I made the mistake of requesting Aix Marks the Spot without having read the summary carefully enough beforehand. If I had, I would have realized sooner that the protagonist is a high school student and that the book falls solidly into the YA category, a genre that I've recently come to realize that I've mostly outgrown unfortunately, apart from the YA fantasy.

Requesting this book was an honest mistake. But even though I wouldn't have requested it had I known that it was YA beforehand, I still felt obligated to give the book a fair try. And give it a fair try I did, so let me say this about it: Aix Marks the Spot wasn't a bad story, as far as YA goes. I think that many YA readers will find the characters to be likable and sweet, especially Jamie, our female protagonist. That being said, I, personally, did not feel the chemistry between Valentin and Jamie, but you can probably write that off as being just one of the problems I frequently have with contemporary YA romances. I'm sure that several of the conversations between them that I found to be awkward and lacking tension/heat, others will find to be endearing and charming. Unfortunately, I can't make myself think something is endearing when it feels awkward and stilted to me, no matter how hard I try.

That being said, just because Aix Marks the Spot wasn't my cup of tea, that is definitely no reason to believe that it won't be the perfect book for other people, especially given my weak affinity for the genre. I actually happen to think that people who enjoy reading contemporary YA romances will really enjoy this story for the very same reasons that I did not, and I would encourage those people to give this book a try.

This is a very immersive read. I liked how the author was able to bring France to the reader as make me feel as if I was there. I got to learn a lot about the culture, the food and the places mentioned in the book which is something I really appreciated. I also think that setting the story in France was a wise move in terms of the romance and helped making the romance more vivid.

We get to see Jamie's very dysfunctional family and I appreciated that the author took the time to include this topic in her book and develop it in such a realistic yet respectful way. Though I didn't like Jamie's character that much because she came off as immature in some situations with Valentin, I can see her background contributed in making her like that.

Overall, this is a cute read for the summer that does not hold back with the hard topics. Despite having it's ups and downs I'd still recommend it.

After living in France for several years, and experiencing the whole wildly out of water experience of moving to a country where you cannot for the life of you get the words you know to come out in a coherent fashion, I am always keen to find books that distil that experience out onto the page. And this one does, but also doesn’t. It’s a curious mix.



Good things first: I really loved exploring the south of France. There were places that I’ve been to before and I shrieked delightedly at my husband that they were visiting Cassis. And places that I’ve never experienced that I immediately added to the itinerary or our next trip. It made me feel homesick for excellent coffee and pastries and the food. It transported me straight into the middle of a hot French summer, where you can barely think beyond the sound of the cicadas.
However (you knew it was coming, didn’t you) I just couldn’t connect with Jamie. Whilst I completely empathised with the fish out of water experience, and struggling to keep up in a country where you aren’t fluent, I found her to be incredibly unlikable and frustrating. She is convinced that she’s been exiled to France because her parents hate her, and yet the few interactions she has with them early on do nothing to provide a basis for that. She struggles with the language yet makes zero effort to learn. She finds other tourists with their loud, obnoxious English conversations to be mortifying, yet can’t seem to understand that she is exactly the same.
It’s a light and quick read, and one that I enjoyed up to a point. But it never really finds its feet because it is weighed down by how frustrating I found Jamie. She wasn’t someone I wanted to spend time with - half the time I just wanted to shake her. However, as a book that catapults you right back into the heat of a summer in France it was a good escape.

This review will be published on The Review Diaries on 15th July 2020.

Thank you to Netgalley, Sarah Anderson, and Sea Breeze Books for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

A story of a teenager who feels lost and feels blame for the injury to her mother, Jamie finds herself in France for the summer with the grandmother she has never met. A time of adventure, discovery, and trying to find the answers, Aix Marks the Spot is a great read for teens and fans of YA! The descriptions of France are wonderful and truly make the reader feel present and rising along for the journey!

This story deals with issues I think a lot of people endure as teenagers, and even as adults, in which blame is placed on ourself a BY ourselves for matters out of our control. It’s following along Jamie dealing with these issues, and trying to figure out how she can fix the situation with her parents. It is also about family and not only finding family, but enforcing bonds that were there and creating new bonds.

It is a wonderful read and my heart went out to Jamie at certain moments in this book as her immense guilt and anger overtakes her at times. And, alas, she truly is a teenager and definitely has moments of being a teen in this story lol. And we can’t forget love. There are many kinds of love in this story, some simple and easy, others much deeper and more difficult.

Check out this book! Give it a read! Tell a friend about it!!!

Aix Marks the Spot is a fun, light-hearted adventure story following Jaime as she connects with a grandmother she's never met and goes on treasure hunt around France.

This book was such a quick and fun read. I loved how the author took Jaime and the reader to different parts of France. And it wasn't just a quick glance over. The author really put time into making each place an unforgettable experience for both Jaime and the readers. After reading the acknowledgements, I really loved that author intertwined her own personal experiences of each of these places into the story. It made each scene feel more tangible and real. Many times, I could see and hear each of the elements from the ocean breeze, to the sweat from a challenging hike, to the chattering tourists, and the smell of fresh made crepes. I love a good travel story, and this really fit the bill.

Not only was the scenery and travel interesting, I really enjoyed finding each of these letters. I loved the journey to each letter and then reading the letter. The letters were sweet and gave us insight into Jaime's parents and who they were as people. It also gave us flashbacks in a fun way so we could compare the old (when the parents were at each location) and the new (when Jaime and Valentin were at these locations). The twist at the end was also a nice surprise and helped to wrap everything up.

My main issue with this book was Jaime. Jaime was whiny and bratty for most of the book. I understand the reasoning behind why she was acting the way she was, and I understand she is a teenager, but it got tiresome after awhile. She'd be self-hating and depressed one minute and then the next she would be having a temper tantrum for not getting her way. This is probably a personal preference, but the reason behind Jaime's self-punishment felt underwhelming. I wished it was something bigger or there was a different reason for her to go to France. All of this was due to miscommunication which is one of my pet-peeves in stories. She also felt underdeveloped as did the rest of the characters. For having spent the whole book with Jaime and Valentin, I found that I didn't actually know all that much about them. I felt like there was a missed opportunity to explore Mamie more as she was an extremely interesting character. Overall, I think the characters could have been developed more and that would have helped round out the issues I had with Jaime's character.

I also was really jarred by the switching of tenses. There were times when the story was told in second person and then switch to first person and then switch back to second. I understand why the author did this. She wanted Jaime to be talking to her mom the whole story, but because it wasn't consistent throughout the whole story, it felt out of the blue when it switched to 2nd tense. I think Jaime could have still talked to her mom, but maybe in a journal or just have the whole book in 2nd person.

Overall, even though I had a couple of things I didn't like about this book, I still found myself wanting to keep reading it. I stayed up late so that I could see what happened next. It was also an incredible quick and easy read was nice for me. I was always surprised by how much I had read and how close I'd be getting to the end. I recommend it to anyone who loves a good summer romance and travel story.

Amo descobrir livros novos e, nesse meio, acabar sendo surpreendida. 2020 tem seguido bem essa pegada em leituras para mim, sobretudo no âmbito YA que, como no caso desse livro, têm me feito perceber o quão profundo esse gênero ainda pode ser.

Por ter amado Amor & Gelato no início do ano, quando me deparei com a sinopse desse eu logo tive que ler. A premissa que se passa na França aos olhos de uma adolescente americana enviada para passar as férias com a avó materna com quem nunca teve contato antes me deu um ar da mesma saga de Lina no outro livro citado, e fiquei empolgada por encontrar mais uma história sobre trocas culturais e familiares, além do bônus da caça ao tesouro que Jamie acaba por descobrir.

Acontece que, mesmo o livro indo de encontro a essas expectativas iniciais, ele também foi além. Sob o pretexto da caça ao tesouro, Jamie vai acabar imersa numa verdadeira jornada não só de descobrir qual o grande tesouro ao final dela, mas também, nesse processo, a encarar a si mesma e o que a levou a, primeiro de tudo, ir parar na França.

Pouco a pouco, vemos Aix Marks the Spot se desdobrar de um "simples" YA para uma história que vai falar muito sobre temas bem reais e importantes, como o perdão, cuja pauta é iniciada logo por Jamie que se culpa constantemente por algo que ela acredita ter feito à mãe e vê na caça ao tesouro uma tentativa de se redimir. Além disso, por meio das interações entre ela, a avó Colette e Valentin, um garoto francês com quem faz amizade, muito vai se falar também sobre as diferenças culturais e os altos e baixos entre elas; sobre a importância de respeitar a cultura, idioma e país do outro, até discussões sobre como, por diversas vezes, a diferença linguística é só um detalhe e, com ou sem ela, ainda se pode evitar certos equívocos ou, no caso de Jamie e os demais, consertar erros.

Não leia esperando um romance como a sinopse pode destacar. Ele existe, mas bem nas entrelinhas, uma vez que o foco de verdade é a jornada de Jamie, por vezes ao lado de Valentin a auxiliando na localização e afins, rumo a descobrir um tesouro que, no final, nos leva junto com ela a descobrir e passear por entre as belezas e curiosidades de Provença e, logo mais, a ser mais um pretexto para fazer não só ela, bem como todos ao seu redor, a refletirem melhor sobre as culpas que carregamos e que, merecendo-as ou não, o quão libertador é se permitir perdoar, não só aos outros como, também, a si mesmo.

Está aí uma leitura que me fez refletir, emocionar, destacar vários quotes que me despertaram pensamentos, reações e sentimentos diferentes ao longo da leitura, me fez passar raiva com os personagens em alguns momentos e querer colocá-los em um potinho em outros, além de, por vezes, me fazer sentir como se estivesse passeando com os personagens por Provença e outros lugares ao sul da França que, se antes eu não conhecia, fiquei com vontade de visitar um dia. Um livro, várias emoções, e ainda que não tenha sido 5 estrelas ou um favorito, continua sendo incrível e eu definitivamente recomendo!

I’ve never wanted to visit France more than how I felt after I finished this book. It was such a nice summer read that transported me on a trip to Provence when I’m currently stuck at home. Such a good coming of age story and really coming to know yourself. Highly recommend if you’re looking for an easy summer read!

Thank you to NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

I have received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I geniunely loved this book. It is the perfect summer contemporary/ya light romance novel I've been wishing for since I've read Anna and the French Kiss!
I loved that this novel was full of with French sentences and It flew me back to my high school years!
*SOooo* this books was everything I love about a good ya! Subtle, heart-warming and inviting! It not only showed the depth and importance of relationships in a family, how to make friends in a new country where you feel like an outsider, how to embrace your cultural heritage more, but also it helped me rediscover my love for the French language! It was sweet and written so good, that it kept your attention throughout the whole novel!
Je n’aurais pas pu rêver d’un meilleur livre !

I love novels in which a character comes to another country and experiences the culture for the first time. And it was so refreshing to see a character going to another part of France that is not Paris. I am also a huge fan of the other language sprinkled in - in this case, French. I am also a huge sucker for everything art, lettery, road-trip-y and of course romantic.

So you can imagine that I went into this book expecting to absolutely adore it. The summary had me absolutely hooked and I was super here for this story line and plot.

My actual feelings were indifference and/or annoyance. I read that the author wrote from their own life and I am not here to discredit the experiences because as I said, the experience itself sounds lovely. This is also not meant to be a personal review on what I think of the author's life but simply of the way the book was structured.

There were things I liked but they were very few. I loved the descriptions of the places Jamie and Valentin went to. Loved the descriptions of nature and the towns themselves. I also liked Valentin. He seemed thoughtful, kind and overall sweet. Everything else, though? Besides of the concept? I disliked.

Starting with the French. Listen. I am a French learner and I found mistakes in this book. Up to the point that I avoided reading the sentences in French in fear that they would get stuck in my head as correct. I wasn't sure at first and even asked my French friend who immediately thought I was the one who'd copied it wrong because sentences like that can't possibly come from a published book. Yeah, well.

Jamie I didn't warm up to at all. From the first page on I was annoyed and frustrated with how whiny she was, how egocentric and self-absorbed she was. The worst thing was when I found out how her mum had the accident because all of her wallowing in self-pity about being the reason for almost killing her seemed to very pathetic to me at that point. She is overly dramatic and incredibly hypocritical e.g. She wants to give up everytime a bus or train doesn't show but gets mad and screams at Valentin for being a coward whenever they hit a seemingly proper dead end. Pot Kettle much? The fact that she spoke to "you" as in - her mother - drove me up the freaking wall as well... and... she is just so very American.

Which in itself is of course not a bad thing. But in a book which criticizes American tourists for being loud and for just stomping all over the culture they find themselves in, her characterisation has a flair of "She's not like the other girls" when in actuality, she is definitely, absolutely like those girls. She knows absolutely nothing about France and half-asses her French even though she is in the country for the foreseeable time. It's just... I was so very frustrated. The descriptions of cultures e.g. the American tourists being annoying, the French being rude to her because they want her to learn/speak French, was a little strange. I would even go there and say slightly racist. At least in Mamie's case (who is a bitch. Short and simple). She is of the opinion that American woman just come into the country, leave their American mark all over and take the French men away. It feels very much like the well liked reasoning of racists that "foreigners take all of our jobs". And I am not at all here for it. So I was offended in both ways and I am neither American nor French.

I'm not even going to talk about Mamie further because she was just... yeah.

Let's talk about the love story. I will be short on that because if I let my thoughts run free you will all be way too bored of my bitchfest. Because I was honestly cringing the entire time. I did not see the chemistry to begin with even though it was quite obvious from the start where this would be going. We have to remember that they fell in love (with Jamie actually saying those words on the phone) after a week. That's ridiculous. Even if you spend all of your time together. Then there was Jamie's annoying jealousy of Valentins other female friends and her RELIEF when they turned out to be gay with each other. I mean?? There was not even a hint of a threat there and Jamie was just being her annoying overdramatic self in this situation and she was even debating just leaving their conversation because of the way she didn't feel as pretty as the other girl. I. Was. Frustrated. The whole romance from Jamie's POV just seemed so childish and ridiculous that I did not care at all and was even sorry that Valentin ended up with her. As the only character I liked in this novel, I would've liked to see him end up with either no one or off screen with an amazing girl (or guy or non-binary pal).

That but not least - and this is a personal pet peeve for me, I do not think most readers will have an issue with it - the descriptions of meat. Why. why. why. Did Jamie need to eat meat and dairy everytime she stuffed her face? I don't expect books to cater to vegan readers (much to my dismay) but it's 2020. Do we really need in-depth descriptions of meat and dairy literally everywhere all the time? Can it not just be: they had crêpes for lunch? Nope, it's always the crêpe with the delicious amazing gorgeous ham and OMG let's put an egg in there. Excuse my outburst but I am just sick and tired of neverending food descriptions that are for me, ethically, not endurable and made me feel sick to my stomach. And for everyone thinking about how the French cuisine is based on these things: I had the very best time in France when I went there last time. Because they do actually have vegetables and potatoes and chickpeas as well you know? Yes they love their cheese. But it's not the only thing they eat all day every day. (Except the baguette. That's always there)

Bottom line is. I wish I had enjoyed this book. I didn't. I guess for some people this is a cute romance. If you have issues with any of what I wrote above I don't think this book is for you. If you don't I suggest you give it a try.

While this has a great story line, I had a hard time getting into this. Unfortunately, I was unable to finish this book. I have heard great things; however, I am not one for a slow-burn. I give books a certain amount of time to catch my interest and this just didn’t do it for me. I DNF'd this book.

"His warmth wrapped into mine as we immersed ourselves in the light and sound, no longer confined by frail human bodies. Right now, we were music , we were art. And together, we transcended."

I wish words would help me describe how beautiful this book was to me. I just can't say it was a good read you know because then I'll be lying to myself. I usually avoid reading books that will get me very emotional. Though I love them, they intimidate me a lot. Aix Marks The Spot was one such book.

***

Blurb - Jamie is exiled to Provence, France to her Mamie whom she has never met or talked to in seventeen years, after an accident almost kills her family. She is isolated in her grandmother's house, the guilt of almost killing her parents is gnawing at her and on top of that there's no Wi-Fi. But soon she discovers a letter return by her father to her mother which marks the beginning of a treasure hunt. She is certain that the treasure hunt is the answer to all her problems, that her mother will be fine again when she finds the treasure. Armed with the letter and help of a cute French boy and also her translator, Valentin, she is ready to go on a tour to find what the universe is intending her to find. But what she didn't count on was falling for her said translator.

***

I really loved the characters, the setting and how the story was told. The characters had a depth to them which urged me to keep on reading so as to know more about them. The setting, that is Provence, was utterly beautiful. The way it was described brought vivid images to my mind and I wanted to explore every road, every town, every marketplace and every tourist spot mentioned in that book. The story was told in an amazing manner. The letters and the treasure hunt which connected all of it spoke volumes. I couldn't help but fall in love with the novel with each chapter. And I'll be honest... I wanted the story to last longer!

"And while I had only been in Aix once before, on the day my heart shattered, I found a piece of it here, and stuffed it right back in my chest where it belonged."

This was such a sweet little story. We first join Jamie on a Taxi ride to a house in Provence. For an American teen with barely any knowledge of French, travelling alone to France, to stay with an estranged grandmother that doesn't( or won't) speak any english, is jarring for Jamie to say the least. What follows is a series of strained, awkward interactions until Jamie and her grandmother fall into a routine of sorts.

From the get go, my heart went out to Jamie, she was clearly dealing with many issues and emotions, not least of all the main reason for her being shipped off to France in the first place: a car accident. As the story unfolds we see how much guilt and shame she harbours over this. Jamie finds an old letter in her fathers childhood bedroom that turns out to be the first clue of a treasure hunt. As an attempt to distract herself and a way of understanding what happened all those years ago to cause the rift between her dad and her grandmother Jamie (with the help of her neighbour) decides to complete the treasure hunt herself.

What follows is a journey of discovery, not only the beautiful region of France, but her own own thoughts and feelings. She learns to process her emotions around the accident and better understand her parents.

I thought the characters were well rounded and believable. The grandmother was a particularly complex and I enjoyed reading her character development the most.
The story is told in an epistolary- like format. Though not exactly in letters, Jamie does appear to be relaying the story to her mother. This was a bit confusing until it became clear that, that is what she was doing. Once it became clear however it was an interesting format. The writing style was not my favourite, however it wasn't clanky or awkward to follow so all in all I didn't mind it too much.

Overall, I enjoyed this, exploring Provence, with Jamie and Valentin was wonderful, made me want to go explore and immerse myself in the environment and culture too. It is very clear that the author is very well acquainted with the region and has a very obvious love for the country and culture as a whole.

This was a beautiful, little book and I would recommend.

🧀

*Thank you Netgalley and the Publisher for providing me with a copy of this book for review, all opinions are my own*

For me, this book had two big problems.
The first one is the very childish writing of the author, which I think has a lot to do with the way she wrote the main character and because the whole story is told from the point of view of the main character, made the book sound youthful which made the story very irritating in my opinion.
But this irritation of mine is mainly due to the fact that our main character is boring, childish in the sense of thinking that everything is her fault and that the world and people revolve around her and her problems.
I must have rolled my eyes at least once in each chapter, so unbearable that the character managed to be.
The story itself is not bad and I think it would even be a quick book to read if the main character is not so irritated that you don't even want to read anymore.

THE PERFECT QUARANTINE READING!

I have never read anything by this author before, so the first thing I would like to highlight is the richness of her writing. I loved it, it makes you connect with the story even more. I think the story itself had a fairly original plot, which keeps you hooked throughout the book. AND THE DETAILS! From the comfort of my house while I'm in quarantine I really felt like I was there, the whole setting was perfectly manufactured.

The characters were also quite real and flawed, following a journey of self-learning and dealing with family relationships, making them connect better with them.

4/5 ⭐️ for Aix Marks the Spot by S.E. Anderson

Thank you to NetGalley and Sea Breeze Books for early access to the ebook!

I love books that involve travelling and that take me to a place I've never been before, and Aix Marks the Spot is no exception! We are taken alongside Jamie on a tour of southern France, and on her journey of finding herself and healing.

Jamie is reeling after her family is in a car accident and she is sent away to live in France for the summer with a Grandmother she's never met. Meanwhile, her mother may never walk again and is enduring gruelling physiotherapy and it's all Jamie's fault. Enter Valentin, a cute and charming French boy, and a 17-year-old invitation for a scavenger hunt left by her father, and Jamie finally feels like she can make her summer mean something. She believes that if she is able to complete this scavenger hunt and find the final clue (and treasure), she may be able to help her Mom and rejoin her family.

My two favourite elements were the scenery and travel scenes in the book and Jamie's relationships with the other characters in the book. The writing was so lovely and descriptive, it was like I was going to all these beautiful sites and travelling with Jamie and Valentin! I also think that the level of detail in the writing demonstrates evidence of research and/or personal experience with these locations and the south of France. This is especially important in books where travel is the main element of the book. The whole element of the scavenger hunt and the reveal at the end was so perfect!!

As fun as this book was, I appreciated the complexity added to the book through the exploration of Jamie's relationships with the other characters. I think this is especially true in the discussion of her relationships with her parents, which she perceives as broken because of the accident. Also, her self-image/worth is strongly tied to her relationship with her family and what happened with the accident. This is a theme that follows through the novel and through the treasure/scavenger hunt. This also translates, too, with her Grandmother, through in a slightly different way. Moving on, I thought Jamie's relationship with Valentin was super cute! He encouraged her to come out of her shell, and also showed her what having a supportive circle of family & friends looks like. I really enjoyed many of the side characters, and felt they made a lot of sense for the book as well as adding quality to the book - not just there to "fill in".

If you are looking for a fun read to take you on a travelling journey this summer when we can't travel due to COVID, look no further than Aix Marks the Spot!

Thanks Netgalley for providing me a copy of this book.

I’ve never been to France but it’s a place I’ve always wanted to visit. This definitely made it worse!

I liked this book though I did find myself frustrated with the main character at times. She was not very like able in my opinion.

I need to connect with the characters for me to be amazed by a book.

I loved learning about Provence, that was the best part of this book.

What irritated me most about Valentin and Jamie at the beginning of the book, ended up becoming the reason for the conflict at the end of the book, except that Valentin's way during most of the book didn't make me care so much about him, because he didn't he seemed very engaged with the idea, so if half the team is not engaged in the treasure hunt, how do you want me to be interested?

Jamie's lack of effort in learning French was a source of much anger, because her level in French, even though her parents work with the language and she had taken a language course is almost the same as mine who dropped the language after half dozen lessons at Duolingo!!

But I like the message of Aix Marks the Spot, because travelers can be a pain the *** and learn the essential of the language in some situations.

This book was really good! I haven’t read many books set in present day France, and I really loved that Jamie traveled around France following a scavenger hunt. The scenery descriptions were beautiful and I really wanted to eat the food that Jamie was eating because it all sounded so fresh and delicious! I felt really nostalgic after reading this book because I spent a semester in Rome so I can relate to many of Jamie’s experiences. I remember the struggle to communicate with locals in their own language, and I remember how excited I was when I started understanding more and more and when I was able to speak the language as well. After reading this book, I now want to look through my photos from my trip and see how beautiful everything was! There are beautiful places in America, but there is something timeless and wonderful about the historical sites in Europe.

I also really enjoyed reading the letters from the scavenger hunt; they were so romantic and lovely while showing the ups and downs of relationships.

The only thing I didn’t care for was that there were random “you” statements directed towards Jamie’s mother. The book is written in first person, but there are spots in the book where it will say something like “You always loved those,” instead of “Mom always loved those.” I thought this was confusing because the book didn’t read as though Jamie is telling everything to her mom in a conversation.

There is also swearing in the book; I prefer books to have little to no swearing.

Overall this was a fun book, and I really enjoyed reading it!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

A nice YA contemporary read, but I found the MC to be irritating and unlikeable which unfortunately affects my enjoyment of this book. Also wasn’t keen on the dramatics in the book but I can see a lot of people enjoying this, just not me

Thank you to NetGalley and Victory Editing for supplying a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Provence is at the top of my travel bucket list. So I was immediately drawn to this story due to the setting. Jamie is an American who is sent to live with her estranged grandmother in Provence for the summer. There's been an accident which has left Jamie's mother unable to walk and she thinks her parents have sent her away because it's all her fault. When she arrives, it appears her grandmother is thrilled to have her but as soon as she learns that Jamie does not speak French, she dismisses her seemingly out of hand. Alone and feeling sorry for herself, Jamie befriends Valentin, a boy her age who lives in the village. Then she discovers a letter amongst her father's belongings that appears to be the start of a treasure hunt he set up for her mother when they first met. Jamie decides that she MUST complete this treasure hunt in order for her mother to recover. She and Valentin follow the clues as the novel progresses.

I found parts of this novel to be just lovely. The descriptions of the locales and the food are incredibly well-done and I appreciated the French phrases sprinkled throughout the novel that weren't immediately translated into English (it definitely put my rusty knowledge of French to work). But I found Jamie a problematic main character. As a character, I had trouble with some inconsistencies in her personality. At times she seemed much younger than her 16 years. She was also very angry and hostile which just became increasingly frustrating as she seemed, until the very end, unable to see how she was causing much of this herself. The novel utilizes the trope of characters not communicating so that everyone is misunderstanding one another and, while that can move the plot along, I found it overused here. Side note that I found it completely unbelievable that her French father and Francophile mother would not have taught their only daughter to be bilingual.

I'm making it sound like I didn't enjoy this but there was something about this story that pulled me along. I enjoyed the treasure hunt Jamie and Valentin were on (even if it required a suspension of disbelief that the letters would still be in their hiding spots 17 years later) and Anderson does an excellent job of writing a love letter to Provence with her descriptions of the towns and villages the two visit. And don't read this on an empty stomach because you'll be craving a freshly baked baguette the entire time.

Though this coming-of-age story was uneven, I enjoyed large parts of the ride and found the ending to be by far the best part of the book.