Book Club: Review & Giveaway of 'L'amour Actually' by Melanie Jones

The Blurb

"The woman was one of those irritating expat types who felt she owed it to the world to impart on her all her superior knowledge of life in France. I realised that if I didn’t stop her now, she’d be bending my ear all the way to Bergerac.

‘Actually,’ I said, leaning in toward the woman, ‘I’m planning to integrate my way into the boxers of the first good-looking Frenchman I see. Can’t think of any better way to learn the language myself. You wouldn’t happen to know the French for "fancy a shag?" would you? Voulez-vous coucher avec moi just seems a bit nineteen-seventies these days.’"

After one particularly bad day at work, advertising executive and confirmed city girl Melanie Jones decides to give up her old life in search of something new and simpler in South West France. With little knowledge of the country, even less of the language and just the memory of a disastrous school French exchange and a few day trips to Calais, she embarks on her adventure with a suitcase full of optimism and not a little bit of naivety. After all, how different can life in France be?

After a series of adventures with skirt-ripping tractors, handsome twin farmers, celebrity not-quite-beens, unusual toilets and a bonkers ex-pat community, all topped up, of course, with lashings of rosé, Melanie begins to discover that her new life in France isn’t quite what she’d thought it would be.

The Review

I started this book by planning to read it over a few evenings, however I started it and couldn’t put it down, so ended up reading it all in one go and being very tired at work the next!

The story follows Melanie Jones, as she gives up being a PR queen in London for a quiet life in rural France. Instead of glamorising her adventure we see the reality of living the "French dream" through the eyes of the main character. As someone who’s lived abroad I could really relate to Melanie and her struggles with fitting into a new community and their culture, all with hilarious consequences!

I found there was so many laugh out loud moments from line dancing, dead cats and concussion! Mel is a character you can really relate to and like, she manages to get herself into all sorts on embarrassing situations, that as reader left me definitely feeling for her!

Also the French farmer Mel ends up falling for, is likened to Channing Tatum in looks, so once that was in my mind, I was hooked into the book even more! I was also intrigues to note that the author herself had lived in France herself and I kept wondering if any of it had actually happened in real life! If so Mel, I want you as my friend!

I began this book thinking it was going to be a run of the mill romantic comedy but in the end it was so much more, it was a fun filled story about finding and falling in love with yourself. About how people can change and adapt and I found it really empowering. I just hope a sequel is on the way! I really recommend this book, it’s full of laugh out loud moments and is a nice easy read, perfect for sitting out in your garden with a glass of wine while the weather is gorgeous

The Giveaway!

'L'amour Actually’ has now been published for a year and is also one of Amazons Deals of the Day today! To celebrate Author Melanie Jones is giving one lucky reader of ‘Lipsticks and Lashes’ a signed copy of the book! To be in with a chance of winning you just need to enter via the Rafflecopter below! As with all my Giveaways it is open internationally and I will be checking the winner is genuine and not some made up account!

You only have a short time to enter this Giveaway as it closes tomorrow at 9am, so what are you waiting for?! Get entering!!

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway