A lovely listen from a first-time author to me with Karen Clarke’s Summer at the Little French Cafe. Elle Matheson is off to France to try to find her birth mother, but she doesn’t have a lot to go on. The book was full of humour, great characters, and intrigue! Elle immediately fit in with everyone and they all warm to her. Maybe this is the place she is destined to be!

If you are a fan of a small-town romance with memorable characters, a cute cafe and some goats, then give this book a listen or a read. I didn’t realise until afterwards that this is part of a series, however; you don’t need to have read a previous book to enjoy this one. I will be going back and trying some more of Karen’s books.

Thank you to NetGalley and Saga Egmont Audio for the opportunity to listen to and review Summer at the Little French Cafe by Karen Clarke.

hallmark movie in a book. like a cozy cup of hot chocolate on a snow day but make it summer lol. this was super cute and I loved the scenic details. I highly recommend.

This was a lovely story of Elle who is looking for her birth mother in a small French town. There are many locals that she befriends and I wanted to be in the little town with her. Karen Clarke did good job creating warm and realistic atmosphere. I would have liked more romance.

SUMMER AT THE LITTLE FRENCH CAFE
BY
KAREN CLARKE.

This is book 2 in the Little French Cafe series. It’s always best to read a series in order, but this can be read as a stand alone story should you choose to fo so.

Following the death of her father, Elle sets off to France on a mission to track down her birth mother.
What she does find is an amazing community of people who all want to help her. Just maybe she will find a little more than she expected too.

Another lovely, cosy read from Karen Clarke.
This book has humour, drama and just maybe a little romance.
A wonderfully sunny summer read.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Out now on all formats.

Fabulous narration by Lucy Bromilow.

With thanks to Netgalley and Saga Egmont Audio for an audio arc of this title.

Thank you to Netgalley!

This book is the second installment to this series. I didn’t know, but it was easy to read it as a standalone book.

Elle is on the way to find her birth mother. And the only hint is a postcard, that was written by her. So she finds herself on the way to a little french village to look for her. On her way she meets so many interesting and helpful people who are all trying to put Elle’s puzzle together.

Elle is a photographer, but she isn’t really happy in her job anymore. I thought this information would be much more important because it is mentioned a couple times. But actually, not really, it felt more like a simple outcome.
The romance in this book was standing more in the second row. If you are looking for a romantic story, this might not be the book to read. And I never really cared, who she was dating. I was more focused on the search for her mother.
Elle’s character was very nice. I liked her from the beginning, and I hoped for an adventurous trip to find her birth mother. While she is in the French village, she meets a lot people who’s names are starting with an “M”. Even though that was a nice distracting story, at one moment there where too many and I couldn’t follow. I would wish that it wouldn’t have been so confusing.
Well, it was more a riddle to ask the right people with a very fast ending. It could not get me to the point that I never wanted to stop listening to the audiobook. The story just didn’t catch me. I missed the feeling that I would walk through this village, smell the ocean, or hear the waves. For me the location could have been everywhere.

All in all: It is a nice story to listen to, but too man names that you might lose track and not enough romance.

Another book I didn’t realize had a book one. Not totally needed but still felt like I was missing something. Overall a cute read and great on audio to keep me engaged

I absolutely loved this book, which is set in France, with Elle going there after her father's death, so that she can find out who her birth mother is. As Elle goes on her adventurous search, she meets many people, most of who are adorable. She has a lovely time with them all. But will she find out who her mother is? I loved all of the characters of this story, especially Elle, Charlie and his Mum, Henry and Marie.

This was a really fun book, which I found easy to read, heartwarming and uplifting. The audiobook narrator was amazing, and she had a lovely voice.

If you are looking for a book in which you can escape from your real life for a while, then this is the book for you! Highly recommended!

Many thanks to the author/narrator, publisher and NetGalley for a copy of this book.

i was really excited for “summer at the little french café” because it reminded me of “love and gelato” by jenna evans welch. i love the idea of traveling to an unknown place with the hopes of uncovering a bit of yourself through the past. this was such a quick, fun summer read and i loved exploring chamillion with elle. i listened to the audiobook version of this novel and i thought the narrator did an excellent job with all the character’s accents! it definitely made this book easy to listen to. elle is such a curious, bubbly gal but often rambles on about herself, revealing too many things after one meeting. i thought this made her more relatable as a character but after the second or third time, it seemed a bit repetitive.

i had a hard time connecting with elle and the plot of this storyline as it seemed improbable that she would find her birth mother with the limited information she has. it’s given that her mother’s name started with the letter “m” and to complicate things for elle, many townspeople’s name starts with “m.” because of this, i also found it difficult remembering who was who. i wished the plot focused more on elle’s self-discovery and family’s past in the french village but she’s also navigating not just one… but two love interests. this further complicated the plot and i didn’t feel the chemistry between either men

It was ok but the pacing was a bit slow & it was hard to get into the story. I will say I did love the setting & how it transported you. For me there just wasn’t anything spectacular but that’s not to say it wasn’t a good book it was and it be a great choice for lots of readers especially the YA crowd.

This clever, witty rom com draws you in immediately and is the perfect escape to coastal France, with a fun dash of mystery. A good balance between the romance and the search for Elle’s birth mother. The cover is gorgeous and inviting. And now I want to go to France.

2.5 ⭐

Themes and vibes:
• Summer at a charming coastal French village
• Looking for birth mother
• Lighthearted vibes
• Lil’ bit of romance

So, this book follows a girl who travels to France in an attempt to find her birth mother. And though I can't say the story was bad, it had a lot of space for improvement.

I couldn't connect with Elle at all. She had such odd thought and reactions, it made the writing feel forced an unconvincing.

We also got two "love interests". The fact I had to put quotation marks should tell you enough about how I felt about them.

And lastly, my imagination created a beautiful setting of an idyllic French village and the most charming little café. However, we actually got very few descriptions of the setting. It felt a bit like something was missing, considering the destination.

Again, this is not necessarily a bad book, and I can see many people enjoying it. But it wasn't for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an audio ARC of Summer at the Little French Café by Karen Clarke in exchange for an honest review.

🇫🇷 Book Review 🇫🇷

Summer at the Little French Cafe
Author: Karen Clarke
⭐️⭐️⭐️

Read if you love:
🥐 France
🥐 Second Chances
🥐 Light and Quick Reads

Summer at the Little French Cafe was a light and cozy book to read (though, I listened to it as an audiobook). I finished the book very quickly while completing household chores and it made time for by fast, so I definitely recommend the audiobook if you want to be entertained while being productive.

What I enjoyed the most about the book was imagining the little French town and thinking about what I would be doing if I was on vacation there. The characters were also interesting and made me wish for neighbors that friendly and kind. You won’t regret picking up this lighthearted book!

Thank you, @sagaegmont for the audiobook ARC I received via @netgalley in exchange for an honest review. If you’re interested in this book, it is available now.

This was such a heartwarming summer read. It was just what I needed !
I loved the hint of mystery mixed with the romance. Even though this is more women fiction, it had the right amount of romance. Its the perfect read for summer and I definitely recommend !

👍🏼 a cute summer listen/read
(I love a good British narrator for my audiobooks)

I don’t know about you, but I love to multi-task. I love having an audiobook going while I am doing menial tasks at work, chores around the house, or driving and this one really hit the spot. Also did I mention my love for British narration?

This was a cute summer story that was mostly character growth with a twist of romance. The romance builds through out, but I was honestly more invested in the character growth and mystery arcs of the story. This may have been different if I was reading a physical copy, but the love interest doesn’t show up as much in the first half of the book so I wasn’t really focused on him.

The mystery that the whole book is centered on was really intriguing though. Elle has traveled to the French seaside to track down her birth mother after finding a vague post card in her deceased father’s belongings. Elle has always know that she had a different birth mother than her younger sister, Jess, but felt fulfilled with her family. Only knowing that her mother and father had met briefly at a bar and then she returned a week after Elle’s birth insisting her father could give her a better life. The only clues in the only postcard are that her mother was born in the small town, Chamillion, and her name begins with the letter M.

Elle gets swept up into helping Dolly run the little French cafe by the water in exchange for her search for her birth mother. Throughout the week Elle goes on adventures, and of course eventually finds her birth mother, but I will leave you to read who that is.

I downloaded this book to listen to whilst holidaying in France so I was in the right place! I did find the story rather slow and lacked a little overall by not developing much. I'm afraid I didn't really take to the narrator's voice either which just seemed to underline the slowness in the pace. The plot was certainly interesting and was certainly light and, at times, fun. I have read books by this author before and enjoyed them for a light holiday read but this audio version didn't really work for me.

Oh boy. I was really looking forward to this book as soon as I read the desciption a few months back. I LOVED THIS BOOK. I can't wait to read more books by this author soon,

4⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
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Thankyou #netgalley #karenclarke #sagaegmontaudio for the arc copy of this book for a honest review 👍
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- so heartwarming story especially when you are on light, airy romance. Fun too!
- quite unusual place, normally it will be in Paris scenery but this one is place called Chammilon . Interesting and new to read.
Slow paced without the drama and alot of giggles on the story .
Just the small hiccups on some of the familiarity of the story with other books. But not a major disappointment. It was amazing story line and lovely ending❤️




❤️Shaye.reads

If you are looking for a summery chick flick to read on the beach (or wherever you're vacationing) then look no further!

This was a cute book. It was fun and lighthearted, and I loved reading about Elle and her trip to France. Overall, she was a very relatable character, especially since she is a professional photographer like myself. The cafe was darling, as were all of the characters that ate there (especially Charlie), and it was just a sweet story overall.

My only big complaint is that the plot felt very slow. Not much really happened, and considering how gripping other stories featuring girls looking for a lost parent are, it was a little disappointing.

Overall, it was a fun read despite the pacing.

4.5 stars
This book was so cute!
As I've said a million times, I'm a sucker for a book that takes place in France. Usually it's Paris, but this one takes place in Chamillon. I could so easily picture the town in my head. It was so easy to be transported right to the French countryside.
This book is about Elle who has discovered after her father's death that her mother was born and raised in Chamillon. So she decides to travel there from England to find her birth mother. She meets the most fun cast of characters, adorable Charlie and his mom who own the café on the postcard her mother left for her, handsome brooding Henry, Marie who is watching over the house Elle is staying in while the owners are away. She also meets several café regulars as she promises to help out at the café in exchange for help finding her birth mother. There were so many characters, but it was so easy to distinguish between them and never forget who is who.
The story is never boring, and there is a good balance between Elle trying to find her mother and being in France and doing things with some of the other characters. It was so easy to just listen to this story unfold even though the narrator was British and sometimes listening to a narrator with an accent is a little tough. She did a great job.
What Elle ended up finding was just so heartwarming. I can't wait to read more books in this series!

Rating: 4
Author: Karen Clarke

This book was really cute and is perfect for a quick, easy summer read. I listened to the audiobook and the narrator did a really good job. I thought this one was going to be extremely emotional but it actually wasn’t. I feel like the author did a great job of balancing the story so the reader got a little bit of everything. While I don’t think romance was needed I do love how the author made the same comment but then added it. So that made me accept it and luckily it didn’t take away from the overall point of the story. The romance part ended up being cute and luckily it never felt forced.

I would definitely recommend this one but be warned it was a little slow and plain at points. However, it is so light hearted and the little bit of mystery will keep you reading until the end. So you might not even notice the slower pacing especially if you just skim or increase the speed. It’s the perfect book to listen to while driving or stuck at work because it will have you daydreaming of working/visiting a French cafe.

Thank you so much @sagaegmont for the gifted copy on #netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.