Thank you heaps for the ARC of this romantic novel that transported me to the most dreamiest summer that I could quite literally picture!

I found this book took me a long time to get into but obviously glad I persevered! I do wonder if I would have been into it earlier if I had read the prequel? Hard to know. The lost souls looking for where they belong, relatable for everyone at some point in their life - which was represented in such a way throughout this book. Perfect escapist read! I thought the fire at the end was a little unnecessary but.I absolutely loved the concept of the supper club happening and wish there was one I could visit, but I guess I also wish I was in provence too!
Strong themes of camaraderie, community and amongst all else.. love!

The message I liked the most - the importance in finding closure and being able to farewell loved ones to support your own grieving process and move on with yourself. I am so glad they got theirs in the end, it wouldn't have been a true love story without some things blocking that along the way!

Love in Provence

I’ve read most of Jo Thomas’s books over the years since I first picked up The Oyster Catcher. One I haven’t read is Escape To The French Farmhouse….and I wasn’t aware this was the follow up. But fortunately I only found that out after finishing the book - which says a lot for the books ability to stand alone.
If you haven’t read the first one we meet Del living at La Petite Mas - a French farmhouse she has done up with her partner Fabien and the help of the friends she has made since moving from England to Provence. It’s lavender harvest season and the pesky mistral wind has swooped in to mix things up. As the mistral arrives Del’s happy ever after goes a bit off course and things start to take a turn for the worse. Losing friends, lover’s tiffs and a new nemesis in town make for a fun read. As always with Jo’s books we are taken off to beautiful locations, she sets the scene perfectly and the food…oh the food. Her books always make me hungry and make me want to get cooking and travelling - so much so I’ve come to expect nothing less. An easy, lovely read.

Thanks to the Publisher and Netgalley for an early review copy.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book.

We meet Del, she enjoys cooking.

When a change brings unexpected news, Del is left wondering what will happen now, and if her future, once the upcoming lavender harvest has been taken care of.

On the other hand, her relationship isn’t what it once was.

Then a bunch of different people arrive to help with the harvest, unaware of how they’ll help Del, not just with harvesting the lavender.

There is so much happening which is challenging Del.

I loved the location and how the community come together to help each other.

I highly recommend this book.

It was Deja Vu when I picked this up and I realized it is a sequel to ‘Escape to the French Farmhouse’
Where time has moved on. It was like returning to a holiday destination, the descriptions, the smells and the food! And the locals we met last time, but with new people coming for the Lavender harvest all with their stories and different lives.
The mistral blows in and turns lives upside down and it is how everyone comes together to help each other that is at the heart of the story and makes it such a life affirming book and what Jo is so good at. A beautiful summer read..

Del's world is shattered when her mentor and business partner, Henri dies. Everything is falling apart . Can she turn her life around? Another great read from Jo Thomas

Thank you to the author, the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Love in Provence, as you can guess, is set in Provence, France and follows the main character, Del, while she deals with life's ever-changing challenges and a mischievous mistral that has blown through the town.

I loved the setting for the book, especially the beautiful lavender farm where Del lives. I also really liked Del as a main character, her determination throughout the book and how much she looked out for her chosen family.

I rated this book 3 stars, I did enjoy it and it was a nice easy read but it didn't blow me away. I would recommend this for someone as a holiday/summer read who is looking for a book with themes of romance, found family and inspiring stories.

Back in Provence with Del and Fabien. It’s time for the lavender harvest and it brings upheaval and doubt and also new pickers who all have different reasons for coming. They help Del when she’s low and you can’t be sad for too long with the beautiful surroundings and lovely food. Jo Thomas regularly has me wanting to go into the kitchen to cook up a feast. A lovely summer read

I loved this book and had already enjoyed its predecessor so it was great to read and review this one. However, you don't have to have read the first one to enjoy this. Del has been living at the lavender farm in Provence for 3 years now and has a group of friends she sees as family, as well as new love Fabien. The annual harvest is about to begin when Del gets some sad news. On top of this, Fabien has to go away and the restaurant where she learnt so much has a new owner. I am really trying not to give too much away which would spoil the story! The new owner has a totally different idea of the future of the restaurant and Del finds herself doubting Fabien and their relationship. I really did become so engrossed in this story, the characters and their relationships. It is a great read especially set as it is in Provence. You can almost smell the lavender as you are reading it! Thank you so much Netgalley for letting me read and review this book. I am already looking forward to the next one in this series hint! hint!

3.5 stars rounded up
Del moved from the UK to the south of France three years ago and has settled happily into the community with new friends, a new love with Fabien and a new life running her lavender farm and cooking at Henri's, the local bistro. At the beginning of the lavender harvesting season, however, a mistral blows in causing damage and bringing trouble with it. Del receives devastating news both personal and financial, Fabien unexpectedly has to leave for a few weeks and Del seems to have lost her ability to cook just as a group of workers arrive to pick lavender for the next three weeks. As the problems mount, Del must find innovative solutions or face leaving her beloved farm behind to return to the UK.

A few pages into reading Love in Provence, I realized that it was a sequel to another book (Escape to the French Farmhouse). I enjoyed it as a standalone as there is just the right amount of backstory included but I regretted a little bit not having read the other book first as I'm sure I would have enjoyed the story of how Del settled in Provence and fell in love with Fabien.

I have read several books by Jo Thomas and find that she is a reliable author for light, enjoyable reads set in beautiful locations - Provence in this case. Love in Provence is a charming story of friends, love and community filled with mouth-watering descriptions of the delcious food of the region. It's a perfect summer escape that had me reminiscing about my own visit to Provence several years ago - I missed lavender season and want to return when the lavender is blooming!

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House UK for sending a digital ARC of this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

A summery read loading with friendship, good food and wine with an added dash of romance.

Del lives in the south of France in a farmhouse with lavender fields, she’s a cook with the lovely Henri. She’s thrown into the deepens when Henri dies suddenly and his son comes back to demand the restaurant that she and Henri worked in. She’s distraught, but with great friendships she turns herself around.

A lovely read, full of the joy of people coming together to help in the moment of need. Del is a great character who will live on in you. She’s shows you when it’s tough, lean on the people around you and it will be ok. The setting was idyllic and I wanted to jump into the pages.

A perfect summer reads 5 stars.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for a copy.

Thank you, NetGalley and Jo Thomas. 'Love in Provence' provides the perfect escape for a holiday read, with enough depth to the characters and sufficient plot to keep you engaged while you apply the suncream. I believe that the published version will have recipes, which is always a bonus. Oh, I just thought... a QR code to send recipes directly to your phone?! Beautiful narrative of the fields full of lavender, the interaction between strangers and an undercurrent of relationship drama...what more do you need really.

This is the second book in the series and although I had read the first one it took me a while to reconnect with the characters and I found it difficult at the beginning to re engage. When I did I then began to enjoy the book and to cheer on Del and the pickers who have joined her for the harvest at her lavender farm in Provence.
The new characters are well written but I did feel there was an expectation that the reader already knew a lot about the others so I wouldn’t recommend reading this as a stand alone book.

I enjoyed the descriptions of the food nd life in a small Provençal village and think this is a great summer read.

Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for a free advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed this book set in rural France as we followed Del and her band of lavender pickers for a summer in the sun.

With unexpected pitfalls along the way, Del waves goodbye to her boyfriend Fabien as he sets off on a tour as a musician, leaving her to deal with the death of a very good friend, and the unscrupulous behaviour of a chef who takes over her bistro.

The characters are full of warmth and kindness, this is a feel good summer novel, that will leave you wanting more. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

A pleasant enough book, set in a great part of the world. I liked the plot (although there possibly wasn't a lot to it) and the characters were great - you really wanted them to develop and find their way forward. You could tell that people were not happy where they were in their lives but the group as a whole was such a force that they helped each other to become stronger. The only thing I felt was that there was an awful lot of repetition with the same phrasing used all the time. It did become quite frustrating, where you just wanted to carry on with the story, not go over old ground.

Thank you to Net Galley and the publishers for allowing me to read this in exchange for an honest review, which is what I have given.

This book is the second in a series, and although it isn't necessary to read the first in the series, it definitely helps. This book tells the story of Del who runs a lavender farm as well as a small cafe on behalf of its owner. However, when the owner dies, his estranged son comes back and turns the cafe into a high class establishment.

This novel is a pleasant dip into life in the South of France. There is a good range of characters and a good story arc, but it didn't rise above the ordinary for me, as I couldn't bring myself to care too deeply what happened. I think it was because - for me - there was just too much misery and nobody in the story seem to be who they said they were. It just felt too contrived.

It was lovely to return to Provence and meet up with old friends and make new ones too.
The Mistral wind is renowned for causing change and mischief and this season the change is certainly not for the better.
Del finds herself having to cope without partner Fabian and wonderful friend, mentor and business partner Henri.
The community spirit has moved to the lavender farm harvest bringing a group of strangers together- and all their problems too.
This is a lovely read set in beautiful Provence.

This is the first book that I have read by Jo Thomas and I really enjoyed it, the only disappointment was finding that it was a sequel to a previous book that would have given me a better insight into the characters, having said that it can certainly be read as a standalone.
This is a good, old fashioned love story with a bit of angst thrown in for good measure.
Del had left England to live in France, she loved her life, she partnered her good friend, Henri at the Bistro and loved cooking the traditional dishes that he had taught her, she loved her life with Fabien although she did have twinges of insecurity at being ten years his senior, she loved the lavender farm, the lavender soothed her soul, she loved the wonderful friends that she had made, they were like family to her.
Del was happy to take over the Bistro when Henri and Rhi decided to travel, she knew that if everyone pulled together it would work...........but the the mistral came and everything changed.
Tragic news turned Del's idyllic world upside down, money was tight, the mistral had caused damage, the lavender pickers were due, she would have to feed them but more worryingly she would have to pay them. To add to Del's misery, Fabien was called away by the band that he used to play with, they desperately needed a bass guitarist, with a heavy heart, Del encouraged him to go but was it the right thing to do, he would be with people his own age doing something that he loved...........and then there was Zacharie !
This author has wonderful descriptive powers, the meals sound scrumptious, I could practically smell the lavender and picture the cobbled streets.
Thank you to Net Gallery, I received a free copy of this book and my review is voluntary.

What a charming story. The book is based in Provence which in itself is lovely and written so well you can picture yourself there with the smell of lavender. Del moved to the South of France three years ago with her husband. The relationship failed and she decided to stay and make a life for herself. On looking through Jo Thomas’ book list I did not realise this is a follow on and would have liked to have read the first one but this did not detract from the book at all. I did not get the feeling that I had “missed out” although I will read the other book just to get a feel for her relationship prior to the start of this book. Del is helping to run a Bistro called “Henri’s” and has settled into life. Henri decides to travel with Rhi to see the world and she is left in charge which is working really well. Then things change. A mistral comes into the village destroying the front of the Bistro. Del also has lavender fields at her home and she has secured workers to cut the lavender. She struggles to get to grips with the devastation and also has to deal with workers who have arrived. Then there is Fabian. They are a couple but Del worries about their age gap – she is 10 years older. She explains to the workers after a difficult first meal about the Bistro and the fact that Henri had passed away on holiday. They all pull together to help as this is when the book almost gets a life of it’s own. I enjoyed the way the different characters came across and how they all moulded together. A lovely read

I wasn’t aware that this was a sequel to Escape to the French Farmhouse. That was about rebuilding a life whereas this book seems to be about that life falling apart. The lavender pickers were an interesting group of characters with individual personalities and stories but overall this is not as enjoyable as the first book. The sense of place makes this a good summer story. 3.5⭐️ rounded up.

After an attempt to save her ailing marriage failed, Del decided to stay in Provance. But with nothing to her name except an empty farmhouse Del had her work cut out. 3 years later, Del is happy with new love Fabian, running her lavender farm and embracing her passion for cooking at Henri’s, the small towns favourite bistro.
But, as the unpredictable Mistral wind blows in, Del is rocked by the death of a close friend and then Fabian goes away to work for the summer. Then another shock sends her spiralling, and her usual love of cooking deserts her. Can Del manage the farm and look after the lavender pickers on her own or will her life change beyond recognition by summer’s end.
This is a story, of friendship, community and new beginnings set in the sunshine of Provance.