Summer At the Little French Cafe is a heartwarming feel good book that I skipped through in a couple of days. It follows the story of Elle, who following the death of her father, has decided to search for her birth mother. Armed only with a postcard, shawl and bracelet, she heads to begin her search. A perfect weekend read for summer.

Thank you to NetGalley, Bookouture and the author for the chance to review.

This book is well written and the characters are described well. I enjoyed reading this book. It makes want to visit Paris all the more. I can't wait to read more by this author. I highly recommend it to anyone and everyone.

Such a nice summer read. There were a lot of likeable characters and the setting was lovely. The author did a very good job of painting a picture of the island itself as well.

Elle was good lead character and you got engaged with her and her quest to find her birth mother fairly quickly. There a few laughs and some touching moments too.The resolution to that part of her story was well done. All in all a really solid read worth a look.

I really enjoyed this book and gave it 3.5 stars! First of all I loved the dreamy setting and characters! I would recommend this book for anyone looking for a light and enjoyable contemporary (especially if you love books set abroad!) the perfect summer read!

Oh to be back in France with the lovely Karen Clarke and some amazingly caring characters! I loved the first one in this series and couldn't believe there was going to be another one - so I was so happy when I found out that we were going back to the idyllic setting! The cover is similar to the first, so there's a good sense of continuity. I love the bright blues used for the sky as well as the sea, the colourful buildings with their traditional colours and the French flag colours used on the bunting along the top of the cover. It looks so summery and inviting - I couldn't wait to dive in!

Even though you can completely read this novel as a standalone, you'll make the most out of it if you read the first one because then you'll know some of the secondary characters a little bit better. It's not required however, and you do get to meet everyone anyway but the first book was so lovely and enjoyable that you may as well read it anyway! With the second one in the series we meet Elle, who has come to France to try and find her birth mother. With not much to go on, she ends up at the exact place that's pictured on the postcard she has from her mother, and from there somehow accidentally gets a job at the Cafe Belle Vie!

The story moves quickly, with Karen's usual humour, which makes the pages fly by. I love Karen's style of writing, it's easy and enjoyable and fills you with happiness. I once again fell in love with the location of the novel and the characters and this time I found myself warming the most to Dolly! She was such a lovely and caring character and I was excited at the prospect of Elle finding her real mother. There are a lot of possibilities, but it was a refreshing read and I enjoyed meeting all the other older ladies who name begun with 'M'. I would say that Charlie doesn't come into it much until at least 40%, but this doesn't affect the overall feeling of the story - it actually makes it better to focus on the main character and not her love life for once.

Overall, I feel like Karen's novels just keep getting better. After reading her novels, I'm seeping with happiness! They are just such lovely, feel-good novels and I'm really hoping there's another one in the series! I'm enjoying being in France too much for it to all be over now! Thank you to the publisher for a chance to read this novel via Netgalley, which I have reviewed honestly.

The story of Elle, who is in France to try and find her birth mother, with the only lead being a postcard featuring the Café Belle Vie. Along the way she meets locals keen to kelp her and locals keen to date her.

A great read in a great setting.

You know that feeling of being in France for the summer, walking by the beach, visiting the loveliest, quaintest little town? That’s Summer at the Little French Café for you – and it’s time to dream away with it!

The story
In the beautiful village of Chamillon lies the Café Belle Vie, where you’ll always find croissants and friends when you need them the most – and where Elle is hoping to uncover the truth about her past…

Thirty-year-old Elle Matheson has decided it’s finally time to find the mother who gave her up as a baby. With a faded postcard from the Café Belle Vie in hand – one of the very few things she has from her mother – she heads straight to the Île de Ré to begin her search.

With only the postcard and the ivory shawl she was wrapped in as clues, finding her mum is like trying to find a needle in a haystack, even with the help of friendly – and gorgeous – café-owner Charlie. And since Elle hasn’t exactly told her younger sister what she’s up to, the little white lies about where she is are starting to add up…

But Elle is really starting to feel at home on the beautiful island. The locals are welcoming, the café is homely, and Charlie is always there with a helping hand, a listening ear, and a pain au chocolat.

Is Elle about to discover not just where she came from – but where she belongs?

The opinion
I mean – we all know that any description that ends with a question like that? It can only have “yes” as its answer. And of course – so does Summer at the Little French Café. But what a lovely road it was to that yes!

Quite often, in books like this, time will jump ahead of itself – not so in this one. Elle stays on the island for only a week, and Karen Clarke really uses that week to paint, not only the journey Elle goes on, but a lovely picture of the island itself. I mean, honestly, I was all but ready to pack my bags and take the long weekend there!

Elle’s journey is really where it’s at, though. The concept of going out to find who your real mother is, seems utterly terrifying to me. And in truth, it does stress Elle to the extent that she experience some blabber mouth as well. But it’s the way she makes friends, is so respectful for the women whom she thinks might be her mother, … that really made me like her as a character.

The other thing I really liked about this book? The variety of characters. Elle’s sister and best friend are darlings, Henry is just something else, Charlie is a doll… Dolly is the best – and I really just want to read the first book about the little French café, as well.

The rating: 3/5
As I said before, the author really takes her time to tell this story. Because of that, Summer at the Little French Café feels like the perfect book to read on a lazy Sunday. The kind of story, maybe, to read with some French press coffee and a freshly baked croissant? 🙂

-Saar

I loved this book. A nice weekend chill book.
After losing her parents and discovering a clue to her birth mother,Elle bravely went to France.
This book made me laugh and had some very heart felt moments.
Elle not only gained more friends but also family and possibly love with Charlie?? Who knows! Fingers crossed though.
Would love a follow up book to this story.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for a review copy for an honest review. My rating for this book is 4.5 stars.

This is the first time I’ve read a book by Karen and I enjoyed meeting Elle, Dolly, Charlie, Henri and the other characters.

This is the second in the French cafe series but I was able to enjoy it without having read the first book (Escape to the French cafe).

The book includes family life, romance, mystery, French food and a ‘how not to eat oysters’ lesson.

A nice relaxing way to spend a Sunday.

I didn’t know whether Elle was just mad or very brave to go to a different country where she knows very little of the language to try and find her biological mother with very little to go by. I mean a postcard and the first letter of her mother’s name, it really is a huge risk and I had my doubts that there would be any sort of happy ending.

There are a couple of love interests for Ellie which I loved. Who doesn’t dream of having a choice of men to choose from? Especially as they are as dishy as they are in this story. Elle isn’t looking for love though having been left hurt from her previous relationship. I so enjoyed some of the tricky situations she gets herself into though which really made for some fun reading.

As well as the promise of romance, there is a lot of heart in this story. With so many great characters to make this such a homely read, you can’t help but kept swept away in Elle’s quest. The added aspect of it all being set in France was just the icing on the top of an already scrumptious story.

Summer at the Little French Café is a wonderful and entertaining read. I love the French way of life and the people and just the overall setting of the story. It feels like a home from home and the fabulous characters and the authors writing, really draws you right into this story and makes you not want to leave. Definitely a book to escape into.

I have been approved this ARC version of the book at NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I will not copy/paste the blurb of the book but just give my most honest opinion and review of the book.

As a very big fan of cozy and sad life stories with a hint of a romance story I must say that this is one of those books that are just amazing and that hit the right spot with me, an eager reader of such books!

The setting of the story is also a place that hadn't been mention before - an island on the West coast of France. A great difference from all those big cities and smallest villages somewhere in England.

And after reading it I realized that this book is book number 2 in this series and for sure I will read the first book from the series!

The life changing experience of Elle (Eloise) in searching her birth mother was not an easy topic to describe without going in great depths of human existence and DNA philosophy. And I think that's one of the best written things in this book - with a very simple language. describing the experience as it can happen to me or anyone else, the writer managed to bring closer to readers very easily the search for our roots and idea of 'where do we come from?'

Personally it was very appealing that the writer didn't need 10-15 pages to describe the surroundings or the love interests or flashbacks into the past. For a very long time I haven't read a book that had an excellent way of 'giving enough pages to each aspect of a book. It was such a joy to read this book as it was written like this.

The love interest - hats off for the writer because until the end of the book she fooled me with her love choice for the heroine and it was quite a twist for me. And usually I predict correctly everything!

The writer also did a great job of teasing the readers throughout the book with the 'who is my mother' story. At one moment you are sure you know the answer and you feel like this - 'couldn't the writer hide this a little bit more' but on the other hand the story gets twisted and it goes to a whole other direction.

You read through the book so fast because you want to know the answer but then you want to read it again because you want to enjoy in the language, style, dynamics and 'music' of this wonderful book.

This was a really sweet quick read. We meet Eloise, it Elle for short, who has travelled to France in search of her birth mother. I was hooked straight away on the cute and moving story of her family and how she had come to be separated from her birth mother.
Her search finds her making friends with Dolly who owns the cafe and finding two handsome young men who hope to distract her from her mission.

I haven’t read the first instalment of the French Cafe series, but I didn’t need to. There were subtle references to the previous character Natalie, but there was nothing holding back the story and even though I know how things go for Natalie, I really want to read the first book.

Perfect for fans of Katie Fforde and Debbie Maccomber.

I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions in this review are my own and have been in no way influenced.

I'm a fan of Karen Clarke books, and I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to be read an ARC via Netgalley.
I have read the first book in the series, and enjoyed it. This sequel can be read as a standalone novel, or enjoyed as part of a series.
This book takes us back to France, and features the cafe, and once again, the owner's Son Charlie.
Elle finds a postcard and shawl when she was clearing out her Father's belongings after his death. They give a clue about her birth Mother's identity. She decides to visit France to try and find her.
Elle mistakenly ends up with a job at the cafe, but realises that she might be in the perfect place to ask for clues about her Mother.
I enjoyed this book much more than the previous French cafe book. The writing flowed well, and it was easy to read, despite the sensitive subject.
I like the Characters in this book, and they were realistic. This book is a perfect holiday read. I have a couple of minor issues, firstly I would love to have the delicious French food described in more detail. I would also love it if Elle had explored the region more, as I know that it is a lovely part of France. This did not detract from my enjoyment of the book, and I am looking forward to reading more books by Karen Clarke.

Thank you to Bookouture and Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. This book allowed me to escape to Chamillion after a tough day at school. Karen Clarke set the scene so well, I really did feel involved. This book sees main character Ellie, who wants to find the mother who gave her up as a baby- this a sensitive subject but approached in a compassionate way. The book is filled with welcoming characters, twists and plot changes you don’t expect. This would be a good holiday read.

A really lovely feel good book which leaves you with a smile on you face.
Elle is clearing her dads stuff shortly after he died suddenly when she comes across a couple of items from her birth mother. So Elle decides to travel to France to see if she can find her.
There is a huge host of delightful characters in this book and the descriptions of Chamillon will leave you wanting to visit. Will Elle find her mother? And how does she feel about Henri? And what about Charlie, he’s got Tiegan. Right? And Dolly is just a delight from top to bottom! And how does Jess fit in because she’s in Borneo? And Toni?
Loved it. A perfect feel good summer book

I wish I had known there were books before this one. I think it stands alone but there are characters in this Cafe story that had parts in the previous books. All in all a very enjoyable read. Elle and Charlie start the book with a crash and the story throws them into an interesting line. Henri is one of the characters I’d like to read about if he has a previous story in another book. Dolly is a delight and if there is another Cafe book I’d like to read about her wedding. This was a great pool read and I recommend it if you have a vacation planned or not.

A delightful and heartwarming story of Elle, who lived with her father after being given to him by her French birth mum at just a few days old.
This is her quest to find out who her mum was and why she gave her away. I don’t want to say anymore about the story other than you won’t be disappointed, if you like to read about family, love interests, cafes and solving a mystery, this is the book for you

Although I enjoyed reading this book, I somehow expected more. Having lived in France for many years, I felt very little of the French atmosphere had actually permeated the story. The Ile de Re is such a very different place and we needed to feel that.
However, the story was interesting. Elise needs to find her birth mother from just a few clues, a blanket and a tiny bracelet. The connections she finally made were nicely written, the characters were true to life and the story wasn't over sentimentalised..
Thank you NetGalley for a review copy.

A while back I read Karen Clarckes series at Sheashell Cove. It was a series I had pretty mixed feelings about. One book in the series really stole my heart, while the others were quite mediocre. But I wanted to read something else by her hand, because I wanted to see if I would love her other work more.

Summer at the Little French Café is the second installment in the series, but can be read as a standalone. There are some tiny little pieces of the puzzle that you might be missing, but overall you never feel left out as a reader. The main character of the first installment is only mentioned in this one, so it’s not like you get a glimpse on their further lives as is sometimes the case with these series. Might be a little disappointing for readers of the first book.

I think I can now safely say after reading four of Karen’s books that they are not my cup of tea. I think they are just mediocre in the genre and don’t really bring anything new to the table. They are okay and have their strong points, but for me they are just not good enough.

The story overall was pretty interesting. With Elle trying to find her birth-mother, with only a scarf, a bracelet and a postcard to go on. It felt like a little mystery that needed to be solved. And I really enjoyed the wrap up of this story-line. It was heart-warming and different from what I expected. So absolutely found this story-line interesting, refreshing and it kept me reading.

What didn’t keep me reading was the romance in this book. There are some potential love interest for Elle in the Chamillon. But I just couldn’t see her with any of them. There was zero chemistry between Elle and any of the men she got to know. I found the eventual come out pretty predictable and I kind of hated the in between story-line. I found it unnecessary and kind of bad executed.

One of my major complaints about this book however was the fact that the location is so very important for the story. I mean the book is named The Little French Café. Even the series is named after this café in France. The setting on Ile de Ré is important. The setting at times feels like an important character in the story and normally I absolutely love it when authors do this. Because it gives the story an instant injection of vacation and exploration. But that only counts when the setting is brought to life on the pages. And I don’t think Karen was able to do is. Chamillon never came alive. It was just descriptions on paper. When I was reading I could not hear the sea or smell the saltiness in the air. The same counts for the cafe. Numerous pastries are mentioned, but I never got that mouth-watering feeling that I love in feel good books about cafes and restaurants.

Overall it wasn’t a bad book. It was a fast read, with an interesting story-line. But I don’t love the writing and think this book is not outstanding enough in a genre that gives us so many new books every month. It is just another book.. nothing new, nothing refreshing, nothing I haven’t read before. It would maybe have been a different story if the writing would have been captivating and I would have felt like I spend some time on Ile de Ré, but sadly I closed the book and almost immediately forgot half of the story.

Review will be posted on my blog on 17/06/2019

A lovely beach read - it sucks you in and keeps you there. This is perfect for sitting sea side and enjoying Elle find her way to Cafe Belle Vie, where she hopes to use as a launching point to find her birth mother. Suffice to say, she learns a lot about family, herself - and what she wants from life, as well as finding time to enjoy the beauty of the French island. From pan au chocolat to handsome suitors to a wildlife preserve, Elle finds herself an adventure, a man to crush on and maybe even her birth mum. A very enjoyable read, especially if you relate to an awkward but delightful heroine.