The Little French Guesthouse: The perfect feel good summer read (La Cour des Roses Book 1)

I have just discovered Helen Pollard's series The Little French Guesthouse and devoured it in 2 days. Love, love, love! Humour, romance, wonderfully - written and likeable characters, I will definitely be following this series with the next 2 books!Emmy and Nathan are in their early thirties, together for 5 years and on holiday in France at a delightful French guesthouse, La Cour des Roses, trying to rekindle their relationship. Hosts, Rupert and Gloria, have their own troubles it seems. Drama unfolding, it is up to Emmy and Rupert to run the guesthouse as best as they can. Throw in a demanding guest or 2, eccentric and lovable locals, a gorgeous gardener and Emmy's parents who pop over for a long weekend, and you have the perfect story with just the right amount of love and laughter. The Little French Guesthouse is a must-read for fans of contemporary romance and romantic comedies, I've found my next go-to author in Helen Pollard! Off to 1-click the next book in the series ...

I really enjoyed this story despite the chick lit cliches. The author treated each one with a freshness that was acceptable. Within the first few paragraphs I started wondering if I was reading a memoir...that's how personal it felt. I really liked all the characters, with the exception of two of course, and fell in love with the guesthouse. I could easily imagine living there. The progression of events were quite predictable yet still a bit realistic in the sense of what many women in her place would imagine.The only negatives were the excessive amount of sulking or pouting. That became slightly irritating. All in all, I enjoyed this story very much, laughing out loud several times and smiling a lot.

Story moves quickly and delightfully. I loved the story and the prospect of continuing in the sequels! Highly recommend the series.

I really wanted to like this book, the premise was promising - an idyllic French getaway, scandal and hope for a new and unexpected future. I was hoping for something light-hearted and fun, as the description promised. But after the initial 'shakeup' of the protagonist discovering her partner's infidelity, his leaving and her own rebound affair, all the excitement faded away and the plot never really picked back up again. While I'm a big fan of strong women, who are comfortable speaking their minds, I found Emmy to be almost constantly ill-tempered, frequently holding back the urge to slap someone for the smallest offences (real or imagined) and in the regular habit of giving people (including those she just met) a piece of her mind, whether they deserved it or not. She generously volunteers to help Rupert run the guesthouse after his wife splits, but then spends the entire time feeling resentful of all the work she is asked to do for free (even though he offered to pay her and she refused!) Supposedly, her perpetual bad mood is the result of her traumatic breakup, but the author devotes so much time in the book describing their dysfunctional relationship in which neither has been happy for a very long time and so adeptly illustrates just how awful they are together, that from the reader's point of view, their split (which happens at the very beginning of the book) should be cause for celebration! And yet, it is a dark cloud which hovers so persistently over the entire story that by the time you get to the end you are just sick of hearing about it already. To be fair, I did enjoy the scenic descriptions of the French countryside, culture and food and Rupert was an interesting and enjoyable character. But none of the others were very memorable. Not even the man Emmy 'falls for' after 2 dates (after being rude and nasty to him for most of the book, which apparently doesn't affect him in the slightest). I liked the idea of her taking a 'risk' and using her previous career experience to build a new business in a place she enjoyed, but we were assured so many times that she'd compared all the figures on spreadsheets and made sure that she'd be losing virtually no income that by the time she actually 'took the plunge' it didn't seem like much of a risk at all. All that being said, the part of the book that took place in the guest house was more enjoyable to read by leaps and bounds than the rest of the book (which I think may have been the author's point...the ending just dragged on too long). And so, knowing that the sequel is focused on what happens after Emmy decides to return, I might just decide to read if after all...

I have to confess I am another reader who thought she was buying non-fiction. I was disappointed when I started reading it on my Kindle and realized it's fiction. I stuck with it anyway because I found what happened near the beginning appealing and also surprising.It did turn into a good summer vacation read and I am not a snob when it comes to reading "chic lit". Of course, Emma is a little too good, and the guys you are supposed to like are a little too wonderful and the two people you are supposed to hate are total losers. However, the characters like Rupert, the guest house owner, and the parents are mostly realistic and likable or lovable.I guess it's good that I like it because I was surprised to find I have the sequel too. I look forward to reading it.

C’est joliment écrit et la protagoniste est attachante malgré son manque de confiance en soi. Les atmosphères sont bien décrites et font partie du charme de cette histoire. Je vais lire le deuxième tome concernant le retour à la petite French Guest House pour voir comment Emmy s’adapte à sa nouvelle vie.

Perfect escapism

If you like lovely cosy stories and a happy ever after, this is one for you.

This is a delightful read. Emmy and her partner Nathan go for a break from their over-hectic working lives to a guesthouse in France. It gets off to a disastrous start as Emmy finds Nathan and their host's wife Gloria having sex while their host has a suspected heart attack. Nathan and Gloria go off together, and Emmy finds herself effectively running the guesthouse and associated gites, doing many of the chores, dealing with difficult guests (and her own not altogether easy family), and looking after her manipulative host. If that sounds awful, it actually turns into an emancipation for Emmy - and the hard graft is lightened by a sexy gardener and other distractions. Emmy rapidly makes new and warm friendships and finds herself valued and cherished, and recovers her self-esteem, rediscovers her emotional life, and her life moves in new directions. The guesthouse setting is well done. This is a well-written book, with both bitter-sweet and comic moments, and captivating, sometimes awkward characters. Warmly recommended.

Beautifully written! A good summer reading, you'll love the history and the characters and once you'll finish, you would want to move to the south of France.