About the book, A French Adventure 
- Publisher : Boldwood Books (February 20, 2024)
- Language : English
- Paperback : 272 pages
When your old life ceases to exist, its time to build a new one…
It’s early summer on the French Riviera when Vivienne Wilson arrives for a one-woman writers’ retreat after learning that her philandering husband or 30 years, wants a divorce. There to collect the shell-shocked Vivienne is recently widowed Maxine Zonszain, who is struggling to come to terms with her empty life. To add insult to injury she receives another knockout punch with a letter from her very estranged first husband…. Florist extraordinaire, Olivia Murray, shares the Villa that Vivienne is renting. She’s content with life – but sad to add another failed relationship to her growing list and longs to meet ‘The One‘. Life under the summer sun in Antibes becomes a challenging time for all three women as secrets are shared, problems halved as they forge unexpected friendships and embark on new adventures. Sometimes life’s surprises turn out to be unwanted but just sometimes the ‘new normal’ makes for a happier life than the one lost.
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About the author, Jennifer Bohnert 
Jennifer Bohnet is the bestselling author of over 12 women’s fiction titles, including Villa of Sun and Secrets and A Riviera Retreat. She is originally from the West Country but now lives in the wilds of rural Brittany, France.
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My Thoughts 
In the middle of the February doldrums comes an effervescent read from Jennifer Bohnert. A French Adventure is a delightful novel. It’s a quick read, and a light one, but it’s not fluffy. Rather, it’s a positive, sometimes funny, always very real, look at female intergenerational friendship and creating a new lifestyle.
As a “mature” reader myself, I gravitated more toward Vivienne and Maxine, who are closer to my age, but as someone who retains her youthful energy, I also enjoyed the perspective the younger character of Olivia brought to the table. I loved that each of these women was independent and fully formed, but that their stories intertwined to form a strong support system for each other.
Opening with a shock for Vivienne, the story then follows a chain of events that leads all three women to a vacation on the French Riviera – who wouldn’t want to escape there after their life was upturned?
Author Bohnert handled the three points of view of these characters most ably, shifting focus to highlight each woman’s story while weaving them into a cohesive whole. I liked that while the friendship among the three was the central relationship, there was room for romance as well. The love story of Olivia and Thierry was particularly enjoyable, and I cannot say enough about Gilles, who helped Vivienne discern what she really wanted in her post-divorce life.
Overall, A French Adventure is a charming read, and one I highly recommend.
Goes well with: strawberries and champagne.
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Rebecca Boxall was born in East Sussex in 1977 and grew up in a bustling vicarage always filled with family, friends and parishioners. She now lives by the sea in Jersey with her family and Rodney the cat. She read English at the University of Warwick before she trained as a lawyer and more recently worked at a psychiatric unit.
