The Perfect Vintage elevates the beach read to chic new heights. I read this on vacation in Portugal and it was the perfect companion! The setting is gorgeous, the writing is lush, and you’ll be left wanting to book a trip to a luxury hotel in France. If you’re a fan of romances along the lines of The Idea of You, you’ll have to pack this in your carryon this summer.

This book should have had everything I want in a book - a glamourous locale, wine, sexy people - but I could not connect with the writing. I'm sure it's perfect for someone else.

I'm convinced A Perfect Vintage will be the book of the summer! While the location is dreamy enough, I was captivated by Lea Mortimer's complexity and the author's balance of character development with fun (albeit messy and twisty) romance plotlines. Chelsea Fagan hit it out of the park with her fiction debut.

The cover, synopsis and the French setting completely drew me to this book but sadly it didn’t quite live up to my expectations and left me with very mixed feelings. Initially it was the simplistic writing style and slightly stilted dialogue between characters that I struggled with. However, I also struggled to connect with characters and the storyline and I battled my way through the first half of the book. It certainly wasn’t the page-turning romance I had been expecting. I felt the introduction of the second romance was unnecessary, it added nothing extra to the story. In fact I’m not really quite sure why Stephanie and her daughter were a part of the story. Had the author concentrated solely on Lea and Theo, the build up of their relationship, delving deeper into their thoughts and feelings and fleshing out their personalities it would have worked much better for me.

I liked the fact Lea was a slightly older protagonist at 36 years old and that the love interest was 12 years younger. The location is superb, set in the Loire Valley, a beautiful wine growing region in France and we are treated to a wine tasting trip and some mouthwatering food descriptions.

Overall, sadly this book wasn’t for me but I’m always honest in my reviews and although this book didn’t captivate me in the way I’d hoped there are other reviewers out there who have loved it. I’m so grateful that I was able to read it early. Thank you so much to the publisher for the eARC via Netgalley

Thank you to NetGalley, author Chelsea Fagan, and Orsay Press for providing me with a free ARC in exchange for my honest opinion!

I just finished reading A Perfect Vintage, and I already want to pick it back up with a glass of wine by the pool this weekend!! This is the most PERFECT summer read, especially if you're looking for a read that is fun but still has depth. Fagan's writing is stunning, and I was transported to the Loire Valley on every page. I wish that the chateau was real so that I could go visit, as the setting was just magnificent. I absolutely adored the characters too, from Leah to the family to Stephanie and Maya. I was surprisingly able to relate to Lea a lot in terms of feeling anxieties about my life in comparison to others. I thought that she was a very real character, and I was enamored by her and Theo's relationship. There were so many smart and sexy scenes while also feeling believable and realistic throughout. My only complaint is that I do wish we got to see more of assorted side characters, such as Chloe and Maya, as this is truly Lea's book and from her perspective. This makes it hard to always get a complete picture, as there are a lot of characters throughout. I loved the large cast though, and I felt that each character was extremely intentional to the story. This was a great read, and one that I can't wait to discuss with all my friends this summer!

Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC copy of this book!

Two words: Beach read. If Mama Mia was a book with some raunchy love scenes, it would be this. Pretty fast read as well (read it in about 5 days). It's a dreamy location in the hills of France with plenty of family drama. The main character sometimes really takes a wrong turn in her life choices, but it's entertaining to see where those choices take her. The surrounding cast of characters is very colorful with well developed back stories and connections to one another. All ends well too :) Would recommend to anyone looking for a quick vacation/beach read, or who just wants an escape from reality for a few days.

I have seen a lot of buzz and hype for this book but unfortunately it didn’t do it for me. I found it a little slow which made it harder for me to get into. The setting was spectacular- loved the French estate and culture but I didn’t think the characters lives up to the scenery. The drama at the end was the best part and I thought it did wrap up well. The love triangle was interesting but something was just missing for me overall.

I feel like this is a quintessential beach read. Have I ever read a beach read? No, but something tells me that if you are a beach read enthusiast, you might like this book. I feel it in my spirit.

The book is beautifully descriptive. I'll give you that. If you fancy yourself into interior design and structural décor conversations, Fagan's ability to paint a picture of such things will not disappoint.

Now on to the steamy parts, color me absolutely interested. Listen, we're all adults here. If you're not, that's not my business. However, because I love a good spicy read, the descriptions of sexy times were a little too tame for my liking. If I had to guess as to why, it's likely because Fagan is not in the business of smut. That's fine. *whispers* I'm here for your smut recommendations btw.

Back to the book, overall, I feel like the story is very much Hallmark movie sweet/heartwarming. It leaves you with all the romantic feels and makes you want to throw caution to the wind and find your overseas love.

Thank you Orsay Press for my copy of A Perfect Vintage! All thoughts are my own.

Now, I’m going go out on a limb and say something controversial: I didn’t like The Idea of You when I read it. I know, I KNOW. It’s a book that gets talked about all the time, and people often say it’s a slump buster. Since it’s such a favorite, I think people are always searching for something similar and it’s a tough book to find a read-a-like for! But finally my friends, I think we have something for you: A Perfect Vintage by Chelsea Fagan.

I will say, I enjoyed it much more than The Idea of You. It had similar aspects, like an older woman and a younger man falling for each other, but I loved the setting so much more and felt like it was grounded a bit more in reality. This book challenges things like ageism, the importance of financial security, and the reality of being a woman.

I really think if you loved The Idea of You (and even if you didn’t) you’ll enjoy this book.

Synopsis:

“Lea Mortimer has everything under control. As a highly sought-after consultant specializing in transforming dilapidated French country estates into boutique hotels, she relishes her freedom as a single, childfree woman. And her life is full, occupied as much by her impeccable historic renovations as by the aristocratic -- and often exhausting -- French families she works for.

But after the heated divorce of her closest friend and cousin Stephanie Bryce, Lea finds herself taking Stephanie and her college-aged daughter to the Loire Valley in France for the summer. As they tag along for Lea’s latest work assignment, despite their best intentions, they threaten to complicate the tightrope act of launching the hotel on time. And when Lea unexpectedly falls for the much-younger son of her boss, she quickly learns the beauty and danger of losing control. 

As affairs bloom in the idyllic chateau, wars of inheritance play out between the family, and betrayals threaten even the most solid relationships. Lea realizes that it's not just a broken heart she's risking, but her entire, meticulously-constructed life blowing up in her face.” —NetGalley

What I Liked:

The Setting—The Loire Valley of France at a chateau? Dreamy! It felt like summer.

The Focus on Women—The conversation around the double standard of age gap relationships when it comes to men and women was very satisfying and also had to remind me to check some of my internalized misogyny.

The Cover—I know this is shallow and were not supposed to judge a book on it’s cover, but I have to say, the cover is perfect. It perfectly captures what is in the pages and it’s by my favorite artist, Elizabeth Lennie!

What Didn’t Work For Me:

Slow, Long Chapters—I felt like things dragged a bit, especially in the first 40%. I needed more tension, because once we got to the inciting incident between Theo and Lea, it all made sense.

Prose Felt Forced—Similarly to above, it felt like we were reaching for the poetic, French romance. This is just a super picky thing from me though and I think it’s cause I read too much (lol).

Character Authenticity: 3.5/5 Spice Rating: 1.5/5 Overall Rating: 3.75/5

Content Warnings:

toxic relationship, domestic abuse, alcohol, emotional abuse

A Perfect Vintage takes you away to a Chateau in France and is so descriptive you can imagine yourself there! Lea is a prestigious consultant hired to renovate the home and estate of the Levesque family into a high end boutique hotel. She's a force to be reckoned with in her business life and this is the most important contract in her life and can launch her career to the next level. The most important person in her life is her cousin, more like sister, Stephanie and her marriage is falling apart. Lea takes Stephanie and her daughter, Maya, with her to France for the summer to help finalizing the Levesque hotel. And there her personal and business lives come crashing together.
A character driven, slow burn story with quite a few characters to keep track. At times, Lea is hard to like. But she often is unhappy with herself so self admittedly, she's not the perfect person. And while you get a sense of the other characters, I felt like there was still so much more to know about them. I didn't totally find some of them believable, as their story progressed much too quickly. This book probably could have been twice as long, almost like a modern day saga.
The setting descriptions were absolutely beautiful. While often the parts where I admittedly may skim, I savored these. You'll wish you could immediately book a trip. This would make a great book to kick off your summer reading!

A Perfect Vintage really is the perfect summer read. Chelsea Fagan's writing is compelling, atmospheric, and sensual. This book pulls the reader in to the charms of the French countryside setting and keeps them locked into the story through the drama that unfolds as our heroine, Lea, embarks on a forbidden romance with the much younger son of her employer, whose chateau she is restoring into a boutique hotel. Lea is a mature and complex heroine, and Théo is an unparalleled written-by-a-woman-charming-handsome-European hero. When I say this is the book of the summer, I mean to say that this book depicts the summer of my dreams. A must read.

I loved the sexy setting. The beautiful people. The wine and spa. The drama. Some things were far-fetched but I accepted for sake of the story.

Who wouldn’t want to work for a summer at a French chateau and vineyard turned hotel? Oh my gosh this would be a dream if I had any type of design sense. As much as I loved the setting of this novel I was a bit unsure of Lea, the main character who falls for her nieces crush who is also 12 years younger than her. Something felt off about it for me and she came off a bit self centered. I really enjoyed all of the other characters though.

The chapters were long which made it feel like the book was longer than it actually was. So this was a bit of a slow burn for me. I did enjoy the story once I got into it. I loved the family dynamic of Lea, Stephanie and Maya. I also enjoyed the budding relationship between Stephanie and Alain because it made me happy to see Stephanie happy! I think this would have been a good read for a few days by the pool.

3.75

Reading this book felt like indulging in an expensive glass of wine. I felt completely transported to the French countryside.

While I overall very much enjoyed this book, I had some drawbacks which were hard to get over. The author writes a complicated character. Other than Theo, I didn’t really love anyone. Lea was altogether fine, but I wish she had more of a backbone for herself. I really didn’t like Stephanie or Maya at all, I felt that they were leeches on Lea, ungrateful and unfair during her transgression.

I’m also not terribly fond of a time jump unless I feel it is absolutely necessary, I feel the narrative would have progressed fine without that much time passing. I also felt that the ending didn’t give me as much of a happily ever after as I’d like. It ended up feeling a bit like an old movie, ambiguous.

Even with these drawbacks I’d still recommend this book. It’s a soothing balm to the soul and a perfect escape from the real world. I felt truly transported across the world and it had lots of sweet moments to make up for some of the others.

Tropes:
Age Gap (my least favorite, but it did not grate on me in this book)
International Romance
Workplace
Secret lovers

First of all I looove the cover. So pretty!
But not only the cover...I also loved the story and the setting of this book. It is definitely an amazing summer read with complex characters and I am really glad I received the ARC. It deals with issues like identity, sexism, social classes and others. Go read it because it is so good!

⭐️⭐️⭐️
I was really excited to read this book after seeing that it takes place at a French Chateau! Unfortunately this book really didn’t wow me. The writing was beautiful, but the storyline itself was quite slow and very underwhelming. I found Lea quite irritating, so a whole book about her mental anguish in whether to hook up or not to hook up, just wasn’t doing it for me. I really wish we had gotten more of the chateau restoration! A very “meh” read for me.

I’m a fan of Chelsea Fagan’s from her work focusing on women in the financial space focusing through her company The Financial Diet. When I saw she wrote a fiction book, I had to check it out! The cover is beautiful, and the description had me excited to read it.

This was a fun read and perfect for kicking off my summer reading season. Ultimately, it is a book about a defining summer for many of the characters and I love that type of storyline. I related to the main character, Lea Mortimer, and her workaholic tendencies. Seeing her develop over the arc of this story was satisfying. The story itself was believable, and I was surprised by the plot a time or two while reading which I enjoy. The characters were well developed, true to life and entertaining to read. When they had disagreements or conflict, it made me think of real families and close friends, and the trials we all go through as we grow and change.

The descriptions of the French countryside and the estate where the story takes place were swoon worthy. If I could book a vacation to visit, I would! You feel like you are there as the family chateau starts to take shape into the boutique hotel that Lea is forming it into. I could imagine myself eating breakfast on the patio or lounging by the pool. It was the perfect backdrop to the story.

I highly recommend this one be added to your summer reading list!

A Perfect Vintage was a pretty good read. I really enjoyed the setting in the French family-owned Chateau and I did enjoy the side romance, but I do feel that the first half of the book drug on. We meet Lea who is hired to help a French family with their Chateau. There is a lot of rich family drama and not everyone trusts Lea's work but she is the best at what she does. Once you get about half-way through the book, I really enjoyed the character development and the romance between Lea and Theo. But it was so rushed! I wanted more of them and their story. It was swoon worthy for sure but needed to be developed more. Theo was by far my favorite character in this story. He was genuine and so grown up for his age! I would rate this book a 3.75.

I want to thank NetGalley, Orsay Press, and Chelsea Fagan for my digital Advanced Copy of this book.

Reading this book will make you wish you were lounging poolside with a glass of wine and some cheese. This book wasn’t my cup of tea, while I can get behind messy af characters (I mean I love a reality show) I found most the main character pretty unlikeable. Lea thought she knew better than everyone around her even though she was generally unhappy with her life (aside from her job and a Stephanie/Maya). I found that to be grating over time. The romance aspect of this story fell flat for me, it was lacking a deeper emotional connection and seemed purely sexual. I wanted more of the romance and less of Lea’s daily workplace tasks content-wise. I was hoping for more out of this book, but still found myself wanting to read more and see what would happen. This book is great for fans of unlikeable, messy characters.


*I received the ARC for free from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.*

A fine little beach read for the summer? Yes. Insufferable main character? Also yes. The characters felt a little flat, and there was minimal character development overall. Chelsea Fagan is a good writer, but I had higher hopes for this one.