Member Reviews
I really enjoyed this book and read it in one sitting. Bryony’s sister Hannah disappeared when she was a teenager and despite their best efforts the family have been unable to find her. Bryony decides to audition for a game show to try and bring her search to a wider audience hoping against hope that Hannah will see the show and get in contact. The story is about family, love and friendship set against a zany game show in France with some wonderful descriptions of the locations. The characters are very endearing and I really hope that we will have the opportunity to find out what happened after France.
Bryony has spent most of her life searching for her sister, Hannah, who ran away from home 30 years ago. When her father suffers a stroke, she realises that time is not on her side, so she auditions for a new game show in the hope of getting her search some national coverage. Teamed up with her neighbour Lewis, they head off to Brittany to take part in a series of challenges, and they use every opportunity to appeal to Hannah to return.
Although all the characters are well written, my favourite has to be Biggie Smalls, the pug with his own social media following. With his regular changes of clothing and accessories, he nearly stole the show.
The plot was well thought out, with the action interspersed with letters to Hannah and flashbacks to the events leading up to her disappearance. The settings were well described, as they journeyed through the different towns of Northern France. Occasionally I felt there was a little bit too much description, but overall it was a fun read.
An easy read, the sort where you know exactly what you are getting. Predictable but fun to get there - it just lacked enough originality and laughs to be anything other than mediocre. A decent 'beach' read, but don't expect anything new.
It's a 2.5 stars for me. It's an easy read with romantic comedy and some family drama. The plot sounds interesting but when i started reading it didn't hold my interest much. Seemed a little made out and really, i couldn't feel the story. I read it but it didn't capture my heart. I don't what's happening ,maybe I'm expecting too much. But that's really what I felt.
Thank you netgalley and the publisher for providing me with the Arc in exchange of an honest review.
Bryony Masters father has had a massive stroke whilst looking through some old photos. Her mum believes that he won’t make it through another and that this one was brought on whilst he was looking at pictures of Hannah, his daughter (Bryony’s sister) who ran away thirty years ago aged just sixteen.
Bryony has an idea to help track Hannah and get her to her father before he dies. Hannah used to love game shows and watched them all the time, so Bryony is going to go on one and make an appeal to her sister to come home. With popular game show ‘What Happens in’ looking for contestants she decides to apply.
The plot might not sound like it would be highly amusing, but by God it is.
Bryony is a wonderful character. Very intelligent, charismatic and humorous too. She loves her family and has always felt responsible for Hannah leaving and is determined to find her, even setting up a blog and Facebook page to try to locate her too.
We also meet Lewis, Bryony’s new friend and accomplice in the game show that is this week set in France and called ‘What Happens in France’. The show takes place over a week and is filled with different types of games, some quizzes and some physical.
I must also take a moment to make a shout-out to Jim and Oscars pet dog, Pug Biggie Small who is a superstar with his own Instagram account.
The book kept me engaged the whole way through, the characters were perfectly realistic and the game show certainly something I would watch. I love how it was written in date form and also included the blog posts that Bryony put up speaking directly to her sister, hoping that she would see them.
If you like comedies then this is definitely the book for you. It has lots of laugh-out-loud moments and will make you smile the whole way through.
Very cute, fun and quick read about a girl with a tragic past who embraces life and enters to be on a game show in France to try and change her future. Loved the descriptive characters and the great details to scenery that make you feel like you are part of the story and there in real life. Would highly recommend.
What Happens in France is not my usual genre. However, I was attracted to the book as I adore France and am quite happy to immerse myself in anything to do with the country. A warm hearted tale of a game show held in Brittany, with beautifully created characters that oozed fun and friendliness. The underlying story however, was a sad one as Bryony was looking for her long lost sister, Hannah who had disappeared thirty years previously and she was using the show as a way of trying to make contact with her. A lighthearted read that traversed the week of challenges, scenery and emotions with the ultimate prize awaiting the winners. A most enjoyable read that made me want to rush back to France and I’d be more than happy to read a sequel.
Wasn't sure what to expect from this book but oh my I'm so glad I read it. Unputdownable. The characters are so likeable except Potts but that's a matter of opinion. Would love there to be a follow up to see what happens next with all of the characters, could see this being made into a tv adaptation or a film. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to read this in exchange for my honest review.
What a fantastic idea for a story, meshing different social media with a family story. Loved all the programme references and really felt a connection to all the characters and their parts as the story unfolded. The show was a great idea and the outcome proves social media can have a good outcome against all the negativity in the news today.
I would happily read a sequel to this story, as I feel involved in all the characters lives.
Having read and enjoyed many of Carol Wyer’s crime thrillers, I was looking forward to reading my first women’s fiction title from her, What Happens in France. A funny, heartwarming and compelling contemporary tale that will make you chuckle, What Happens in France is a delightful romp that is simply irresistible.
Bryony Masters is desperate to find her long-lost sister Hannah. She has been looking for her for years and years, but so far she has had no luck finding her missing sibling. When her father has a stroke, Bryony’s quest to find her sister becomes even more urgent. Knowing about her sister’s obsession with reality TV, when Bryony hears about a new primetime show called What Happens in France, she thinks that she has finally found the perfect platform to find Hannah and reunite her fragmented family. However, is Bryony aware of just what she is letting herself in for? Hi-jinks, shenanigans and mischief are bound to ensure – especially when she meets her teammate, drop dead gorgeous hunk Lewis…
Pretty soon, Bryony finds herself in a private jet heading off to the beauty and splendour of rural France where she finds herself having to contend with a pampered social media star dog, a high maintenance host and an assorted coterie of interesting characters that promise to make Bryony’s foray into reality TV eventful and unforgettable. But all that pales in comparison when she finds herself forced into close proximity with Lewis! As the pressure mounts for the two of them to stay on the show and in the public eye, their attraction for one another begins to show absolutely no signs of abating. Could Bryony and Lewis end up winning not just the show, but also a prize far bigger and more fulfilling than either one of them had ever expected?
Will Bryony end up finding not just her missing sister, but also a love that will last a lifetime?
What Happens in France is a wonderful story of friendship, family and romance that I found absolutely impossible to put down. A fantastic book that will touch your heart and have you laughing out loud, What Happens in France is full of terrific characters you cannot help but love, stunning scene-setting that will make you want to pack a bag and book yourself the first flight out to France, rib-tickling humour that will make you roar with laughter and pathos and charm aplenty.
Carol Wyer adds another feather to her very distinguished and talented cap with What Happens in France and I cannot wait to see what else this gifted storyteller has in store for us in the not too distant future!
Perfect book to take with you on holiday. Sweet, easy to read and a little emotional too, will be checking out more by this author. Very much enjoyed.
An absolutely delightful story that is laugh-out-loud funny in places; there were a couple of times when I ended up snorting my coffee! With some fabulous characters and the backdrop of France, this is a perfect pick-me-up if you need a good laugh. Like all good rom-coms though it is tempered by the bittersweet element of Bryony desperately trying to find her sister who walked out thirty years ago and with her father having had a stroke time is running out. I loved all the characters but I think the beret-wearing pug, Biggie Smalls, is worth a mention in his own right.
A book that I read in one sitting as I could not put it down. Pure Winter enjoyment! Thank you Carol for writing such a heart warming, easy reading, funny book that will made me laugh until I ached.
A book that without a doubt will take the chill off these cold Winter evenings.
Although the hilarity in this book is strong the main character Bryony, has a serious issue to resolve and quickly. She sets out to find her long lost sister Hannah.
She last saw when she was just six years old. They had a close relationship. But sadly, after Bryony was hit by a car in Hannah’s care, their relationship changed. Hannah felt incredibly guilty, and always felt liked her parents despised her for what had happened. She left home and ran away.
Despite All of Bryony attempts to find her, she failed. But with her father having recently suffered a stroke and asking for Hannah, she knew she had to do something more, well anything to find her.
Queue….a new national TV show….. surely someone would recognise Hannah and reunite them if she was on TV. Swiftly she’s at the auditions, and then, lights, camera action….. and as the film rolls there is no turning back and no room for stage fright.
Lewis (the show host)…. and possible romantic interest (no spoilers) with a good friend and neighbour join Bryony in the search to bring the family back together.
And what follows is an enjoyable read, that will have you turning the pages and wanting to read more as time is running out to find Hannah.
Maybe enjoyable is an understatement as this book makes your heart warm with the support of friends and family to find Hannah. Gives you heart ache with the thought of her father missing his daughter. Also cry with laughter until you think it’s not possible to laugh anymore. And who doesn’t like a touch of easy going romance. Who doesn’t love this mix of feelings in one book, and a virtual trip to France!
A glowing read for a winters evening.
Entertaining read with many humourous passages but tinged with sadness. An eclectic collection of characters with all the usual culprits, racing around the French region around Nantes, a lot of which I am familiar with. Very easy to read and relatively quick, a little predictable and it doesn't take much to see what's coming next but nonetheless worth a read.
I wanted to read this book because I wanted something light hearted and fun that would be an easy read and enjoyable. What Happens in France is all of those things. Bryony, an unbelievably clever school teacher, is looking for her lost sister, and decides to sign up for a game show to spread the word. What follows is somewhat predictable, but nonetheless fun and enjoyable.
I really enjoyed the characters that Carol created, though in some ways, despite flaws and personal growth I felt they were a little flat. Lewis, Bryony's partner on the game show, seems to have these hidden aspects of himself that are never really explored. He's lovely, and his lengths to help Bryony win the challenge are amazing, but do they make a person? Are the reasonings behind all of his actions sound? Are the thought process of Bryony's logical?
You can see the work that has gone into the novel, the depth of detail, it was more than I expected, even though the story was probably everything that I expected it to be.
What Happens in France is the kind of book that you can tell just from reading the blurb that the concept is going to be brilliant, I hadn’t heard of the author before so I was trusting she could pull it off. No disappointment here.
Reading this book was effortless, sometimes a bit dangerously so as the good old ‘just one more chapter’ turned into quite a late night. The writing style was straightforward and made it easy for me to conjure the different settings. I really really want to go to France and stay in a château and drink all the wine although I might pass on the furry car.
It was also very humorous, so much so that I laughed out loud at points and earned myself some amused stares from other train passengers. There is a particular line from Jim that took me a minute to compose myself before I could carry on reading.
Even though it is for the most part quite a light-hearted story it did have its serious moments too, the whole undercurrent of the story is Bryony’s search for her sister so that her father with ailing health can see her again. I quite enjoyed the change of tempo when we got flashbacks into just before Hannah disappeared and also when Bryony was writing her blog entries for her sister. Kind of gave me a moment to pause amongst the rest of the goings-on and added another emotional element to the story but without losing the generally upbeat feeling from the rest of the book.
Bryony is an infectious character, I just couldn’t help but love her, she has been through a lot but still manages to be so positive and her pairing with Lewis was brilliant, I really enjoyed their camaraderie. It was nice to see their friendship develop and I was glad that the book mainly focused on them being friends and supporting each other, even if they did have a few gripes now and again.
Actually, I did develop a soft spot for a few of the other contestants too, Jim and Oscar were fabulous and I ended up rooting for them in the contests as well, but the one that stood out the most was Biggie Smalls, no wonder he became the cover star.
I really enjoyed this book, with such an interesting plot and loveable characters I’m sure it will appeal to a lot of readers, and I really do hope that maybe I’ll get to meet Bryony, Lewis and pals again.
Well words cannot express how much I enjoyed this book. From the very beginning I was hooked and I had to read through the night to keep finding out about what would happen next.
I immediately adored Bryony and Lewis and although their romance was predictable it wouldn’t have worked any other way. The competition was LOL funny and the themed 2CV’s adorable. Although France is not a preferred holiday destination for me I now need to visit Brittany.
Biggie Smalls the adorable pug was the star of the book and thanks to him everything ends happily for Bryony.
Carol please please write a sequel.
Y’all. I’ve only read a few books this year (so far) but this is one of my favs!!! I’ve never read any of Carol Wyer’s other books, but I might have to give it a shot after this! The entire journey to reunite Byrony and Hannah is a journey everyone should take.
Thank you to Carol Wyer, Canelo Publishing and Netgalley for this ARC.
An easy going, feel good romantic comedy with laugh out loud moments. An easy read, and perfect for holidays.
Bryony decides entering a game show is the best way to publicise her search for her sister. Hannah left home when she was sixteen, and although Bryony has always sought to reconnect with her, through her blog, when her father becomes ill, the need to reach Hannah is vital.
A chance for romance presents in the form of Lewis, not only cute but a lovely person, who is prepared to help Bryony in her quest to find Hannah. Winning the game show is not the main reason for entering, but it becomes important, leading to many humorous moments, as they battle against the other competitors.
Bryony and Lewis head a great character list, whose true personality traits soon become evident as the competition progresses. Not everyone is likeable, but that adds to the authenticity.
The trip through France and the food make this a sensual delight and the challenges the teams face in the game show, absorbing and realistic.
A character-driven, romantic-comedy full of vivid imagery. The perfect book to escape with for a little while.
I received a copy of this book from Canelo via NetGalley in return for an honest review.