Great idea for a book and really well executed. A thoroughly good read. Highly recommended. .

Sorry, could not get into this one. Seems well enough written but I just could not connect. These things happen, I suppose. Sorry about that

An enjoyable read with a feel good factor. A nice easy read for a sunny afternoon.

This book was so sweet! I went into it thinking that it would be more heavy on the parenting end of things, but I loved that it was definitely a memoir of life in general, not just from a parenting perspective. I love all things France and this didn't disappoint. However, the last handful of chapters felt unedited to me. Some felt like they didn't flow with the rest of the book and others felt just out of place in general, like the editor got bored 3/4 of the way through and didn't make corrections as needed. Overall, a good read.

I am a total Francophile, so I was drawn to this book from the title and description. I was expecting Eat, Pray, Love, except with French food instead of Italian, and that's almost what I got. Almost.
First, the positives: Samantha Vérant's story is a lovely fairy tale, complete with Prince Charming in the form of Jean-Luc, with whom she reconnects after 20 years, and the mostly-French setting is vividly depicted, with all the baguettes, escargot, and red wine you could want. My favorite parts are Samantha's forays into the local markets or chance meetings with neighbors. These encounters are filled with the awkwardness you might expect from a non-native French speaker, but at the same time a determined optimism that makes you root for Samantha and her new family. She happily overturns the stereotype that the French are grumpy snobs who hate expats in general and Americans in particular.
Now for the part I didn't enjoy so much: the light tone and constant happy banter give the book a surface-only feel, with none of the vulnerability you would expect from, say, a Mary Karr memoir, or even Elizabeth Gilbert, who is not afraid of self-examination. You can tell that Vérant is being very careful to protect the privacy of her young stepdaughters, which is understandable, if confusing once you've decided to write a memoir. She also has no desire to spill the tea on the romantic side of her relationship with Jean-Luc, which is a little disappointing in a book whose subject is rekindling a romance after a 20-year gap since their first steamy affair. The closest allusion to romance is when Vérant confides Jean-Luc's belief that they never fight because they are like bonobo chimpanzees, who apparently "have sex to keep conflict and violence out of their lives. Make love, not war! And that's all I have to say on the subject." Well, okay, understandable, but again, maybe don't choose to write a memoir then.
Instead of delving deep into feelings and motivations, Vérant tends to rely on metaphors that range from tired to cringe-worthy. Her description of being a step-mother: "I was trying to put my best foot forward, but kept tripping." When the family visits the ruined fortress of Chateau de Montségur, "history came alive. One could almost hear the battle cries, the sounds of swords clanging against one another, the hooves of galloping horses." And a kind remark from her new in-laws means, she "was on a roll, or rather, a baguette." Yikes.
I recommend this book for anyone who might be a fellow Francophile or who likes a generous helping of French recipes scattered throughout the story. Don't expect a gritty analysis of life as a stepparent or a Fifty Shades of Gris description of romance, and you won't be disappointed. You will enjoy this book if you are looking for a fun, lighthearted romp about moving to the south of France with your international Study Abroad lover. Charming and sweet.

Great book! I thoroughly enjoyed reading about her adventures in France.

Delightfully funny book about the ups and downs of integrating into a new culture. Full of love and heartbreak, I reveled in her whit and wisdom. The end seemed a bit awkward (I thought it was going to end 2 or 3 times, but it kept going), but not enough to put me off her lovely story.

I’ve been working on learning French for what feels like forever (more so me getting busy and French lessons being on the back burner. French isn’t THAT hard). So when I was given a chance to review this memoir about an American woman moving to France, I was already interested. I loved this book so much that I actually bought a paperback copy to have on my shelf.

The author is really funny. But not in a “I’m desperately trying to be funny in a dry way”. (Dear Author- don’t ever feel bad about that garlic press. You did NEED that). She’s funny because you can see her going through these experiences. I’ve not gotten to travel abroad, but I’ve traveled across the US a lot and I can tell you the weird insecurities you start to feel are entirely real.

There is a scene in the beginning and the author is going to the market. And she only has her basket. She’s quickly realizing her basket is heavy and then she still has more to get. Y’all, I swear I have done this so many times. As I was reading that scene, I felt my shoulders sag in defeat for our heroine. You arms are full, you’re walking in an environment you aren’t entirely used to and in the big scheme of life, its not a big event but at that time, it can feel so overwhelming.

One thing I truly enjoyed about this memoir was seeing true aspects of French life. Don’t get me wrong; I do enjoy seeing glamorized Parisian stories where everything is fabulous and beautifully outrageous and romantic. But that isn’t really reality, and getting to see a side of France that most don’t see was most enjoyable for me.

We also see this new French family coming together in other ways. Where kids are involved, there is always push and pull. While some of these scenes aren’t always the funniest/cutest/quirky stories that some want in a memoir, I appreciated seeing them here. The author has made a huge change in her life and not all change is pleasant. It can become pleasant over time, but that doesn’t mean everything you experience in the moment is this grand experience.

If you are interested in the French way of life, and also a heartwarming tale of love and life, then you’d definitely enjoy this memoir from Samantha Vérant.

I loved this book, it is a combo. story and recipe book. It was funny and heartwarming. This author writes with such an honest insight. I saw she has a book before this one., I have to buy that and read it. I loved this so much I plan to buy copies for my girlfriends

There were some great bits of humor in this book and, while this was an interesting tale of creating a 'step' family, it seemed to me difficult to follow the progression of some events. It was like there was large sections of the story of events that had been edited or were otherwise missing.

Thank you, NetGalley for allowing me to read this book. I loved it! Samantha Verant has written this memoir about her second chance at love at 40 with great humour and honesty. I didn't want it to end - more please! Dropping into a family that has lost a wife and mother must be difficult - but imagine doing that in rural France when you don't speak the language and have had no children of your own! Samantha wrote from the heart, and having made the difficult decision not to continue trying for her own child she wholeheartedly 'adopted' Jean - Luc's two teeenagers, with great success! I wholeheartedly recommend tis book to you - and try some of the recipes too!

The phrase “joie de vivre” kept crossing my mind as I read this charming, witty and at times, extremely tender memoir by the lovely Samantha Verant. Given a second chance at love at the age of 40, Samantha relocates from her home in America to the gorgeous French countryside with her new husband, Jean-Luc and his two children. While the fairy tale life of being whisked away to Europe by your prince charming and roaming the streets of Paris sounds incredibly romantic, the reality of the situation soon hit hard. Struggling with the language barrier, having no immediate support system to help her acclimate to her new surroundings and successfully navigating her new role as step mother are just some of the daunting challenges Samantha faced as she adjusted to her new life.

She also candidly opens up about the miscarriages that she suffered as she and Jean-Luc tried to have a child of their own. Imagine being oceans away from your mother and your girlfriends, and enduring such tragic losses. These chapters were heartbreaking to read and I just wanted to reach out and give her a hug. Her resiliency and resolve shine through the pages as she grieves her losses and heals. She and Jean-Luc share a passion for cooking and this is where they always return– to the kitchen. Mouth watering recipes can be found sprinkled throughout the book and I found myself wanting to pull up a chair and watch her work her culinary magic while sipping red wine from a very large glass.
This book was just a delight to read and I thought it was a wonderful testament to blended families. Samantha shows that with love, respect, and hard work you can take the ingredients given to you be life and make something truly extraordinary with it.

From the very first pages of this book I was captivated by Mrs Verant's writing style. She has such a natural writing style that helps the reader feel at home in her book. She is funny, poetic, beautifully descriptive and incredibly real. Loved all the culture throughout the book. As someone with a BA in foreign studies I loved all the French culture I learned from this book. I was fascinated by it. Loved learning it from a person who was originally from America and was living (not just traveling through) a foreign country. Ups and downs that come with being an expatriate were plenty. Loved the authenticity of the author not just painting a beautiful picture of her life in France. Great memoir. You will enjoy it.

How to Make A French Family is a delightful follow-up to Seven Letters From Paris. In this book, Samantha has moved to Cugnaux, a small town in southwestern France with her husband, Jean-Luc, and her stepchildren, Elvire and Max. Moving to a new country, newly married, and suddenly being a mom are all huge life events. Samantha shares the struggles of her experience without dragging the reader down; she adequately describes the difficulties while still keeping an upbeat tone, which is consistent throughout the entire book.

One thing I really love about her writing is that the tone makes you feel happy and like everything is going to be okay. This is a happy read from the very first sentence and doesn't stop, despite painful and uncomfortable topics (miscarriages, telling your step-daughter you're having "asshole" for dinner). There were several moments where I laughed out loud (see "asshole" note in previous sentence) and some where I wanted to cry (or give them a hug) for what this family I have grown to care so much about through these two books we're going through. It was also really neat to read about how Seven Letters from Paris came to be.

The positive tone of this book is contagious and makes me feel hopeful for my own aspirations to write and become fluent in French. Merci, Samantha, for another truly wonderful book. I'm already eagerly awaiting the next one! ;-)

I was given a copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

When Samantha's (Sam) parents moved to London, they left her in the U.S. to attend college. She spent her summers in London. One summer, at age 19, Sam and her friend, Tracey, decided to visit London and Paris. In Paris, they met two sexy Frenchmen, Jean-Luc and Patrick.

Jean-Luc has a great job and an engineer with a company in Toulouse France that is the equivalent of NASA in the U.S. After meeting Sam, he wrote to her numerous times when she was at college but she never wrote back.

Now, 20 years later, Sam has been through a very bad divorce and needs a big change in her life. Having kept Jean-Luc’s letters, she decides to write him and apologize for never responding to his letters. He is now a widower with two children. Soon, emails and phone calls increased to the point that Sam finally decides to fly to France. There, they get married. Now, she is Madame Verant married to Jean-Luc and stepmom to two.

The story follows Sam as she struggles to learn the language, settle into the customs of a new country, and do her best to be a good mother to budding teenagers.

Even though she is now 39 and has never had children, Sam and Jean-Luc attempt a family of their own which is not an easy thing for them.

In her memoir, Sam describes the food that she shops for and prepares (including yummy recipes). She also shares descriptions of the surrounding areas where they visit with the children and the friends they make. She manages to laugh at herself at the faux pas she makes with the language which endears her to everyone. When she finds some other English speaking ladies in the area, they become good friends and share their experiences.

This story is totally delightful and means so much to me. I experienced so much of what Sam did. My husband is also an engineer with NASA who was sent to a NATO organization in Paris for a 3-year tour. With 2 little children in tow, and a zero knowledge of French, I was the one struggling to adjust to a new country, language, customs, and being away from family. Yes, it was difficult and I experienced much of the same frustrations that Sam did. However, the key as Sam points out is to become a part of the culture as much as you can. Learning to laugh at yourself is necessary and enjoy this wonderful experience even if some of the experiences are laughter mixed with tears. We loved it so much, that we went back to Paris 10 years later for another 3-year tour.

I do hope others will read this book too. You don’t need to have lived or even visited another country to enjoy the experiences that Sam shares with you. It’s a book you will not want to put down.

Copy provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

“How to Make a French Family” is a memoir, detailing author Samantha Verant’s marriage in her late 30’s to Jean-Luc, a man who she met briefly at 19 while traveling Europe and reconnected with via Facebook after her first marriage ended. This book encompasses the many changes happening in her life during this time. Samantha struggles as an immigrant trying to adapt to the culture and language of another country, while also trying to build a relationship with her two stepchildren, find out what it means to her to have a family, and become a published (and paid!) author.

I loved the author’s writing style. She writes as if she is telling you her story over coffee. The writing flows and engages the reader. I truly cared about what happened to Samantha and her family and could not wait to get to the end of the book to find out all I could.

The author also includes recipes in each section of her book. Although I’m not a cook, I enjoyed reading about the different ingredients and techniques involved in making each dish.

I would recommend this book to anyone who likes a good story. This book would be a great read for book clubs, as well.

This is a wonderful story of adjusting to change, trying new things, and developing family. The recipes sound delicious and don't take up too much of the book. If you're not a food person, you can enjoy the story without missing much at all. The author balances the book perfectly, showing just enough of her family and her feelings to draw you in, but not exposing too much private information or dwelling too long on the hard things. She manages to convey depth of negative feelings with wallowing, which is a pretty remarkable feat for a memoir.

Samantha has been given a second chance at love when she was 40 years old. Now living in Southwestern France, she is prepared to take up her new role as a wife and stepmum. She quickly finds out that making a French family takes more than just good intentions. Suffering from culture shock and struggling to communicate with her 10 year old stepson and 13 year old stepdaughter.

This is a funny memoir that I loved from beginning to end.

I would like to thank NetGalley, Source Books and the author Samantha Verant for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

What a lovely and charming book! The key, I think, is the big heart for Verant's new family, even with all the ups and downs everyone experiences. I especially liked that this was set in the South versus in Paris, making it all the more about settling in. Great local color, great characters- you will root for this family to succeed. I did not read the first book but that wasn't a problem at all. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. Choose this one for a good light read.

How to Make a French Family is a wonderful, funny, embracing memoir of a Chicago girl who marries an older French man , becomes step-mother to his children, and moves to a small French city. This novel speaks on themes such as love, loss and family, and it is written in an honest voice that gives the reader a close intimate relationship with the author.--Le Coeur de l'Artiste