
Member Reviews

Such a fun book rich with details allowing me to feel I was right with Lea in France. Families and relationships in a gorgeous setting made this a great read and a respite from the heaviness of the world. Can't wait for her next book!

The book didn’t hold my interest. I tried to get into it but it wasn’t my cup of tea. I could appreciate the authors writing. They seem to have a talent for developing characters and relationships. If you appreciate that in an author, you may like this book. The plot was not for me.

I was so thrilled for this read. So many have compared it to The Idea of You as a book that can come close to satisfying the desire for more content like TIOY. Due to this hype, I went in with possibly too high expectations; however, this is still a phenomenal read independent of this comparison and I would certainly recommend.

I love the cover of this book, and was intrigued by the premise and setting. I found it interesting that the author has mentioned that she decided to self-pub because she did not want to choose between romance and women's fiction. However, I struggled to get into the book, and I'm not sure the balance was achieved.

DNF at 36%. I might give this another try in the summer, maybe the setting and timing of it all is playing a part? Regardless, I’ve been trying to push through for two months and am still uninterested with the story and characters. Not for me!

I ended up DNFing this book about 30% in. I unfortunately found the main character to be extremely unlikeable and a bit pretentious and felt the plot was too slow to keep my attention, despite the fascinating setting.

This was not for me. The story was kinda slow and I couldn't connect with the characters at all. I was hoping for somethig different

DNFed :( I wanted to like this because it was a good luxury summer read but I just didn’t connect with any of the characters

I follow the author on Instagram, and since I like her content, I wanted to support. I enjoyed this novel as a jump off to summer. I was in cold and rainy Alaska while the book was in sunny France, which helped me get into the summer mood. If you’re looking for a bit of a deeper beach read, this is it.

Thank You to net galley and Chelsea Fagan for this wonderful debut.
I had a great time reading this stunning debut. Fagan's debut is the perfect summer book that transports you to a picturesque French countryside where our main character struggles to manage both her work and romantic life. The drama played out in this novel is both delicious and addictive, and I had such a fun time reading it !!
However, there were definitely some flaws with the pacing, there wasn't much development in the books and the ending was quite rushed, everything seemed to be forcefully solved in the last few chapters. Lea and Theo's romance was enjoyable but also very out of the blue. They were very much attracted to each other but where did said attraction even stem from, it was very out of the blue.
This book is a 3.75 stars for me and it definitely feels more like a no plot just vibes book. Definitely looking forward to Fagan's future releases !!

A great summer romance, with thoughtful and researched writing, and credible characters!
I appreciated the detailed setting, the French Loire Valley, but not falling into clichés and including a diverse cast. The side romance and "conflict" with the MC niece seemed unnecessary to me, but the side characters were fun.

I feel like this is a book you might have to read more than once to enjoy. In no way, did I hate this book, but unfortunately, it also didn't catch and keep my attention span. I definitely want to give this book another chance though, as I feel like if I was in the right mindset, I would really love it! I can't really put my finger on what I didn't enjoy, so that is another reason why I feel like it deserves a second reading! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for sharing this book with me in exchange for my honest review!!
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From start to finish this book was 100% reminiscent of Emily in Paris, and I’m not mad at it.
Lea is hospitality consultant who specializes in French Hotel Properties. She is hired by a family to help turn their estate home into a luxurious hotel in the French wine countryside.
Everything is running smoothly and the hotel is on track to open. But what she doesn’t expect is to fall in love with her bosses much younger son.
I was sucked into the story from the very beginning. Although filled with the typical French clichés, much like Emily in Paris, I couldn’t stop reading.

I had a hard time rooting for the couple in this book. Theo, the hero, seems to have nothing going for him other than being good looking and well mannered. Other than sex, I'm not sure what caused the two to be drawn to each other? Maybe that was the point? I feel like this should have been categorized in a different genre, since romance readers are serious trope lovers and I'm not sure this falls into any of them.

Lea's story is engaging and fun with lots of romance to boot. Escape to the French countryside in this fast-paced rom-com of a book. The perfect beach read. Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.

Thank you to the publisher and marketing team for an early copy of this ebook in exchange for an honest review!
Rich people problems with family drama in France??? I’m always here for it. The setting of this was incredible and so dreamy. I enjoyed reading from a main character with independent boss babe vibes, and I actually really liked that she was a little flawed.
The main character experiencing a lot of personal dilemmas navigating a new relationship while balancing work and managing family stress was incredibly entertaining and kept me intrigued throughout the story!

Chelsea Fagan writes for the thirtysomething corporate girlies who're seeking something beautiful and unexpected in this life.

Loved this! The setting descriptions were so beautiful and relationship drama was on point! Very enjoyable read.

I struggled with this book because I didn't find it to be a romance, and more a drama. I'm fine if books have multiple genres but they have to be edited meticulously and this felt short in this regard. It truly had all the makings for a book I would LOVE but ultimately it fell shorts in all regards because it covered too much. I still enjoyed it, I just didn't love it and I so wish I had.

This book is the definition of summer reading vibes: light, refreshing and satisfying. APV is a page turner with a younger-man romance, female friendship and some family drama that ends in the perfect explosion.
Lea Mortimer is a hospitality consultant who specializes in the transformation of historic French estates into boutique hotels. Her best friend and cousin, Stephanie, and her daughter Maya tag along on her latest job in the wake of Stephanie’s messy divorce. This latest job — the one that could finally land Lea the prestigious press coverage she’s always coveted — becomes even more complex after Lea falls for the much younger son of the chateau owner.
If you liked “The Idea of You,” you’ll love APV. What I liked most about APV was Lea — it is exceedingly rare and really refreshing to read a female main character like Lea. She’s confident, good at her job, and lives unapologetically. This is not a Hallmark movie where a character like her comes to some lame reckoning about what they want out of life. This is is a celebration of strong women.
APV is almost 400 pages, but I was so engaged by Lea and her work that I flew through it.