Last year I got the chance to read My Big Greek Summer by Sue Roberts and I quite enjoyed reading it. So when I saw that her new book was set in the South of France, I had to request a copy of it.
A Very French Affair has everything that I absolutely love in a book. People who have been following my reviews for quite some time know that I love a book about food. And oh boy… this story is set in a little French bakery and the main character has her own cake decorating business. I think you catch my drift, when I say the story is overall mouth-watering.
I think Sue Roberts is quickly gaining a place in my favourite feel good authors list because she writes mature chick lit, if that is even a thing. In this book we follow Liv, who is mother to an 18 year old son. I absolutely love reading about woman who have lived a little and who are struggling with choices they have made in the past.
Liv her past is coming to hunt her when her son finally asks about his father. Liv once fell head over heels in love with a young men in the south of France. A summer love that mend the world to her… and now she has to find that men to give her son a chance to meet his father.
Finding Jake’s father is absolutely the core point of the story. But apart from that there are multiple side storylines worth reading. I loved how important family was in this story. It was just such a warm and heartfelt overall story.
Without a doubt the ideal book to read while you are enjoying a cool glass of rose while gazing over the Mediterranean sea. Or biting in a croissant. Because this book will leave you hungry! Be warned!

What a wonderful weekend read. From young love with Liv and Andre to love lost.
With Jake wanting to know about his dad who he has never met, led to his parents finding love again.
Made me feel I was in France with them.

I received this Advance Review Copy in exchange for an honest review by Netgalley. Thank you Netgalley.

"I believe in never depriving yourself of anything or you will only crave it. Being restrained is the key. A little of what you fancy really does do you good."

~ Madame Lilian Beaumont

Review
A very French affair by Sue Roberts is indeed a free spirited and relaxing novel perfect for summer reads. South France is all about delicious food, hotels, cakes, beaches and monuments, the author has exquisitely fitting it all into this single book. The French breeze that has been gliding throughout the book will make anybody fall in love with France. There is a lot of delectable cakes and appetizing food which will tempt the readers to crave for them. The writing style was simple and lucid, the French touch in the conversation between the characters were impressive.

The storyline was super tantalizing, I immediately got attracted towards the book right after reading the first few chapters. The characterization of the protagonist Liv is depicted in an adorable manner. The supporting characters were side-splitting, the French classes by Madame Beaumont and dog stories by Jo are few notable examples for that. The relationship between Olivia and her son was portrayed alluringly, in fact every single relationship in this book has been captured in an enchanting way. The emotional roller coaster that Liv, André and Jake undergoes were written realistically and was really easy to gulp up their uncertainty. The plot was simple, happy and well developed. A feel good novel for the perfect season.

My view
Oh my god!!!! This book increased my appetite, I craved for all those sponge cakes and of course St Clement cupcakes and raspberry buns. I was happy to find the recipes of those two at the end of the book, Thank you Sue Roberts for that. I’m definitely going to ask someone to make that for me. And the fishes from Langousta were described in a mouth watering manner. It was big food treat. I have fallen in love with Antibes, I'm going there one day without doubt and will visit Musée Picasso, Marineland and all the other places noted in this book. I was so much drawn to the story-line, it was amazing. The cover more or less exposed what to expect from the book and I din't end up disappointed. I really loved this book. I would recommend this book to all the humor lovers, foodies, travelers, chic lit lovers, in simple words I would recommend this to everybody who is looking for a heartwarming and feel good book. Do read it and let me know how do you feel about this book on the comment section below.

WARNING : While reading this book surround yourself with lots of food and cakes because you will get extremely tempted to eat those. At least these supplies would satiate your hunger filled food lust.

A Very French Affair so good and sweet that is very hard to leave behind like any other holiday romance at the end of the vacation.
My rating for this book is 4.2 / 5

Happy reading folks!!!
~Meenu

I don’t know what it is with me and the books that take place in France – honestly. Nonetheless, though, I appear to have been reading my fair share of those lately. And in the case of A Very French Affair? Well, there’s even an old romance thrown in for good measure – along with some great-sounding food!

The story
Life just got a whole lot more complicated for thirty-eight-year-old single mum Liv. Her son Jake is practically perfect in every way, but he’s started asking some difficult questions, and the answers lie in a holiday romance twenty years ago. Back when Liv was staying with her aunt on the French Riviera…

Returning to the Cote d’Azur, with its white sandy beaches, her supportive aunt, and exquisite wine and cheese is harder than it sounds though. Because – if she’s going to give Jake the answers he needs – Liv knows she has to hunt down her first love Andre. And since she’s a professional baker rather than a professional investigator, she doesn’t even have a clue where to start.

At first, finding the one that got away proves even trickier than she thought. And if she succeeds, how will he take the bombshell secret Liv has been keeping? Liv has to do the best thing for her family, but does that mean closing the door on this very French affair?

At first, finding the one that got away proves even trickier than she thought. And if she succeeds, how will he take the bombshell secret Liv has been keeping? Liv has to do the best thing for her family, but does that mean closing the door on this very French affair?


The opinion
First things first. There is so much – so much – food in this book. Honestly, it should come with a warning: do not eat in between meals. You will end up snacking. Or, at the very least, craving a serious amount of French pastries!

As for the actual story, though, the food is not the only thing that is described with mouth-watering detail. I mean, I’m not too big on travelling south (not a fan of the heath) but after reading this book? Well, I was just about ready to book a flight to Nice or something like that!

I will say that I’m personally not that big of a fan of first-person narration, so that was a definite down side for me. In spite of that, though, I did really appreciate the way the relationship between Liv and her son and parents, as well as the one between her and her friends was created.

It’s usually the lack of a good relationship with your parents or the people around you that leads to the start of a book. So to say it was a pleasant change to have a book where people support each other, and root for each other? Probably a bit of an understatement.

The rating: 3/5
All in all, A Very French Affair was a really enjoyable read. As I said: I’m not that big of a fan of the first person narration. That’s probably the only reason I’m not giving it a 3.5 or even 4 star rating, honestly. If you’re in the market for a book that captures the spirit of the South of France perfectly? And especially if, like me, you’re something of a baked goods aficionado? This should absolutely be your next read!

-Saar

I love romance and chick lit if you do also you will like this book I loved all the aspects about France and the desserts and holiday it was all so good

4.5 stars
I want to try some strawberry and basil cake!
I enjoyed this book so much for so many reasons.
The heroine is great, she loves her family and she’s doing everything to help them and make them happy, even if she’s a single mother but tries to enjoy the life.
After returning to the same place where she fallen in love with her now 20 years old son, she hopes to find him and tell him about their son as the guild is making her more anxious every day.
A lovely love story with great descriptions of the surroundings and a second chance at love even if it’s long due.

My first book by this author, and I’m pleased to say that I really enjoyed reading this! I loved all the baking and descriptions of France. I really took to the character of Liv and her family and friends, straight away and I wanted to keep reading to find out how everything was going to work out for her on her French adventure.

A cute story but it struggled a lot. First person is hard to do and it didn’t work here. I never felt like Olivia tried very hard to find Andre or support her son either.

I was provided with an ARC of this book by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley and Bookouture for a review copy in return for an honest review.

I loved this story - just wish I could have read it on a sun lounger whilst eating delicious food - food is very important to this book.

The story flows well, the characters are brought to life beautifully and you feel much happier after reading about stunning scenery, fabulous food, families, friends and romance.

I haven’t read any books by Sue Roberts before but now need to.

Definitely a book to enjoy on a sunny day.

I think I was the wrong audience for this book. It’s a sweet, slow, very detail-oriented accounting of the main character, Liv’s, journey to France to find her son’s father after twenty years. To me, it read like a journal and the slower pace felt a bit tedious, but that’s on me, not the author! I did enjoy Liv’s friendship with Faye and Jo, and her relationship with her son, Jake, was heartfelt and realistic. If you enjoy a pleasant, easy read and a taste of England and France, it’s worth a try!

I thoroughly enjoyed this story!

It is a love affair that has a lovely ending and I really enjoyed the book for that.

This is a heart-warming story, relaxed and well written. It would be the perfect story to read on a summers day or on a holiday where you can just relax and let the author's words take you away.

The author has a lovely writing style and brought everything to life for me, the characters, the setting and the story! It is 5 stars from me for this one, very highly recommended!!

Thank you to Netgalley and Bookouture for the ARC of this book in return for an honest review. Sue Roberts allowed me to escape a miserable bank holiday and feel as though I was in France. This is my first book by Sue Roberts and I’m certain that this won’t be the last.
This was a truly enjoyable read.

The cover makes this look like a very lighthearted bordering on frivolous book however there’s a bit more depth to the story than it implies. Olivia (Liv) hasn’t truly moved on in love since a holiday romance twenty years ago, albeit a romance that left her a lasting memory in the form of her son Jake. Liv has always been honest about his paternity and he has never seemed to wonder about his father until now. Liv travels back to the south of France to stay with her aunt in the hope of tracking down her long lost love and to help her aunt out whilst she recovers from a knee operation. There’s some lovely characters in this, some great scenery and a few laughs thrown in. A really nice summer read

A wonderful holiday read, I would have loved to have read this poolside, in the sun, drinking a cocktail, as it would have transported me even more into the pages of this book. As it was I was reading it on a miserable bank holiday weekend and the only warmth I could feel was as I was soaking up the sun in the South of France virtually!

And Sue Roberts is fast becoming one of my favourite authors, I just love her storytelling and the books which are all good are getting better and better each time.

I adored A Very French Affair - with its cake, French food, South of France location, bakeries, cake, a search of a lost love, friends and family, sunshine... and did I mention cake?!!

Yes the cakes were delicious sounding, but given Liv runs her own custom cake business, you would hope it features a lot, plus she goes over to France to look after her aunt's bakery, while she has surgery so there really are a lot of sugary treats in this book.

In amongst it all though it Liv who is trying to look for the boy (well man now), that she fell in love with at aged 18, and has a constant reminder of. After all her son is now wanting to know more about his father, and Liv has no idea where he might be.

This is just a really lovely book to read, and there is plenty to laugh at. I loved getting to know everyone in France, the daily brief french lessons where I'm glad to say I understood the French, Olivier the playboy who is also helping out in the bakery, and then back home Liv's best friend Jo's dog walking anecdotes are priceless.

A truly enjoyable story that kept me thoroughly entertained, and if you haven't tried this author before, and love great beach reads set in the sun, then I would recommend you try her out, if not on this book than any of her others, they are all fab!

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