This is my first book gifted to me for a review by net galley.
This book was beautiful. It showed every emotion in great detail. You could tell the author has great knowledge of provence. This made me want to cry and smile all at the same time. A very accomplished piece of writing

Rating: 2.75/5 Stars

I went into this book expecting a super cute, fun, and feel-good love story about a treasure hunt in France. Some of that I got, and some I didn't. I'll start with what I enjoyed about this book. I loved how it took us to so many beautiful cities across France. The descriptive writing in these sections was spot on. I have never been to France, yet I felt like I could see and feel what France is like.

I liked the character of Valentin. He was exactly what I expected him to be from the description of this book: a quirky, cute French boy that wanted to help Jamie on her journey. You could tell how much he loved his country in a lot of ways, and I think that was an excellent addition to his character. The treasure hunt gave him a reason to show that love in a great way that felt very natural in the story. I also loved, LOVED, Jean-Pascal. I thought his character was the best, even though he doesn't show up much. He just seems like the cutest little old man with a heart of gold.

Now for the things I didn't like as much. Emotions as a whole seemed pretty forced to me at times. You can see it in Jamie and Valentin's relationship. Her feelings for him only ever came up when it was convenient, so it felt weird when they kissed. I had barely realized they both liked each other at that point.

Honestly, I couldn't ever connect with Jamie. Maybe that's why I didn't enjoy this story as much as I thought I would, but she was just confusing to me. There were points in the story where she seemed very mature, and then others where she acted like she was 13. It gave me whiplash how fast she would switch, especially when she was angry. She got mad at the weirdest things, and not just mad, furious. All of the characters in this story were extremely mean to each other when they got mad and it didn't seems realistic to me how quickly they would move on.

Overall, this was a quick read. I didn't love it and I didn't hate it. I probably won't ever read it again, but I might just to relive the scenes of beautiful French scenery.

Thanks to Netgalley and Seabreeze Books for providing me with the eARC in exchange for an honest review!

this book was great but it handles some deeper subject situations.I was really excited to read this book just for its title. The play on words is what picked my interest.as soon as i started reading i couldn't stop reading the first chapter that is how hook i got on this book!everything is well detail and keeps you understanding every little thing throughout with Jamie loved the treasure hunt aspect of this book,it was a really romantic gesture from parent to the other.this book would keep you on your toes and leave you breathless and longing for more you better check it out for yourself.

This was absolutely captivating! I loved going on adventures with Jamie and Valentin, while also seeing the inner emotional turmoil of Jamie throughout the course of her novel. Sarah Anderson does very well in expressing how the guilt Jamie feels affects the way she interacts with others, especially at times when she ended up coming off like a brat. While I was annoyed, as the novel progressed, I began to see why she acted the way she did!

** A free copy was provided in exchange for an honest review

The synopsis held a lot of potential and I was definitely intrigued, but unfortunately it just fell short for me. I didn’t really connect to any of the characters and I just couldn’t get invested in the story. However, I can see how the writing and the story could be enjoyable for the right reader and so I hope others enjoy it!

Excellent book, really well written, likeable characters who are easy to relate to. I would definitely read more from this author.

I loved this book, it was the best I have read for a while. I loved the Provence setting, fell in love with Valentin and really felt for this poor girl who felt that everything was conspiring against her.
The book was heartwarming, charming and I could almost taste the rose and smell the pastries.

This arc copy was provided by netgalley for free in exchange for an honest review.

Things I liked about the book:
- The fact that it's set in France because I've always loved anything related to France
- The descriptions of the food are so amazing that my sweet tooth craves to eat a croissant
- Provence is beautiful in the author's words which makes me want to go there
- The scavenger hunt idea was fun
- Valentin was cute
- Everytime someone says whiffy instead of Wi-Fi I had to laugh

Things I didn't like about the book
- I didn't like how controlling the main character is. She shouldn't be forcing a complete stranger to help her in something he doesn't want to do.
- I have already mentioned that I'm obsessed with France but I don't understand the language! There should be translations in the book rather than assuming that the readers know French.
- The main character's grandmother keeps speaking in French which was getting annoying after a while because even the main character doesn't understand what she's saying. Because of the language barrier there's a huge communication issue in their house and I, as an English reader, could only understand one side of any conversation between these two.

Overall I would only recommend this book if you know a little bit of French too.

This was absolutely adorable and such a great surprise of a book! After a horrible accident, Jamie's mother is left injured and unable to walk. To make room in the house, Jamie is sent to the south of France to spend time with her grandmother (Mamie), who she has never met, due to family problems and Mamie not approving of her son's relationship with Jamie's mother when they were kids.

Mamie isn't very nice, and doesn't communicate with Jamie unless it is in French, which Jamie can't speak well. My own limited French helped me navigate some of the speech which felt good! Jamie meets Valentin, a French boy who can speak some English, and the two become friends. Jamie finds a letter in one of her Dad's old books, and she embarks on a treasure hunt he set for her mother 17 years ago. Valentin helps her work out the clues, and together the two visit all the spots her parents fell in love.

What I really enjoyed about this book is the characters acted their ages. Jamie definitely had a few stroppy teenage moments which was nice to see, because her situation was super difficult! I loved the culture, the characters learning about themselves and each other. I liked that Jamie grew more confident with her French, and that she got to visit so many cool places.

The book discusses the affects of tourism, and why tourists aren't always appreciated. I've not been to the places in the book, but have been to other places in the south of France, and this book brought me right back there (we were there outside of tourism season and it was so quiet).

From the food to the art to the history, this is a really stunning read and I adored the writing style! So easy to read.

Communication plays an important role in this story. Whether it's because you don't share or ask questions or you don't know the language (culture) it provides for a lot of misunderstanding. Teens are the best at expressing their feelings/troubles and Jamie seems to excell at it. Sent to France to live with her grandmother who she has never met so her mother can recover from the car accident Jamie insists she caused. Grandmother speaks very little English and Jamie, very little French. Enter that handsome French boy and Jamie excludes him in her treasure hunt she believes her dad wrote for his mom. Mamie blames Jamie's mom for stealing her son. Can Jamie solve everyone's problems with this treasure hunt?

This was super cute! Definitely a beach read.

What did I like?
I don't even know where to start. The writing was beautiful, witty and fun. I was obsessed with the characters. They were well thought out, deep and had substance. I loved France as the setting and it was so nice to read it from an authentic point of view. You can really tell the author has grown up there.
The plotline - although not revolutionary - was sweet. I enjoyed the hunt to find the clues and I liked seeing the dynamics between Valentin and Jamie and Jamie's parents as a comparison. I think the ending was well done and I felt satisfied closing the book.
I think the only thing that didn't make this book a solid five stars for me was that I wanted to see more from Jamie's grandmother and their relationship. I felt some of their encounters were forced and I don't understand some of the things she was saying and why she was reflecting that on her granddaughter.

Overall, a solid read with a happy ending. I am glad I invested my time in this book!

4 stars.
I received this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I’m a mix bag over this book. I adored the scene setting and all the beautiful descriptions of Provence. I just could not connect so much with the protagonist but I think that’s just a personal preference. The love story was a unique journey and the mesh of French and English in this book was great. I liked the commentary on American tourists and found it interesting. My favorite thing about this book though, would have to be the wonderful descriptions of France. It was so beautifully illustrated and I did love the language and writing style of the story. The story was a nice read and quick to get through. I would definitely recommend this to anyone who enjoys a good young adult romance mixed with Parisian/French themes.
*thank you netgalley for sending me an early arc*

This book is like a love letter to Provence. It’s a YA coming-of-age story about an American girl sent to live with her grandmother for the summer in France. And it’s just so darn cute! Filled with interesting characters, beautifully described locations, a 17 year old scavenger hunt, plus a few good love stories - this was an uplifting, great read!

Great plot.
Jamie is “exiled” (her feeling) to Provence for the summer. On the surface it might not sound bad to spend a summer in Provence but Jamie feels she’s being punished for her parents car accident. She was told that they needed more space while her mom recovered. You know what? It did sound like they were punishing her. So she felt guilty even trying to have fun during her trip/exile.
When she finds an old love letter between her parents, starting up a bit of a treasure hunt, she feels like she can fix everything. If she finds all the letters, maybe she can make things right with her mom.

Another reason the trip feels like a punishment? Her parents sent her to stay with her grandmother. This is the grandmother that disowned her father when her parents got married. This is the grandmother she has never spoken to. Her grandmother also isn’t fluent in English and Jamie is far from fluent in French.

So Jamie faces a lot of challenges: guilt, displacement, lack of ability to communicate in the local language, a grandmother that seems to barely care for her and not another soul that she knows in the country.

She throws herself full force into the treasure hunt. She meets a cute guy very early into her trip. He speaks English and French and offers to help her out with her journey.
Along the way, he introduces her to delicious foods and new friends. He makes her feel more comfortable in France.

I liked the creativity of the story and the description of locations and foods best.
I found it distracting that the lead character was kind of talking to her mom. She said “you” and her mom was the one the story was directed to. I found that a bit awkward.

I would definitely recommend that you read this as an ebook rather than a physical book because there’s a lot of French in this book and the translate button will be your new best friend.

I got to read an early ebook edition from NetGalley. Thank you!

With thanks to Netgalley and Sea breeze books

Jamie thinks she has the whole summer ahead of her, to be full of road trips and art camps, but a road accident puts a rather large spanner in the works. Jamie is 'shipped' off to Provence to spent summer with her Grand-mere that she has never met. There is no Wi-Fi and Jamie may have ruined the lives of her parents. She comes across a treasure hunt that her dad made for her mam nearly 20 years ago. Jamie hopes that if she solves the treasure hunt she will heal her family.

Aix Marks the spot is a brilliant YA set that is very hard to put down, it had me hooked from the very first page.

The descriptive writing style of Sarah Anderson allows you to be able to travel with Jamie around Provence whilst sitting in your armchair.

I'm sure Aix Marks the spot will become a best seller in the YA book market.

As this was an advanced copy, I'm going to review based on the plot alone. I will say, I hope this went through another round (or two or three) of edits. There were so many typos and phrasing problems and just plain missing words in sentences that it was a bit frustrating to read. None of the other ARCs I've received have ever had this many issues.

That being said, for the story itself, the book was a solid 3.5 stars. It reminded me a lot of 13 Little Blue Envelopes by Maureen Johnson, which I adored. Jamie was relatable, her adventures were fun, and her relationship with all of the different people in her life - Valentin, Jazz, Mamie, and her parents - were each given the spotlight at one point or another. I do wish we'd seen more of Jazz. I feel like she could have been one of my favorite characters. But the growth of every relationship was very satisfying.

I also really enjoyed the setting. You bet Provence is now on my list of places to visit someday! It sounds absolutely dreamy.

🌟🌟🌟 stars.

Thank you NetGalley for providing an arc in exchange for an honest review!

The story was okay, no complaints. I also love how the author described France—the scenery, the food, the ambiance. It made me love the laid-back vibe that it gave out to its readers.

Why 3 stars? I guess i just didn’t relate that much to the story, and that’s a big factor for me. I tend to be like ”um ok” because i don’t have that connection with it. I did feel for the character though, with her mom dying. That’s hard. But i didn’t really relate much to the story with her grandmother.

Anyway, i would still recommend this! It just really wasn’t my cup of tea. Happy reading!! ✨

<b>Aix Marks the Spot by S.E. Anderson 5 Stars</b>

I thought I knew exactly what to expect from this story. I was very wrong about that. This book was great but it handles some deeper subject matter. There is some romance, which I'll talk about later, but it takes the backseat to a few other things in this.

Jamie always thought going to France would be for the best vacation. Then after a terrible accident she's sent away from her parents to the grandmother shes never met. She doesn't have a solid grasp on the French language either. Completely by accident she finds a letter that starts her on an amazing search across the french countryside. Luckily she meets a boy in the town where her grandmother lives, Valentin, whose willing to help her with her treasure hunt.

First I want to talk about Jamie. At the start of this book she is in a bad place. Actually I think bad place might be an understatement. Misery might be a better word actually. Jamie is basically feeling completely hopeless with he life now. Luckily she doesn't stay in that state. I think she grows to understand so much about herself in this book. Even though a romance develops she doesn't let it overtake her mission. Her determination is amazing, but sometimes it doesn't lead to the best decisions on her part. She was a flawed protagonist, but I think that kept her relateable.

Then there's the love interest Valentin. I really liked his character for pretty much the whole book. There were moments here and there where he was frustrating, but like with Jamie I think that kept his character grounded. He wasn't this perfect boy Jamie instantly fell in love with where nothing bad every happens. He had some moments where he got seriously angry with Jamie and just in general. Still, he traveled with Jamie day after day to left her with this treasure hunt mission she gave herself. He's obviously a loyal friend even when they're new ones.

A major part of the plot of this story has to do with Jamie's family. Her father hasn't spoken to his mother, the grandmother Jamie staying in France, for years. Jamie's parents fled France when she was a baby and didn't love book in all that time. Throughout the story more and more about what happened back then is slowly revealed. There were some truly heartbreaking and like angering scenes with the grandmother. She was definitely not a simple character.

There's also Jamie's relationship with both her parents. At the start of the book Jamie sees herself as exiled after what happened to her mother. She is so completely overcome by guilt that she doesn't question it at all. She basically cuts herself off from her parents once she gets to France. It's all a lot more complicated than that, though. I can't really explain but overall I really enjoyed the way family was handled in this story.

This book also takes a hard look at tourism and what it does to the countries and cultures people visit. The grandmother in this book is very much against foreigners. Throughout the book there are these moments were tourists are absolutely awful. I was cringed at these awful people even though I know they're fictional. I don't have any trouble believing that these things have happened and will probably happen agian.

Overall I abolutely loved this story. It was really easy to read. It was so great to see the emotional journey that Jamie went on through this book.

I received a digital ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. I've always wanted to visit France, and am even learning French in my spare time- So when I saw this book I was intrigued. Sarah Anderson describes the countryside beautifully and the French language is featured heavily in this book. At times I had to pull out my Google translate app in order to fully understand the semantics of a conversation. I felt totally immersed at times like these, and could really understand what the main character, Jamie, was going through. Unfortunately, the rest of the book fell kind of flat for me. The imagery was what kept me turning the pages, not the plot. I didn't really find myself caring too much about the treasure hunt, nor about the romance between Jamie and Valentin. Overall this is a great book, especially for my fellow lovers of French culture.

As an American author living in France, I was pleasantly surprised to find out that Anderson also lives in this beautiful country– she knows what she's writing about and the locations in Provence come alive! Tu vois? There is more to France than just Paris! The story is wonderful. Jamie is a lovable character, complete with teen angst and emotional reactions that (for reasons) go all over the place. Valentin is the sweet, kind...and super cute love interest. It was fun seeing how their relationship developed. The "treasure hunt" was an amazing way to not only highlight different areas in Provence but also played an important role in Jamie's growth. This, of course, is in addition to Jamie navigating a new culture, a language she doesn't quite grasp, and "fitting in." A sweet read, I loved this book and it hit the spot.