A lovely book which had me enthralled as to the outcome. I loved the little Bookshop and the friendly little French village with everyone helping each other. A smashing book, highly recommend. 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 to me, but I will definitely look out for more of her books. A lovely quaint novel with some lovely characters in it.
Secrets, betrayal and a love story. A smashing read.
Thank you to Net Galley for an advanced copy

This was such a cute cozy book for end of the summer. If you love books and little places you will enjoy reading. Adeline arrives in a little village in Provence with her daughter Lily to start a new life and a new job at a small bookshop with the mysterious owner Monique. She becomes a part of the village and its people and begins to find what she’s been looking for. I
l loved the introduction to small town France through the eyes of both Monique and Adeline.

Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to review this title.

This was a sweet story about finding family and love and friendships, after all, who knows what will happen when the stars align and fate steps in? A wonderful read

A beautiful story. Very easy read. The writing flows nicely and made me want to move to France! Will be reading more of this author

I love books set in bookshops and libraries and this book did not dissappoint. Heart-warming and engaging. I loved every last page.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Adeline discovers some life changing news as she sorts through her deceased mother’s belongings. This betrayal, compounding her grief, sends her on a quest from London to Provence to seek answers about her identity. A series of synchronistic events leads Adeline and her five-year-old daughter to a quaint book shop owned by Monique, an eccentric woman characterized by some as a witch because of her affinity for crystals, spells, and her ability to “read” people.

This novel has a certain charm, but something essential felt missing. Many of the characters were underdeveloped – feeling like walk-ons in a play. The romantic elements felt lukewarm and magical realism aspects were repeated so often and met with such skepticism that it took the fun out of it. Lastly, the outcome was so obvious early on that the ending felt anticlimactic.

Given the lesser appreciated elements listed above, I did enjoy the descriptions of the book shop and the village of St. Vianne. The concept of bibliotherapy – finding the right book that speaks to an issue needing healing is reasonable – but as Adeline points out, it is an enhancement, not a substitute for professional help. The quotes from Emily Dickenson’s poetry were a welcome dimension to Adeline’s journey. Lastly, I loved the statement about stories…one soul reaching out to another…letting us know we are not alone, and we are understood. This is the healing power of a book that resonates with the reader.

My thanks to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for the privilege of reviewing this book. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This review is being posted immediately to my GoodReads account and will be posted on Amazon upon publication.

This was an escapist read with SO much heart in the pages! If bookshops, particularly in France, make you happy, then you'll want to retreat into your reading space and enjoy this book in one sitting!

Adeline, a teacher, and her young daughter Lili uprooted their life in London, after news of a betrayal that cuts so deep, she sees no choice but to move on. They settle in a small town in France, where Adeline takes a job in a quaint book store that is rumored to be run by a witch.

Her boss is eccentric, all-knowing, and shares a connection with Adeline in the same tragic back story of familial loss. Will their love of books and bonds help them find the answer to the questions in their heart?

*******

I loved the introduction to small town France through the eyes of both Monique and Adeline. The escapism of a fresh place and a familiar place all at once was a beautiful start. We learn that Adeline is running from something, and Monique has already run. There's hints and magical threads that, unfortunately, are way too obvious to enjoy this novel unraveling. You can see the shared grief and magic between the characters, but with how similarities were hammered over our heads, nothing really came as a surprise. I love a book where you kind of figure out where it's going, but this felt spoon-fed for hundreds of pages.

There also were moments where Monique seemed unhinged to a concerning level, even to Adeline. Her child inferring she was told to call her mamie, Monique dismissing her own loss to convince herself they shared familial relations, as well as her being certain who her own missing piece was on their shared trip, despite any evidence, was chilling. Sure, it all was fine and serendipitous in the end, yet in the moment, it was vastly concerning. Adeline being fine bringing Monique around her child, and leaving her child in her care despite her own concerns about her mental wellbeing didn't sit as genuine, and had me baffled as to why those interactions were set up in that way.

As well, I wasnt sure of the point of the two love interests. Monique meddling incessantly to set Adeline up, much to her annoyance, made it obvious who she would choose. It was also another layer that showed Monique wasn't the healthiest person mentally. Adeline spoke of a tangible connection to the man she chose, but there was never any interaction between them on the pages other than her buying a pastry, him dropping off a pastry, him helping her to the shop door and asking her out, and a date we never saw. It's hard to buy into their chemistry when there's none on the page, and all we see is her leave for one date, and then we're supposed to buy in on this being a major connection. If that was explored even slightly more, I would have been invested in their side story.

The main thread of bibliotherapy was fantastic. I enjoyed the approach of how the right book can heal you. How they can speak to the current time, even from hundreds of years past. Everyone who picks up that book is connected in a tangible way through a shared story. That was a beautiful way to relate books to reality as well as to the magic that Monique sews through them.

Overall, I would say this is a lovely escapist book, if you're willing to suspend a bit of logic, and only focus on the main female leads bonds.

Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to review this title. I've read a few books based in bookstores and they bring me a little bit of comfort, and this one was no different.

Adeline arrives in a little village in Provence with her daughter Lily to start a new life and a new job at a small bookshop with the mysterious owner Monique. She becomes a part of the village and its people and begins to find what she’s been looking for. I loved this novel!

The little provence Bookshop was the perfect escapist read.

Set in rural Provence, a single mum Adeline moves with her daughter Lili from London. She sighs with relief taking in the quaint scenery and little cafes. Her new beginning is just what she needs as she leaves behind the new information and lies told by her family.

Adeline starts her new job in a bookstore. A comeplete contrats to her busy life in London. It turns out Monique her new boss isn't just providing the locals with book recommendations the conventional way. A little spark and magic in the bookstore allows Adeline to give meaning to her life that she felt was coming undone.

As she gets to know the villagers and handsome Andre things begin to turn and Adeline realises running is no longer necessary!
What begins as a means of escape turns into a whole new chapter of her life.

This is a heartwarming novel that has empathy and humour in most warming manner.

The book is out on the shelves on the 9th of October this year! A great Autumn read!

First of all thank you netgalley for this ARC. My review was in no way swayed and my thoughts are my own.

I loved this book. It's a delightful blend of magical realism, fond family, love, loss, and finding yourself. I love it when a book is written about books or libraries. Just makes your want to settle in and get cozy. The author did a wonderful job seeing the scene in Provence as well as building the characters. I became invested in each ones story and outcome. It truly is a must read.

This was my first Gillian Harvey book and I will definitely be back for more! I would call this a "cozy coming of age" story. Set in a small village in Provence. Adeline flees her life in London with her 5 year old daughter Lily after learning some very upsetting news. Her mother has passed away and her job eliminated so she answers an ad to work in a bookshop in a tiny French village where she learns a lot about herself, her family and what's most important in life.

Many thanks to Boldwood Books and NetGalley for this ARC.

Gillian Harvey is a brilliant storyteller and never disappoints me as a reader.

Adeline discovers she is adopted and goes in search of her birth mother in the beautiful rural region of Provence
With amazing likable characters and a couple of twists this is a delightful read.
I was immersed in the feel of Provence and as a avid lover of all things French this book sang to me.

The writing as usual was just perfect, the setting divine and the story of Adeline made laugh and cry in all the right places.

Thank you to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for the opportunity to read The Little Provence Book Shop by Gillian Harvey. Gillian Harvey never lets us down, and this was lovely.

The Little Provence Bookshop tells the story of Adeline, who flees to Provence with her daughter, after the shocking revelation that she was adopted, seeking to be closer to her French birth mother. There are definite similarities in this novel to Chocolat by Joanne Harris (which is actually mentioned a couple of times), and I did have to check a couple of times that it wasn't in some way a prequel/sequel type of book. However, it's not and once I got over that I really enjoyed it. I did guess some of the twists before they happened, but that didn't spoil my enjoyment of the book. The characters were likeable and relatable in the main. There were a couple of points that stretched my credulity a liiiitttttle too far, but hey, it's fiction! If you like your plots to be sensible and logical though, this is maybe not the right book to read. However, if you love books and like France this would be a good fit.

This is a beautiful book about love, friendship and family. The descriptions of Provence took me back to past holidays, and make me want to go again. I will definitely read other books by this author now.

I quite enjoyed how Emily Dickinson guided Adeline through life :)

And yet.., there was something about this story or the characters that didn't seem to work for me. Supposedly there was magic, but I didn't feel it myself. We never got to know Andre, what was it that she liked about him? And she and Monique seemed to be bonding, but near the end they weren't that close as before. And where was Stacey during Bastille Day?

And, it was rather flat regarding diversity when it comes to skin color, gender identity, religion, history, cultural background, chronics, you name it. It doesn't have to be a theme, but someone being overweight, or with financial struggles, or being non-binary, or in a wheelchair could have been casually mentioned. Unfortunately, I am adding that to a lot of reviews on books I've read recently...

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of the book.

You can always guarantee that Gillian Harvey will produce a cracker of a book! As with all of Gillian's books, this will grab you from the start and what an intriguing plot this one has! Absolutely fantastic read with gorgeous characters and the perfect setting. Gillian Harvey is a master of her craft.
Thank you for allowing me to read an Advance Reader Copy because I'm seriously glad I didn't have to wait a moment longer to read this gorgeous book!