I love France and I love the "romance plus something else" genre, so I went into this with high expectations. I appreciated the strong sense of place in this book; I've spent a lot of time in the Loire and it felt very familiar to the Loire that I know. I had a hard time, though, with the effort it took to set that up. The writing was overly descriptive in the first half. I felt like I couldn't paint a mental picture quickly enough because there was too much detail, and this prevented me from sinking into the story immediately. There were also small comments about Lea/from Lea that made it hard for me to connect with her (for example, her flawless, unaccented French or her refusal to eat carbs in the morning). Overall, this was readable and was a fun vacation-in-a-story while I sat at home on my couch, but the writing style and the main character made it hard for me to find a deeper connection.

3.5 rounded up

A Perfect Vintage is a good mystery read. I love a book that goes beyond the expected. You’ll transported to a beautiful French city for the summer of wine tasting and lot of sun.

Thank you Netgalley and Orsey Press for sending me the E-Arc in exchange of an honest review!

I was really excited to read this but somewhere along the way i was reached with much disappointment when the storyline felt so crammed with so many themes , ZERO character development and what happened to maya halfway through the book its like she completely disappeared in most parts of the story despite being one of the main characters helping with the storyline.
Overall view when it came to French culture and the remodel of the chateau , Fagan really did her research well when it came to describing the luxe design process , fancy foods and indoors/outdoor areas of the chateau beautifully But again this is supposed to be romance novel and i think she spent most of the novel on explaining each and every detail of the remodel like its an article for Architectural Digest.
The cover is absolutely gorgeous and someone who likes to collect books with pretty covers , this one will definitely be on display but not re-read again. I give this book 3.5 Stars (bumped up to 3.5 from 3 because i truly did enjoy her writing when it came to about the research well done about the french culture and chateau)

This is the book of the summer!! Beautiful writing and setting in the Loire Valley, France. I love the chaotic energy and age gap romance. This book has it all - romance, rich people, emotional stories, and bougieness.

I couldn't put this one down! Lea, a 36-year-old designer, runs a business helping launch boutique hotels. Her latest project is a 10-week project in Loire Valley, France helping Alain and his sons launch their new hotel. Her cousin and niece decide to join her for the summer, and a few different love interest plot lines develop, including one between Lea and Alain's youngest son, 24-year-old Theo.

I loved the setting of this one. Being dropped into the French countryside at a chateau for the summer was perfect. There are lush descriptions of the property, food, and chateau. I enjoyed the characters and loved how Fagan wrote the romance plots. They didn't feel cliche or trope ridden. Just intriguing.

It reminded me of <i>The Idea of You</i> meets <i>Call Me By Your Name</i>. A must-read for summer!

Lea Mortimer seems to have it all. She has a job as a consultant that specialises in transforming dilapidated French country estates into boutique hotels. Yet when Lea agrees to have her closest friend and cousin Stephanie Bryce and her daughter accompany her to the Loire Valley where she is working, her life changes. To complicate matters, Lea falls in love with the younger son of her boss and their age difference finds her questioning her life. Soon she is unsure of what she wants to risk and if her carefully planned life will survive the fall-out.
It was fascinating to see how Lea’s life is turned around by the events over one summer. She is a determined woman who feels that she has it all but as her romance heats up, the cracks appear in her carefully constructed world. The family dramas plus the romance, made this a fascinating book to read.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

“A Perfect Vintage” was probably the first romance book focused on very wealthy people that I’ve read. I’m not fully certain if that’s a type of plot I enjoy most but I did like this book!

There’s a lot of family drama (affairs, divorce, young lovers, crushes, you name it), a lot of business dynamics and a lot of France, understandably.

I really loved the setting of this novel as well as the descriptions of renovations being done and interior design elements. I felt included in the process of chateau’s transformation. However, since I get included in the choices being made, I’m still not sure about the zebra pattern…

The writing was really enjoyable. At times the book felt more like a women’s fiction than a romance but I was absolutely fine with it. I felt like some characters (in particular Chloë, Stephanie and Maya) were lacking depth, but on the other hand I enjoyed reading about Théo and Gabriel’s back stories.

Overall, it was a very pleasant read!

Many thanks to the publisher, author and NetGalley for providing me with this digital ARC. All opinions are my own.

A Perfect Vintage is a really great summer read! It will transport you straightaway to an old chateau in France. However, sometimes the characters were a little frustrating! I just wanted them to get it together. I also feel like Stephanie and Maya were a little left out of the story at the end, especially after focusing so much time with them at the beginning of the book. I still really enjoyed reading this book and look forward to reading more from this author!

I wanted to like this book, I really did, but I just couldn’t get into it. As a mid-thirties career woman not wanting kids and trying to date myself I thought Lea would be a great character for me to identify with, but I find myself just irritated. All of her problems could have been nonexistent with just the slightest bit of conversation, and I don’t feel like her character was developed enough for me to believe and understand truly why she didn’t have those conversations. Theo is flat and a caricature. And I’m so tired of two god-like beautiful people with zero physical flaws being the focal point. Don’t spend so much time talking about how a character is concerned about her age, but she’s also apparently in perfect physical condition and peak sexiness? So this seems to be an unpopular opinion but I had a tough time with this book.

The setting! I felt transported away to the French countryside. This book has well developed characters, drama galore, and family tension. This it prime summer reading!

"The French are all about mixing business and pleasure... you'll see."

Lea - a successful, single, child-free consultant - takes to the French country side for her summer assignment of transforming a beautiful estate into a boutique hotels. A wrench is thrown into her already crunched timeline when her recently single friend and cousin (and her daughter) tag along on her summer adventure. You thought they'd make it out of the summer without a little drama and spice? WRONG. This summer could be the best or worst thing to happen to her.

From the beautiful cover to the curated playlist to keep the scene set, A Perfect Vintage is the perfect summer read!

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

I loved the setting of this book and the main characters' job!

That being said, I think this book was trying to cover too many topics and too many relationships, leading none of them to feel fully fleshed out.

We did not get to dive very deep into anyone’s POV since there were multiple storylines to follow. The side plot of Stephanie and Maya was unnecessary and took away from the main characters' love story. Because of the constantly shifting plot, I was not invested in or rooted for any of the characters.

I found the main character to be quite selfish, annoying and judgmental and I couldn’t get on board with her relationship with Theo. Them seemingly going from not knowing each other at all to being in love in a matter of weeks took me out of the story and made me not care about their relationship.

The timeline of the story skips weeks at a time and makes it hard to understand how some of these relationships are progressing so quickly. I could have been more on board if we had been able to see more of that development.

Overall, I wish Stephanie and Maya were not a part of this story and that the love story was enemies to lovers with Lea and Gabriel instead. I think that, plus more details about the work she was doing in the chateau would have made this a much more compelling read for me!

I have a feeling this is going to be the book of the summer.

Lea Mortimer is a consultant for luxury resorts/hotels, and although she is primarily based in DC most of her clients are in France where she spends summers prepping properties for launch. This summer she's heading to the Loire Valley to open a hotel at an old Family Chateau. Just as she's about to embark her oldest friend and cousin Stephanie asks to tag along and bring her daughter Maya. She's finally left her abusive husband and needs to escape for the summer.

Right away the patriarch of the family is smitten with Stephanie and Maya is taken with the middle child of their French host, Theo. Lea focuses on the job at hand. She's career-driven, type-A, and damn good at what she does. Eldest son Gabriel is there at every turn trying to undermine her. So she insists on focusing solely on her work while Stephanie and Maya have an enchanted summer in the Loire Valley. But she finds herself attracted to Theo too and their love affair comes crashing down around them at the worst possible time.

I really loved that this book was sexy but not spicy. All of the characters were really well developed. The resolution was a little bittersweet for me. Stephanie ends up treating Lea horribly, but somehow gets the fairy tale while Lea spends a year in self-inflicted exile. But perhaps I'm projecting. I somewhat identified with Lea.

The title is a clever nod to one of the novel's central conflicts. It's one I'll be recommending a lot this summer.

Happy Pub Day to A Perfect Vintage! I’ve been a fan of Chelsea Fagan (of The Financial Diet) for a while so I was delighted to get my hands on an early copy. Lea Mortimer is a career-driven consultant who transforms decrepit French estates into chic boutique hotels. When her closest friend (and cousin), Stephanie, abruptly finds herself in a divorce, Lea breaks from her strict work-life boundary and invites Stephanie (and Stephanie’s daughter, Maya) along to Loire Valley, France where Lea is undertaking her next big (and potentially career-defining) estate project. Chaos ensues as Lea learns they will spend the summer working alongside the boisterous estate family: there’s romance, there’s banter, there’s descriptions of buttery croissants that culminate in an unforgettable summer.

This was a cute, summer-y read and if you enjoy a lush, escapist atmosphere then I think you’ll appreciate the book’s dreamy vision of the French countryside. The main character has her flaws (a tryst that could put her career at stake? I could never), but I thought she was also thoughtfully developed and refreshing as a single, childfree woman in her mid-30s. My main criticism is that the writing can teeter into verbose at times, so if this sounds like a good read to you, try to muddle through the lengthy (and sometimes unnecessary) descriptions.

Thank you NetGalley for the advanced copy!

This was a fun summer read. I was able to be easily engrossed in the book and its environment. Absolutely recommend for anyone looking for an escape read.

Lea is a 36 year old that runs a business transforming historic homes into hotels. She has a reputation for being laser focused on detail and organization not leaving much room for a personal life. Prior to her next assignment her best friend asks to go along to assist after splitting from her husband, bringing her daughter. Complication arises as Lea begins to develop feelings for the son of her employer.

This is such a perfect summer read! The setting in the French countryside is wonderful. Multiple times I wished I was there hanging at the pool with the family and ladies. Lea is a bright and complex main character. I enjoy reading books with women closer to my own age that are established and strong. This story oozes charm, tension and steam. I look forward to reading other books from Chelsea Fagan!

Thank you to Orsay Press for a copy of The Perfect Vintage. All opinions are my own.

A Perfect Vintage drew me into the story, with its gorgeous cover and French countryside summer setting. The story is a sophisticated travel adventure. It highlights two female friends spending the summer in the French countryside. One woman is hired to revamp a chateau, and the other is running from a toxic relationship.

Here are the things that worked for me:

The beautiful setting and the summer atmosphere.

The conflicts both women had to deal with throughout the story and how they handled them.

The things that didn't work for me:

The relationship that Lea had felt stilted and didn't work for me.

The ending seemed rushed.

The rich family drama needed some more depth to it.

A modern love story set in the beautiful French countryside. The perfect summer read that did a great job motivating me to book a summer European vacation. The character development throughout the entire book was spectacular. I truly enjoyed this book!

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC. All opinions are my own.

This book is a fun and spicy summer read! The author really did a wonderful job at mixing romance with women’s fiction, not an easy feat. The gorgeous cover is the perfect gateway into the book’s stunning summer setting in the French countryside.

I loved all the supporting characters but I definitely related to the Type-A Leah. Her anxiety and self-esteem issues were very believable, even though she was a highly sought-after brand consultant.

Yes there is an age-gap romance here but Théo is truly an “old soul” who seems much older than his chronological age. He is THE perfect book boyfriend.

I read this book with a chilled glass of Sancerre and I can’t think of a better way to pass a summer afternoon!

(𝘔𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘖𝘳𝘴𝘢𝘺 𝘗𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘤𝘰𝘱𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬. 𝘈𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘰𝘸𝘯.)

I have MUCH to say about A Perfect Vintage!

I quite like Chelsea Fagan and consider her someone of great taste and wisdom and her book contains all the details I'd expect:
1. Characters with histories, cultures, and personalities that believably impact the way that they act, interact, and interpret experiences. Every character had a mix of positive and negative qualities, they made good choices as well as bad ones, and sometimes the bad choices had serious consequences and sometimes they didn't! That felt very true to life.
2. The above makes for situations that result in realistic and compelling conflict. I have never written a book, but I imagine this is one of the hardest things to do, because I have read so many books, even ones I liked, with pretty contrived conflicts. A Perfect Vintage is not one of them!!
3. Considering Lea's devotion to her business, a very reasonable amount of attention in the book is devoted to details she cares about and that are important to her work: design, food, experiencial details! I loved this!!! I have read many books with characters that either (a) have an interesting job that they supposedly care a lot about, but the book devotes suspiciously little time to describing their work, or (b) have an interesting job, but the details provided are either very inaccurate or so ridiculous that I think they're really bad at their job. This is a pet peeve of mine (especially in the romance and romance-adjacent genres). Thank you, Chelsea, for making Lea so competent at something so cool. I loved imagining all the spaces and experiences Lea was working so hard to create at the chateau.
4. A really solid understanding and portrayal of French people and culture. I am American, so maybe a French person would disagree with me, but I have lived and worked in France. Not only did I find that A Perfect Vintage accurately portrayed what it's like to be American and navigating French culture and relationships, but certain details and observations I actually found really enlightening and brought new understanding to my own past experiences. You can really tell that Fagan has spent many years gaining these insights, and has cultivated deep relationships with French people. My only complaint on the France/French culture side was that I wanted a bit more specificity to the sense of place in the Loire Valley (it's a big region!) but I'm being nitpicky.
5. Finally, the romance was HOT and fun and delightfully escapist. The tension building was top tier. The age gap was navigated really thoughtfully, and I usually really dislike age gap romances.
6. The resolution didn't feel rushed.

A couple less glowing observations:
1. The main characters in this book are not all likable, all the time. Lea is sort of aloof and comes off as pretty pretentious at times (we get it, you're chic and cultured!) but I didn't mind it too much. Underneath all that it was clear she was really caring and kind. Stephanie, on the other hand, kind of shocked me to be honest. I can't imagine essentially forcing my best friend to take me and my daughter on their months-long work trip, then immediately striking up a romantic relationship with their client, while avoiding dealing with my own impending divorce proceedings. It was truly shockingly bad behavior, I can't really see her as a good friend to Lea or frankly a good parent to her own child. I really wanted to root for her but her choices made it hard to see her as anything but selfish most of the time.
2. I found the first 1/3 of the book or so a bit slow to grab my attention. I think it's worth the wait, but it took me a while to get fully engaged.

Overall, I fully recommend this summer read! I can't wait for all my friends to get their hands on it so I can talk about it more!!

Thank you so much to Orsay Press and Chelsea Fagan for the advance copy.