My Synopsis in a Nutshell

Fiona Valpy pens a truly wonderful novel about life, love and learning to move on from unfortunate tragedies. Filled to the brim with compelling characters, The French for Christmas is a well-written story that is touching, inspiring and heart-warming.

The Details

The French for Christmas by Fiona Valpy

Release Date: October 3, 2014

Publisher: Bookouture

What’s the Story?

A year to forget. The perfect escape. And a little Christmas magic…

Touching, uplifting, and filled with delicious French cooking, The French for Christmas is the perfect Christmas treat.

Evie used to LOVE Christmas, but this year she can’t wait for the tinsel and presents to be a distant memory.

When her best friends offer the use of their cottage in the beautiful French countryside, Evie jumps at the chance. With her soon-to-be-ex-husband, celebrity chef Will Brooke, plastered over the news with his latest ‘love interest’, leaving the country seems like the perfect plan.

Armed with her French grandmother’s tattered notebook of recipes, Evie is determined to ignore Christmas altogether and bake herself back to happiness.

And when Evie meets her next-door neighbour – the très gorgeous doctor Didier she finds a very willing taste-tester. But is it possible that he could be interested in more than just her Tarte Tatin?

With snow falling, a special Reveillon dinner and a little Christmas magic in the air, could Didier even be the one to thaw Evie’s heart? Or will a visit from the ghost of Christmas past change everything?

My Review

Fiona Valpy pens a truly wonderful novel about life, love and learning to move on from unfortunate tragedies. Filled to the brim with compelling characters, The French for Christmas is a well-written story that is touching, inspiring and heart-warming.

The back of the book description does a good job at explaining what the book is about, so I’m not going to get into that too much. Rather, I think I’ll share a few things I took away from reading this book and how it inspired me!

Reading this novel made me want to vacation off to rural France and never come back…I’m only joking about the never coming back part, but it gave me quite a bit of wanderlust! The story paints a beautiful picture of London and Paris, but especially of France. It seems quite picturesque and I’m sure it would be a lovely spot to spend a vacation.

Don’t say I didn’t warn you… this novel will make you hungry (but in the best way)! Valpy’s writing made me wish I was a better cook that could experiment in the kitchen, the way Evie does. As much as Evie wanted to get away from all of the Festive Feasts that were inevitable in London, I desperately wish I could go in her place! How nice it would be to be a fabulous cook and to have oodles of friends and family to cook for that appreciate the labor of love that goes into making the food. I do enjoy baking and I think with the right amount of motivation, I could work on trying out a few recipes during the holidays! One of the recipes that she mentions in the novel is Christmas Pudding and because I have no clue what that really is, I had to look it up. It sounds delicious, but I’m not sure if it’s something I’d eat. However, almost everything Evie whips up in the kitchen sounded absolutely delectable!

This is an absolute must on your holiday reading list and to top it all off, Valpy donates 10% of the royalties from this novel to a charitable organization called Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders) visit her website or msf.org for more info. I devoured this novel right up to the last bite and upon finishing the book, immediately added her other novels to my TBR list! Valpy is a fantastic author and I’m positive that her other novels must be just as wonderful as this one. Cheers to compelling holiday novels that brighten your spirits and leave you feeling inspired!

My Rating: 5/5 Stars

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for providing me with a review copy in exchange for an honest review!

About the Author

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Fiona Valpy

Fiona Valpy is the author of The French for Love, The French for Always and The French for Christmas . When she’s not writing, she teaches yoga at her home in the Bordeaux winelands.

Fiona Valpy lives in France, having moved there from the UK in 2007. She left behind a career in Marketing and Public Relations to explore new avenues and now teaches yoga and writes.

Having renovated an old rambling farmhouse with her husband, she has developed new-found skills in cement-mixing and interior decorating, although her preferred pastime by far is wine-tasting.