Novel set in a summer in Provence – Lucy Coleman

Submitted: 23rd March 2020

A summer in Provence, France?

What could be better than a Summer in Provence? Not much when you think about it. However, when you have to go alone as your husband goes off to Australia, then it’s more of an escape than a holiday. Just as well Fern has the idea to rest and relax when there. She takes herself off to a retreat where she meet some very interesting people and thinks about her life and her future…

Quite the healing experience. And you get to go along with her…

BookTrail Travel to the locations in Summer in Provence

Setting: The lavender fields of Provence, an artists retreat

BookTrail Travel to the locations in Summer in Provence

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The sunshine, the lavender fields, the fresh air!

The marriage breakup!……what? Sadly yes, Aiden and Fern in this novel don’t get to appreciate any of it as they are breaking up. They’ve just won the lottery but money definitely hasn’t brought them happiness. He wants to travel to Australia whilst she wants to stay closer to home. When he leaves, she decides to escape a bit anyway and so heads across to Provence where she volunteers at a retreat.

Now, let’s take a minute to soak that in and appreciate it. A retreat in every sense of the word – from reading , to painting and everything in between. I imagined myself there and didn’t want to turn the page sometimes for fear that the characters would leave and take me with them! The family of people she meets there seem like the ideal travel companions and then there’s Nico – Nico the painter.

This is a novel I really needed to read right now. I think it’s a book that many of us will identify with as we all need a chance to escape life for a while, and a treat via a book or for real life is a joyous thing to have.

I’m not going to say what Aiden and Fern decide to do or end up doing but that’s the only part of the story that felt a little rushed after the calm of the retreat. There’s a lovely rounding up of what happens to the Haven family and this was a nice touch. A bit like the ‘Where are they now’ kind of feel to the holiday in the novel.

This novel’s setting and encompassing story was a nice relaxing yet eye opening read. And I hope Lucy Coleman builds the Haven for real so we can all go there right now.