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 A Year at the French Farmhouse by Gillian Harvey

After ten years of loyal service Lily Butterworth has been made redundant. Like any clever woman, she knows the cure to redundancy is a little too much wine and her best friend.

Only the next morning, Lily has more than a hangover . . . she has a whole new house – in France!

Seeing this as an opportunity instead of a disaster, she’s excited about finally moving to France, just as she and her husband always dreamed of. However, Lily is in for another surprise. Despite planning to move there for over 20 years, her husband never actually intended to go.

So begins a year in France, alone, renovating the gorgeous old farmhouse that is held together by wallpaper and wishes.

Will a year at the French farmhouse be just what Lily needs? Or could it be the previous owner, Frederique, that is the answer to Lily’s dreams?

Review

A great read that left me dreaming of being as brave as Lily, just taking the plunge and going off on an adventure to start a new chapter in life. The relationships between Lily and those she comes across in France, go from strength to strength and prove to survive through language barriers, falling plaster and love and heartache. There’s lots of emotions flowing through the book – all unique to the situation Lily finds herself in.

It’s an easy read at a gentle pace with likeable characters and a happy ending. Pure escapism.

I’m already wondering what will happen next…

French bookworm is a Francophile who reads books for fun.

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