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Release date: May 17, 2016

Publisher: Lake Union

Genre: Women’s Fiction 

Blurb: 

Suddenly single after twenty-two years of marriage, the calm of Katherine Price’s midlife has turned upside down. Seeking to find her true self, she took a chance on starting over. A year later, she is certain of this: she’s in love with Philippe and adores his idyllic French homeland, where he wants her to live with him.

But all that feels like a fantasy far removed from Toronto, where she’s helping her friend Molly, hospitalized after a life-threatening accident. Staying in her childhood home full of memories, Katherine wonders: Is she really ready to leave everything behind for an unknown life abroad? And if all her happiness lies with Philippe, will it last? Can she trust in love again?

Searching her heart, Katherine finds the pull of the familiar is stronger than she thought. An unexpected meeting with her ex, the first time since his cruel departure, and a stunning declaration of love from an old flame spur her introspection.

With sunlit backdrops and plot twists as breathtaking as the beaches of Antibes, author Patricia Sands brings her trilogy about second chances to a provocative and satisfying close that proves that a new life just might be possible—if you’re willing to let your heart lead you home. 

Review: 

It’s so bittersweet that I’ve come to the final book in the Love in Provence series! If you missed my earlier reviews here is The Promise of Provence and Promises to Keep. Thanks to the generosity of Patricia Sands herself  I have another fantastic giveaway where one lucky person will receive the entire series in ebook format! Enter via the Rafflecopter at the end of this post. 

I Promise You This picks up immediately where things ended in the second book, which thank goodness as it ended on a gigantic cliffhanger and I was desperate to know what happened! Due to a tragedy, Kat finds herself back home in Canada and is surprised by the conflicting emotions she’s experiencing upon her return home. She begins to question her decisions as of late and has many moments of doubt as she wonders if she’s been hasty in deciding to make France her permanent home. Once again, the way that Sands infused the reality of life into Kat’s story pleased me greatly as things were not all rainbows and roses for her, it was an accurate portrayal of what someone’s real life could actually be. 

Switching things up and having Philippe visit Canada was a nice change of pace as the first two books were primarily set in France. Seeing how he fit into Kat’s life was interesting and seemed only fitting as usually she was the one struggling with a language barrier and a completely different culture. I don’t want to say much about the plot, but as with book two there were some surprises and secrets that cropped up again. 

Though this was an ideal way to end this trilogy I’m still really sad to say goodbye to this series and the lovely characters that I’ve grown to know and love. I’ll especially miss reading all the gorgeous descriptions of the food Kat eats and the stunning locales she visits as Sands has a real knack for bringing the setting to life. If I didn’t already have the urge to visit France I most certainly would have developed one now and can’t wait until one day when I can experience it for myself! 

Overall rating: 4/5

Thanks to the author for my review copy. 

About the Author: 

Patricia Sands lives in Toronto, Canada, when she isn’t somewhere else. An admitted travel fanatic, she can pack a bag in a flash and be ready to go anywhere … particularly the south of France, for her annual visit.

Giveaway (Open internationally)

Goodreads|Amazon
Release date: October 6, 2015

Publisher: Lake Union

Genre: Women’s Fiction

Blurb: 

On the evening of her twenty-second wedding anniversary, Katherine Price can’t wait to celebrate. But instead of receiving an anniversary card from her husband, she finds a note asking for a divorce.

Fifty-five and suddenly alone, Katherine begins the daunting task of starting over. She has her friends, her aging mother, and her career to occupy her, but the future seems to hold little promise—until, after a winter of heartbreak, Katherine is persuaded to try a home exchange holiday in the South of France.

In Provence, bright fields of flowers bloom below medieval hilltop villages with winding cobblestone streets. Charmed by the picturesque countryside, the breathtaking Côte d’Azur, and the enchantment-filled boulevards of Paris, Katherine feels life opening up once again. Lavender perfumes the air, and chance encounters hint at romance and passion. But memories of heartbreak and betrayal linger—and her former life waits for her back home. Can she find the courage to begin again?

Review: 

I keep finding all of these amazing summer reads lately so I apologize in advance if I’m contributing to making your summer reading lists being out of control! The Promise of Provence was an absolutely lovely read, I fell in love with the main character, Katherine, but I also was utterly charmed by France as the author really brought the country to life. I’m so happy there are still two books left in this beautiful series.

When the novel begins, Katherine is dumped in an extremely callous manner by her jerk of a husband, James. He breaks up with her via a note on their anniversary. Thank goodness his role in this story is minimal, you never actually meet him and for that I was grateful. The story follows Katherine over the course of a year as she deals with the end of her twenty something year marriage and her struggles as she navigates a new life as a single woman in her fifties.

As I mentioned earlier, I adored Katherine. She was so raw, vulnerable and honest, wholly relatable. She has a small support group in her friends Molly and Andrea, (Andrea is also her cousin) and both of them were great characters as well. Molly had an air of mystery about her and I’m hoping to learn more about her secrets in subsequent books. She also has a terrible potty mouth but that only made me like her more! There were also many fantastic people that Katherine meets as she travels in France, they were so charming and interesting! There is some romance along the way as well, but I won’t tell you with whom, you’ll have to read and see for yourself.

It was very clear that Sands has a deep personal connection to France and Canada, her passion was apparent in her gorgeous descriptive writing style. In her authors note she calls the book her love letter to France and that’s an apt description. The food described was stunning and had me practically drooling several times and the imagery she conjured really brought the setting to life. I had such a great time following Katherine on her adventures as she experienced highs and lows and can’t wait to reconnect with her in the second book.

Overall rating: 4/5

About the Author: 

Patricia Sands lives in Toronto, Canada, when she isn’t somewhere else. An admitted travel fanatic, she can pack a bag in a flash and be ready to go anywhere … particularly the south of France, for her annual visit.

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Release date: April 25, 2017

Publisher: Gallery Books

Genre: Women’s Fiction

Blurb: 

From the next “major voice in Southern fiction” (New York Times bestselling author Elin Hilderbrand) comes the first in an all-new series chronicling the journeys of three sisters and their mother—and a secret from their past that has the potential to tear them apart and reshape their very definition of what it means to be a family.

Caroline Murphy swore she’d never set foot back in the small Southern town of Peachtree Bluff; she was a New York girl born and bred and the worst day of her life was when, in the wake of her father’s death, her mother selfishly forced her to move—during her senior year of high school, no less—back to that hick-infested rat trap where she’d spent her childhood summers. But now that her marriage to a New York high society heir has fallen apart in a very public, very embarrassing fashion, a pregnant Caroline decides to escape the gossipmongers with her nine-year-old daughter and head home to her mother, Ansley.

Ansley has always put her three daughters first, especially when she found out that her late husband, despite what he had always promised, left her with next to nothing. Now the proud owner of a charming waterfront design business and finally standing on her own two feet, Ansley welcomes Caroline and her brood back with open arms. But when her second daughter Sloane, whose military husband is overseas, and youngest daughter and successful actress Emerson join the fray, Ansley begins to feel like the piece of herself she had finally found might be slipping from her grasp. Even more discomfiting, when someone from her past reappears in Ansley’s life, the secret she’s harbored from her daughters their entire lives might finally be forced into the open.

Exploring the powerful bonds between sisters and mothers and daughters, this engaging novel is filled with Southern charm, emotional drama, and plenty of heart. 

Review: 

Have you ever experienced love at first sight with a book? Just one look was all it took for me to be intrigued by Slightly South of Simple, I just knew this would be a book that I would connect with and enjoy and I was so right! I follow Kristy on Instagram, (her feed is absolutely stunning and the pictures in this post are hers) she blogs with her mom at Design Chic and when she posted about SSOS I was head over heels based on the cover alone. When I read the blurb, I was even more excited especially when I saw a glowing endorsement for her work from Elin Hilderbrand, she’s one of my favorite authors. All of that to say, this was a book that spoke to me from the minute I laid eyes on it.

It’s told from the alternating perspectives of Ansley and Caroline. Ansley is a 58 year old mom to three grown daughters and she lives a simple life in Peachtree Bluff, Georgia. A peaceful existence until all three of her girls move back home at the same time with their own children in tow. Caroline has left her husband after he cheated on her in a very public way while she’s six months pregnant. Emerson is an actress and her new movie is shooting in Georgia and Sloane’s husband Adam has been deployed again leaving her and her two young sons at home. Having her entire family under one roof is a mixed blessing for Ansley, she adores them, but they are all so different and none of them are easy to live with. Ansley also has some skeletons in her closet that need to stay buried, but with everyone back in town, these secrets may come to light whether she wants them to or not.

SSOS had all the ingredients I love in a book; family drama, a sprinkling of romance, humor, and a beautiful setting. Stories about sisters always appeal to me and with the complicated relationships between Caroline, Sloane and Emerson I was so interested and invested in their lives. I could relate to all four women on some level which is so important to me in terms of my enjoyment of a book. This is character driven and I can honestly say that I really liked every single character, I even cared deeply about them all which speaks volumes about the authors outstanding character development.

Though all three sisters feature heavily in the book, this focused more on Caroline and since it’s the first in a series I’m assuming that the next books will focus on Sloane and Emerson. Woodson Harvey laid the groundwork for so many possibilities as to which direction this series will follow and I can’t wait to see what happens in Peachtree Bluff next. She’s a fresh, strong voice in Southern fiction, SSOS is witty, wise, insightful and funny. There were so many fantastic quotes from the romantic to the poignant, I’ll share a couple of my favorites at the end of this post. I’m so excited about this series and even more thrilled to be offering a copy of this gem of a book to one of my lucky readers! Look below for the Rafflecopter.

Overall rating: 5/5

Thanks to the author and publisher for my review copy.

Quotes: 

About the Author: 

Kristy Woodson Harvey is the author of Dear Carolina (Berkley/Penguin Random House, 2015), Lies and Other Acts of Love (Berkley/Penguin Random House, 2016) and the Peachtree Bluff Series, beginning with Slightly South of Simple (Gallery/Simon & Schuster, 2017). Dear Carolina was long-listed for the Pat Conroy Southern Book Prize, has been optioned for film and has appeared on numerous “must-read” lists. Lies and Other Acts of Love was a Romantic Times top pick, a Southern Booksellers Okra Pick and was chosen to be a part of the 2017 Trio display, an integration of story, art and song, which will spend the year traveling the country.

She blogs with her mom daily on Design Chic, the inaugural member of Traditional Home’s design blogger hall of fame, about how creating a beautiful home can be the catalyst for creating a beautiful life and loves connecting with readers at kristywoodsonharvey.com.

Harvey is a Phi Beta Kappa, summa cum laude graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s school of journalism and holds a master’s in English from East Carolina University, with a concentration in multicultural and transnational literature. Her writing has appeared in numerous publications and websites, including Southern Living, Domino, Houzz and Our State. She has been seen featured in Readers’ Digest, The Huffington Post, USA Today’s Happy Every After, North Carolina Bookwatch, PopSugar, Glitter Guide and The Sits Girls. She lives in North Carolina with her husband and five-year-old son where she is working on her next novel.

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