Book Review - A French Affair by Jennifer Bohnet

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Title: A French Affair

Author: Jennifer Bohnet

Format reviewed: Ebook

Source: Netgalley

Publisher: Boldwood Books

Publication Date: 4th August 2020

Rating: 4 Stars

What will be will be...

Belinda Marshall’s idyllic teenage life in Brittany, France, fell apart when her parents dramatically separated and her mother took her back

to England.

Fast forward thirty-five years when Belinda’s world is once again turned upside down.

It’s the week before Christmas and Belinda's employer 'surprises’ her by asking for her help to rejuvenate their latest investment, a run-down campsite in Brittany.

Memories and anxieties that had lain dormant for years suddenly begin to resurface.

As secrets from a lost life threaten to overwhelm her, there is a realisation that maybe she wasn’t told the whole truth by her mother all those years ago.

Can Belinda reconcile her emotions and find happiness once more in the place she so loved and called home?

What a lovely gentle story, featuring a Breton campsite, an auberge owner and all manner of family history to come to terms with. 

There are two main characters, Fern and Belinda. Belinda grew up in Brittany but hasn't been back since being dragged to England by her mum at a teen. The last thing she wants is for her bosses  to send her to Brittany to help renovate a campsite they have purchased, given she normally works in their hotels and really doesn't fancy the trip down memory lane. 

And when she gets to the campsite the person she is managing it with is not too happy she has been sent, and just wants rid of her initially. 

While they get the manager accommodation up to scratch Belinda is staying in an auberge with Fern, our second leading lady.  There is an easy friendship springing up between them, and Fern is having to make some tricky decisions too. 

I found this to be a really calming book to read, I enjoyed the various plot lines, the secrets that are revealed and a slow burn romance.  I really enjoyed Bernie's character,  he lives on the campsite and is just such a gentle person,  and some of his gestures really just made me smile. 

It's another enjoyable book from Jennifer Bohnet, an author that I always tend to love reading.  

Thank you to Netgalley and Boldwood for this copy which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily.