Seven Letters from Paris by Samantha Verant

I saw this book at work last month, and after reading the back blurb I was ready and willing to read a memoir about a woman finding a lost love from 20 years before and falling in love all over again with her handsome French man.   

I must confess that if I was not madly in love with my sweetie Bud, I would have scoffed at the notion of  someone keeping letters written 20 years before by a man she met and knew for only a few days on a trip to Paris.  Being in love has led me to believe that people come and go in our lives at certain times to teach us lessons; and sometimes the time isn't right to have the relationship we want--sometimes we have to wait for it.  But--when you do find that special someone, you embrace the wonderfulness of that love.  Sounds corny, I know.  

Samantha is turning 40, and in an unhappy marriage she doesn't have the courage to end.  She's just been laid off her job, and over wine and whine with her friend Tracey they reminisce about a trip they took to Paris 20 years before, when they were 19 years old.  On that trip, they met two attractive French men:  Jean-Luc and Patrick.  The attraction between Samantha and Jean-Luc was immediate and intense.  With only a few days left in Paris, Samantha and Jean-Luc spend every moment together.  He begs her to stay longer, but she insists on keeping to travel plans (and a non-refundable train ticket) and leaves her man behind. She longs for him, but realizes it was too much too soon.  

Jean-Luc writes Samantha 7 letters which are waiting for her when she gets back home to California.  They really are quite extraordinarily romantic letters, full of longing and a desire to see Samantha again.  You get to read them and realize that there is something to be said in receiving a love letter.  

But she never replies to Jean-Luc's letters, and instead packs them away.  Until 20 years later.  She acts on an idea Tracey has to start a blog about those special letters, and after re-reading them, finds Jean-Luc on the internet (it makes these connections so much easier now!) and writes him, apologizing for never replying to his letters.  And so a rekindled romance begins.

There are no surprises in this memoir.  Yes, Samantha and Jean-Luc do find each other again, and get married.  Yes, they live happily ever after in France.  The journey  of Samantha from a confused, very unhappy woman at a major cross-roads in her life is one that we can all identify with in some way.  She's starting out with nothing again--no job, no home, no money, no husband.  To top it all off, she has to move in with her parents.  Pretty much hits rock bottom in her life.  

Enter Jean-Luc and a love story that will make you sigh and smile.  It's truly a wonderfully sweet and romantic story that makes you believe in the power of love and those powerful connections we find in other people that make no sense and aren't explainable--they just are there.  Love works in magical, mysterious ways.  

Rating:  7/10 for a sweet memoir about finding love again and navigating a new beginning.  

Available in paperback and e-book.  

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Seven Letters from Paris by Samantha Verant

First Impressions by Charlie Lovett--Win a Copy!

What if Jane Austen wasn't the actual author of Pride and Prejudice?  What if she lifted the idea of Elizabeth and Darcy from someone else?  Yes, I think you felt the earth shake just like I did at the mere thought of this crazy idea.

Charlie Lovett centers his new novel, First Impressions  around that idea and does such a wonderful job of it that I was sad to turn the final page. I'm happy to say this novel will certainly be in my top five favorite reads for 2014.  

First Impressions tells the story of Jane Austen and her friendship with an elderly clergyman, Richard Mansfield.  They meet one day while Jane is strolling through the countryside, and strike up a conversation over books.  This friendship soon develops and grows into a very deep and meaningful exchange of ideas and a love of books.  Jane is in the throes of writing what will eventually become Sense and Sensibility, and bounces ideas off of Mansfield.  He, in turn, shares ideas with Jane.  Could one of those ideas be the kernel of what will become Pride and Prejudice?

Along with Jane's story, we have a contemporary tale of Sophie Collingwood, just graduated from Oxford, who has a passion for old classic books.  She's inherited this love of books from her Uncle Bertram, and her family's country home has a huge library full of precious editions that her father is itching to sell off in order to maintain the family's ancestral home.  Sophie is in a bit of a romantic snafu--she's met Eric, an American who can match her love of Jane Austen quote for quote, and Winston, who comes to Sophie with a request for an obscure book--by Richard Mansfield.  Strangely enough, another man  also requested this book the day before from the rare book store that Sophie works at in London.  

What is the connection between this small, obscure book and Jane Austen?  Why is it so important to find?  And why is Sophie given the task to find it?  What does it have to do with her Uncle Bertram and her family library? Can she trust either Eric or Winston to help her solve the mystery?

I can't tell you how much I enjoyed this novel.  It is obvious Charlie Lovett has a passion for books and a reverence for the written word.  And if you're like me and sometimes feel like you're the only one around who feels the same way, well... it's like meeting a kindred spirit.  Toss in Jane Austen, some romance, a cad, and a summer in England and you've got a winning combination.  

And you can win a copy of First Impressions!  Just follow the rafflecopter directions below, and I'll be announcing a winner next Tuesday, October 20th.  Open to U.S. residents only.  Thank you to Viking/Penguin for sending me a copy of this book. 

 It really did make my week to take a break from studying and devour this book.  There are so many wonderful sprinkles of Pride and Prejudice (including the title of this book--which was the first title Jane had for P&P) running through this novel that I found myself smiling as I turned the pages.  

a Rafflecopter giveaway



Rating:  9/10 for a wonderfully entertaining novel about the origins of Pride and Prejudice.  Read my review of  Charlie's first novel, The Bookman's Tale  here.  First Impressions will be released October 20th in hardcover and e-book.

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First Impressions by Charlie Lovett--Win a Copy!

A Quilt for Christmas by Sandra Dallas

Sandra Dallas is a favorite writer of mine.  I know when I pick up her latest book she'll give me a great story featuring strong women who keep marching forward no matter what the situation.  Sandra has a love for quilts and quilting; they show up in every book she writes, and this book is no exception.

A Quilt for Christmas takes place in Kansas during the last year of the Civil War, 1864.  Eliza Spooner is left at her family farm with her two children, Luzena and Davy while her husband Will goes off to fight the Confederates.  All she has of Will are his infrequent letters home.  Eliza decides to make a  quilt for Will, to keep him warm in the coming winter months.  It's a special quilt, made with stars and stripes, and stitched with Will and Eliza's names.  With that quilt, Eliza sends all her love and prayers to keep Will safe in battle.  

Meanwhile, Missouri Ann, a woman Eliza only knows through infrequent town visits, has found out her husband has been killed in the war.  She has nowhere to go, since her husband's family, the Starks, are a cruel, vicious household of men who will force Missouri Ann to marry one of them in order to keep her taking care of the house.  Eliza takes Missouri Ann and her little daughter, Nance, into her home.  A rich friendship develops between the two women over the cold winter.  

And when tragedy strikes, Eliza must find a way to move forward and take care of her farm.  The war is drawing to a close, but the loss of the husbands of her close friends, and the uncertainty of those left waiting for their husbands to return from war weighs heavily on every woman left behind.  Only their quilting circle keeps them together, sharing secrets, concerns, and their meager food supplies. 

This is a gentle story, full of sadness and grief, and perserverence in the face of  grief and uncertainty.  Eliza is a strong woman who takes out Will's letters and reads them when she needs strength.  And her quilt comes full circle, but you have to read the story to find out how and why.

And for those of you who have read The Persian Pickle Club, you'll be happy to know it's the 20th anniversary of the first publication, and it has a lovely tie to this novel.  Both together would make a wonderful gift for Christmas.  Anyone who likes historical fiction, civil war novels, and novels of the West will enjoy this tale.  Sandra just simply writes a great story, and may give you that push to start quilting.  

Rating:  8/10 for a gentle story about the price of war, and the powerful value of friendship.  

Available in hardcover and ebook.    

Here are a few of my other reviews of Sandra's previous books:
Fallen Women 
 True Sisters

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A Quilt for Christmas by Sandra Dallas