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The Twenty Dates by Ko Porteous #Review #EmptyNesters

It is good to return to The Empty Nesters series by Ko Porteous. The Twenty Dates was published by All Ways Publishing Ltd on October 8th. You can read my review of Book 1, The Freshman Parents   here The kids have left, assuming love endures. But can yours? Book #2 in The Empty Nesters Series   Claire’s marriage is in (total!) crisis. Her husband, Mark, is distracted, presumptuous, and utterly clueless - smart scales for their 19th wedding anniversary? Really? Perhaps she'd be better off alone. At least there'd be less laundry.   When Claire suggests separating, Mark panics. He asks for one last chance: twenty dates, one for each year of their marriage, to prove they're better off together than apart. What follows is a series of adventures Claire never saw coming - some mortifying, some exhilarating, and some that make her question everything she thought she knew. About Mark. About marriage. And about the woman she's quietly become while she wasn't payin...
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 We are returning to France for another  great summer read by Gillian Harvey. The Village Cafe in the Loire was published by Boldwood on July 12th.  


High-flyer Becky Thorne cannot believe what she’s being told. She doesn’t need to be signed off for burnout! Life has been a bit chaotic lately, that’s all. As if dealing with her enviable job and permanent meddling from her mother aren’t enough, she’s also inherited a café in the Loire from an estranged great-aunt, complete with sitting tenant who refuses to budge.

But nobody stands in Becky’s way! Ignoring her best friend Amber’s advice, she decides to storm over to France and sort the tenant out. Then she can finally get the café sold and jump back on the career ladder.

What she doesn’t count on is the tenant being Pascale, who is six feet of tall, dark, handsome and extremely grumpy about her plans for change. Not to mention the village and the secrets it holds about her past.

Becky’s path to success is all planned out. But the Loire has a magic she might not be able to resist…

My Thoughts

Becky escapes to France from a bad situation at work and an overbearing mother who wants to dictate the path of her life. Becky is unsure about what she wants to do but realises that her mother wants the best for her and has plotted her life so that she achieves a lot in her career. She expects her trip to France to be over in a flash but as she discovers, life in the Loire region goes at a slower pace to London and there seems to be all sorts of complications.

    Becky's relationships with both her family and her friends seem to be the most interesting part of this story. Becky seems dependent on others but can come across as self-obsessed, not really taking into account others' needs. Running the cafe opens her eyes to what she is capable of and reminds her that she has a streak of creativity which has been ignored for too long. There is a mystery at the heart of life in the village which Becky is slow to pick up on but together with a slow burn romance, makes for a warm and inviting read.

In short: starting over 

About the Author


 

Gillian Harvey is an author and freelance writer who lives in Norfolk. Her novels, including the bestselling A Year at the French Farmhouse and The Riviera House Swap, are often set in France, where she lived for 14 years.

You can follow Gillian here: Facebook

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Book links

 

Thanks to Gilliam Harvey, Boldwood Books and Rachel of Rachel's Random Resources for a copy of the book and a place on the event.

 
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