Book Review: The Tapestry of Love by Rosy Thornton

The Tapestry of Love by Rosy Thornton
Paperback: 352 pages
Publisher: Headline Book Publishing (October 14, 2010)
Genre: Women's fiction, romance
Source: Review copy provided by the author

Product description: A rural idyll: that's what Catherine is seeking when she sells her house in England and moves to a tiny hamlet in the Cévennes mountains. With her divorce in the past and her children grown, she is free to make a new start, and her dream is to set up in business as a seamstress. But this is a harsh and lonely place when you're no longer just here on holiday. There is French bureaucracy to contend with, not to mention the mountain weather, and the reserve of her neighbors, including the intriguing Patrick Castagnol. And that's before the arrival of Catherine's sister, Bryony.
 
My comments: I was delighted by the book, the description of the Cevennes in rural France, the story of a woman remaking her life in a new country after a divorce and after raising two children, now grown and independent. It's easy to cheer Catherine on with her plans, her new home in a tiny hamlet, and her new possible love interest, an intriguing and somewhat mysterious Frenchman, Patrick, a neighbor and another retiree.

Catherine finds a way to make a living with her interior decorating advice and her sewing for the people in the nearby farms and countryside. Work though is thwarted by French bureaucracy and the extended visits of her younger sister Bryony, which begins to blur the status of her friendship with Patrick. Overall, this a delightful novel for those who like travel, romance, and women's fiction.

About the author: Rosy Thornton is the author of three other novels, including Crossed Wires. She is a professor in Cambridge, England.

Objective rating: 4.5 out of 5

Sunday Salon: New Reads

 



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I'm reading several books at once, nothing unusual for all of us, I'm sure! Reviewed The Weed that Strings the Hangman's Bag, the second book with 11-year-old genius sleuth, Flavia de Luce. Loved it.

Have started reading a novel that just arrived from the author, Rosy Thornton of Cambridge, England. A history professor, Rosy has turned her hand to writing novels as well. Her latest, The Tapestry of Love will be released Dec. 14 in paperback. It's set in the rustic mountains of France, where a retired Englishwoman has bought a farm and house in order to make and sell tapestries and drapes. The cover suggests that life in the French countryside may be a bit more challenging than it would seem. I suspect this is also a love story, from the title. Armchair traveler that I am, I'm enjoying the book so far.


I've borrowed a few audiobooks from the library, an M.C. Beaton among them,  Death of a Dreamer (Hamish Macbeth Mysteries, No. 22), set in the Scottish highlands. Inspector Hamish Macbeth is such a colorful and eccentric character, both in how he solves crimes and in his up and down love life! A confirmed bachelor, he is always just escaping the traps laid for him by would-be brides.

Am continuing to scribble little verses, some that are okay and some that may be just so-so, on my new poetry blog, Strummed Words. Hope you will visit and leave a hopeful comment or two :)

What have you been reading/doing this past week?