This post was originally published at Novelicious.com and is now at WritingTipsOasis.com. WritingTipsOasis.com acquired Novelicious.com in June 2022.
REVIEWED BY DEBS CARR
Heidi is heartbroken and unable to come to terms with the sudden and tragic death of her adored husband Henry. She takes each day as it comes, but is so wrapped up in her misery that she finds it difficult to function fully or even run her own business. She does her best for her eight-year-old son, Abbot, who has developed obsessive-compulsive behaviour, including a fear of germs, but the pair are unable to move on from their grief.
The book begins with Heidi turning up late for her sister's wedding. Realizing that Heidi and Abbot need some help to find a way to move on from their loss, Heidi's mother and sister form a plan and suggest that she and Abbot travel to France to the small family house where years before Heidi and her sister spent blissful summers with their mother, having fun with the boys from the larger neighbouring house owned by her mother's childhood friend.
The holidays came to an abrupt halt one year, when Heidi was thirteen and her mother returned to France alone. They called it her 'lost summer' and her mother has never discussed her time there with anyone. The old house has recently been damaged by fire and Heidi agrees to go and stay there for six weeks to redecorate. Her sister asks Heidi to take her sullen sixteen-year-old step-daughter, Charlotte with them and feeling sorry for the young girl, Heidi agrees.
Heidi doesn't expect much to change in her life, but slowly as the weeks pass by, she gets to know one of the neighbouring boys, now a man, who is also having to deal with his own heartbreak. She discovers what happened to her mother during her 'lost summer' all those years before and each of the trio discover aspects of themselves they hadn't before experienced.
I hadn't read any books by Bridget Asher before this one, the scenery, heartbreak and even the food is beautifully depicted throughout and every character was intriguing and full of depth. If I had to find anything wrong at all it was probably that Heidi seemed a little too highly-strung at times, as was her son and occasionally I wished she'd take a breath and calm down. That said, I thoroughly enjoyed the book and loved discovering her mother's secret, seeing Charlotte's confidence growing and watching Abbot and Heidi dare to start really living their lives once again. This is definitely a book worth reading.
8/10
The Provence Cure For The Brokenhearted is out in paperback on 13th June and as well as this beautiful story, you'll find mouth-watering recipes at the back of the book.
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