A Month In Provence by Gillian Harvey

 

A Month in Provence by Gillian Harvey.

Published 11th July in ebook, and 14th July in paperback by Boldwood Books.

From the cover of the book:

Interior designer Nicky always used to know how to make the best of things. Ever since she lost her husband though, things haven’t been easy. She’s had to raise her two daughters alone and she’s so proud to see them all grown up, and she knows that’s down to her. But she can’t help but feel like she doesn’t know what to do with her life now…

Then her best friend begs her to help out. Jenny is a TV exec and her new renovation show is in peril. Only Nicky can help.

The catch – Nicky needs to fly to Provence… tomorrow. To renovate a tumbledown B&B. Jenny doesn’t mention the fact that the grumpy B&B owner Robert seems to need a makeover too. Or that the budget is next to nothing…

Will Nicky be able to turn the B&B’s fortunes around, save her best friend’s job, and maybe even find some happiness for herself, under the blazing hot French sun this summer…?

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Ten years ago, Nicky's world came tumbling down when her husband was killed in a tragic accident. Thrown into life as single mum to two girls, Nicky's own needs were consigned to the back burner, and though times have been hard, she is proud of the young women they have become. This should be the time for Nicky to start thinking about herself, but at forty-nine-years-old she does not really know where to begin. 

Then Nicky's best friend Jenny becomes a TV executive to a renovation show with a twist, and she needs Nicky's help. One of the show's designers has had to pull out at the last minute, so Jenny asks Nicky to call upon her dormant interior designer skills to step in and save the show. The catch is that it means Nicky must drop everything and fly to Provence tomorrow to oversee the renovation of a shabby French B & B...

Unsure if she is really up to the job of TV renovation celebrity, Nicky finds herself with a challenge on her hands. The B & B's grumpy owner, Robert, seems a lost cause; the renovation budget is miniscule; and the TV recording schedule is impossible. Can Nicky regain the confidence she once had, rescue the project, and find a way for her and Robert to move forward?

A Month in Provence is my third romantic French adventure with Gillian Harvey, and it is my favourite one so far. Nicky has spent the last ten years thinking of her girls, and it comes as a bit of a surprise to her that now might just be the right time to pick up the threads of her own life and take on some new challenges. As she gets stuck in to the task of helping the apparently feckless Robert to turn around his business, she also finds herself undergoing somewhat of a makeover herself - which extends in an emotional overhaul in Robert's life as well.

The TV show theme in this book is absolute gold, and Harvey hams it up delightfully to let the humour run free throughout this story from the moment Nicky arrives in France. I promise you will find a lot to giggle at in the way she pokes fun at the celebrity led makeover format, and the comical mishaps that result. She also throws in all the necessary bumps in the road before Nicky and Robert's storylines come together in a heart warming ending, with a bevy of emotional themes woven throughout. 

I love the way she explores second chance relationships for people who have suffered heart breaking loss and have become consumed by living day to day, without moving forward with their lives, through Nicky and Robert's budding friendship. There is something deeply moving in this story in how they connect with each other and are each finally able to move beyond their grief, to realise that they might just have a chance at happiness once more if they are brave enough.

More than that, Harvey uses Nicky's storyline to touch on many relatable themes around motherhood, getting older, and moving into a different phase of your life once your children are grown. I really enjoyed the way Nicky finds her sense of purpose, regains her confidence, and rediscovers her own sense of being over the course of the story - and this will speak to many of Harvey's more mature readers too.

This is such an enchanting story of love and friendship, full of all the things about France that Harvey brings alive so well. I consumed it one tasty bite, and recommend it to you are the perfect escapist summer read to warm the cockles of your heart and bring joyful tears to your eyes.

A Month in Provence is available to buy now in ebook, paperback and audio formats.

Thank you to Boldwood Books for sending me an ecopy of this book in return for an honest review, and to Rachel's Random Resources Tours for inviting me to be part of this blog tour.

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About the author:

Gillian Harveyis a freelance journalist and the author of two well-reviewed women’s fiction novels published by Orion. 

She has lived in Limousin, France for the past twelve years, from where she derives the inspiration and settings for her books. 

Her first title for Boldwood, A Year at the French Farmhouse, was published in September 2022, followed by One French Summer in February 2023. A Month in Provence is her latest title.