Synopsis

Callie Patterson, an unsuccessful artist, hopes that a relationship with the irresistible and magnetic Nicholas Trier will pave the way to success. She follows him to France where, in a magnificent château, he holds his artists’ retreats. But famous men surround themselves with hangers-on and demand complete loyalty.

Callie soon finds herself far more attracted to Michel Alexandre, the estate gardener, who loves and protects trees and every living creature. But if she wants to make a name for herself, she’ll have to choose Nicholas and his world.

Except nothing is quite the way it seems, and perhaps success isn’t the most important thing, after all.

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Review

One woman’s journey to strengthen her art leads to love.

This novel has a lot to like, starting with the main character, Callie. I appreciate that she is not a young woman and has experienced life—not always good, but not bad either. I could relate to Callie a bit more, even if my life experiences are different from hers. However, the retreat she attends awakens her senses, and she realizes that she is good enough. That said, Callie is also insecure, probably due to her previous marriage, and jealousy rears its ugly head a time or two. Not because there was something to be jealous of, but because Callie doesn’t stop to ask questions and makes too many assumptions about what she is seeing around her at this retreat.

The setting for this novel is the lush French countryside. In a way, it reminds me of England with the greenery and rain. I couldn’t imagine walking around soaking in wet clothes and shoes, but Callie finds herself in this predicament quite often. She wasn’t prepared for this weather.

The characters are quite interesting. While there are several minor characters, the major characters – Callie, Michel, and Nicholas – create a triangle of sorts. I don’t want to spoil how their relationships with each other pan out, but let’s just say that a certain someone is less than what he thinks of himself.

I enjoyed watching Callie’s character grow and become more self-assured. She enters this retreat seeking one thing, and finds something else waiting for her.

This is not a long book, but it is just the right length to portray the characters, their hopes and desires, and end with a HEA.

We give this book 4 paws up.

About the Author

Writer, photographer, social critical artist, and impenitent teller of tall tales, J. Arlene Culiner was born in New York and raised in Toronto. She has crossed much of Europe on foot, has lived in a mud house on the Great Hungarian Plain, a Bavarian castle, a Turkish cave dwelling, a haunted house on the English moors, and on a Dutch canal. She now resides in a 400-year-old former inn in a French village of no interest where, much to local dismay, she protects spiders, snakes, and all weeds. She particularly enjoys incorporating into mysteries, non-fiction, and romances, her experiences in out-of-the-way communities and her conversations with very odd characters.

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