How to Make a French Family by Samantha Vérant
Good morning everyone! I am so, so excited that Samantha has included Shelf Quest in the virtual tour of her new book, How to Make a French Family.
How to Make A French Family is a delightful follow-up to Seven Letters from Paris (my review here). In this book, Samantha has moved to Cugnaux, a small town in southwestern France with her husband, Jean-Luc, and her stepchildren, Elvire and Max. Moving to a new country, being newly married, and suddenly being a stepmom are all huge life events. Samantha shares the struggles of her experience without dragging the reader down; she adequately describes the difficulties while still keeping an upbeat tone, which is consistent throughout the entire book.
One thing I really love about her writing is that the tone makes you feel happy and like everything is going to be okay. This is a happy read from the very first sentence and doesn’t stop, despite painful and uncomfortable topics (miscarriages, telling your step-daughter you’re having “asshole” for dinner). There were several moments where I laughed out loud (see “asshole” note in previous sentence) and some where I wanted to cry (or give them a hug) for what this family that I have grown to care so much about through these two books were going through. It was also really neat to read about how her first book came to be.
Here’s the official summary:
“Say bonjour to a whole new way of life!
Take one French widower, his two young children, and drop a former city girl from Chicago into a small town in southwestern France. Shake vigorously… and voilà: a blended Franco-American family whose lives will all drastically change.
Floating on a cloud of newlywed bliss, Samantha couldn’t wait to move to France to begin her life with her new husband, Jean-Luc, and his kids. But almost from the moment the plane touches down, Samantha realizes that there are a lot of things about her new home―including flea-ridden cats, grumpy teenagers, and language barriers―that she hadn’t counted on.
Struggling to feel at home and wondering when exactly her French fairy tale is going to start, Samantha isn’t sure if she really has what it takes to make it in la belle France. But when a second chance at life and love is on the line, giving up isn’t an option. How to Make a French Family is the heartwarming and sometimes hilarious story of the culture clashes and faux pas that , in the end, add up to one happy family.”
Merci, Samantha, for another truly wonderful book. I’m already eagerly awaiting the next one! 😉
Bonus! Here’s a link to all of the recipes in the book. There are so many I can’t wait to try… Tuna Noodle Casserole and Quiche Lorraine are at the top of the list.
5/5 Stars
I was given a copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I was given a copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.