Until recently, my lovely in-laws kept a home in southern France near where my father-in-law grew up. Their hilltop village was everything my summer-in-France fantasies could imagine: red-tile roofs, overflowing flower boxes, croissants on every corner (or at least four), bustling markets, and palm trees framing a snowcapped peak. Downsizing in their eighties meant selling the house, but some of my fondest memories will always reside there. This summer most of my travels will take place from my garden in Colorado. I plan to trek the world through books. These are some of my favorite reads for an armchair trip to France through romance, mysteries, exploration, and cooking.
The title says it all—Paris is always a good idea! My now-husband romantically invited me to meet him in Paris, way back when, so it’s a special place for me. So is this book, which is a fun, emotional story about love, wanderlust, and finding one’s self.
Chelsea Martin threw herself into work to cope with her mother’s death. Seven years later, her father announces he’ll remarry, prompting Chelsea to examine her own life. She plans a trip to Europe to retrace the last time she remembers being happy.
I adore Chelsea for her bravery and this book for transporting me to gorgeous places, from Paris to Ireland and a vineyard in Italy.
A thirty-year-old woman retraces her gap year through Ireland, France, and Italy to find love—and herself—in this hilarious and heartfelt novel.
It's been seven years since Chelsea Martin embarked on her yearlong postcollege European adventure. Since then, she's lost her mother to cancer and watched her sister marry twice, while Chelsea's thrown herself into work, becoming one of the most talented fundraisers for the American Cancer Coalition, and with the exception of one annoyingly competent coworker, Jason Knightley, her status as most successful moneymaker is unquestioned.
I’m already revealing a pattern, aren’t I? I adore books that plunge their protagonist into a new life abroad. When Stella’s estranged mother dies, Stella receives an unusual inheritance: a one-way ticket to Paris.
Alone in a foreign city, Stella falls back into her cautious, frugal ways. I can relate! However, an impulsive purchase propels her on a path to new discoveries—of Paris and herself. Stella plunges into the culinary scene. She lives as a “tumbleweed” at the famous Shakespear and Company Bookshop.
'No one writes about food like Ruth Reichl... I consider her essential nourishment.' NIGELLA LAWSON
Ripping open the envelope, she read Celia's last words to her. There was just one line written on the paper: 'Go to Paris.'
The last word anyone would use to describe Stella St. Vincent is adventurous. She's perfectly comfortable with the familiar, strict routines of her life as a copyeditor in New York. Or at least, she is until she receives a mysterious note from her late mother and a one-way plane ticket to Paris.
Alone and overwhelmed in a foreign city, Stella avoids new…
Here’s another fantasy I didn’t know I had until I listened to this fabulous audiobook: to be neighbors with the great Chef, Julia Child. Not only that, to solve crimes with her!
Tabitha Knight has arrived in post-World War II Paris from Detroit for an extended stay with her French grandfather. She’s on a journey of discovery and about to get mixed up in a murder investigation.
Mysteries are my favorite genre, especially cozy mysteries focused on a topic and places I’d love to visit. This book combines some of my favorite things: cooking, France, and did I mention Julia Child?
Fans of Jacqueline Winspear, Marie Benedict, Nita Prose, and of course, Julia Child, will adore this magnifique new mystery set in Paris and starring Julia Child’s (fictional) best friend, confidante, and fellow American. From the acclaimed author of Murder at Mallowan Hall, this delightful new book provides a fresh perspective on the iconic chef’s years in post-WWII Paris.
“Enchanting…Cambridge captures Child’s distinct voice and energy so perfectly. Expect to leave this vacation hoping for a return trip.” –Publishers Weekly
As Paris rediscovers its joie de vivre, Tabitha Knight, recently arrived from Detroit for an extended stay with her French grandfather,…
This delectable cookbook is my sneaky way of recommending the entire Bruno, Chief of Police, mystery series by Martin Walker, set in southern France.
Bruno fits his detecting in between leisurely meals, good wine, and visits with his neighbors. Thanks to this cookbook by Martin Walker and his wife, Julia Watson, I can picture him and his village even better now and taste his delicious meals.
The recipes come from their home kitchen. Photos show the glorious Dordogne region. Anecdotes and stories tell of Bruno, cooking, village life, and the authors’ time in southern France. I want this book for my coffee table, kitchen, and soothing bedtime reading.
From the author of the internationally best-selling "Bruno, Chief of Police" series, comes a sumptuous French cookbook that immerses readers in the delectable countryside cuisine of Bruno’s beloved Périgord region, featuring favorite meals from Roasted Tomato Tapenade and Tarragon Chicken to A Most Indulgent Chocolate Cake.
Bruno Courrèges, the protagonist of Martin Walker’s internationally acclaimed mystery series, is not only the local police chief of the idyllic French village of St. Denis, but he also happens to be an impassioned amateur chef. In this delightful cookbook, the culinary and cultural inspiration behind Bruno’s fictional world comes to life. Featuring meals…
This book is a delicious food memoir, travelogue, and two-wheeling adventure around France. London-based food writer Felicity Cloake sets out on her own Tour de France: a cycling tour to taste France’s iconic regional delicacies. Now, I’m an ardent Tour de France fan—from my sofa!
As for cycling, I stick to quiet bike paths. I’m in awe of Cloake’s tour and bravery. She cycles long distances on motorways. She crests mountains. She lugs camping gear. She camps! I felt right there with her, rolling through gorgeous places, struggling uphill, savoring stunning meals, and envying every croissant, even those she rated less than ten out of ten.
I enjoyed the audio version so much that I bought a paper copy for the included recipes.
'Joyful, life-affirming, greedy. I loved it' - DIANA HENRY
'Whether you are an avid cyclist, a Francophile, a greedy gut, or simply an appreciator of impeccable writing - this book will get you hooked' - YOTAM OTTOLENGHI
The nation's 'taster in chief' cycles 2,300 km across France in search of the definitive versions of classic French dishes.
A green bike drunkenly weaves its way up a cratered hill in the late-morning sun, the gears grinding painfully, like a pepper mill running on empty. The rider crouched on top in a rictus of pain has slowed to a gravity-defying crawl when,…
Sadie Green shocked friends and family by ditching her sensible office job and buying a sight-unseen bicycling tour company in France. Now she’s living her dream in the seaside village of Sans-Souci-sur-Mer. Sans souci means carefree, but Sadie feels enough pressure to burst a tire when hometown friends arrive for a tour.
She hopes her meticulously planned itinerary will win over her guests and prove she made the right move. The tour features stunning seascapes, wine tastings, hilltop villages, and, of course, frequent stops for croissants. Unfortunately, they soon roll into murder. To save her dream and her friends, Sadie launches her own investigation. However, as Sadie spins closer to the truth, a killer aims to put the brakes on her for good.
Burne’s been hiding out in the forest since deserting the King’s Guard. Each time he tries to return to the village, he begins to panic. And then one day, he encounters a handsome stranger picking flowers and hides behind a tree instead of talking.
He wants to be braver—and he’s about to get another chance. Because the stranger is Gray, a fairy and master of illusions who’s now following Burne home. And Gray’s got more on his mind than talking. Would a fairy that beautiful ever want someone like him? Stranger things have happened.
Burne hid behind a tree. He wanted to talk to the handsome man picking flowers at the edge of the forest, but he'd only flub it if he tried-he'd stumble over his words and blush bright red. And now the man is gone.
He tries to continue on to the village, but the same thing happens as always: his hands start shaking and panic wells up inside him. What if he runs into the bullies who tormented him in the King's Guard last spring? Ever since he deserted, he has hidden out in the…
