This post was originally published at Novelicious.com and is now at WritingTipsOasis.com. WritingTipsOasis.com acquired Novelicious.com in June 2022.
Reviewed by Jennifer Joyce
After being made redundant, Amy Carter decides to pack up and move from Manchester to a small, remote French village where she sinks her savings into a gorgeous house steeped in history.
Amy has renovated the house and restored it to its former beauty and plans to turn it into a guest house. On her first evening at the house, Amy meets Fabien Coste, the handsome but arrogant owner of the nearby hotel and its land.
As sparks fly between the pair, mysterious events happen at the house. Could somebody be trying to destroy Amy’s business? Or is something much darker happening?
To begin with, I thought A Spell In Provence was going to be a rather predictable read; girl meets boy, they hate each other, they fall in love. But it quickly became clear that there was more to this story as the mystery of Amy’s house and its connection with Fabien’s family begin to emerge. I do wish that the mystery wasn’t quite so easy to solve as it’s pretty clear who is responsible from very early on.
There’s quite a nice flow to the book and I liked the French setting (and it never hurts to have a handsome French hero).
With its romantic elements and gothic creepiness, the author has managed to create an atmospheric read. The book showed real promise but, for me, it was a bit too predictable and I would have liked a few more twists and turns to keep me on my toes.7/10