An enjoyable romance with likeable characters and emotional moments. The story gains depth as it goes along - worth persevering with as I will admit I wasn’t gripped from the beginning, but it was an enjoyable read in its own way.

This book is ok, but not for me, unfortunately. I read over half and then decided that it was not for me and did not want to get myself any further frustrated with the heroine. The whole plot revolves around a miscommunication trope which I seriously dislike because unnecessary heartache can be avoided so for me it feels like a cheap plot device.

I am even more disappointing because I actually enjoyed the writing and the start I thought it was really solid, but I do not think it went in a direction that I would've enjoyed. I loved the set-up, it gave me a flavor of France and I actually loved the Hero a loooooot more!

Whilst this is a lovely story, with characters you can empathise, the storyline is improbable, and lacks contemporary dialogue. If you accept this, the story is enjoyable and has a delightful old fashioned quality about it. Full of emotion, romance, and seemingly insurmountable conflicts, to Nathalie and Dominic's happy ever after, most of which are internal. The story flows well, has a well-described setting and engaging characters.

I received a copy of this book from Mills and Boon via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

I read this ARC for an honest review
All thoughts and opinions are mine

Loved this - lots of emotions mixed together - lots of highs and lows - highly recommend

I will admit, I went through stages with this book where i wasn’t sure I liked it but at the same time I was hooked and couldn’t stop reading…
Nathalie decides to work on a vineyard as a grape picker to see if she can find the father of her dead stepsisters son
When she sees Dominic, he looks so like her nephew that she thinks he must be the father and the love of her stepsisters life. Thing is, she quite likes Dominic too!
Dominic comes from an old and wealthy family who seem to have some very strange beliefs and actions. I did accept these however as they seemed to reflect some of the other upper class ideals that I had seen elsewhere. I did like Dominic, he escaped the family and is only back due to his father being ill. He is independent but also knows what he wants, he also realises early on that Nathalie is hiding something but he doesn’t know what
Nathalie I found harder work at times, she is so incredibly undecided and whilst I understand why it didn’t stop me from being annoyed with her. She does however have her good points and she did have times when I loved her as a character
Set in the south of France, this book introduced me to something I didn’t know much about, the process of winemaking
I would recommend this book to those who want a more traditional love story (no explicit descriptions etc) with a strong sense of family and what is right in a fabulous setting

When Dominic first meets Nathalie he knows she is hiding something and Dominic sets himself the task of finding out just what it is..

Nathalie has decided to spend her vacation grape picking in order to try and identify her nephews father but when her investigations lead to Dominic she isn't sure whether to ask him if he knew her step sister and mother to her nephew or to follow the attraction she feels for him.

I found the story slow going at times but overall an easy read to enjoy.

A romantic story of love lost, great sadness, that leads to new love found leading to new found happiness.

With a happy ever after ending in this romantic story.

Read in one sitting and enjoyed.
Thank you to NetGalley and to the Mills & Boon Insiders for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

I just did not enjoy this book unfortunately. The plot was flimsy and the characters were not compelling, plus the style felt to me like a parody of the way M&B books were written in the eighties. A shame.

Nathalie Fournier is a pharmacist desperately wants to adopt her deceased step-sister’s (Antoinette) baby boy. Conscientiously she decides to track down the Alain’s father before she does take the first steps to adopt him. She gets a seasonal job picking grapes at a large Provençal grapeyard/chateau as her Antoinette’s best friend Claire sister had told her that Alain’s father had worked at the Fontesquieu chateau. She falls for her billionaire employer Dominic Fontesquieu, but is he the father of the child? He has the same colouring and an identical birth mark. Raul, Dominic’s cousin turns out to be the father. Nathalie, however, decides she cannot have a relationship with Dominic as she is unable to have children. Will they be overcome this impasse and find their HEA?

I found this novel heavy going to get through as there are so many questions and flaws that remain unanswered. When Dominic tells Raul he may have a son he doesn’t tell him that the woman he loved is dead. He leaves that announcement for Nathalie. Despite the story being set in Provence there is a lack of descriptive scenes - it might as well have been set in Timbuktu!! The storyline hinged solely on shoes the father and this got overdone very quickly. The interaction between Paul Courtier and just petered out and was a waste of a character. The storyline had potential but the finished novel needed some more work.

I received this novel from Mills & Boon via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

SPOILER ALERT!

I quite enjoyed some parts of this story, but overall I thought there were some seriously annoying bits in it: both in respect of the plot and the characters.

Nathalie's stepsister Antoinette had given birth to a baby boy and then dies. She never named the father - just said he was Provencal! Nathalie and her mother have been bringing Alain up. She now decides to try and trace the father before she proceeds with her plan to adopt Alain and heads off to a vineyard to work on the vendange for 3 weeks because the clues have lead her to this place. (She's actually a qualified pharmacist.)

Dominic - a rich businessman from Paris, is standing in for his sick brother and sees Nathalie and becomes instantly attracted. Problem is, he has the colouring that matches baby Alain and a birthmark which is identical. So was he the stepsister's lover? Even whilst suspecting this might be the case, she allows herself to spend time with him getting more and more attracted. Instead of being upfront - she resorts to a ridiculous story to explain why she is there and what she's searching for. We then have a very low key and old fashioned courtship (and no sex). Dominic was lovely albeit a bit boring but he was doing everything right in terms of courting this woman.

We actually learn from a conversation Dominic has with his cousin Raoul that the latter is the likely father of Antoinette's baby. He had been planning to be with her forever but the woman he was supposed to marry got pregnant so he broke it off with Antoinette and married the woman instead but the marriage was a disaster and now they are divorcing. Sadly their child died but then he discovered he wasn't the father after all. Seriously, how much more can this poor guy's life be screwed up?

Nathalie still tells Dominic nothing and when she sees his brother Etienne and wonders if he could be the father.

She then decides she can't pursue the relationship with Dominic - who manages anyway to sort out that Raoul is the father and tells him - but neglects to tell him that the woman he loved is now dead. He finds out when he meets Nathalie. I mean seriously? Dominic loves Raoul - yet he didn't think to say( in the kindest possible way) that she'd died?? Then poor Raoul discovers his soon to be ex-wife is trying to screw even more money out of him by insisting they go to couple's counselling and he's keeping it secret just now that he really has a son because goodness knows what the witch would do.

Nathalie has cut everything off with Dominic because she cannot have children. She doesn't even want to give him the chance to make the decision whether to stay with her or not but thankfully, Dominic is a determined guy and finally persuades her it's okay and they can adopt. So they get married.

By the time I got to this point, I was annoyed, frustrated and exhausted. Nathalie behaved like an utter idiot in my opinion. I found it hard to empathise with her and I basically got bored with the whole 'who is the father' trope. There were the bones of a great wee romance here but whilst I am used to suspending disbelief in these stories - I don't like my credulity stretched too far and the way Nathalie behaved did that. It's well written but I felt it could have been set in manchester as there was no real sense of beautiful Provence nor of fabulous French people in the story.

I received an ARC from Netgalley.