple at Château Clement.
The third storyline follows Fabrice Clement, a teen in 1940, desperate to join in the war efforts in France even though he is too young. Although this storyline includes World War II, it is not graphically represented. The story stays away from the front lines and brutality.
When a friend convinces Cady, now a professional photographer, to head to France to photograph all the carousels of Paris, the storylines merge. All the protagonists pursued their dreams, some with more success than others, but also with similar problems. Mistakes made, trust betrayed, elusive love and the pursuit of a caring family are woven into all three stories.

Julia Blackwell’s beautiful descriptions of the French countryside are enchanting, but life was certainly not always easy for Maelle or Fabrice. The definition of family assumes different shapes as all three characters find their way. Never once did the story lag or bore me—it was a very compelling read with fast-moving plots. Even curmudgeonly Fabrice captured my heart.

And I must thank Blackwell for gifting me with a desire to head to Provence. I now have a good sense of just how magical a carousel in Provence would be.

Sandy Mahaffey is former Books editor with The Free Lance–Star.

My Thoughts...

I would definitely call this a character study, but of both the people in the story and the of the setting itself. This is not an action packed plot, but it is full of emotion and angst. The shifting points of view enhance the story, making the bits of mystery and intrigue even more compelling. Sometimes multiple storylines can take away from what I would consider the main narrative, in The Lost Carousel of Provence, the ancillary storylines compliment the Cady’s journey.

The real star for me in the book is Florence. I was seduced by the enchanting setting and picturesque landscapes. I’m feeling so inspired by this book’s description of Florence, that I am putting Florence on my travel booket list. In case you don’t know, my travel booket list is a list of all of the places I want to see because I have read about them in books. Check it out here.

The Lost Carousel of Provence is a beautiful book about a woman recovering from loss and finding herself. I would recommend this for anyone who loves France or emotional wanderlust historical fiction.

The Lost Carousel of Provence jumps between current times and the late 1800's. I'm not always a fan of this, but I loved it in this book. Both main characters where intriguing and made this book a page turner. Juliet Blackwell's writing is very similar to Frances Mayes. This book reminded me a lot of Under the Tuscan Sun.

After losing everything Cady Drake sets out for Paris to photograph a book of the Parisian carousels. For Cady the fascination with carousels started with her beloved Gus who was gifted to her by a woman that was as close to a mother that she ever had. When this job comes up she can't help but go and see if she can find Gus' story.

When it turns out that the great carousel maker that Cady believed had produced Gus turns out to be wrong she must dig deeper. In digging deeper Cady comes across the Clement family and all of the drama surrounding them.

A portion of this book is based in the Chateau Clement. I loved imagining it in it's glory days and even in the current times state of disarray. I couldn't help but dream of living in a Chateau in the French countryside and fixing it up. Such a delicious read!