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!

The cover and the title of this book had my attention straight away, as a book lover I knew I just couldn’t miss it and I’m glad I didn’t.

Adeline is grieving the death of her mum and processing a shocking revelation about her family and decides to move to Provence with her 5yo daughter. A very lucky finding of an advert in a local bookstore in a little village in the middle of Provence seems exactly the getaway she needed.
Little did she know that by walking in this little bookshop her life would change forever and for the better.
The connection with the owner Monique is instant, and although with a little skepticism at first, Adeline will learn the power of books, magic, instinct and intuition and a lot about herself and her family along the way.

It’s a book where the theme of adoption is one of the main focus, but it’s also a book about self discovery and appreciation of the little things in life.

As a reader I was really happy the narrative has been focus on Adeline and her family and that the little romance that’s there is not the main part of the plot. We don’t always need the arrival of Prince Charming to be happy or discover something new about ourselves and I was glad the book makes this point come across so clearly.

If you believe in the power of books and words, if you believe in just the tiny bit of magic and serendipity then this book is a must read! Recommended!

- Received a free advanced copy from Netgalley

Thank you to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for this ARC.

30 year old Adeline from England has answered a job ad for a position in a small bookshop in rural Provence, France. The owner, elderly Monique, offers her the job on the spot so Adeline takes her 5 year old daughter Lili and relocates from London, far away from her brother Kevin and the recent revelation that she is adopted. Funnily enough, Monique seems to be looking for her daughter who was adopted too. Coincidence? If you find that far-fetched, there's an even more outrageous twist.

The central topic of this book is adoption and how people deal with having given away a child or being that child and now looking for their blood relations, plus how it affects other family members.

There is also a lot of talk (mainly by Monique) about fate, magic, crystals, charms, auras and healing people through books, so-called bibliotherapy. If you have the gift, you can "read people" and find which book they need to get better, apparently. It is an intriguing concept but it is overused in my opinion. You can't heal someone from depression with a strategically gifted book.

There is a romantic plotline involving some barely sketched out French guys, but it's quite lukewarm, and then the story ends rather abruptly, with people once again happily ignoring the realities of the end of Freedom of Movement for Brits.

This is an undemanding escapist summer read for lovers of Provence with an intriguing plot about searching for family but I expected more from the storyline and the writing style.

3.25 stars

This book is a 3.5/5 ⭐️

Ask yourself!!

‘Why do you love books? ^^What makes your heart beat faster?’

Adeline our fmc, moved to little provance from London with her 5 year old daughter Lili completely uprooting herself and starting afresh, world away from her place to St Vianne.

If you are looking for a light hearted quick read this book is for you. I always had an overwhelming love for a delightful story with finding family and newly formed friendships. And this book has it all. I loved the relationship between Adeline and Monique. She cannot quite explain what she feels and how to explain the strange connection with her boss. We often think that we are only one with a bag full of secrets and we tend to run away with them only to find out it’s not just us.

When Adeline and Monique both have their own secrets and have their own struggles, will they have each other’s back or will they find themselves lost in their stories?

These little details made me absorbed in the moments. There were occasions that I felt deeply in love with and found myself sharing the espresso in France with the characters on the book. And there were quite few places that I have to read twice to understand where I was.

‘‘Stories do not fit neatly into a spreadsheet. They fill the space they need, in our hearts, our heads, our imaginations’

The ending was perfect! It made me realise one can believe in magic. And a definite pick for book clubs which pave way for healthy discussion.

“The right book more than just a tale to entertain”

I was interested in this book because of the cover and the description but it honestly was such a great read! The book focuses on Adeline, a single mother, who just moved to St. Vianne, a small and quaint village in France from London after the sudden death of her mother. Adeline, along with her daughter Lilli, navigate their new life in a different country.

Adeline is hired by Monique, a bookshop owner, and together we see their similarities yet they both have different stories to tell. I also love how we get to see a character working at a bookshop and learning about how books tell stories that don’t fit in a spreadsheet. Not only that but we also join Adeline through her journey of discovering her own identity and her mysterious past.

I also love how the story doesn’t revolve around romance (although it is still done well in the book) but rather focuses on the themes of loss, family, and forgiveness. As I was reading the first few chapters I thought it was predictable but I was so wrong! The plot twists were written so well that it made me second guess everything. Overall, I enjoyed reading this and definitely recommend it!

✨Thanks @netgalley for giving me a copy of this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

****Publishing October 9, 2024****

Set in Provence, Monique owns a bookshop where she helps people by selecting books especially for them. She calls herself the book doctor as she believes books help people improve their mental health.

Adeline and her daughter Lili, move from England to Provence to help Madeline with the bookstore. Adeline is ready to start anew. Can Monique provide the support she needs?

Both Monique and Adeline have their own struggles. Will they be able to support each other and help each other find their way? What will they discover?

This book will bring a fun escape to Provence, France. I loved how this author tackles the issues surrounding birth mothers and adoption, while creating a heartfelt and entertaining read. I loved the ending! I would never have guessed it! A great book for book clubs, as it will lead to many great discussions!

Thanks to Boldwood Books, I was provided an ARC of The Little Provence Book Shop by Gillian Harvey via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.