This memoir is a charming story of American Samantha Verant falling in love with Jean-Luc, whom she met twenty years previously in Paris and whom she then tracked down thanks to the miracle of the internet to send him the link to a series of blog posts that she had written and a long overdue letter, with love ultimately developing between the two.
Half memoir, half cook book, Verant weaves a take of her first contacts with Jean-Luc, to their marriage and her relocating to south western France. Charmingly open and honest about all her experiences, both the good and the confusing, this story follows her life over the course of several years.
Taking its cue from the many books that have come before it, there is really very little innovative in this story. It is a stock standard book in which Francophiles can get swept away with wishing and dreaming for their own French prince and the perfect French fairy tale. Verant manages to make the people of France seem welcoming and open to her despite the many trip ups over pronunciation of the language which are often hilarious. She isn't afraid to share her culture shock at moving to a culture so very different from her own and her rebellious spirit that dared to bring American culture to her staunchly French family.
Its impossible not to identify strongly with Verant as she shares both the joy of love and the heartbreak of infertility. She also gives a ringside seat to watching cross cultural step parenting up close and personal. She reveals the isolation an immigrant can feel in a new culture, as well as the excitement.
And is it possible that France doesn't have bacon the way we do in North America? Her discussion of this reality makes me want to send a care package to France as soon as possible.

For some reason I didn't think i would like this book but I actually loved it and really enjoyed reading it. Like someone else said, it is very honest and it was also quite heartbreaking at times. I liked the truthful way the relationship between Sam and her step-children developed too. It was a really enjoyable read and put across how isolating it must feel to be in another country, using a different language and having to get used to different social norms. I love books about France (being a dedicated Francophile) and would recommend this one.

Thank You to Sourcebooks for providing me with an advanced copy of Samantha Verant's memoir, How to Make a French Family, in exchange for an honest review.

PLOT- In her early thirties, Samantha Verant found herself divorced, working as a dog walker, and living at home with her parents in California. Thinking about her past, she decides to send an apology letter to Jean-Luc, a Frenchman whom she had met in her late teens while traveling in Europe. Verant had promised to stay in touch with Jean-Luc, but failed to keep her promise. Now, nearly two decades later, she discovers that Jean-Luc is a widower with two teenage children, Max and Elvire. Jean-Luc and Verant quickly fall back in love, marrying a year later. Verant's memoir captures the joys and frustrations of moving to a foreign country and becoming a step-mother to two French teenagers. 

LIKE- I've read many "fish-out-of-water" memoirs about living in foreign country, but Verant's unique details make How to Make a French Family, compelling. Verant is not only living in a foreign country, but she is now the step-mother to two French chidren. As a American step-mother to two Swedish children ( and a former dog walker, divorcee and Californian), I could relate to Verant. We still live in the United States, and only have the children on holidays, but it's not out of the question that we could one day move to Europe. I admire Verant, as she is both tough and brave following her new destiny in France. Luckily, Max and Elvire are accepting of Verant, and normal teenage issues aside, they accept her as part of their family. 

Verant is in her late 30's/early 40's, when she decides to try for a baby with Jean-Luc. Verant suffers multiple miscarriages, but the support of her French family, allows her to embrace the idea of her current family being enough. Although Max and Elvire were happy about the prospect of a new sibling, both time and the loss of the babies, gave them the courage to express to Verant that they feared she would not view them the same as a child of her own. Verant came from a blended family. and was very close to her own step-father, so this was the last thing that she wanted Max and Elvire to think. This frank dialogue and love, is what I liked most about Verant's family. 

If you're a Francophile or simply curious about French culture, Verant peppers her story with her American perspective of living in a foreign country. She certainly has some frustrations and mishaps, but most of her writing reveals an affinity for her new home. 

Food is a huge part of French culture and Verant includes the recipes for all of the meals mentioned in, How to Make a French Family. Do not read on an empty stomach!

DISLIKE- Nothing. Verant's memoir is entertaining and it will warm your heart. 

RECOMMEND- Yes! How to Make a French Family is proof that your life can shift course when you least expect it. Verant has a beautiful life to share, and it will certainly make you want to visit southern France.

Samantha Verant follows up her first memoir with this lovely account after she marries Jean Luc and moves to southwestern France. The descriptions of her travels around France are inviting, but her account of how she learned to fit into a different culture are fascinating. Enjoyable, especially for this Francophile.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourceboks for the ARC of this book.

I hate giving books 2 stars but I hate it even more when it's a memoir. Unfortunately this book was just not my cup of tea. It wasn't anything really about the book other than it seemed mundane to me. I felt the book just get of "went" but it didn't really go anywhere. I did really enjoy the recipes though so if Mme Verant wants to put out a cookbook I would be HAPPY to read that!!

Samantha moves her life to France with her new step family and is ready for her life to change, just not necessarily as she expects it too.
A great novel, told with humour and the occasional heartbreak, this book will make you long for long weekend in Paris or quite frankly, anywhere in France with a decent bottle of wine. You will find yourself rooting for Sam, for her to find happiness, love & contentment.
An enjoyable read.

Perfect book in its category- I read the first book so for the first part of this new Samantha
Verant title I found myself wondering if I had read this one before too- impossible as
that is-as I read on the uniqueness of the second book was apparent. I liked best her ability
to capture the challenges of relocation/relationships free of sugar coating. I think if I had to pick
I would choose this title over the first one

A delightful insightful novel about the American who after a disastrous first marriage reconnects with a former French boyfriend that she knew briefly as a younger woman. It begins with the aftermath of their wedding and how she begins her new life with two step children and is interspersed with recipes from the meals that are part of her new French life. The wonderful characters she encounters as well as the ups and downs of living with the children and also trying for her longed for baby. Something to make you smile, laugh out loud and even cry.

What? Another memoir of living in France with recipes? Yes, and it's a good one, a sweet story of love postponed for 20 years, then romantically fulfilled by the brave author who took a chance and sent an email. That resulted in weddings on two continents (civil wedding in France, bride's family in California). Samantha Vérant also opens her heart to her new husband's two children from his previous marriage, and to a new life in France, in spite of a sometimes rocky adjustment. She writes and finds a publisher for her earlier title, Seven Letters in Paris. and - bien sûr! - she learns to cook classic and creative French dishes too, and I have a new (to me) dish to turn my attention to - repeat after me: Tartiflette!

Love, laughter and tears-a delight to read.

I loved the concept of this: A memoir with recipes. A lovely warm tone at the start, I could tell instantly it was a book I was going to enjoy. A lovely, lighthearted look at life and love.

I must confess I have Samantha Verant's first memoir-but not read it yet. I wondered whether to read it first or dive straight in this new book. Could it stand alone too? I definitely think it can, you can read them in any order.

There's a really happy, bubbly feel to this. It would make a very pretty, heart warming film-but it's not just a fictional feel-good movie-it's Samantha's real life-and it makes wonderful reading. So the fairytale begins-but does it continue happily ever after? There are unexpected humorous events right after getting home from their honeymoon.

I really enjoyed this memoir combined with recipes symbolising the perfect ingredients for happy and contented family life and the spontaneous changes to those recipes along the way; the ups and downs that life throws at you. A wonderful read, a real feast of a book. I loved it all the way through, from start to finish. Love, laughter and tears-a delight to read.

An absolute delight to read! Samantha writes about the challenges of adapting to life in France with her long-lost love and his two children. The writing is honest, uplifting, and oh so real. Now I need to seek out her first book!