It’s 1963 and Alexandra is sent to Switzerland to a finishing school by her guardians. On her way there she stops off in Paris and finds herself becoming the nanny to 3 children of a very handsome French count in a château in Provence.

Katie Fforde is always such a dependable author you always know what you’re going to get. A wholesome romance with plenty of heart.

A good romance if you like Mills & Boon fantasy romance.
Alexandra a 20yr old off to a finishing school in Switzerland and stops off in Paris and bumps into a young woman and ends up cooking a meal for her dinner party as she had been let down by a chef. One of the guests is desperate for a nanny for his two children and Alex gets the job.

You know where the story is going to end up and it`s not a bad journey if you don`t look at all the things that are unbelievable, I couldn`t believe Alex at 20 would be an expert cook, nanny and an expert in antiques and mending antiques.
If you take out all the descriptions of every meal they had you will have less than half the book, saying that I did enjoy the relationship between Alex and the children.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

What a perfect, romantic story set in Provence in a beautiful chateau and such a pleasure to return to the 1960's, I enjoyed every single moment

Another lovely, curl up on the sofa, book by Katie. Interesting characters, the addition of a few pets, a lovely chateau - what more can you want?

This is my first book by Katie Fforde. I did enjoy it in the end but found it hard going to start with.. It did have a warm feeling but was predictable. I loved all the characters.

This is a sweet read with a good mixture of characters, ones you love and ones you love to hate. Alexandra, a 20 year old orphan is on her way to a finishing school in Switzerland stopping off in Paris when a chance meeting with a young American woman leads to a job offer. Soon she finds herself nanny to the three children of a handsome Comte in a chateau in Provence.

I've only read one Katie Fforde book before this. I don't find them wow books but they're pleasant, quick reads and would certainly read more.

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House UK for the ARC

Absolutely adorable story with adorable characters with love as the main course. Written so well that it will.feel like a friend's life!!!!. You won't be able to resist the temptation of a great book to snuggle down with!!
Many thanks to Netgalley for the free ARC book for an honest review.
#Netgalley, #randomhouse, #ffordekatie.

Having already read A Wedding in the Country, I was delighted to see that this book was Lexis story.

When Lexis guardians realise that she is not living in conditions befitting her status they demand she goes to finishing school in Switzerland.

En route to Switzerland Lexi stops over in Paris and meets a new friend Donna an American who is determined to rescue Lexi, but is working for a French Count as a nanny for his three children a way to avoid finishing school.

The characters are well written, it was lovely to meet David again. You quickly connect to the new characters and must admit a soft spot for Stephie.

This was an amazing book and I finished it in 24 hours and was really disappointed when it was finished, I really hope Megs story is next.

Thank you to Netgalley for a copy of this book in return for an honest review

An absolutely gorgeous read! I feel like I’ve been transported to a château in Provence for a wonderful holiday. This book shows Katie Fforde’s story telling at her very best, warm, likeable characters, beautiful settings, friendships, romance and a wedding! Plus, a chance to catch up with some of the fabulous characters from her previous book, including cameo roles from Lizzie, and a more important roles for David and Alexandra. Highly recommended!

Free courtesy of netgalley

I am a huge fan of Katie Fforde and have read all her books. Once again she did not disappoint, and I really enjoyed reading this.

English Born Alexandra in in Paris, a stop over on her journey to Switzerland. Her family has decided she must attend a finishing school to improve her French and her suitability.

She helps a young American woman, who has dropped her produce and is all of a tither. They end up spending some time together and Lexi informs her that she really doesn't want to go to Switzerland and wish she could stay in Paris. So her new friend gets her a job interview but what they both don't know until she gets the job, it's as a nanny for 3 children in Provence. The children's father is away a lot, and their current nanny has had to go and help her sick mother, so this would be cover for 1 month only.

When she gets there she finds 2 older teenagers and one young child and the housekeeper has left also, leaving Lexi to cope alone, with children who are a bit prickly. The story builds the relationship between Lexi and the family.

I really enjoyed the book, it had a Sound of Music feel about it, but I do feel the ending was a bit rushed, and the story didn't have the lovely ending I was expecting, not enough information for me unfortunately.

I would still recommend it to read though.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an early review copy.

Alexandra is a young woman who lost her parents when she was small, has lived most of her life with people looking after her. Her relatives keep in touch from a distance.

On her way to Switzerland, she stops in Paris for a short while. Accidentally, after meeting Donna, she gets a job as a Nanny to 3 children which she accepts.

The story was an easy read, and the setting was beautiful. As Alexandra had to fend for herself, although being naive, she’s shows great strength. It felt good knowing that everything will be alright in the end…….

The characters were all lovely and some were relatable and the ending, I couldn’t predict. It would be nice to know what happens next.

Fans of Katie will not be disappointed with this new book. Her heroine is sweet and feisty and the hero as gorgeous as ever. Once again there is an age gap to overcome, but this is done with commendable speed. This is a nice simple romance, with a nasty person or two thrown in for good measure to try and confound our couple. Great book for reading on the beach or curled up in a comfy chair with hot chocolate to pass away a winter’s day.

Wow! I absolutely loved this book. Its a follow on from Wedding in the Country, which was also fabulous, but it also makes a great stand alone book. Its up there as one of my top Katie Ffordes. It offers everything you need in a cosy light romance read and is perfect for snuggling up on the sofa with now and heading off to Provence. A truly enjoyable read with believable characters and a beautiful story. 5 stars!

"A Wedding in Provence" is set in 1963, before France was totally overrun with British ex-pats. Alexandra is an orphan with well-connected relatives who really doesn't want to go to finishing school in Switzerland. A chance encounter in Paris leads to a job opportunity which would enable her to delay the dreaded sojourn in Switzerland. She manages to secure the post, despite a lack of formal qualifications, and having lied about her age to make herself sound more responsible. The job is not what or where she was expecting it to be, but she quickly falls in love with Provence.

This is a typically feel-good Katie Fforde novel with some delightful characters. Recommended.

Thanks to Net Galley and the publishers for the opportunity to review this book.

You know when you pick up a book by Katie that you can relax and sink in to the story. A relaxing and enjoyable read. A bit predictable but the characters are well written and feel like friends.

I chose this book because I keep hearing about Katie Fforde and have never read one of her books. I have since realised that she usually writes contemporary fiction. This is set in the 1960s, so not her usual type of book. However, I loved it!

Alexandra, a twenty-year-old orphan from London, essentially bought herself up with several nannies and companions. She is on her way to Switzerland to stay with her family to attend a Swiss finishing school. Alexandra decides to stop in Paris for a few days on her way to visit the city properly. She is not very eager to see family. So when the opportunity arises to be a nanny to 3 children for a month, she jumps at the chance.

I enjoyed the plot, which had a baseline of romance but had more with some great characters, scenery and many funny scenes. The Chateau where Alexandra is a nanny sounds beautiful; I can picture it perfectly in my head and would love to visit.

I connected with most of the characters and really liked them on the whole. Alexandra is resourceful and falls in love with the children quickly. Having had so many nannies herself, she knows what worked for her and tries her best to connect with them. I liked Antoine, who clearly loves his children and wants to spend more time with them but has a high-powered job, meaning he can’t afford it. David and Jack were fantastic, I think David was my favourite, and I would love him to live with me and cook for me, his food sounds terrific!

The ending felt a little rushed, it was entirely predictable for Alexandra, but there were a few things I hadn’t seen coming as well. Although, I enjoyed knowing how it would likely end from the beginning.

The book is beautifully written. I have since realised there is another with some of the same characters that have already been released (A wedding in the country), which I will read next.

I couldn’t put this down and stayed up reading far too late, luckily, I could have a lie in the following morning, so it wasn’t too bad!

Having been a devoted fan of Katie Fforde‘s bonkbusters for decades, I was really looking forward to reading her newest book. What a disappointment - it plays in 1963 (!) and is basically a 20year-old prude English girl‘s diary of her playing nanny to a French count‘s three children in his chateau, ending in marriage. Thanks to Netgalley and Random House UK for the opportunity to read this advanced copy in return for my honest opinion.

A pleasant read. The story flowed nicely (if a bit long), but it didn't have much depth for me. I felt like I was reading a child's book - lots of information regarding what was happening (and what the characters were eating) but not much insight into their thoughts, feelings and motivation. It reminded me reading Chalet School books back in the day.
I also felt the big proposal seemed to come from nowhere - the Antoine seemed distant and largely indifferent for the majority of the book, and the for wedding just seemed forced and unbelievable. Perhaps I'm too much of a cynic.

You know exactly what you are getting with Katie Fforde, you can never go wrong!

As always beautiful location, wonderful characters and a lovely storyline.

This follows Alexandra's story who we met I. Katie's last book A wedding in the country so was nice to catch up and read her side.

Really enjoyable read and the perfect escapism highly recommended.

KATIE FFORDE – A WEDDING IN PROVENCE ***

I read this novel in advance of publication through NetGalley in return for an honest review.

To criticise this book is a little like kicking a cute puppy: you feel really bad and feel you shouldn’t really do it. Not having read anything by this author, I had chosen it because of its title. The first word that caught me was Provence (remembering A Year in Provence the best-selling book, and the universally panned John Thaw television series of the same name), the second Wedding, so I knew what to expect.

The Sound of Music story is okay: young English rose Alexandra travels to Provence and becomes the nanny to the children of count Antoine and marries him. Hardly a spoiler: you can guess the outcome from the title. It is set in 1963, a more innocent time, where in Paris on her way a finishing school in Switzerland she bumps into an American woman.

“Alexandra was naturally kind-hearted and couldn’t ignore the appeal from this young woman who must have been terribly lonely.”

My problem with this book is the author’s voice: most of the prose is telling you things, rather than showing you. We need to see that Alexandra is kind-hearted, not simply be told. There is no excitement in the writing. It is all very one note. Another problem I had is that neither Alexandra nor Antoine particularly come alive. Unlike most romances they seemed mere cyphers in their entirely predictable story. Yes, there are some well-drawn boo-hiss characters to cause them to stumble, but nothing major happens to prevent their union. That’s not necessarily a fault, if interestingly written. I am probably old fashioned, but I love descriptions. Think of the strong women in stories of H E Bates, the villages they live in, the countryside around them. They spring off the page.

Descriptions of the chateau and the minutia of their day to day lives - preparing scrambled eggs for breakfast, truffle hunting with their dog, the clothes they wear, their relatives, their friends, the locals - are all there on the page. They are well researched and carry you along, but with barely a metaphor or simile to lift the writing to the next level. For me it was too one-note and turgid, the equivalent of the A Year in Provence TV series, rather than the book. It could, it should, have been so much better. All the ingredients were there to make a three-tiered wedding cake, shame it turned out to be a Victoria sponge.