Shelf Quest

The Flowers of Provence is a stunning photography book reflecting Jamie Beck’s relationship with flowers during the time she has spent in France. Unlike her first book, An American in Provence, this one has very little writing; a lengthy introduction is followed by a tutorial on preserving flowers and tips for cutting and preserving flowers at home. If you’re looking for a photography book, the instructions are an added bonus. If you’re looking more for information on flowers found in…

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I was so excited to find out that Samantha Vérant was coming out with a first-to-me fiction book. I loved her memoirs, Seven Letters From Paris and How to Make a French Family, and knew that a novel by her about cooking and France would be great. Sophie is a chef in NYC until her life falls apart: she loses her job at a Michelin-starred restaurant and just weeks later her grandmother in France has a stroke. She jumps on…

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I have conflicting feelings about this book. I love the story but not the writing; it feels too neat and tidy to be realistic. The dialogue feels written instead of spoken and real and the foreshadowing feels like a sticker placed over the natural story. There are errors such as “Latine Quartiere” instead of Latin Quartier or Quartier Latin (hopefully this was fixed for the final book as I read an ARC) and having Caty, a photographer, make individual prints…

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