Book Reviews

A Bon Livre, or good book, takes you away from it all, introduces you to new places or cultures, makes you cry, makes you laugh out loud, or simply lets you enjoy. Time should be taken to read a good book now and then.

We review books that cross our path for our Vive le Livre Book Club – mostly about France, sometimes wine. And the odd animal sneaks in now and then. (Fiction and Non-fiction Book Reviews)

Parisian Legacy is a tale of decades in France and England - a book review for the Vivre le Livre Book Club

I think I came across this book on Twitter. One of those it randomly pops up in your feed, so its hit or miss if you spot it, let alone pay any attention to it. But because I am always on the search for books set in France, *The ParisianRead More →

Duck Season - Life in Gascony by David McAninch - a book review from PumpjackPiddlewick

For those familiar with Pumpjack & Piddlewick you know we have pet ducks. So when I spotted a book called ‘Duck Season’ set in France, I had to read it. And then of course review it for our Vive le Livre Book Club. First, a caveat. Yes, we love ourRead More →

Parisian Charm School by Cat Callan - a Book Review by PumpjackPiddlewick

Always on the search for good books about France, I came across Parisian Charm School: French Secrets for Cultivating Love, Joy, and That Certain ‘je ne sais quoi‘*. It’s All in the Title Interestingly, in hindsight, the title gives some indication of what it is about, but also (importantly) theRead More →

Blackberry wine book review from PumpjackPiddlewick

Joanne Harris is famous for her book Chocolat, but my personal favourite is Blackberry Wine*. Not really surprising, as the overall concept is about wine but also I adore that it is narrated by a bottle of wine. That unusual aspect in itself made me wish to read this book.Read More →