A lovely book about moving to the French countryside and great to catch up again with Ella and Serge. Very light easy to read book that had me raiding the fridge for cheese!

Many thanks to Netgalley and Quercus for this book. I hadn't realised that this was the sequel to her first book but it turned out that didn't matter as this worked well as a stand alone book. I very much enjoyed this light hearted book about Australian Ella and her French boyfriend Serge, and the life they built in the beautiful Loire valley region of France. An enjoyable read.

Thank you to Netgalley for a pre publication copy. In return for an honest review! #escapetothefrenchfarmhouse #netgalley

Ella and Serge are a loving couple living in Paris, Ella from Australia and Serge from the country. Serge owns and runs a deli and Ella works for a food app. Suddenly they are taken by surprise when Ella gets a positive pregnancy test. Ella wants to bring their baby up in Paris while Serge wants them to move to the country. Where will they decide to bring up their baby ?

The typical french farmhouse on the cover drew me to this book.

Some research into this author has told me that this is her second book in the series. However you would not know this when reading it and this book makes a great stand alone book, Something I think this author has got down to a fine art.

This book is an easy summer read. I read it easily within 24hours. Loving the French vibe and how all the characters gracefully interact with each other.

This book does exactly what it says on the tin. A lovely light read whisking you away to France with its delicious French cheese.

However I do feel like the book moves forward too fast. In one chapter you are in the now and then you move forward by months. This makes it sometimes feel a bit disjointed between the chapters and make you feel you are missing small details.

I almost stopped reading this before I'd managed more than a couple of pages, because of the summary of what happened in book 1, which I hadn't read. However, fans of Escape to Paris might appreciate the recap.

Maybe because I hadn't read the first book, I didn't feel as invested in the main characters as I would like to have been, and I found Ellie's obsession with cheese rather irritating.

That said, this is a tale of learning to live and love together once the HAE bit has come and gone, and it deals with real relationship issues. Compromise and communication are the two main themes running through the story, and it's nicely wrapped up at the end.

As a francophile I am drawn to books about France, especially a romance.
I enjoyed the immersion of the writing and the detail that the author has gone into. I particularly enjoyed the cheese parts 🙄.
I needed a light hearted book and that's exactly what I found, and a short read to boot.
Tres bien.

Victoria Brownlee is a new author to me, I did intend buy her previous book but failed to get there, so I came into this without having a clue what to expect.

Possibly should have realised it was a sequel, but honestly other than twigging quite early on that it was, the book can easily be read as a standalone. I never felt disadvantaged from not having seen exactly how Ella and Serge got together.

i loved seeing how this couple dealt with a pregnancy and a possibly in Ella's case reluctant moving from Paris to the french countryside and taking over a goat farm!

You really get a feel for the French way of life in this book, which I enjoyed immensely.

Purely down to personal preference there was perhaps a bit too much cheese mentioned, but that is simply because I don't eat it, and have no desire to learn much about the million varieties there appear to be!!

Besides that minor point, I loved this book. It has an easy to read writing style, which flowed really well, and I thoroughly enjoyed the story.

I enjoyed seeing how two people who are quite different can try to become a family unit and their friends and family were a welcome set of characters to get to know.

With fab French Food, the Loire Valley, some bits of Paris life, a new business and a baby on the way, this is a really entertaining read, and I look forward to seeing what the author writes next.

Thank you to Netgalley and Quercus for this copy which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily.

I enjoyed the end of this book. Getting to the end was a slow experience in which I found the main character just a bit whiny and the relationship between Ella and Serge just too disconnected and odd. The last few chapters seemed to speed up which was much more enjoyable. The epilogue rounds things up nicely.

Thank you Netgalley

Ella is happy living in paris, with her new boyfriend Sege. But when she finds out she is pregnant he is set on moving them out to the french countryside. Will their relationship survive the move she doesn't want to happen?

An easy read although rather repetitive at times and almost put me off trying cheese again! Paris sounded great and if you are a native from there it will seem very familiar. The Loire alley sounds lovely and a much nicer place to be especially to bring up children. I didn't really enjoy the book as I found it all a bit too 'twee' and not very authentic in how everyone could just speak French or English and relationships just happened.
Not sure how they will get on in Australia but I wont be following them there,

This book was an average read. I had been expecting more but it was still an ok book.
Writing style and pace were of average quality
An ok book

This is the first book I have read by Victoria. It is a stand alone book but I have now found out it is the second in a series. I’ll now have to read the first!
Set in Paris and the Loire valley, location descriptions were excellent! The reader was drawn in from the start. Story line was good, It was an easy read, funny, entertaining with charismatic characters you couldn’t help liking.
A perfect summer read
Thank you to Netgalley, Quercus books, and Victoria Brownlee for giving me the chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review

Thanks Netgalley and the Publisher. Did not realise that this was book 2, but still enjoyed it. Great characters and a perfect summer read.

I have to admit, I sat on this book for a few days before attempting to write a review. Why? I couldn’t find the words I wanted… Sitting here writing this, they are still avoiding me. Again, why? Did I hate it? I definitely didn’t hate it. Did I enjoy it? Definitely…. But there’s a but and I don’t know what it is… Ever get that feeling that something just isn’t quite right? Yeah, I’ve got that…. I just have to mention!! This is the follow up to Escape to the Paris Cheese Shop book, but you can definitely read it as a standalone. I’d only read the first part of the Cheese Shop but this book covers everything I’d missed without losing the point of this book.

On that note, let me break it down into 4 sections. Characters, plot, writing, and overall thoughts.

Characters. Ella. I liked her, she seemed to know what she wanted, when she wanted it, and how she wanted it. Honestly, there were parts of the book I did find her irritating and would have liked to have stern words with her, but she’d pulled it back by the end of the book. One of the parts I didn’t like was how she treated Serge about a big decision… It really bugged me. But, she sorted it out. I really routed for her by the end of the book. I think she found pregnancy a little too easy though……. I liked Serge as well, and yes, I wanted to have words with him in parts as well. While I liked them, I found that there wasn’t much chemistry between them. Everything was always a little serious.. However, it worked. Comparing Ella’s relationship with Serge against the new found friendship with Chuck, I found that I enjoyed the parts with Chuck more. I don’t know why but I found them more light-hearted.

Plot. I liked the idea that Ella had found her piece of heaven in Paris and had to give it all up. I liked that she was put further out of comfort zone and had to deal with goats, and attempting to milk them. I liked that she had to find her own place in the country. Adding the complication of pregnancy, a fairly absent partner, and a new found friend and an ex-wife, things were not as easy as Ella thought they would be and I’m sort of glad we saw her struggle with it all.. I enjoyed the book based just purely on the plot.

The writing style worked really well as well. It was a nice, quick read. The whole book had a nice pace to it, and being split into the 4 parts worked brilliantly for me. The book had a serious yet whimsical feel to it. I loved the descriptions of all the cheese, the goats, the farm. The setting of the farm was actually perfect for me. I loved it.

Overall thoughts… While not liking Ella or Serge at times, I did enjoy the book. I’m glad that we got the little bit of ending that we got, and it’s left me with a feeling that this may not be the last we hear from them. I hope it isn’t. The writing style and the farm setting made this book for me though. I will say that having not read the last 3 parts to the Cheese Shop may have hinder this for me slightly, even though you can read this as a standalone. I felt that maybe I was missing something between Ella and Serge which may have explained why there was that serious tone…

I’ve enjoyed this series previously but unfortunately this seemed to lack the spark and interest the others had, unfortunately not for me this time..


Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion

‘Escape to the French Farmhouse’ is a really quick, easy read to breeze through and it’s perfect for the summer. It follows the story of Ella and Serge as they go through their ups and downs after an unplanned pregnancy and a move from Paris to the French countryside. I found the first couple of chapters a little slow but quickly became really invested in the characters and wanted to see what would happen. There’s lots of cheese talk if you’re a cheese fan and a good dose of drama to keep the story rolling.

I ended up really liking Ella as a character. She seemed a little weak in the beginning but her character developed well throughout the book and she became strong and really lovable. I loved the setting of France and the descriptions of Paris and the farmhouse, it really set the scene and made me feel like I was there.

What I liked most about this book is the fact that it seemed very real. The story is closer to what would actually happen in real life rather than some easy, no drama fairytale where everything is great all of the time. There’s definitely a lot of hard decisions that the characters face and it was really good in that aspect.

I would definitely recommend this book if you’re looking for a summer read or a cute romance/drama filled chick lit book!

A first read by this author and what a delightful treat. I didn’t realise that had been a previous book in the series but honestly it didn’t really matter as this worked well as a standalone.

I enjoyed the storyline, it kept me interested and engaged throughout – I have never been to France (only through books) and it did give me a good sense of what life would be like. I also love cheese, so this book had me drooling with some lovely descriptions. Making me peckish! I think it is well written, a nice style and was descriptive.
I must admit; I didn’t necessarily love the characters; I liked them, and they were nice enough but maybe I would feel more about them if I’d read the first book? It wasn’t but its more I found them slightly annoying at times.
It’s a story with a simple storyline but it’s fun, light-hearted and has enough drama to make it interesting. Their move to the countryside is really when the book gets going for me. I couldn’t imagine being in Ella’s position and would probably be the same… also Serge keeps so much from her and doesn’t discuss plans etc; how frustrating, I wouldn’t put up with it!
I think this is a lovely, enjoyable read – perfect for a summer day read. You can escape to France and be tempted by foods galore.
Thank you to the publishers for the chance to read and review this book honestly.

I enjoyed the first one in this series however i felt that this one was a bit disappointing. It was repetitive and a bit dull.

Escape to the French Farmhouse by Victoria Brownlee is the second book in the Fromage à Trois series. I have not read Escape to the Paris Cheese Shop and it didn’t hinder my enjoyment of the book in any way.

We meet Ella and Serge living blissfully loved up in Paris a year into their relationship. Then they are hit with the bombshell that Ella is pregnant. Serge decides that raising a child in the city is not an option and promptly searches for a new location for his growing family.

What follows is a laugh out loud adventure. Ella is a brilliant character and her Australian voice belts from the pages. Filled with cringe-worthy moments that give you that wonderful unease and one-liners that are genius.

I absolutely loved spending time in the Loire Valley with Ella. The book did make me hungry for hot bread, dark coffee and of course cheese.

The book may talk about cheese but it is in no way cheesy in nature. It’s funny, heartwarming and perfect to read in any season.

A romantic comedy that hits the humour level spot on!

This is the first book I read by this author and won't surely be the last.
It's a perfect summer read, entertaining and engrossing, a sweet story that will keep you hooked till the end.
I liked the well written cast of characters, the setting and plot.
I look forward to reading other books by this author.
Recommended!
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

Thanks to NetGalley for an early copy in return for an honest review
A very good read and one I can highly recommend to others.
I could not put this down.
Thoroughly enjoyable with an amazing cast of characters that you cannot help but engage with.