I am a sucker for books set in the countryside and this one was even more appealing with it being french countryside!

We follow our main character Lea, who spends her summers in France renovating old chateaus into boutique hotels. With the break up of her cousin/bestfriend's marriage, this summer is going to be different as now her friend and her friend's daughter will be tagging along with Lea.

I started off not enjoying this book as much. I felt it was a bit of a slow start but I quickly became engrossed. Although there was a few cliche and cringe situations, on the most part I really liked the way the book went.

I loved how in this book it covers both age gaps and how the dynamics are so different and how society portrays them are even more vastly different.

The atmosphere of the book was delish. From the setting of the beautiful old chateau with the sprawling pool and vineyards to the food descriptions and restaurant settings.

I wouldn't say I felt strongly about any of the characters with like or dislike. It had a under the tuscan sun feel, which was referenced in the book too.

Cute summer read.

Wow. This was so good that I didn’t want it to end!

Lea was such a great MC. I love reading strong female characters with great careers who are unapologetic about it. Lea is all of that! Honestly, in another life, I would want to BE her.

I also loved that this didn’t fit squarely in any box. It’s not quite “romance” but has romance/relationship elements, and it’s not just straight “women’s fiction”. I like that it flows seamlessly from one genre to another. It feels like the perfect sophisticated summer read!

Every character was so robust, that I even loved characters that we barely saw any of (lookin’ at you, Marie & Nico!).

I felt like I was IN the chateau while I was reading… the descriptions were so vivid & detailed.

Honestly I could not have loved this more. Highly recommend grabbing a copy for your beach/poolside read this summer!

Thanks to NetGalley & the publisher for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Interesting ideas but too slow to care for anyone in the story. The atmosphere was fine but it felt flat.

A Perfect Vintage by Chelsea Fagan
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
pub date: June 6, 2023

summer in the French countryside? family drama? independent women doing what they want?? this is the perfect book to put you in the summer mood. I absolutely ADORED Lea. Did she make some questionable decisions? sure. was I rooting for her the entire time? 1000%
Chelsea Fagan does a beautiful job with her descriptions— I could perfectly envision myself sitting at the breakfast table eating a croissant, chilling by the pool with a glass of wine— all of it!
thank you to NetGalley and Orsay Press for the ARC— I cannot WAIT for my bookclub to read this next month as our June BOTM!!

READ IF YOU LOVE
✨ French chateaus
✨ rich family drama
✨ hotel renovations
✨ younger French men 😏😉
✨ bread

I really really liked this book!! The setting was fantastic. there was a good mix of likeable and unlikeable characters. Story moved at a good pace. Love me some rich (French) family drama!!

This is a must read for the summer with it's picturesque setting in the French wine country, an age gap romance and wealthy family drama.

The complexity of the main character, Lea, made this story all the more interesting and added such depth to the ending it was almost as if you were experiencing her catharsis yourself. The internal struggles she faced throughout the story was relatable, highlighting the reality of what childless, successful women face in our society. Her moments of stolen romance with Theo were indulgent, sexy, and somehow felt oh, so right.

As someone who longs to go back to France in the summer, I thoroughly devoured this book, enjoying the maturity of the writing, the complexity of the characters and the drama that revealed a new beginning for nearly every character in the book, all while taking place in the most beautifully described setting. I can't recommend this book enough, and cannot wait until it is released!

This book reminded me of The Idea of You in the best ways, but had me obsessed with the scenery and desire to travel abroad! I couldn't look away from the main character's decisions and had to know what would come next... A page turner I couldn't put down and had me on the edge of my seat wondering what was to come. I enjoyed this so much!

You can’t rush your way through this book. The descriptions, of the setting and the people, are so lush and detailed. It felt slowly paced at first, but I did appreciate it once I got into it. It’s a great book to escape to, with its rich people drama and just a hint of tasteful spice.

First, the good: I loved the setting of this book. I really wish we would have gotten more description and detail of such an idyllic location. Spending a summer in the south of France just seems so dreamy. I also liked that the female main character, Lea, was a 30-something business owner. I feel that, too often, romance novels are all about the young 20s all-consuming passion…though to be fair this book was half that with the male main character, Theo, aged 24. I enjoyed that we got a little bit of the family drama with side characters, Nico and Gabriel, but it wasn’t enough to make up for the rest of the book.

Now, the not so good: To me, Lea, was so insecure and whiny. I almost find it impossible that she was able to build such a strong business on her own, with how strongly she doubted herself in relationships. It really didn’t seem like the therapy she paid through the nose for did any good. Her character was supposed to have issues with relationships stemming from her witnessing her mother’s relationships as a child. However, I think this trait was overdone to the point of annoyance. It made her unlikeable. Theo was much more mature and self assured even though he was so much younger. Secondly, I get that there needed to be some conflict for a compelling plot, but a love triangle with your niece?! No. Just no.

All in all, this was a tough read for me. It took me so long to actually finish because I didn’t feel like I cared about Lea’s outcome.

Book Name: A Perfect Vintage
Author: Chelsea Fagan

ARC
Thank you to [Orsay Press LLC](https://www.netgalley.com/catalog/publisher/84897) and NetGalley for Chelsea Fagan’s A Perfect Vintage

Stars: 2.75
Spice: 2

Standalone
Open-ended HEA
Pacing Issues
FMC POV
Contemporary Romance
Debut Author

- Topics
- Freedom & Family
- Singleness
- 30 Flirty and Thriving
- Manifesto on child-free professional and the joy of untethered life?
- Maturity and Age
- Tropes
- Older Women Younger Man
- 12-Year Age Gap
- Letting loose
- Secret Affair
- “Forbbend Love”
- Serious / Free Spirit
- Insta Love
- Thoughts.
- A lot of pop culture and “luxury” references (lean more toward an advertisement than Immersion)
- Predictable Plot
- Great Dialogue
- FMC internal; dialogue was very pitiful and whiney for a mid 30’s heroine who has her life “together”
- MMC was well-rounded and intriguing
- Plot felt very “recycled”

NOT as fun as I was hoping.... would have benefited from Maya or Stephanies POV

I devoured the book. However, still not sure how I feel about it overall?

The stunning location carries much of the book and plot for me. The premise of redoing a vineyard and turning it into a hotel is a concept that I haven't previously seen and that's where most of my interest came from.
But that's unfortunately where my excitement ended. I loved Theo and those from the Levesque family and staff working on the renovation, but Lea and Stephanie bothered me for most of the book. I wish I didn't feel that way because the concept was stunning!

I do think this "women's fiction" book definitely tested me because I was searching for a bit more romance and swoon-worthy-ness and I was hoping for some more growth from Lea and a better makeup between Stephanie and her.

The end of the book felt a bit rushed.

All in all, I REALLY wanted to like this more then I did. The setting and descriptions of the house/vineyard/overall business model and Theo as a person kept me going.

When Chelsea announced this book, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on it. Thank goodness for NetGalley because I was lucky enough to be granted an eARC.

If you’re a lover of family dramas with an angsty main character, this book is for you. Two families merging to restore a chateau in the French countryside leads to love, conflict, and more drama than you’d expect.

Lea is hired to restore a French chateau but at the last minute she brings along her cousin and her niece. Her cousin, Stephanie is going through a divorce with her narcissistic husband and is looking for escape - she finds it in the patriarch of the family, the chateau owner, Alain. But she’s not the only one that finds love because Lea is going through a secretive affair with Theo, the son of Alain. This wouldn’t be an issue except he’s twelve years younger and her niece, Maya set her eyes on him from the beginning.

The story examines the complicated family structures of two families and how they eventually become one. There is so much longing and lust within the chateau grounds.

I will not the book isn’t explicit or too spicy - it borderlines a closed door romance so I will happily encourage my mom or grandma to read this book! I can’t wait to get my physical preordered book and read it by the pool this summer.

Overall I enjoyed this book. However, I found that it moved a little slow at times and it took me a while to get into.

Oh how I wanted to love this! Sadly this just never worked for me. I struggled to get to roughly 30% and decided it just isn’t for me. The writing was well done and the characters seemed great, but something was off. I could not get into it, it never held my attention and seemed to just slog on for me.

A well crafted story with realistic and like-able characters which I often do find lacking in romance type books. The MC is a bad ass at her job and knows what she wants and who she is. The details in the book really made me feel like I was there as a fly on the wall to the hotels remodel and the family drama.

It truly is the perfect mildly steamy summer romance that you can recommend to anyone you know.

I felt I related to Lea in so many small ways that it made her a more interesting character. She felt human and multidimensional in a way I think many book characters don’t.

I’ll likely reread it this summer near a body of water and enjoy it again

Truly a delicious read, much like a refined version of Meg Cabot. I got a little nervous about a saccharine ending, but it subverted my expectations and then wrapped up beautifully. It’s a novel that’s easy enough to be a beach read but also leaves you touched and thinking about traveling to France.

As someone who is hit or miss when it comes to the romance genre, I appreciated the layer of identity crisis and social commentary that is woven into the complexities of the story, while still remaining light, and without drowning in romance tropes. I have dubbed this transition into my 30s my French Girl era and this novel serves as perfect inspiration to embrace some hedonism.

Thanks to the author and NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for a review!

Thank you netgalley and Chelsea for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Lea is a consultant specialising in taking run down buildings and turning them into beautiful hotels. Her current project is a chateau in France, Loire Valley. She brings her cousin and closest friend Stephanie and her daughter Maya along for the the work trip. Even though they have the best intensions, new love interests cause Lea’s work to slip and tensions begin to rise.

I am totally guilty of picking this book based on the cover as it looked so glamorous! This time, the risk paid off. Sometimes I need a break from crime and what is better than rich people behaving terribly in a beautiful chateau in France?!

I think this book would be an excellent movie and it is a perfect beach read for summer! The writing is impeccable and I even shed a tear towards the end!

Thank you to Chelsea Fagan and Orsay Press for this ARC!

i will say that the premise of this book had me hooked and I couldn't wait to read! Unfortunately I dnf this at around 20% because I found the main character, Lea to be so unlikeable and self-absored that I couldn't root for her to have this supposed summer romance.

A Perfect Vintage was a really fun read. It’s about Lea, an American consultant who helps families turn their inherited French chateaus into boutique hotels. She goes to France on a work trip with her newly single best friend/cousin and niece in tow. There’s beautiful imagery, romance and plenty of family drama. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ And A+ for the cover art. 😍

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the free ARC.

Lea, an American, works her summers in France, turning family chateau's in to beautiful hotels. This summer, she brings her best friend who is also her older cousin and her daughter, known to her as her niece with her. There, Lea falls for the chateau's owner's younger son.

Full of family drama of hers and the French family, set in the French countryside, this was an easy read nice read. I was hoping a bit more for the romance aspect of this, but found it was heavily focused on Lea's best friends' drama, and Lea's internal thoughts. Overall, if you like Women's' fiction I think you'd enjoy this book.