'The Little Breton Bistro' is a place where delicious food and great companionship are served with free life assistance. It plays host to the great recital of life, where some folks are lucky enough to hit the right notes while others find only the flats, the sharps, or those bum ones that weren’t supposed to be heard out loud.

Firstly ignore the pretty facade of the cover for a moment, inside people’s lives are crumbling. Its opening chapter is a pretty grim introduction to Marianne as it walks us through the conviction of her decision to end things. Instantly I found myself standing on a bridge beside a woman as the final little details of her life played out in readiness for her leap into the river Seine; the shedding of her coat, her wedding ring, her entire existence.

At this stage I already knew I wasn’t a reader any longer but a witness, powerless to intervene. I suddenly wanted to know everything about Marianne and who had driven her to such a dark place and left her there, emotionally ill-equipped and alone.

Cue fate’s invisible hand in the guise of a ceramic tile made by the hand of an artisan in Port de Kerdruc. Marianne discovers this strangely alluring article in the hospital after she follows through with her decision to jump.

I won’t lie, I felt sad knowing her intentions hadn’t changed but also oddly encouraged as the humble tile maps out a curious destiny. She ups and leaves with only the clothes on her back (allowing the painted tile to guide her) and quickly experiences a religious encounter in the form of a nun on the bus, becomes a stowaway aboard a fishing boat, and is mistakenly offered a job as a trainee chef. There are too many tender, agonising, or entertaining exploits to mention, but each one is vital, poignant, and determined to set her free in one way or another to rediscover the woman that had already died; a bright, intoxicating spirit her forty-one years of marriage had snuffed out.

The cast of equally challenged locals embrace the arrival of this unassuming woman until she is revived by their well-intended interference, and in return so are they. Apprehension prevents many people in this novel from opening their hearts to the possibility of happiness or even recognising it at times, especially when it’s staring them in the face. But a gentle nudge from someone who cares could give you the courage to run towards something rather than from it.

The underlying message of 'The Little Breton Bistro' is universal in any language; while we remain intent on channelling our emotional efforts in the wrong direction we’re essentially forgetting how to live, only succeeding in losing a little bit more of ourselves along the way.

I must admit at first I struggle to get into this book and identify with a more mature character ship. However once I got around this and the characters began to come to life for me I thoroughly enjoyed it.
A tale of love and loss, life and death and a rediscovery of an individual, it made me start putting my life in perspective. I grew to love all the characters, even though at first I struggled to keep up with who was who. Although the focus is on our leading lady Marianne, I felt more a sense of community and friendship while reading g this book.
I loved the inclusion of magic and myths and legends. It was subtle and still believably.
I would recommended this book to a friend and have already downloaded Nina's previous title, the little Paris bookshop. This book had real meaning for me with the concept of learning to love yourself and not to conform to others ideas of you. Live who you want to be.

Absolutely wonderful! It looks like the standard escape to the French countryside and rediscover yourself type of story, and that is what it is about. However, this one is in a league of its own. There is a real depth in the characters, the emotions have feeling, and the story line is not trite and well-trodden. From the moment our heroine throws herself over the bridge in Paris, this journey is fresh and engrossing. I will be looking for more books from Nina George in the future....

The Little Breton Bistro by Nina George is a beautiful story of love, of life, of death and of everything in between. It has an ethereal quality to it that just lodged in my soul leaving me feeling peaceful and tranquil.
The Little Breton Bistro is a novel of discovery. Too often we live to please others, suppressing ourselves along the way. We fail to live the life we should and fail to be who we were created to be. Life is for living, not merely existing. "He was mad enough to assume that one only had to survive to thrive."
The whole novel is about love. We all have a basic need to love and to be loved. "I miss love, being loved... someone who's my home." Love fulfils us and makes us beautiful from the inside out. If we are loved, we cannot help but project that love from our faces.
There is the theme of friendship within the story. Friendships come in all different shapes and sizes. Friendships speak of love.
For everything there is a season. The novel portrays a blossoming. In nature, things have to die off in the autumn to enable new growth in the spring. This is mirrored in the autumn of one's life. "In my search for death I found life." Getting older does not have to signify an end. It can be a new beginning.
The topic of dementia is seen in the novel. It is sensitively portrayed. Kindness, acceptance and understanding help the sufferer to bloom. There are some beautiful tender moments.
I really enjoyed The Little Breton Bistro. It was a truly beautiful book. I found the search for identity and discovery beautifully written. As lives opened up and hearts swelled with love, I 'felt' that beauty magnified. I have been left with a feeling of calm and peacefulness.
The Little Breton Bistro is a beautiful work of fiction.
I received this book for free. A favourable review was not required and all views expressed are my own.

I really liked that the main character was a woman of 60; it was a refreshing change from the heroines in their 20s and 30s. The majority of the story is set in Brittany, which is described as a land of myths and magic. The story was interesting and there were plenty of believable characters. In some ways I was reminded of "Chocolat". A charming book which I would recommend to others.

This was a ' harming' book; there's no other way to describe it. The characters were skilfully portrayals and the book gave a real feel of the bistro, places and people.

This isn't the book I was expecting it to be at all. Far from the fliffy-but-fun read I'd anticipated, The Little Breton Bistro is a really lovely story about the self, about hope, and about finding joy. But it's not schmaltzy or cloying - instead, this is a very well written reflective novel about self-discovery, a book so gently written that it's all the more surprising the extent to which it makes you think about Big Things. Highly recommended - this book is much more than I thought it would be.

A lovely heart felt novel about the fact you're never too old to find love and have new adventures. Brittany is described so adorably in this book it's made me want to go and visit and experience the magic.. The book has such a calm, serene European feel about it, it makes you wish we were still part of Europe. Staying in a loveless marriage is it's own jail term that, if you can find the strength to up and go, will brighten and enrich your life with new experiences. A must read for anyone in love, anyone missing love or anyone searching for love. This book will give you hope that it is out there just waiting for you to find it.

Having read Nina George's Little Paris Bookshop reviewed here, I was delighted to see that her next book is centred in Brittany.
I related so comfortably to the descriptions of the region in which we lived for twelve years, and it was a bit like 'home' to read the village names and to think 'I was once there'!


The story is about Marianne, a sixty year old lady, who is desperate to escape a loveless marriage. Her husband Lothar is cold and seemingly without much feeling -- he is a Sergeant Major in the Army and a total pain in the neck, apt to clip money-off coupons and insist that she uses them even if the food is out of date. With him she has lost all sense of personal value.
On a trip from Germany to Paris Marianne decides that she has had enough of being bullied and put down, and plans to end it all. Leaping from the Pont Neuf into the River Seine she welcomes death. Fortunately she is saved from drowning by a homeless man nearby.
Taken to hospital, she is told by Lothar that she can come home on her own, with a psychologist, as his ticket is only valid for the next day and he's using it to go.
Marianne escapes from the hospital, taking with her a little ceramic tile on which is a painting of a village in Brittany, Kerdruc.
Somehow she is determined to get there. She has adventures on the way, a visit to Ste Anne d'Auray (one of my favourite venues), A meeting in a Convent, bus journeys and finally a walk through the woods to Kerdruc where the aromas of salt, sea and spray wash over her.
A night afloat and she is picked up by one of the many characters who frequent to Auberge d' Ar Mor around which so much of the story is set. Here she begins to settle and become a part of the village.
I could go on to tell you of the many friends she makes, the transformation in herself as she realises that her life was 'unlived', the relationships between Jean-Remy the chef at the village Inn, and Laurine, between Pascale and Emile, Alain and Genevieve. , the festivals in the village, and of course Yann, the painter of the little tile. I could relate the return of her husband and the pull she feels to return to him, not in any sense for love, but more because she has been brainwashed into feeling that she is not worthy of anything else, has never known what it is to hope.

But more important to me is the way that the book draws you in, the way it speaks to you so personally. How does the author know that you had been in that position, that you had suffered the same grief, that the words are spoken just for you? 'Yes, I was there!'
The reader becomes such a part of the story, feeling every joy, every rejection through Marianne, feeling the burgeoning of a love in her relationships with so many people. We begin to see that her life before Kerdruc was no life, simply a life of being controlled. She says, tellingly " I don't know why women believe that sacrificing our desires makes us more attractive to men. What on earth are we thinking?"

Although the story is built around Marianne and her gradual awakening to the fact that she is lovable, worthwhile and beautiful to others, we see so much else entwined in the side stories of the friends who are part of Kerdruc. The mysterious region of Brittany and its histories are an essential part of the story, woven into Marianne's view of life.

I loved this book and I recommend reading it at least twice, to see what you missed the first time!
Thanks to Net Galley for a complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review.

I expected this book to be similiar to those of similiar titles - how wrong was I. This is a beautifully written book. It starts with someone wanting to end their life as it seems worthless and finishes with them embracing all that life has to offer. This is a very sensitive book which explores relationships and the effects on the people involved. The descriptions of the village and sea made me feel as though I was there. There was a moment when I had to cross my fingers that the correct decision would be made as I wanted the book to end happily. I was sorry when it was finished!

A thought provoking novel,where dreams can become a reality. It is a lesson on life, that it is never too late to start again, giving hope to all those who wish their lives had turned out differently. With charismatic characters and descriptive scenery, it shows love conquers all.

A delightful story, beginning with the attempted suicide of Marianne, the central character. The reader is tied to Marianne by the well-written opening, keen to learn what will become of her. Almost chick-lit, despite Marianne being sixty, it becomes a delightful story of self-discovery set in a Breton village, peopled by likeable, quirky characters.
An easy, enjoyable read, which left me to read more by the same author

I was given a free copy of this book by Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.
This is a charming novel about an under-appreciated, put upon wife, Marianne Messman, who makes a break for freedom. Forty-one years of marriage to a miserly man, Lothar - stingy with both his money and his love - have left Marianne meek, miserable and constantly sacrificing her happiness for a man who treats her with contempt, indulging in small acts of casual cruelty to demonstrate how her feelings are secondary to everything else in his life. On a trip to Paris from their home in Germany, Marianne finally snaps, attempting suicide to escape her unhappy life. When she fails (after some more withering put downs from Lothar) she embarks upon a search for a new place to end her life but her journey to a small Breton seaside village astounds her by revealing how much there is to live for. This is a tale of love, friendship, self-worth and self-determination.
Despite starting with an attempted suicide this book is a delight. Marianne meets a wealth of wonderful characters in her new home who enrich her life immeasurably. With each encounter she flourishes further. Marianne embodies the idea that it is never too late to live the life you want, to be the person you want to be. She also demonstrates how easy it is to be drawn back to what you're used to, how living that longed for life is a constant process of decision making. You are deciding every day to live that life. This was an enjoyable holiday read - it's not too weighty and evokes endless summer days by the sea. This is escapism at its best - your destination a magical community in a beautiful village, somewhere we'd all like to visit.

I'm not going to lie to you, when I started reading this book and the opening pages were about Marianne the main character leaping into the Seine in an attempt to end her life and get away from her husband of 35 years I thought I wasn't going to enjoy reading it.

How wrong was I? After leaving the hospital Marianne finds her way to the Breton town of Kerduc which she had seen painted on a coaster in the hospital. She ends up with a job and a place to stay in the restaurant of Ar Mor and soon begins to find herself. (view spoiler)

I really enjoyed reading about Marianne and watching her new character to develop. I also enjoyed reading about the lives of the other residents in Kerduc. This was a lovely easy read.

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to Netgalley and Abacus.

I felt so many emotions while reading this book. Initially sadness, pity and melancholy; then a mixture of heartwarming lightheartedness, joy and empowerment, with some humour mixed in. Reading 'The Little Breton Bistro' was almost like going on a journey through a rainbow of every emotion under the sun. Which is what a good author and book should be able to conjure - emotions and feelings.

Marianne is in her 60's and has been married to her husband, Lothar, since she was 19. Her husband is controlling, selfish, tight and nasty towards Marianne. She has suffered in quiet throughout their marriage, but while on holiday in Paris she suddenly decides enough is enough and she is through with this life.

A series of incidents see her initial plan to throw herself into the Seine scuppered. She finds a tile with a painting of a beautiful Brittany port inscribed with the name of the village, Kerdruc, and decides to head towards the coast in search of it. Once she reaches the picturesque village she feels like she has returned home. Her plan to be washed away on the waves of the sea is again thwarted, when she ends up sheltering in a moored boat, and encounters some of the friendly and curious locals. As Marianne says herself "life intervened" and she begins to discover herself again, as well as the joys of life.

Initially I thought this book may be a bit depressing; however once Marianne reaches the coast, the vibe of the book also started to go through a transformation, which is really what the book is all about. It's still full of poignant moments, but it's almost like that now Marianne is in a less toxic place, the entire feel of the emotions created by the book also changed.

The character development is fantastic and very believable; it was like witnessing the real Marianne emerging as a beautiful butterfly from a cocoon in which she has been trapped and bound. The descriptions of the town and the food......My stomach was making lots of grumbling noises during some parts of the book, I could almost smell the food being described.

'The Little Breton Bistro' is an all round stunning and captivating read. I loved the transformative and healing process Marianne went through, and the message of the book particularly in regards to love - not just towards others, but also yourself. The writing is rich and wonderful and with loads of insight, secrets and intrigue. I strongly recommend it to everyone looking for a good book to really get into. Be prepared to get lost in its pages and in the lives of the residents of Kerdruc. I definitely can't wait to read more from Nina George. I am off now to buy 'The Little Paris Bookshop' on my Kindle. This book touched me so much I am also going to buy it in "a proper book" format. I believe it definitely deserves a place on my bookshelf, where I can reread it over the years as a reminder of the books message.

With many thanks to NetGalley, Little, Brown Book Group UK, and the author for the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest and unbiased review.

Thanks netgalley for this ARC.

Unexpected, present, and worth every minute

The first thing that I liked about this book is the style of writing. I find it to be enticing, drawing the reader in. I also like the use of real geographical locations, this adds a sense of time and place to the novel.

This is a story about a wide variety of interesting characters, living in a superb setting.
Is it a book which has a sense of journey? Yes
Is it a book which has a sense of self-discovery? Yes
Is it a book with a destination......You'll need to read it to find out.
It is an enchanting novel.
It is worth reading.

I offer thanks to Netgalley and Little Brown Book group UK (Abacus) for a copy in exchange for this review

Thoroughly enjoyed this book real feel good factor!!!!!

I was honoured to have read an advanced copy of Nina George’s last book, ‘The Little Paris Bookshop‘ in 2015, and loved every page of it. So when I became aware that Nina had written another book, I was eager to read this one too.

Nina writes with pure passion. She goes against the grain with her stories, and fills them with characters that don’t normally make the cut into novels, the older generation.

There is an air of sophistication about Nina’s work, you don’t just read her words, but you feel them too.

The Little Brenton Bistro, is a complex story. One told by a sixty year old woman who has had enough with this life. She wants some happiness, and if that means finding it in death, then so be it.

Being ground down by the man who is supposed to love her, really has taken its toll on Marianne. She no longer cares what people say about her. She no longer cares what he husband thinks about her. Unfortunately, it feels like she no longer cares about herself as well. So when a spur of the moment idea seeps into her head, she has nothing to lose.

This book could be seen as a sad book, with a depressing undertone at times, but it is also uplifting. It is an inspiration to anyone that has ever felt lost in this world to discover, even if only in fiction, what life could be like. Don’t be fooled by the chick-litesq cover, as this is far from one.

Nina George will grab hold of your emotions and toss them around during ‘The Little Brenton Bistro. The story is awe inspiring, captivating and completely masterful from beginning to end, and is a must read of 2017. I can see this book winning some awards this year.

Good easy nice read. Paris is always a lovely setting for a romance book.