Do you love historical fiction? What is your favorite time period to visit? I love the 1800s, Georgian and Victorian Eras!

I was so excited to get an early copy of this wonderful book- Beyond the Lavender Fields by @arlemhawks! This story follows Gilles Etienne, an aspiring physician in a broken France in the midst of a revolution. (Swipe for synopsis)

This book is a perfect historical fiction. From beginning to end I felt myself immersed in 1792 French Revolution. Conflict, politics, danger, war, survival...this book gave me all the feels as though I was witnessing the characters' story first hand.

Marie-Caroline is a little naive but yet has a strong will that seems to draw Gilles to her in every encounter. Gilles' charcter is flawless-geniuine, big heart, a romantic- and add in a doctor in the making...I'm sold 😍

Gilles and Marie-Caroline are on different political sides- revolitionnaire and royaliste- but both have hearts for peace and love for their country and its people. Their love story is beautiful and sweet, but forbidden.

While I loved all the little swoony moments, I found myself at the edge of my seat with a conflict torn city, risky situations, and danger at ever corner. This book defines historical fiction for me- romance, suspense, feeling like I am the streets of Marseille in 1972.

This book releases February 2022! You don't want to miss this! Keep writing Arlem Hawks!

(For those who want to know...Gilles Etienne is the doctor on the ship in Georgana's Secret set much later)

Arlem Hawks does it again! I loved this book, it was different than I was expecting but I loved it. It's one of those books you wish you could read again for the first time.

Wow. That is all I can say. I finished this book and just sat for a few minutes soaking up all the feelings and wishing it wasn’t over yet. Arlem Hawks has quickly become an auto-buy for me after this book and “Georgana’s Secret.”
“Beyond the Lavender Fields” was amazing. Ms. Hawks created relatable characters who I immediately wanted to see succeed. Their story was told along with the story of the French Revolution around the time of the Reign of Terror. It was clear a lot of research went into this book. I learned a lot and realized how little I knew about or understood how terrible events of the French Revolution were. Ms. Hawks excellently captured the unrest and the turmoil of the time. This is a book I will reread for sure.

4.5 stars
Wow! This was such a powerful story about learning that in war there are two sides of the story. I wasn’t sure how I felt about this book at first. I was kind of hesitant because I have heard so many great things, and I was expecting great things. So it was kind of a slow start, but once I really started the book, I was enthralled. It was an amazing story with characters that felt incredibly real. They had their own issues and life to work through. Beyond Lavender Fields by Arlem Hawks is definitely a book that you don’t want to miss.
The storyline was so intriguing and interesting. Gillespie and Caroline were on opposite sides of the revolution, and yet they felt drawn to each other. Gilles Etienne was for the revolution. He wanted a better future for France. However, when he meets stubborn royalist Marie-Caroline Daubin, he starts to see that the revolution is not black and white. Caroline believed in the old France, but as she interacted with Gilles, she began to see that people are not their first impressions. Gilles and Caroline will have to figure out if a révolutionnaire and a royaliste can really be together or if their worlds are just too different.
Gilles Etienne was an interesting character. He was divided on the revolution. He wanted to fight for freedom, and he would even consider himself a Jacobin, a révolutionnaire. But as time went on he found himself reconsidering their methods and ideals. I liked Gilles' growth as a character and seeing him learn from the mistakes of war. He was a kind man who was willing to see that he may be wrong. He had to grow on me, but by the end of the book I loved him! Gilles had my heart and he was just an awesome character!
Marie-Caroline Daubin was also a complicated character. She was stubborn, but she was kind. I loved that she was a strong woman in a time where women were considered lesser. She was a lot of fun because of how vocal she was about her beliefs. She had to learn how to listen to the advice of others, and see that there is more to people than meets the eye.
There were so many good quotes in this book and so many lessons to be learned. I adored the characters. It was interesting to read about them as they struggled through their feelings about the war. They were characters that I could relate to and feel for. There was brokenness in the story but there was also hope. Caroline and Gilles had to work through their feelings about the war and each other, but it was always fun to read about them interacting.
Beyond Lavender Fields was a stunning book! I would definitely recommend it, it totally lives up to the hype. Beyond Lavender Fields is a clean historical romance set during one of the French Revolutions.
I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book which I received from the publisher through Netgalley. All views expressed are only my honest opinion, a positive review was not required.

This is a clean romance that is set during the French Revolution. I found the political differences of the main characters refreshing, as they have great dialogue and discussions about why each feels the way they do- and the other character tried to understand where they were coming from. This is a fun read.

"Beyond the Lavender Fields" was amongst the best books I have read this year and it allowed me to easily get over a "book hungover" from finishing one of my favourite book series just a day before!

The book takes begins in September 1792 in Marseille, a port city in the South of France, bordering the Mediterranean Sea. Gilles Étienne, son of a privateer and clerk of a soap-making factory, is thrilled to contribute to the French Revolution's Jacobin Club. He believes in liberty and equality for all and nothing will change is mind. However, there are different ways to bring about change: through violence, or through understanding... And when Gilles meet Marie-Caroline, the daughter of his employer and a fierce monarchist, she makes him realise that the end does not always justify the means, and that marching over Paris and killing thousands of "traitors", and imposing one vision of "freedom" to all is no freedom at all. However, as Gilles and Marie-Caroline's friendship grow into something more, they have to choose what - and who - to believe. And whom to trust.

I loved this book from beginning to end: the characters are rich, detailed, vulnerable, strong and credible. Even the secondary characters are well described. The decor is rich and vivid, easily making us imagine what life in Marseille, in the streets, in the harbour, in the lavender fields, look like in 1792. The plot is well-developed and not solely centred on the two protagonists' interactions—we also have insights into the development of the Revolution, on the events abroad, on the revolutionaries' meetings...
The use of French words and phrases is absolutely perfect (and I say this as a native French speaker) and really adds something to the book.
I also like the book cover and love the title, although I wish there was a bit more references to lavender and lavender fields in the book (we're in Provence after all!)—the lavender field scene is one of my favourites, by the way!

Beyond the fiction, the book also gave us food for thought: to what extent can one defend his ideals? and impose it on others? When is violence justified? Is compassion more important to doing "what is right"? Where and how to find common grounds to those who believe differently?

Overall, I would therefore highly recommend this book as it did not disappoint! This author is quickly becoming one of my favourites (she often weaves some nautical elements in her books, which I love!). She really writes beautiful, wonderful historic novels.

An engaging book that will get you thinking.
Have you ever wondered what it would have been like to be living in France during the French revolution? What would it have been like to be part of the upper merchant/Bourgeouise class as the attacks began? What moral or ethical issues would you face if you were part of the working class, the revolutionaries? This story addresses those questions without dwelling on the violence and destruction that France experienced. Gilles is a clerk in a high-end soap factory, saving his wages so he can attend medical school. He does not support the monarchy and its extravagant lifestyle when so many Frenchmen are suffering. He feels a republic without the monarchy is the correct way to govern France, and belongs to the Jacobin group organizing to rid France of the monarchy. Marie-Caroline is the daughter of the owner of the soap factory and a royalist. She feels the monarchy should be retained and that adjustments could be made to address the social issues. Two strong minded people with opposing views. What happens when they begin to see the others view point? What will happen when the violence that has centered in Paris moves into Marseille, where they live? A very engaging story exploring the pulls of belief, ethics, friendship, and caring. Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the copy. This is my review and all thoughts are my own.

" in his core, [Gilles] knew he belonged to the sea...the sea had written its vast expanse into his soul...[however, it is ] better to follow in the footsteps of an aspiring physician than in the wake of a smuggler and thieving privateer [like Pere]".

Gilles Etienne worked as head clerk for Monsieur Daubin. The proceeds from M. Daubin's savonnerie [soap factory] were diminishing with the steady decline of Marseille's aristocracy in the year 1792. Staying in M. Daubin's good graces would allow Gilles to earn the necessary funds to follow in his brother Max's footsteps and attend medical school in Montpellier. Gilles had recently joined the Jacobins, revolutionnaires determined to dethrone the king and create a republic. "Would Gilles do more for his country by dying or by learning the skills to save lives?"

Max Etienne and Emile Daubin, best friends, medical students and die hard Jacobins, often frequented cafes and made wagers on whether one could steal a kiss from a jeune fille. Could Max convince his younger brother Gilles to try to kiss Mademoiselle Daubin, his employer's daughter? According to Mademoiselle Daubin, Gilles's behavior was far from impressive. "[She was not] a piece in a game, a thing to be caught and tallied like a hunting prize." He would not kiss her!

Marie-Caroline Daubin had returned to Marseille for her safety. There was unrest in Paris. In epistolary form, in a series of letters to her Parisian cousin, she expressed her loyalty to the crown and church and her innermost longings and secrets. Gilles Etienne, passionate for the cause of freedom, felt that "any idealism can be taken to zealous extremes". Two young people, a royaliste and a revolutionnaire. Gilles's father stated, "You must learn to recognize which battles you can win, and which you must flee...It is not cowardice to be wise."

"Beyond the Lavender Fields" by Arlem Hawks is a historical fiction/romance novel set in Marseille and Paris in 1792. Would dethroning the monarchy create a better government with freedom for all? Some families fled, some watched their businesses destroyed, churches repurposed...the collateral damages of war. Against this backdrop, can love prevail?

Thank you Callie Hansen, Shadow Mountain Publishing and Net Galley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

4.5 This was a wonderfully written and well-researched historical fiction novel set during the French Revolution. I didn't know much about the French Revolution and I felt like Hawks did a great job transporting the reader into this time period. Caroline and Gilles were great characters and I love how their relationship developed throughout the novel. I also loved Gilles' internal struggles and how he realized that things weren't what they first seemed and what he really believed. This book had a bit of a slow start for me, but about halfway things really picked up and it was so hard to put down! The last half was so intense and I wasn't sure how things were going to play out. I loved the ending and overall really enjoyed this book! Would recommend it to fans of historical fiction!

Going in to this book I knew little about the French Revolution, and wondered if I would be able to follow the story. However, I've loved all of Arlem Hawks' books that I've read, so I was willing to try. I needn't have worried. She weaves the pertinent information seamlessly into the story. I fell in love with the characters as they lived and loved through the challenges of the Revolution. It was not an easy time, there were hard things that reached out and touched many families at this time, but the story was gripping. How could two people from opposite sides - royalist and revolutionary - find common ground, keep their loved ones safe, and maybe, after all of that, find love?
Beyond the Lavender Fields is a well told tale that sweeps you off your feet and through the streets of France.

A beautifully written story by one of my favorite authors!! I love the twists and turns this book takes, in espionage and in the relationship between Gilles and Caroline. Well done!

This is a very well written book set during the French Revolution. The characters are engaging and feel like real people. I love that the author provides views from both sides of the issues. I found that I could agree and disagree with different characters and their actions throughout the book. The book starts a little slowly but it kept my attention and then it really picked up and I could hardly put it down. The end is especially exciting.

After reading the description I was really looking forward to getting this book. I have to admit to being a little disappointed with it. Well at least the first half. The second is much better and if the whole book was as well written I would have given 4 stars.
What I did enjoy about the book was the amount of historical detail used. The author obviously put a lot of time into her research and uses it well throughout.
I have two main issues with the first half. First is the pacing, it just drags along and the storyline focuses too much on Gilles and Caroline denying their attraction to each other, too many inner dialogues on his part and denial letters on her part. It did Become a little too cheesy after awhile. It interfered with my enjoyment of the budding romance and connecting with the characters. I would have preferred more focus on the Jacobins and the beginnings of. The reign of terror. This brings us to my second issue. In Caroline’s letters to her cousin and Gilles’ inner dialogues we hear about what is happening but not until the second half do we actually experience anything directly. More showing not telling would have Helped the beginning of this book immensely.
This all is not to say I didn’t enjoy the book at all because I did. Once the pace picked up with Caroline and Gilles in the action I found the book became a page turner. My recommendation would be to get the book. As you are reading the first half and feel it’s too slow hang in there. You will enjoy the second half immensely. 3 stars.

I received an ARC of this book from the publisher Shadow Mountain and net galley. This fact in no way influenced my review.

This book takes place around the time of the Reign of Terror/French Revolution (aka the be-headings with the guillotine), but in the South of France in Marseille and not in Paris. It also deals with the history of the French National Anthem, the Marseillaise, as it was used by the revolutionary French people as a motivating song, something I didn't know. The love story is between a revolutionnaire, Gilles Etienne, and his boss's daughter, Marie-Caroline, who is a royaliste, a supporter of the French monarchy. I found the historical aspects of this story very intriguing, including the history of the perfume and soap manufacturers. There is a bit of a feel of <i>The Scarlet Pimpernel</i> in this story but no strong similarities, just an overlap of the time periods and dealing with the Reign of Terror, although this book approaches that time period from a different perspective than the Orczy book(s). I really enjoyed the development of the romance between Gilles and Marie-Caroline, as well as their families and friends, along with the hint of piracy, another perspective on the French Revolution, and the setting in Southern France. There is a brief French/English translation of words used in the book at the back, along with pronunciation for the terms and also all the characters' and places names, which is helpful for those unfamiliar with the language. I would've liked to see a little more of a summary/background about the book included in the end material for those unfamiliar with the Marseillaise and the time period. Overall, though, Hawks displays a strong attention to detail, character development, and research in her writing. This is the first book I have read by Hawks, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I look forward to reading more of her works.

This story was well written and perfectly paced. I haven’t read a book about the French Revolution before, so I was glad to learn more about it. The banter between Marie-Caroline and Gilles was fun and witty. I am not one that visualizes books as movies, but I did this one. I could very well see this book working for the big screen. I also appreciated the French pronunciations in the back of the book! I would definitely recommend this novel to anyone who enjoys historical fiction.

Thank you to Net Galley and Shadow Mountain Publishing for this digital arc in exchange for my honest review.
#NetGalley #BeyondtheLavenderFields

Thank you to NetGalley, Arlem Hawks, and Shadow Mountain Publishing for this ARC of Beyond the Lavender Fields. My view is my own and I am not being compensated for my review.

I requested the ARC because I adore Hawks’ Georgana’s Secret. Beyond the Lavender Fields is sort of a sequel to Georgana’s Secret as it begins in 1792 Revolutionary France with Gilles Êtienne and his lady love, Marie-Caroline Daubin. If you have read Georgana’s Secret, you have already met Gilles Êtienne as he is the HMS Deborah’s curly-haired surgeon. Gilles and Caroline’s story takes place in 1792 Revolutionary France. So, if you want to read chronologically and see what made Êtienne, Êtienne, wait until Beyond the Lavender Fields comes out. I will also say, I’ve gotten an ARC of BtLF and while I do love it, I love Georgana’s Secret more - so if you want to save what I think is the best for last, again, wait until Beyond the Lavender Fields is released.

I loved Gilles Êtienne in Georgana’s Secret, so I was thrilled that Hawks decided to write this prequel. Now, as I read through it, I did fall in love with Gilles even more. However, as I read through Beyond the Lavender Fields, I felt as though Hawks was doing a little bit of lecturing to us readers. Maybe it’s just because of the current political climate and that was not Hawks’ intention because Revolutionary France and current America are in scarily similar positions but I have a feeling that people from either side of the political spectrum may read this and feel as though they are being lectured at.

Let me get into it a little more: Gilles is a Jacobin révolutionnaire and fights for the elimination of the monarchy and a free France. Marie-Caroline, more commonly known as Caroline, is a royaliste who is a traditionalist. Their meeting and eventual friendship is a tenuous one at best in the beginning. Gilles can’t understand Caroline clinging to the antiquated and oppressive royaliste ideologies and Caroline cannot understand Gilles’ promotion of what she sees as barbarism and anarchy. But, as the story goes on, Caroline’s remarks begin to spring into Gilles’ mind as he faces his révolutionnaire brothers and their appointed tasks. Gilles begins to question whether the révolutionnaire tactics are too much, too barbaric, as Caroline has voiced. He seems to question his ideologies of revolution and progress and Hawks does not have this reciprocated in Caroline. Rather, Caroline keeps this high ground, that her ideologies, the ideologies of tradition, of what she sees as stability, are better for France, and Gilles begins to move further away from his révolutionnaire beliefs. And Gilles’ and Caroline’s relationship continues to blossom even though they have such differences and beliefs and moralities.

And here is where I felt as though Hawks was lecturing the reader - sending the message that people should still get along even if they have different ideologies, that our bonds as humans can overcome these differences, and love can blossom. And that révolutionnaire ideologies and tactics are dangerous, something that should be questioned, as Gilles did and moved away from. It feels as though Hawks is pointing to the progressives in the American government - ones, like myself, who want to tear down institutions because the institutions were built on inequitable and unjust principles and these institutions cannot simply be fixed through change but can only be fixed by dismantling them altogether. Literally, in the blurb, it says: “With their lives and their nation in turmoil, both Gilles and Marie-Caroline wonder if a révolutionnaire and a royaliste can really be together or if they must live in a world that forces people to choose sides.”

So, did Hawks purposefully write Beyond the Lavender Fields with an agenda in mind to lecture the readers that today, we should not allow our political and ideological differences to come between our fellow man? Or did Hawks, who writes historical romance, just want to write a novel based during the French Revolution and because of the uncanny similarities between 1790s France and 2010s/2020s America, it just happens to come across as lecturing to the reader? I’m not sure where I sit. At some points, I sit further on the “Hawks had an agenda side” and others, I sit more on the “eh, it happens to be about the French Revolution, conditions were similar to what we’re experiencing now so there’s bound to be lots of similarities.” And I think other readers will likely have to grapple with this or some may just make up their mind either way and possibly allow that to hinder their enjoyment of the story.

Now, with that out of the way: Hawks builds a masterful story. The characters, the setting, the plot, the detail, everything is so detailed that I felt as though I was walking the streets of Marseille beside Gilles and Caroline in the 1790s. Since I love Georgana’s Secret, like it is one of my favorite books I’ve ever read, I had really high expectations of Beyond the Lavender Fields. I went in knowing I was going to be demanding the same attention to detail, the ability to craft complex and nuanced characters and plot while weaving in accurate and meticulous historical detail that is present in Georgana’s Secret. And Hawks did not disappoint at all on this end.

As someone who never really delved deep into French Revolutionary history, I felt as though I was able to swim through what Hawks presented. I learned and I enjoyed learning the history. It didn’t drown me or even bog me down, rather, it enhanced the characters and overall story. However, one other potential problem, while Hawks is incredibly detailed, she does use quite a lot of French. Now, why is this a problem in a historical romance that takes place during the French Revolution? Well, I am guessing that most readers who pick this up are not going to have a background in the French language. As someone who is semi-fluent, I would say that the amount of French sometimes hindered my reading flow as I had to take a few seconds to figure out what was being said. Now, Hawks does usually provide translations somehow, there wasn’t always or immediately so that my reading flow didn’t hiccup. And, I was also reading on a Kindle, meaning I had easy access to a translator and dictionary. If someone reads this in print, I think it will disrupt their reading flow even more and that’s coming from someone who can read, albeit slowly, French (I am no longer fluent).

For me, Beyond the Lavender Fields is a four-and-a-half-star read but rounded down to a four-star read for the purposes of this review. I truly enjoyed it, I really, really liked it, loved it even, but I did not love it as much as Georgana’s Secret mainly because I felt I was being lectured to a bit. And because Georgana’s Secret was really superb (it is my favorite trope of a heroine disguised as a boy AND on the high seas so it would be nearly impossible to beat that as Georgana’s Secret is in my top 10 reads of the year and I’ve currently read over 300 books). I will undoubtedly sing the praises of Beyond the Lavender Fields far and wide because it is a five-star book in comparison to other historical romances but just not to Hawks’ own previous work, in my humble opinion.

Overall, did I love Gilles and Caroline? Absolutely! I am so thrilled Hawks wrote Gilles’ story as I adored him in Georgana’s Secret. Did I love the detail of everything? Oh, most definitely! It really is a must-read for any historical romance reader, that’s for sure!

Beyond the Lavender Fields is a historical fiction set in the time of the French revolution and it's aftermath. This book was amazing, one of my favorites this year. My thanks to NetGalley for this ARC.

This book was pretty dense and slow at the start, but the overall writing and storytelling were wonderful. I really enjoyed reading this once we got past the setup of the book.

Beyond the Lavender Fields is a historical fiction set in the time of the French revolution and it's aftermath.

It centers on Marie-Caroline Daubin, the daughter of a bourgeois French soap-maker, and Gilles Etienne, a young man who is the son of a pirate/privateer preparing to study as a doctor.

This wasn't a bad book, but the thing I found it hard to get past was that IMO the entire arc and plotline of the book are given away in the first chapter.
Sure there are twists along the way that are meant to make you doubt your first impression, but it all works out the way you think it will in the end.

I also thought the author needed to explain some details as characters were added but in all fairness maybe she did and I missed it. There was a LOT of googling for me as I read this book.
For example, a nonjuring priest was one who refused to take an oath to the new government, (I think), I have never heard that term before and I consider myself very well-read.
Also apparently some people call hydrangea flowers hortensia...

This did give an interesting perspective on the revolution and aftermath,
and how threatening life could be for those who were not rabid supporters.
I don't know if the same dynamic existed in America after our revolution or not-
Maybe there were fewer very wealthy people, so maybe not as much.

I chose this book because I like historical fiction, but was getting a bit tired of everything set in/around WWII.

It was an OK book overall, but I prefer stories where the ending is not so overly obvious in the first chapter.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

Beyond the Lavender Fields; Another home run for Arlem Hawks. The stunning historical research alone is 5 star worthy. Very well put together. This one has is all; history, romance, suspense, intrigue, and it does not disappoint The sub characters are well drawn and add to the fullness and quirks of the two main characters. Gilles and Marie-Caroline: so complex! Both had wonderful qualities that let each one shine in their own right. The drastic contrast in life stations and circumstances for Gilles and Marie could not have been more extreme, yet both yearned for the same things: love, stability, safety, family, faith, and a purpose. Both certain that they had the “right” path. One for the downfall of the monarchy, the other for a different path for change. I loved that the characters grew, progressed, and changed.
Pick this one up. It does not disappoint. .

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