Another great read

This is my second book by Fiona Valpy and it certainly will NOT be my last. After finishing it this afternoon, I bought 2 more books by her for my Kindle; unfortunately, my libraries don't have her books. But, that should not be a reason for you to miss out on these enjoyable light romances! I love books about moving to France and this one is even better than the first one I read (the reissued Light Through the Vines). This is a perfect book for the beach, for lazy Sunday afternoons, or reading beside the fire. Our heroine has cashed in all her savings, sold her apartment, and moved to a Chateau in France to restore it and start a wedding venue. Her boyfriend/fiance is much less motivated to work, but very motivated to boink the guests. So how does our heroine keep her dream, even with her exboyriend's 60% stake? Read the book!!!

Thank you to the publisher who lent me a time-limited e-arc via netgalley with no obligation. This review is optional and my own opinion.

I enjoyed the story. This is definitely one for the beach and something I'd consider a light read. The author has a way of placing you in the setting and making you feel as if you are there. Would I recommend it? Yes.

This is the first book I’ve read by this author and I’m glad I got the chance. This story is centered around Sara. She comes to France with her fiancé and they start their own business. After he betrays her, she’s left wondering what she’s going to do now. I won’t leave any spoilers, but I will say I loved how Sara finally got a backbone and stood up for what she wanted. I also loved her new love interest. Grab your copy and see what happens. This has many amazing characters that I enjoyed getting to know.

I received an advance reader copy of this book from NetGalley and this is my voluntary and honest review.

This is a good book. The two main characters are Sara and Thomas. Sara owns a wedding destination and Thomas.’ Family owns a winery next door. There is an instant attraction. Sara hires Thomas to be the DJ at the rest of the weddings for that year. They each have some problems but together they work them out and fall in love.

This was an easy, fast-paced, and enjoyable read. I'm new to Fiona Valpy, but I'm looking forward to reading more of her stories.

Fiona Valpy's republished book "The Season of Dreams" is a light, fun read filled with the romance of a weddings in a French chateau.

The book opens with the chateau co-owner Sara catching her fiance and co-owner Gavin cheating on her with a bridesmaid. Gavin takes off, leaving Sara (who has sunk her entire life savings into the venue) to finish out the season hosting five booked fairy-tale weddings. As she tries to pick up the pieces, Sara learns more and more about the chateau's history. Each wedding hosted has its own short story with vivid characters, interwoven with a budding romance between Sara and the wine salesman-turned-DJ she hires to take on Gavin duties.

There are a couple of rough edges that dimmed my enjoyment: First, "overcautious" Sara berides herself for her failed relationship with Gavin going too quick, then jumps into a new relationship within 2 months. Second, in the final wedding of the season, the author draws parallels of the British fighting the war in Afganistan with the French resistance fighting in WWII. The comparison is jarring and doesn't add to the story.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance reader copy. I enjoyed reading Season of Dreams (and was surprised to find out this is the middle book in a series). Three and a half stars.

Fiona Valpy never disappoints.
Whether she is writing historical works of romantic fiction, thoroughly researched and accurately re-told or a modern tale of heartbreak and finding love once more, her characters are skilfully brought to life and it is difficult to put any of her books down.

The third in a trilogy of Valpy's novelettes/novellas. I really enjoyed Sara's story. I think it was my favourite of the three. Loved the castle as a backdrop. The romance was well-written, though I can't help thinking the timeline was a tad unrealistic. I enjoyed the individual weddings too, and like how this story links to some of Valpy's previous books (other than this trilogy I mean). With thanks to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A light and easy read.
Sara and Gavin move to a château in France and create an exclusive wedding venue employing local staff.
Unknown to Sara, Gavin has been unfaithful and after being caught he leaves.
Sara seeks help from her neighbour Thomas, who becomes her Knight in shining amour.
Sara soon finds hidden treasures in the château and wants to find out more about its past.
Can Sara survive on her own?

Unfortunately, I didn't enjoy this one at all. It felt very rushed, there was no time to connect with Sara and care about her relationship before it fell apart and she fell for someone new in a minute. Very low stakes and the writing leaves a lot to be desired.

First of all, if you’ve read The Beekeeper’s Promise you’ll remember Sara, the owner of the castle. She’s the protagonist in this story. If you’ve read The Dressmaker’s Gift, you’ll remember Mireille and Eliane. They also appear in this book. If you’ve read The French For Love/Light Through The Vines, you’ll meet Gina and Cedric again! I love it when characters pop up in a book when you aren’t expecting them - it’s like meeting an old friend!

Secondly, if you’ve already read The French for Always, then you’ve already read this book!

Can you imagine moving to another country with your fiancé, starting a wedding venue business, and then catching him in flagrante with one of the client’s bridesmaids? What a let down! For someone in the business of creating fairy-tale endings and happy-ever-afters, this was gut-wrenching. Sara has to pick up her life and carry on without Gavin because she’s got five weddings booked and she can’t let the brides down on their important day. When a cute wine salesman crosses her path, Sara begins to imagine other options to just selling and returning to London.

What a dreamy setting for a wedding - an ancient chateau in Bordeaux! I loved reading about Chateau Bellevue de Coulliac, the mystery it holds and how it connects to a book I’ve previously read. Valpy writes such descriptive settings that it’s easy for readers to place themselves in the story. The added historical fiction flavour increased my enjoyment of this book. I also enjoyed learning about les larmes de Saint Laurent, the bluet (cornflower), the sage-femme, and Code Napoleon inheritance laws. Valpy has a lovely mix of genres in this book.

Equally exciting are her characters. Although I couldn’t connect to them as well as those in book 1, I did love how the chapters were copies of the wedding invitations and featured the couple to be married. What a lovely idea. The design of the invitation was a perfect way to introduce them as it gave readers an inkling of what the characters were like. I loved The Hels Belles and the Irish family! The title was a perfect choice for the wedding season and brides (and Sara’s) dreams for the future.

I already feel like I know this little community and I can’t wait to see what Valpy has instore for them in book 3.

I was gifted this advance copy by Amazon Publishing UK, Lake Union Publishing and NetGalley and was under no obligation to provide a review.

I've become a fan of books by Fiona Valpy because they are family oriented in their content and characters -- a mix of older generation with younger generation and neighbors with families who intermingle. I did read this particular series of books out of order, and it doesn't really matter except that I want to get the family members organized in my mind better (so I'm buying the books...lol). I really do like the characters, and I like the insight into the background stories of each set of characters. I'm falling in love with the scenes from France.

A couple of reviewers raised valid points about the inclusion of the war in Afghanistan in The Season of Dreams book (not necessarily about the story of the bride and groom...although Valpy could have had the groom get his injuries in some other way). I don't know that there is time to revise that before the Sept. 1 publication date, but it is worth a try.

Another reviewer raised an eyebrow about Sara's propensity for jumping into relationships. It's a good point...but one that didn't strike me while reading the book. I was happy to be reading a book that could be read by a high schooler or a great-grandma -- if both read books with current day life in them (i.e. unmarried couples, but no sexually graphic scenes).

I got teary-eyed in a particular moment of the book (always a sign of a good book for me). It's definitely a "feel good" book which can be read quickly, and when I am reading many heavy books, I need a book like Valpy writes.
Thank you to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing (and Amazon UK) for this ARC.

This is another lovely book by Fiona Valpy. It is set in France and has a beautiful background. Sara has a lot to deal with and the summer to find herself as she helps her scheduled weddings find their happily ever after.

Thanks NetGalley for this ARC!

This was a slower burn for me than the first one in the French series I read, “The Recipe For Hope”, but I think that’s because this is set in the summer - I intensely dislike the summer - whilst the other was set at Christmas time - and I intensely love the winter.

I felt it with the first one, but even more with this one, the feeling that these characters have become your friends and you want to stay with them on their journey, you want to know what happens to them and if they all live happily ever after.

I haven’t been to France for a good few years now, but Fiona Valpy’s writing is reminding me how much I love it. Okay, so I haven’t stayed in an isolated village or in a grand chateau in the countryside, but considering I am not a city girl, and yet I like Paris, I think goes to show that I’d love the French countryside.

There were a few standout characters for me: our main protagonist Sara is a lovely woman, working through some difficult times but full of love; Thomas, our French wine merchant who sounds so dashing and loving; as well as all of Sara’s chateau staff - I won’t name them all, otherwise this review will becoming like a school register - but they’re all fabulous in their own way. Even Gavin, the two-timing arse of a man makes an impact (not a very nice one, mind); and all of these manage to push Sara’s story to the right place.

Who wouldn’t want to live in a gorgeous chateau in the French countryside, with gorgeous views, hosting fabulous weddings? It sounds perfect to me. Each wedding is perfectly described an you feel like you’re there, surrounding by all the celebrating.

You’ll find yourself wiping away tears of sadness, tears of anger, tears of joy, and mostly tears of happiness.

It’s a quick read, but just like the other one, I actually wish it had gone on longer. I could live in this French romance for ever. But it does mean you can curl up in the corner with it and get completely lost in it, without worrying it’ll take too long to finish.

The Season of Dreams tells the story of Sara, a Brit, who with her then-fiance Gavin, purchases an old chateau, the Chateau Bellevue de Coulliac, in France and transforms it into a beautiful wedding venue. I felt like the characters really came alive and I enjoyed how Sara became completely invested in the chateau, setting down roots in the small French town with a cast of interesting characters. Sara grows throughout the novel, learning more about the background of the chateau from Mireille, a character I had previously met in The Dressmaker's Gift. Fiona Valpy has a writing style that I enjoyed and I was pleased that by the end of the novel, Sara gets her happy ending.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Such a romantic story….Sara has one summer to make wedding wishes come true. But can she save her own happy-ever-after?
My cheeks hurt from smiling through this delightful book. This one kept me hooked and entertained until the last page… The characters each have these little pieces that make them such believable characters!

I didn't realize until I started reading this that I had previously read this in 2020 under the title The French for Always. While somewhat predictable, The Season of Dreams is a pleasant tale of love and second chances. I enjoyed reading the stories behind each of the five different weddings described in the book, especially the last one, and how each of these love stories affects Sara and her business at the Château Bellevue. A fast read. Fiona Valpy's novels are always enjoyable.

My rating:

Plot: 4 out of 5 stars
Writing: 4 out of 5 stars
Character development: 4 out of 5 stars
Overall: 4 out of 5 stars

Recommended for readers of:

Women’s Fiction
General Fiction

Review:

Overall:

A great summer read that’s uplifting and full of positivity. Set in a beautiful chateau in the Bordeaux region of France. The book is well written and flows well. The surroundings are very vividly depicted and the characters are interesting, their actions were explained in detail, this made them realistic, an enjoyable book to escape with for a couple of hours

Review copy provided by NetGalley at no cost to me.

Thanks Netgalley and the Publisher. I enjoyed this book, liked the storyline and the characters. Would recommend.

This was a nice read. However I think that the team and author might need to brush up a little bit on some of the war history. As some of the ties that it tries to compare the Afghanistan war with the world war is a little bit worrying and a little bit misplaced in my mind. It's always hard to try and compare wars and I thinks it's something that shouldnt really be done. As they are all such horrific events. Other than that it's a good read.