Sophie Valroux's Paris Stars by Samantha Verant

 

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Ooh, I couldn't wait to dive into the sequel to The Secret French Recipes of Sophie Valroux (click on the title to see my review from 2020). 

I would definitely recommend reading the first novel before grabbing this in order to just dive right into the world of Sophie and the magical Chateau de Champvert. 

Sophie has inherited the chateau from her grandmother, a celebrated chef who turned the chateau into a renowned place to stay and dine. Now Sophie is the Grand Chef and life looks to be pretty wonderful for her: she's rich, talented, beautiful, and happily engaged to her childhood sweetheart Remi. 

Sophie is unsettled, though. Having all of this handed to her has left her feeling overwhelmed and not worthy. She's also still determined to get her Michelin star. After all, she was blamed for her previous restaurant's loss of a Michelin star. That blame was misplaced, but it still cost her her reputation and career in New York City, causing her to flee to France. 

Remi is ready to get married, but Sophie is hesitant. Is the Chateau what she wants, or will it drag her down? Is her future in Paris? 

An accident causes Sophie to suffer from a bizarre injury that she has to keep quiet--it could cost the Chateau its reputation, and Sophie her career. Will she recover? How long can she keep it secret?

This novel is full of the wonderful characters introduced in the first novel. Relationships continue to evolve, amazing, mouth-watering foods are prepared, and the Chateau is an unforgettable place to spend time away. I love the support Sophie has at the Chateau, and how everyone becomes family, helping each other through tough times and celebrating the good times. 

The food--oh lord, the food. You have to read the book to appreciate the food. There are book club discussion questions in the back of the book, as well as recipes for a full French five course meal. It would be great fun to recreate these recipes for a book club!

Rating: 5/6 for a satisfying sequel to Sophie's original story. I hope there is more to Sophie and Remi's story, because two novels just aren't enough for me. If you want to get away, dream of delicious food, and just enjoy a good story, add this to your list. 

Available in paperback, audio, and ebook. 

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Sophie Valroux's Paris Stars by Samantha Verant

Sour Grapes by Rachel Goodman

Sometimes a girl just has to read a romance.  And this romance, book 2 in the Blue Plate series by Rachel Goodman, has a prickly heroine and a super hot hero.  It was a really good contemporary romance.  

Margaret lives in Dallas, and is a party planner for the very wealthy.  Her mother is quite possibly the most unpleasant woman I've come across in a story in quite some time.  Margaret can never do anything right. Ever.  She's bruised from a recent breakup and unhappy with life.  She decides to get away from it all by traveling to her grandmother's bed and breakfast for a vacation.

Enter Ryan.  He's pretty impressive, and the sparks fly between him and Margaret.  Margaret is quite a pill and snippy with Ryan, who owns a vineyard next door to her grandmother's B&B.  She's uptight and unhappy, and Ryan's upbeat personality pushes her to examine her life.  Margaret's grandmother keeps her busy around the B&B changing sheets and cleaning the place, but Margaret has plans to make over the B&B and promote it to help her grandmother through a financial pinch.  But she's determined to go back to Dallas, even with her feelings for Ryan growing deeper the longer she stays.  

I didn't feel I missed anything not reading the first book in this series.  I liked knowing Margaret from this book and not coming to it already knowing  Margaret, especially because in the first book, Margaret is the girlfriend who isn't the "one".  Her pain from this breakup pushes her to make changes to her life in Sour Grapes, and her past comes full circle at the end of this romance.

Rachel Goodman writes a lively, engaging, and fun romance.  There is a definite big wallop of chemistry between Ryan and Margaret, and you can't help but cheer them on to a happy ending.  I hope the author writes more romances in this series and includes a glimpse of Ryan and Margaret.  

Thank you to Simon & Schuster for a review copy of this romance.  

Make sure you have a bottle of wine while you read this in your summer reading space!

Rating:  8/10 for an entertaining romance with a not-so-perfect heroine, a super hot hero, engaging secondary characters, and the mother from hell.  

Available as an e-book the week of May 23rd.  

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Sour Grapes by Rachel Goodman