Lavender, Laughter and Love in Provence

This is an adorable romance full of warm and likeable characters whom warm-hearted Del comes to know in the rural, lavender-filled Provencal town of Ville de Violet. When her grumpy husband decides to return to the UK, Del stays on, realising she will be happier in France. Farmer Fabien, estate agent Carine, homeless Stephanie and her son Tomas, Del's British friends Lou and Rhi, even Ralph the dog, are so well-drawn you feel you know them. The perfect tonic for lockdown.

A wonderful book so beautifully written. I got lost in Provence smelling the lavender and tasting the lavender bakes

I loved the characters each with their own story. When Del decides not to go back to England with her husband Ollie we see this brave woman with a huge heart gradually put down roots in the old farmhouse. She makes friends with the locals, happily shares her home and gradually plants the lavender bringing the old farmhouse back to life.

A summer read that will stay with you long after you turn the last page.

I liked this book, the setting was gorgeous, the story gently drew you in and as it unravelled kept you there. Lovely summery read, thank you.

I highly recommend escaping to Le Petit Mas de Lavanda, With this beautifully written, uplifting novel set in Provence. It features a French farmhouse surrounded by rolling fields of lavender, a cute dog and a cast of well drawn characters who are all at a difficult stage in their lives.

The story is told by Nel, a new English resident who has recently separated from her husband and is looking for a new challenge. It seems as though love is in the air as there are several romances and everyone has their match.

All of the characters have a back story which adds a richness to the novel and I particularly enjoyed the observations about some of the expats in the community because I’m spending several months in Spain in a similar setting with locals and expats.

On the morning Del is due to return to the UK with her husband, Ollie, after a failed fresh start to rekindle their marriage in a farmhouse in Provence, at the very last moment and as the removal vans are pulling away, Del makes a split-second last-minute decision to remain alone in France and go it alone. As she slowly lets go of the pain of the past and comes to terms with the end of her marriage, her unsuccessful attempts to have a child through IVF, Del starts to heal. Her cathartic journey begins with a market stall in the local village, rediscovering a joy of baking and progresses slowly towards a potential new romance. This would be a wonderful summer beach read. Since this seems like a distant prospect in these current times, reading this brought a welcome slice of sunshine and escapism from the world outside, and I embraced the joy and optimism within the pages unreservedly. Thank you very much for the advance review copy.

Escape to the French Farmhouse
By Jo Thomas
Pub Date: 9 Jul 202o
review by: Sky H, reviewer

Thank you to netgalley and the author for a early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Escape to the French Farmhouse is a charming read full of new beginnings, friendship, love and second chances.

Set in a small province in France, we follow the main character Del on her journey of finding herself again After making the tough decision to leave her marriage and start a new life for herself.

Along the way Del rediscovers her love of cooking, makes some lovely new friendships and finds a romance that she has been longing for.

A light hearted easy read that I highly recommend reading.

I always feel lucky when I get emails asking if I'd like to read certain books.

This was one of those welcome emails and I'm so glad I got it.

A refreshing, feel-good story, just perfect for sitting and reading in the sun.

I felt like I'd escaped to the French Farmhouse along with the characters.

A dreamy mix of friendship, love and family.

Hoping to see more books to follow their journeys further.

With thanks to netgalley for an early copy in return for an honest review
Having read all of jo's books was delighted to get an early copy.
What can I say but just utterly perfect
The setting the characters and the story line , I was swept away to utter brilliance can't praise this book enough

If you are ever in doubt about where your life is heading just pick up this book for some inspiration. Believable, beautiful characters and a story that pulls you into the depths of a well scripted and truly heartening tale of finding your true self. Del makes a big decision and because of this she finds many new friendships and possibly a romance. To find out more I advise you to Escape to the French Farmhouse.

What an absolutely wonderful Summer escape book!

I loved this book. I sat and read it all the way through in one sitting. It helped of course that I was sitting in the garden on the first sunny day of the year, but it made me wish I was sitting in Provence, surrounded by lavender and drinking a cold glass of Rosé.
Dell was a great character, I really was rooting for her the whole book. Introducing Stephanie and the little boys Tomas was a lovely touch. A little family without it being too neatly wrapped up.

I will be rereading this book in the Summer and until then I will be trying to plant as many lavender plants in my garden as my cold northern soil will let me!

As always another great book from jo! You always feel like your in the setting of her books. Great story like and characters.

Loved it. Another great book by Jjo Thomas . Great how they fed the homeless people.. I thought the lavender recipe discriptions were great and made you want to eat them. The love theme was great. The way she described the x pat community was spot on. Excelent book

Another great read from Jo Thomas.

I loved the setting and the main character Del.

The book deals with some emotional issues, but is overall an easy read.

Another fabulous book from Jo.
When Del and her husband decide to leave France and go back to UK. Del realises that she wants to stay and that her life with her husband is over.
She has to give the key back to the house, but then decides to stay,.
She thinks about what she will do.
Having got a few pieces of furniture and having spoken to Fabien and Carine (furniture and estate agents owners) who she’s made friends with, she decides to run a market stall. Fabien gave her a book with recipes in made with lavender. Del tries these and sets up the stall.
Someone steals some of her biscuits that she made from the stall and with the bistro owners help goes to see that person.
What follows are twists and turns and unexpected news.

Lovely feel good book to read. The main character ends her marriage and stays alone in there drench farmhouse which there due to leave. Having the courage to stand up and say no this isn’t what I want. Following her journey doing something I very much admire. I could feel myself wishing the book was about me. It was well written. Easy to read. Another great book by this author

Another absolutely wonderful story from Jo Thomas, whose books just get better and better.

With a wonderful French location and characters that you genuinely warm to I couldn't read the pages fast enough, although I knew I would be upset to leave them at the end of the story as they were a perfect blend to the warm hearted plot.

I was hoping to save this for my summer holiday as it would be the perfect time to read but I just couldn't resist.

Highly recommended!

Ollie and Del are packing up the contents of their French home and returning to the UK. They’d only been there for a short time but Ollie had decided it wasn’t working out anymore and they needed to sell up and return home to rebuild their lives. After many years of trying for babies and unsuccessful IVF attempts Del started to think about her life. We’re over, she thought, “Ollie I’m not going back with you, leave me the key and I’ll let you know my plans, we were papering over the cracks coming here, now give me the key and go!” He stomped off to the car, dumped my hold-all on the drive and left. I looked down at Ralph and said “Looks like it just you and me now.”
Alone in Provence, unsure of what to do and where to go Del prepared for the next stage of her life. If she could get over the death of her beloved mother, she could get over the loss of her husband, marriage and the baby they never had.

Wow, I could picture the house, smell the lavender and taste the food. Jo Thomas transported me to Provence and I wish I was still there. Wonderful book.

I have always loved Jo’s books so was so excited to read escape to the french farmhouse which was a fabulous read that I devoured in one long sitting as I really didn’t want to put it down!
Jo has the amazing ability to transport the reader to which ever destination her latest book is set in, today it was Provence and the descriptions of the lavender fields, the scent of it on the air, the amazing food and general ambience instantly made you feel as if you were there in warm lavender scented air! So reminiscent of long hot holidays spent in that area!
Fabulous characters that each bring something new and unique to the book,with an underlying message that everyone deserves a second chance wether that be in love, careers, home or just life in general and that we are all more capable and adaptive to change than we realise!
A charming, heartwarming read great for summer.
Thank you net galley for this early read.