Will transport you to the south of France

books:


	• Invitation to Provence Elizabeth Adler Hodder & Stoughton Paperbacks, 2005 - 352 pages average customer review:based on 11 reviews view larger image
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Will transport you to the south of France

Lonely matriarch Rafaella Marten impulsively invites a series of old friends and family members to her chateau in Provence for a family reunion. In addition to the sons who were a disappointment and left the estate many years earlier, she has invited veterinarian Franny Marten, who has no family of her own left; Jake Bronson, the son of her former lover; Juliette, her estranged best friend; and vintner Scott who has taken over the reigns at winery. Rafaella's eldest son dies suspiciously in Hong Kong and leaves behind a half Chinese daughter, who is summoned to the villa as well.

While Franny waits patiently at the table for her lover Marcus to arrive for a dinner date, she is shocked to discover that he wife shows up instead. It seems that Marcus does not have a faithful bone in his body, and he cannot even dump his own girlfriends. While Franny loses Marcus, she gains his soon-to-be ex-wife Clare as a friend.

Jake is a wealthy security expert. He knows that Rafaella is looking for an heir, so he decides to check out Franny, and is immediately smitten with her. A one night stand with Franny results in her broken heart, and his immense guilt.

When an invitation to Provence is received, Franny does not plan to go, but Clare talks her into it and they decide to go together. She has never met her aunt Rafaella, and only knows that there was a falling out several generations ago. When they arrive in Provence, she is shocked when Jake arrives, but tries to play it cool with him, but soon finds herself in his arms, much to Rafaella's delight.

Old rivalries and passions are reignited, and there is tension and romance amid the vines, as someone who has everything to gain from the demise of Franny is lurking in the shadows.

The mystery is somewhat lacking, and the story a little too easily wrapped up, but Adler is able to take you away from the hum drum of everyday life and transport the reader to an idyllic place. It makes for a nice escape.

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Wonderful!!!!

Elizabeth Adler has a lyrical and detailed way of writing so that the scenes vividly come alive off the pages to be experienced by all of the reader's senses. The tastes, scents, sounds of Provence are all so tangible!!! The product description on the back cover really sells the story short because it is about so much more than a wife becoming friends with her husband's mistress. It's about a lonely old woman who wants to breathe life back into her ancestral vineyard chateau and reconcile the misunderstandings of the past which separate her heirs. There are a longlost niece and an unknown grandchild to discover. There are murders to solve and sibling rivalries to resolve. There are action and danger to balance the beauty and romance. This book captivated me to the point were I couldn't put it down and just had to read straight through until the end. It was beautifully written, interesting, and very cultural.

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Amusing, Descriptive Read

Several Reviewers have given us pretty much the storyline so won't go into all of it. There are some interesting characters as in all Elizabeth Adler books along with some romance and descriptive details of food and clothing. There is a villian, though not exactly what I would call a mystery. I thought the story drug a little from the time Franny meets Jake until they meet again at Rafaella's. I found myself skimming through this part. Once the characters got together, I found more interest in the book. It was fun to have Lola and Jack from Hotel Riviera pay a visit in this book. Invitation to Provence will probably not be listed along with the works of great novelists but it's just a light fun read. Very predictable and very much like some of her other novels. No surprises really! Just a few hours to get away and visit another world and the foods; I've never heard of most of them. However, they make your mouth water. Okay it's not a great book, but it's not bad either.

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reviews: page 1, 2, 3

Take a journey with internationally acclaimed bestselling author Elizabeth Adler to one of the most sensuous places on earth--a place where lavender-filled fields meet an azure sky, where rosemary scents the air, and where love and intrigue are just around the corner.

Franny Marten's life is unraveling--after arranging to meet her boyfriend, Marcus Marks, for dinner, she finds his wife waiting for her instead. After the initial shock wears off, Franny finds she has more in common with Clare Marks than she could ever have imagined. And, amazingly, the women become fast friends. But even more surprises are in store for Franny Marten: She is unexpectedly offered an all-expenses-paid invitation to a reunion of her estranged family in Provence. And Clare decides to charge the trip to Marcus (for his sins) and come along. Franny knows very little about the French side of her family, but how stressful can meeting long-lost aunts and cousins be after what she and Clare have just gone through?

Provence is everything Franny pictured, but nothing at all what she expected. There are dangerous family secrets buried deep in the lovely, lush landscape of Provence, and there's also a person who will go to any lengths to keep Franny from uncovering them. Jake Bronson is an American with ties to the Marten family, and he seems to know more than he's saying. He's the most intriguing and compelling man Franny's ever encountered, but there are treacherous currents surrounding him. And at the center of it all is the matriarch, Rafaella Marten, a woman with secrets going back decades. Her two sons have caused her both heartache and joy, but Franny may ultimately be the key to truly reuniting the Marten family---and putting to rest the shadows, scandals, and the rivalry of a dynasty. Evoking the lush descriptions of everything that is Provence, Elizabeth Adler casts an unforgettable spell as Invitation to Provence transports you to a truly magical place.

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