On the surface this book had all the elements that would make it the kind of story I typically enjoy. For some reason I simply did not connect with the story, writing style or the characters. I don't DNF books so I persevered but this one was simply not for me. Set in Provence this is a historical drama that follows a number of different characters in a fictional village from the time of Nazi occupation and during the aftermath of war. I am sure this is just a matter of reader/story incompatibility and that other readers, especially fans of historical fiction, might connect with this book better.

Grateful to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for gifting me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

A sweet story about the meaning of family, loss, and searching for yourself.

The story is many vignettes of various characters that make up a French village from WW2 to the present day. The author describes these villages beautifully. I love how the kindness, secrets, and connections are told throughout the story. It was beautifully written and felt like a real-life community.

This book reminded me of people watching from afar. It gave an inside look at the way in which people interact and choose to show their emotions.

Thank you, NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for a review.

I really wanted to love this book, but I think I went in with high expectations for a different type of narrative. This story was positioned as a WWII novel, but barely touched the surface on anything war-related.

Set up in chapters from various characters' points of view, I felt like I kept waiting for something to happen. Each chapter introduced that character and their backstory, and while a few did intersect at points throughout, nothing really happened. I was 90% of the way through when I realized that I was near the end and nothing had happened yet - and that nothing really would.

It was well-written and the characters were interesting, but this seemed to be more of an introduction to the characters than a real narrative delving into their lives. I was left unsatisfied at never really getting to know anyone that well - except maybe Didi - whereas the entire novel could've been his own personal journey instead of adding in the other random chapters.

Thank you for the chance to review this book, however, unfortunately, I was unable to download this title before it was archived

This is an absolutely delightful read, which captures Provence and its people admirably.

DNF 50%
While beautifully written, I often found myself mentally roaming from the storyline. I failed to connect to it and therefore was not interested in completing the book.
My apologies.