The book club of the title is just a mechanism for gathering together a disparate group of people. It is set up as an English language organisation to help both ex-pats and French people looking to improve their language skills. As the group read / re-read mostly classic novels they (re)discover both the texts and themselves. They do not necessarily see the books in the same way as when they read them as teenagers. Despite their differences the group also finds friendship, which sees them through some difficult situations.

"The Bordeaux Book Club" is a heart warming story of friendship and love, and might make people consider more carefully the issues around relocating to a foreign country.

Thanks to Net Galley and the publishers for the opportunity to review this book.

I'm so disappointed with this book. The prologue and outline instantly drew me in but sadly it didn't keep it although I managed to get to the end.

It's unusual as I normally love Gillian's books but sadly not this one.

A good mix of different characters from different backgrounds with a shared interest in books. Put the mix together and you get a good story. 4 stars.

Thanks to Netgalley, author and publisher for this ARC

Put the word book club in a novel’s title and I always want to take a look. That, plus the cover of this one, made me want to read The Bordeaux Book Club.

This is an easy and enjoyable read about a group of ex-pats. One of them, Grace, likes to keep busy and perhaps to feel important. She posts a notice for a book club for ex-pat English speakers and waits for people to sign up.

Among those who attend the first meeting is Leah. She is already a friend to Grace. Leah and her husband moved to France looking to have a better quality of life. It is not clear that they are finding this. Their daughter is cranky and it seems that Leah’s husband may have some secrets.

Several others come to the first meeting including Monica, George and Alfie. Alfie stands out for being the youngest in the group.

The first book selection is Great Expectations as this was Grace’s choice and she can be forceful. What will this book and others mean to the book club members as they read and get to know one another…oh, and drink some wine too. (Bordeaux is in the title for location but possibly also for the wine.)

Those looking for a quick, escapist read will, I think enjoy this title.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for this title. All opinions are my own.

This book vascillated between engaging and annoyance. I found Leah to be exhausting. She is a 45 year old woman who spent most of the book with eyes filled with tears. When was she going to grow up and accept that life has challenges? I enjoyed the camaderie of the others with Grace, George, Monica and Alife and despite their loneliness found a family in each other. They truly helped each other when it came to Alfie's Mother and Leah's struggle with Nathan and Scarlett. I just can't recommend this book on Leah alone.

This is such a lovely heartwarming story that demonstrates how family can be made up of the most unlikely collection of individuals.. In Bordeaux, France expat Grace decides to start a book club for expats. The other members are Leah, Monica, George and Alfie. As the story progresses we find out why each of them has moved to France. Each book they read enables them to open up and really explore their own emotions. The connections, friendships and support that develops between the characters is beautifully written. I loved the descriptions of the locations in this and thought that each character had depth and became immersed in their individual stories and challenges wanting to know how things were going to turn out for them. Thanks to Boldwood Books and Netgalley for the ARC

Thanks to the Publisher and Netgalley for an early review copy.

I enjoyed this book.

A group of people, a new mum, a student at university, as well as others, each with their own issues, and different ages set up a book club.

There are some twists to keep you turning the pages.

I recommend this book.

This is exactly what I needed. Teenage malaise, relationship fragmentations, book chat and wine. It was very relatable! Books aren’t just about entertainment and learning, but connections too. The Bordeaux book club combined how we can connect through books and start subjective discussions around classics and contemporary work while also offering a space to understand each other more, share a passion for understanding each other.
Sometimes the family we have is what we choose or what presents itself.

The tender tale of a group of expats who have found themselves starting a new life in Bordeaux. While their personalities, ages and reasons for landing in Bordeaux are dramatically different, they all long to build community, connection and camaraderie....hence the Bordeaux Book Club is born.

So fill your wine glass, then sip and savor this wonderfully touching journey.

A bookclub of expats in France trying to make a go at life in Bordeaux.

A book about friendship and learning the importance of communication in relationships and opening up and discussing things together .

There was something I could relate to with each character in the novel which helped maintain my interest in how everything would work out for the bookclub members . The wiring is skillful and the many characters and their subplots are well balanced .

Thank you to Netgalley and Boldwood books for this ARC. This is my honest review !

Thank you Boldwood Books and Gillian Harvey for a copy of The Bordeaux Book Club in exchange for my honest review!

Books and wine… What more could you need?! 📖 🍷

The Bordeaux Book Club follows six non-natives living in Bordeaux. Each drawn to an advertisement for a book club, these strangers connect over classic literature, wine, and eventually… life.

The Bordeaux Book Club is warm, heartfelt, and captures the reality of life… from birth to friendship, heartache, and death. Gillian’s writing is raw, uplifting, and keeps the reader intrigued throughout the story. The shifting third person POVs help the storyline move quickly!

You might like this book if:
+ You like women’s fiction / fiction. There’s a hint of romance but it is not the most prominent plot line.
+ You like books with larger messages or themes that make you think.
+ You like books that capture what it means to be human.

Genre: Women’s fiction, contemporary fiction
Tropes: Strangers to Friends, Strangers to Lovers, Growing
⭐️: 4/5

The Bordeaux Book Club is a delightful and heartwarming novel that follows the members of a book club. Leah moved to Bordeaux with her husband and daughter, seeking a fresh start. She starts a book club with Grace, Monica, George and Alfie, each of whom are dealing with their own personal challenges and seeking change in their lives.
A wonderful and captivating read that will leave you feeling uplifted and inspired!

The Bordeaux Book Club
by Gillian Harvey
Pub Date: March 15, 2024
Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.
This is my first Harvey book and I found it delightful. I love books about books!~
Wonderfully warm and enchanting, THE BORDEAUX WINE CLUB immerses the reader in two tantalizing worlds: the book-club that turns into something much more, and the dream of "let's-buy-a-farmhouse-in-France." Through such engaging and relatable characters as the suspicious wife who follows that dream and her gregarious older divorcee friend, to an unlucky-in-love builder, heartbroken young man, and desperate new mum, Harvey skillfully balances a multitude of subplots and surprises while treating the reader to a thoroughly satisfying conclusion. With empathy, insight, and humor, THE BORDEAUX WINE CLUB will delight readers seeking their own escape and meaningful camaraderie over the joys of literature, laughter, and love.
4 stars

Thank you for sending me an advanced copy of this book to read. It was my first time reading a book by the author Gillian Harvey. I enjoyed finding out about the characters, the way they had found each other in France and as a book lover that it was based around a book club! However, it was a tad slow for me and seemed to take a while for the plot to get going. It did give you a bit of a feel good factor as you read which would possibly be suited to a holiday read.

Thank you @netgalley and @boldwoodbooks for the ARC of The Bordeaux Book Club by Gillian Harvey. The was a charming read. I always love books about books and how books bring people together. My only wish was that there was more setting in it since the book takes place in France. I enjoyed the books they read and the stories of the characters.

Leah and her husband move to France essentially to become homesteaders. It is tough and their relationship along with their relationship with their teen daughter starts to fracture. Leah and her friend Grace decide to form a book club. Through their love of books they form a bond and help each other through tough times. Leah is trying to find out why her husband keeps disappearing for hours at a time, Monica is struggling with motherhood, Alfie is taking care of a sick mother. This is a lovely story of books and friendship.

Gillian Harvey is one of my go to authors when I want a book filled with a lovely sense of place and believable characters that I will care about. In the Bordeaux Book Club I really felt I was right there in a small town in France with people that seemed like my real life book club friends. Like real life we are often going through trying times but in these books there are always a happier ending.

This is the second book I’ve read by this author and it certainly didn’t disappoint.
Books, France, wine… what’s not to love?
The main characters are all so different and likeable. I read this in just over a day, had to keep turning the pages as the story unfolded. It’s a 5 star review from me.

The Bordeaux Book Club is the first Gillian Harvey novel that I have read. I enjoy book clubs, which made it easy to enjoy this novel. Book clubs have a way of turning strangers into friends. In Harvey's The Bordeaux Book Club, 5 strangers form a connection that each one needs. The three women are a diverse group, with a difference of age and life experience that still enables them to create a connection. The two men are more different, at least on the surface, but what they have in common is their ability to read and discover the finer nuances of the books the club chooses to read. These 5 book club members are all hiding problems, which they try to keep secret. What they learn is that problems shared become problems easier to bear.

Harvey does a nice job of creating characters with dimension and depth. Graces creates the book club because she a reader with diverse interests but few friends. Leah joins the book club because she knows Grace, even though their connection is superficial. Monica has a newborn infant but needs friends and adult conversation. George is not a reader, but as he discovers, he has an innate understanding of the motivation that lies behind characters' life choices. The final member, Alfie, is a teenager, who joins the bookclub because his mother is unwell and he enjoys reading books to her. At the first book club meeting, 5 strangers meet one another and through books find a much needed connection.

Books create the kind of connection that few other activities share. Discussing novels involves a sharing of ideas that forge connections. I love books and have read all the novels discussed at the book club meetings described in The Bordeaux Book Club. I felt like I was eavesdropping on the book club's wonderful discussions. Reading this novel was a treat. Thank you to Boldwood Books for providing this ARC for me to read and review. My comments are my honest review of The Bordeaux Book Club. I am grateful to NetGalley for helping me meet another new author.

Books, wine, french countryside and warm heartfelt stores of people helping one another get through life’s ups and downs. How can you go wrong? Gillian Harvey has once again created a wonderful book based in France. It centres on a group of British ex-pats who come together to form a book club. Not only do they discuss great classic books, but it also becomes a connection to new friends they didn’t know they needed.
I was completely captivated with the various storylines of the characters and found myself turning pages to learn more about their various dilemmas. A light enjoyable read that will transport you away. Thank you to NetGalley and Boldwood books for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I love a book about books and book clubs as you get to know the characters through the books they read. This was done beautifully in The Bordeaux Book Club. Leah is new to the area and joins a book club as a way to fit in to her new life and surroundings. I loved how the discussions of the books was linked to the characters experiences: some of these experiences touched me personally and some I could relate to because of friends or families experiences. Loved it.