This was a lovely, atmospheric novel. I so enjoyed the author's writing style, and I felt as if I was transported to the French Countryside. I do feel that the descriptions of the architecture/design may have been a little over the top, though. Another thing I loved about this book was the character development! I felt that I got to know each character very well, especially Lea. The romance was not over the top, but enough to satisfy the plot. This was just a nice, escapist read. Perfect for summer by the pool.

Thank you so much for sharing this advanced copy with me. It was an absolute pleasure to read through such a tight, unconventional character study of a contemporary and complex working woman in her thirties.

Everything, from the complicated family relationships to the absorbing description of the meticulous task of restoring a chateau was perfectly executed. The opening chapters gave me major Bonjour Tristesse vibes but I am so happy that it didn't entirely go in that direction.

Wondeful debut.

Disappointed with this as I found it really long winded. I couldn’t relate to the main character at all and the storyline didn’t hold my interest, sorry!

A Perfect Vintage, Chelsea Fagan - 4/5 stars

Thanks to @netgalley + @orsay for this Advanced Readers Copy in exchange for an honest review! This title comes out on June 6, 2023 🙌

The setting, the French opulence, the project time crunch, the family drama 🤌

This book was the perfect summer read where you can escape to a family full of drama in a beautiful setting 🙌 I love books with a glimpse behind the scenes of hotels, and this checked all the boxes there!

Read if you like:
🇫🇷 French culture
💕 Age gap romance
👀 Family drama
🍇 Wine country

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for my ARC of this book in exchange for a review.

I was really excited for this and I had high hopes for its ability to be a beach read. I was hoping for atmospheric fluttery romance but instead it felt like a book trying to cover too many things…romance, women’s lit topics like aging and careers etc, and family drama. It’s not that these things can’t be encompassed all in one book (see: The Vacactioners) it’s just that it requires impeccable execution and this missed the mark for me.

The book was long and by the end I felt like we were slogging through serious dialogue ™ after serious dialogue ™. I stopped rooting for the MC less than halfway through. She was an insecure workaholic with a very fake sounding job which made it hard to empathize with her struggles. The emphasis was always placed on how old and mature Lea was and yet her actions throughout indicated that she was deeply emotionally immature.

There wasn’t much that didn’t go exactly as you’d expect and the result is very Halmark-y and that’s fine but it ain’t for me.

Blurring the lines between women's fiction and romance, A Perfect Vintage is the book of the summer. It contains all the elements I could want in a read: the lush, idyllic setting of a French chateau, secret rendezvous with a gorgeous younger man, and a childfree woman living her best life.

But what's more intoxicating than the vineyard wine is the refreshingly modern lens on career, friendship and power dynamics. Lea's arc is satisfying as she must hold herself accountable for her complex relationships with others. Give me more women who not only go to therapy but also put their lessons into practice!

Whether or not you're already a fan of Chelsea's from The Financial Diet, APV was an absolute delight and one of the easiest 5-star reads I've given this year.

Thanks to NetGalley for my free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Loved the imagery of the setting and characters’ outfits. First book I’ve read where I didn’t cringe at the outfit descriptions! However, I felt like the main characters falling in love was very rushed and unbelievable - to the point where it negatively impacted my overall reaction to the book. Still very well written!

A Perfect Vintage by Chelsea Fagan is a cross between romance and women's fiction that would be best read by the pool or on summer vacation. I enjoyed parts of the book, but overall was left wanting more from the story. Some parts of the book are very heavily focused on the renovations, Lea's career and the implications of the project. Then later in the book weeks pass by in the story without a mention of the chateau at all. There are also a lot of characters to keep up with throughout the story and I found that a little distracting. I have also never been to France, so I a lot of the specific references and even name pronunciations went completely over my head so I felt a little left out of the story as a whole. I really enjoyed the writing style and that kept me coming back to finish the story. I would recommend this book for anyone traveling to France or Europe this summer as a good primer or to be enjoyed on the trip.

Unfortunately this one didn't do it for me. I didn't enjoy any of the characters nor did I feel that they were relatable in any way. I am a single woman about to be 30, and was excited to read about Lea, but she really annoyed me and I never felt like I could really root for her.
The relationships happened pretty fast with not enough build up to make you feel invested in the romance.
Lots was mentioned about the remodel of a French chateau, almost too much. I found myself skimming parts that were about that, wanting to get back to the action of the characters. But then the characters fell flat and I never related to or enjoyed either storyline that much.
Appreciate the advanced copy very much and glad I tried this though! Definitely something different setting wise and MC had a unique career you don't read about often.

The premise is excellent and I love the idea behind the book, but the characters didn’t feel real to me. I loved the setting in France and the descriptions were interesting, but ultimately if felt slow and underdeveloped. We never see any actual chemistry or romance between Lea and Theo. The ending felt rushed and unresolved to me (we never found out what Chloe thought of the marriage, didn’t seem like Lea actually dealt with the self-doubt and inability to trust that plagued her throughout the book.)

I certainly enjoyed but I was hoping for more.

I received an early copy of this one in exchange for an honest review. Thank you Netgalley!

This one was good, but not great and I was left feeling underwhelmed. The premise of the book really caught by eye, but I did not see much fleshed out the way I was hoping. I ended up liking the idea of the book, rather than the actual book itself. I felt like the relationships were underdeveloped and/or happened too quickly. There was also many themes floating around the story, and some got lost, in my opinion. I would've really liked more descriptive imagery during the times in France. I enjoyed the dialogue between characters and felt like it came off as realistic. I still liked this book overall and think if you are looking for something to read by the pool during an afternoon, this would be a fine option. I settled on a 3.25 star rating for me

Lea Mortimer specializes in restoring French Chateaus into boutique hotels. She relishes in the fact that she is a single, untethered woman who excels at her job and works well with the often aristocratic families that she often finds herself working for.

Only this summer is shaping up to be a little different for Lea. Sure, she still has a hotel to open…on time…but she has also invited her best friend who is struggling through her own divorce and her daughter to accompany her to the Loire Valley. Their presence shakes up Lea’s sophisticated world and threatens to make her miss her mark on her hotel opening. Even more shocking is the romance she soon finds herself in with the son of the estate’s owner that she is working to open as a hotel.

What flows is a secret romance that Lea and her handsome love interest are struggling to keep a secret, a lot of delicious French wine and a chateau that is about to experience its own rebirth. There is nothing to not like about this fun, summertime novel– the tasteful romance, the beautiful scenery and the friendships kept me reading even when I had other responsibilities to tend to. It has been sometime since I was able to lose an afternoon to a book and not feel too guilty. Fagan transported to my own time spent in gorgeous French chateaus drinking too much Beaujolais and falling in love.

Overall, a delightful and airy debut novel from Chelsea Fagan. I hope she sticks with this genre, I would like to read more from her.

Book Information
A Perfect Vintage by Chelsea Fagan is set to be released on June 6, 2023 from Orsay Books with ISBN 9781662938627. This review corresponds to an advanced electronic galley that was supplied by the publisher in exchange for this review.

I received a copy of this book via NetGalley to review. Overall, this was a great read. I really enjoyed the details in both location and food as well as the renovating a chateau into a boutique hotel storyline. I appreciated the writing style but would have enjoyed more character background detail in some areas rather than some details that seemed repeated. I wanted to know much more about Stephanie and Maya and wanted to see more of how Alain and Stephanie fell in love. Lea was a strong character - sometimes hard to like, but I think that made it more realistic.

I appreciate getting an ARC of this because I was very interested! I will say that this didn’t really live up to my expectations. In many ways, this felt like more like women’s fiction that it was a romance. I also just couldn’t really find the FMC to be likeable. It wasn’t badly written but I felt that the characters weren’t fully fleshed out and there was more time spent on describing what everyone looked like constantly. This book left much to be desired for me.

As a longtime follower of Chelsea Fagan's other endeavors, I couldn't help but think "This is SO Chelsea Fagan" (in the most positive way) while reading this (way past my bedtime). This was a joy to read, and an impressive debut romance novel from Fagan. TPV is an exquisite escape to the Loire Valley of France, and I enjoyed the details that had me transported to the chic chateau in the height of summer. I do feel that there was some development missing between the main character and her love interest, but otherwise, I hope Fagan feels encouraged to expand her writing repertoire to contemporary romance should she desire.

Thank you to the author, Orsay Press, and NetGalley for the advanced copy of the eArc in exchange for an honest review.

Books about women traveling to vineyards, where the wine is as delicious as the men who own and/or tend to the (likely floundering) operation seem to be very much en vogue at the moment, author Chelsea Fabian weaves together a familiar story, populated by dynamic characters, with a tone that feels slightly more mature and grounded than other similar efforts (think: Jamie Brenner’s Blush and Tessa Bailey’s A Vine Mess series, though I’d say in terms of tone and writerly voice, it’s closer to an Elin Hilderbrand or Rebecca Serle novel— there’s a sexiness and drama to this book, but no smut). There’s definitely a targeted demographic here, and I think if you fit into that mid-40’s+ crowd of wine moms who are looking for a luxurious escape from reality, you’ll enjoy this one.

A strong debut novel with a lot of promise, but fell flat for me halfway through with the character arcs (relationship with Theo) and predictable ending. I loved the author’s descriptive writing style at the first half of the book (hotel/backdrop/notes on French culture) but lost interest when the text started to lean more heavily on dialogue. Overall, a book that I’d recommend to someone looking for a poolside/beach read.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the eArc; the following thoughts are my own.

This book is THE book for the summer if you’re looking for a heartwarming, sophisticated, tasteful romance that you can escape with.
The descriptions are so rich it feels incredibly real, and each character is individual with robust personalities all across the board. Though I do wish we got more of Marie!
Since I follow the author on social media, I could really see her in the story, but I could also see a lot of my type-A, overachieving self in Lea. Definitely appreciate the light Sims nod, whether intentional or not, as well. Other than reading the word “gastronomical” more than I care for, I truly have no gripes; it was a wonderful read, I absolutely plan on buying a physical copy when release rolls around in June, and I can’t wait to see if Chelsea writes more amazing stories!

Overall, I enjoyed this book. It's Women's Fiction meets Romance set in the summer in France . I loved the chateau and design descriptions. I liked that it was sexy without being overtly spicy. I related to the main character being type A. There were some parts where it dragged a bit. 
 
This book is in between 3 and 3.5 stars for me. I have been a follower of Chelsea Fagan for a while, and I am so excited for her breakout into fiction writing! Thank you to Netgalley for this ARC. While this book likely isn't one that will stay with you for a while, I would definitely recommend this as a solid vacation read.

Thank you to Net Galley for the arc! This was a 2.5 for me. Dragged a bit and I had trouble really connecting with the main character and some of the story line. I did enjoy the descriptions of France and decor though!