The Bordeaux Book Club is another engaging read from Gillian Harvey that I looked forward to falling into each evening. As well as the relatable characters we meet at Grace’s inaugural book club, the cameos played by the heroes and heroines of the classics they chose to read, totally ticked my book worm boxes, and had me adding a reread of some of these books to my ‘to be read’ pile.

The book group are a mix of ages and personalities, most of whom would never have crossed paths with each other without the initiative of Grace. Things may have begun a little awkwardly at first, but they soon appreciated the new friendships they found. This book cleverly weaves many aspects of life in France and the adjustments needed when you arrive in a new country, into a plot where friendship is at its heart. It is emotional, with the ups and downs of life changes for them all, but most especially Alfie. It is also a book about books, well-known characters and the power of the great classics and what they can teach us today.

I can’t work out whether I was amused or horrified that I saw a little bit of me in bossy Grace, the association queen, Monica, a stay-at-home mum whose husband works away, and Leah, doing her best to juggle a veggie garden, chickens, and family life, despite the hard work and many setbacks thrown her way. I’m putting this down to Gillian’s expert eye on the British arrivals she has met over many years of living in France and nothing to do with the life I’ve carved out for myself here these last twenty years being weird enough to be a book plot….

Grace especially stole my heart with her wise words to the others, when they needed them most, so I thought I’d share my favourite quote here:

“But that’s why it’s important to have a good relationship with yourself. To be your own champion, cheerleader. To be the person who forces you to get up, to go out and try something new.”

If, like me, you have devoured Gillian’s previous books (see below), or are a lover of classic authors like Bronte, Dickens or Flaubert, I am sure you will get a lot of enjoyment and entertainment by joining The Bordeaux Book Club. I know that I want to move to Bordeaux just to join Grace’s book club!

I requested this book on NetGalley, as the description appealed to me. As a book lover, I think that the decision to join a book club was one of the best decisions I ever made, because a book club feels like a celebration of books, creating a community for those who love books to be part of. I thought the cover looked beautiful, and I was excited to read all about this book club and meet its members.

The choice of Bordeaux as a location appealed to me, because I read to escape, and I like to feel as though part of me travels to another location while I'm reading. I enjoyed how the author worked with this setting and brought it to life.

I enjoyed getting to know all of the characters while I was reading. I felt that each character had something a little different to bring to the book club, and I enjoyed seeing the bonds form between them as the story progressed. This was heartwarming, uplifting to read, and provided me with the escape I was looking for. I'd gladly purchase a copy to read again in the future.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for a free copy to review.

"The Bordeaux Book Club" by Gillian Harvey invites readers into the life of Leah, who moved to France with dreams of self-sufficiency but finds herself struggling with a disappointing reality. When her friend suggests joining a new book club, Leah sees it as a chance for escape and connection. However, the group she encounters is a motley crew of misfits, each with their own secrets and struggles. As they bond over the stories they read, Leah learns that happiness may not come in the form she expected. Harvey's novel is a heartwarming exploration of friendship, unexpected connections, and the power of literature to unite and transform lives.

If you enjoy books ( and I'm guessing you do) then you will love The Bordeaux Book Club. Its members are drawn together in search of companionship and belonging and you soon realise that they all have their own back stories and reasons for joining. Leah is looking for a connexion with her new life in France. You sense a streak of loneliness as her daughter has disappeared into teenage behaviour and her husband seems to be keeping his distance, Their dream new life is looking decidely shaky.

I enjoyed finding out about each of the characters and seeing what the latest read they chose was going to be. Each book seemed to have echoes of their lives. This is one of those lovely summer reads. Set in Bordeaux, it has a holiday feel. Although most of the focus is on Leah, the club members are just as interesting and you are rooting for them all to find friendship and a sense of belonging.

In short: finding friendship

The novel begins with an ensemble cast—an introduction that left me grappling to remember who’s who. Yet, as the story unfolds, each character finds a distinct voice, but still hits me as just a bunch of sad people reading about other sad people.

Within the club meet-ups, they read the classics about troubled lives and find their own struggles and characters they can relate to within the pages. Themes of friendship, new beginnings, and reinvention run through the pages. They eventually learn that the members of their little group are the salve that is needed to get through their own troubled lives.

Unexpectedly for them, this ragtag group evolves into true friendships that go beyond their difference and open doors for brighter futures.

I believe ‘The Bordeaux Book Club’ is a standalone, but I wouldn’t mind revising this group further down the road.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publishing house and the author for the opportunity to read a complimentary copy of this book in return for a review based upon my honest opinion.

This author always writes enjoyable books. Sometimes you just need A lighthearted book to enjoy. This book takes place in the Bordeaux region of France and I really enjoyed reading about the area. Leah and her husband have left everything they know and have bought a country home hoping to be self-sufficient, it’s not really going as they have planned. Leah does not speak a lot of French and when her friend Grace decides she wants to start a book club Leah of course has to go. The book club members are an interesting and diverse assortment of people; there is Grace, whose husband left her behind and she had to make a new life, George, who is in this region for construction, and has kind of lost his way, Leah who seeks to find friends and figure out if she even wants to be in France anymore, Monica, whose airline pilot husband is away more than is home and she struggling with a new baby and lastly there’s Alfie, A young man who seems to be the most misfit member. It was really enjoyable to Read the different takes on the classic novels that they read. Some of which were some of my favourite books. This book is really about Friendship and relationships. It was lovely read.

Lovedthe book. It was so charming. Like a warm hug.
Great characters and good story line to keep you engaged.

In this modern fiction novel, readers travel to the lovely and historic city of Bordeaux in west France and join a book club for English speakers and expats living in and around the city. Following the lives of Leah, Grace, Monica, George, Alfie, and their families and loved ones, readers get a glimpse into the challenges of living as an expat who doesn’t have the language skills or support network of past days in a new country. Of course, life has its challenges, and readers experience the physical and emotional struggles of the five book club members over the course of the novel. Leah is the dominant narrator and character in the novel, but brief chapter glimpses into the other characters’ lives outside the book club really help their personalities develop as the book progresses. The characters are the heart of the novel and the story, and they are all more complex than they first appear. Their relationships with the book club and their loved ones really add to the depth of their narratives. Harvey’s latest novel is a strong piece of adult fiction that focuses on family, friendships, and community in strange, challenging, and uncomfortable places despite the odds.

Leah, the protagonist, relocates to a farm in France with her family, hoping for an idyllic life but finds it challenging. She joins a book club, forming deep friendships that sustain her through marital difficulties. While the novel excels in character development and setting, pacing occasionally falters due to excessive description. Nevertheless, readers, especially bibliophiles, will enjoy the exploration of books' power to unite people. The story intertwines the lives of the book club members, who find solace and support in each other, navigating through their own emotional turmoil. Despite frustrations with the characters, the engaging narrative keeps readers invested, offering unexpected and satisfying conclusions for each member. Overall, "The Bordeaux Book Club" is a charming and immersive read, showcasing the author's talent in crafting compelling stories of friendship and personal growth.

Sometimes you need a book that is just like a warm hug, and this book turned out to be that.

Anything with book club in the title always gets me, and the setting in France was just an added bonus. I was really looking forward to diving into this book. My usual tastes run to mysteries, but about every fifth read, I like something lighter and more uplifting. I had never read Gillian Harvey books, and I have to admit, this one got off to a bit of a slow start for me. Fifty pages in, I wasn't at all sure I was going to like it, but I was interested enough to keep going.

I'm glad I persevered, because shortly after, the conflicts in characters' lives started coming and the storyline picked up for me. I liked how so many very different people formed a bond over their love of reading. And I loved how one of the main characters (Grace) at first appeared one way, but then turned out to be another way, once one understood her. This book ended on a positive note and I really came to care about all the characters by the end. I recommend it for when you need a pick-me-up about the condition of the human race!

Thanks to NetGalley, author Gillian Harvey, and Boldwood Books for allowing me to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The author Gillian Harvey definately transports the readers to the beautiful countryside of France. I haven't read anything but this author before but it definitely wont be my last book. Especially if it has a lovely foreign setting.

In this book we mean Leah who has recently moved to the region with her Husband and Daughter. The move is not going as planned. Her husband is never around, her daughter hates her and everybody else, a typical sullen teenager. So when one of her new friends Grace, mentions the book club she is forming with ex pats who have also moved to Bordeaux, Leah jumps at the chance to make more friends and carve a new life out for herself in France. She is determined for this move to work.

The book club is formed of a group of misfits, people who would most likely walk past each other on the street. But we all know the saying "opposites attract". They all have their own stories to tell within the books. Without realising it they are about to form friendships that will last a lifetime and help some of them through the trials and tribulations of life. The characters are really well developed and by the end of the book, I was routing for them all to be happier and grateful that they all found the book club and true friends.

I really enjoyed this book the setting was beautiful and the author describes the scenery so well. Makes me want to add Bordeaux on to my Wishlist! Also lets just take a moment to appreciate the beautiful cover, the colours are so pretty.

Thank you to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

What is better than reading a book? How about reading a book about other people reading books? This absolutely charming story features an eclectic group of book lovers that form an English speaking book club in the French countryside where they all have relocated.

As the group takes turns selecting a book to review and hosting duties, they grow closer. The descriptions the author gives of France make me long to travel there.

This book is truly heartwarming and is filled with characters with depth and interest. I found myself connecting with each character in different ways. I cannot recommend this book highly enough. I will be thinking about it for a long time.

A group of strangers in France coming together to forge friendships with books, what's not to love? This isn't an idyllic story but tells the ups and downs of life but works through them and compromise is a a lesson earnt. . Loved this book. Will be looking for more by this author.

Leah and her husband move to France to escape the rat race and have their very own Good life. However, it doesn’t go as planned and her husband seems to disappear at strange times and all dressed up. One friend persuades her to join a local book club. A strange group of people, all ages and persuasions but each one has their own story. And what some stories they are.

A wonderful group of friends, and a gorgeously told story, author Gillian Harvey's talent for bringing people together shines through. Whether it be on the page with her characters, or off the page between bookish friends, your heart will be touched once you embark on one of her stories.

It's a story that shows us the power of the written word to inspire, to motivate, to lift us up when we're feeling down, and to shelter us when we're not sure where to turn. It's a tale that reminds us that while surrounding ourselves with these wordy escapes is a good thing, learning who we can lean on in times of happiness and sorrow is just as important. This motley crew are not the usual "offenders" one might anticipate showing up for a book club, but they all end up being chosen family by book's end... and that, my friend, is not a title to take lightly.

A definite recommendation for fans of the author's previous works as well as those just embarking on their bookish journey that fancy Women's Fiction filled with great friends in the making, change as an everyday factor of life, and the potential for love as a part of their overall happily-ever-afters.

This was a lovely read and I really enjoyed it. Set in France about a book club, this one really grabbed my Interest. I read this extremely quickly. My thanks to netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review.

A new Author for me, who kindly allowed me a kindle book via NetGalley to read and review, and it was my absolute pleasure to do so.

Gillian managed to encapsulate the ex-pat community of Bordeaux beautifully and all the characters were my favourite at differing times. I laughed, I cried, I sympathised and was ready to hug them all. Such wonderful descriptions of the villages, architecture, lifestyle and food too, and I could picture myself there (I have secretly copied the reading list and will now read the books they picked and imagine I am attending the book club too).

I have recommended the book to my friends, and I was lucky enough to be having a long weekend in Nice when I read it, so that was a bonus, but for anyone it is a lovely holiday summer time gem.

Love books? The Bordeaux Book Club is seeking new members!

The Bordeaux Book Club by Gillian Harvey was Brilliant from the very first few pages I was hooked, I found it hard to carrying on with my house cleaning!!! and I could not put this book down. It was a beautiful read and takes you to the picturesque countryside of France.

When Leah and her husband moved to France, it was with the dream of becoming self-sufficient. But in truth, it’s not the ‘good life’ she’d imagined, as three hours of digging barely yield a single straggly carrot. Worse, her teenage daughter is acting up, and her husband seems to find every strange excuse under the hot French sun to disappear.

So when her friend entreats her to join the new bookclub she’s forming, Leah decides it’s something she will do for herself. The chance to make new friends, to drink a few glasses of wine, and to escape into stories that take her miles away from the life she’d thought would be her own happy-ever-after.

But the book club is a strange group of misfits. There’s prickly Grace, who lives alone and seems to know everybody and like no-one. Buttoned-up Monica, who says her husband is away and appears to be parenting her baby all alone. Handsome builder George, who has barely read a book before. And Alfie – who is a full two decades younger than everyone else, and is hiding a devastating secret…........

I highly recommend The Bordeaux Book Club especially as this book bought back great memories for me.........this was just a dream at first when I used to joke about it with my Hubby and when I was at my local book club with my friends.........."let's-buy-a-farmhouse-in-France.!".............."What am I saying!" Which I did and it's a beautiful place to live in."

Big Thank you to Boldwood Books, and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review this book. x

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book got off to a slow start, but it got really good from there. I enjoyed it a lot!

The book is set in beautiful Bordeaux - the centre of the wine growing region in France.
I particularly loved how the characters developed and you got to know them with every new page. I felt sadness and sorrow for them in many different ways. I didn't want the book to end.
Thai was my first novel by Gillian Harvey and I recommend.