The Promise of Provence (Love in Provence Book 1)

♥♥♥♥♥The author provided me with a complimentary copy of each of the three books in this series. I am providing an honest review of this first book. All opinions are completely my own. I am not being compensated in any way. I will review the other two books when I have had a chance to read them.This is a revealing review, but will not spoil your enjoyment of the book.I must say that what first drew me to this series is the cover artwork of the three books. The soft, sunny scenes were so appealing, that I was curious to see if the stories inside matched what the covers promise. I am happy to say that the first book, at least, does indeed deliver to the fullest! The author uses words to paint the scenes from a beautiful pink rose bouquet to a homey kitchen and a charming farmhouse in the south of France. It’s not all pretty scenes, though. You also see the mess when the goats invade and leave behind their distinct contributions after grazing through the garden. You picture in your mind the memories that Elizabeth shares from the war.No, it is by no means all pretty scenes. Ms. Sands has us feeling the happy anticipation of a twenty-second wedding anniversary. But she gives us a hint about what sort of man is behind this as his preparations for the celebration are predictable. Everyone knows where they will be going for this dinner. A man of rigid habits? And we feel the total shock of what the note says as our main character’s mind goes completely blank and she withdraws and shuts down. She cries for two days. She uses a technique her mother taught her with making two lists, pros and cons. But the cons list is longer. She simply can’t get a grasp on what is happening in her life.But, once she does, she takes some petty revenge and seems to move on to making her life function again and finding purpose. She reaches out to family and friends just as they reach to support her. She obviously is well-thought of in her professional life and well-liked in her social circle.She doesn’t want to live in the house she and her husband owned. So she moves home with her mother, Elizabeth, 85 years old. She and her mother are very close. You can tell from the way her friends speak of her mother that they are very familiar with her as well. Friends and family are well-integrated. One of her best friends is her cousin, Andrea. Her BFF is Molly. Molly is quite the character. She’s a comfort and a problem at the same time. While she supports Katherine, she’s also got a secret that she’s not sharing and it seems to be a problem that is escalating.Elizabeth, Katherine’s mother, lived through WWII and will not speak of what happened to her and to the family during that time. But for Christmas, Elizabeth gives Katherine a book sewn into a cover and tells her she must promise not to read it until she, Elizabeth has died. Elizabeth has written her story for Catherine. After Elizabeth dies, Katherine reads her family’s story and is amazed at all it encompasses. All but her mother had been taken away by the Nazis and died at Auschwitz and such places. Her mother had been smuggled out in disguise and was the only one to survive to tell their story. Katherine felt she could understand some things about her mother better now. Particularly her favorite saying, “What doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger”.Katherine’s cousin, Andrea, gets her involved in doing a house exchange. Years ago, Katherine had spent some time in the south of France while taking a course in French. Her memories of the area have her wanting to return. So she does an exchange to a farmhouse in Sainte-Mathilde, where she’s taken under the wing of a wonderful neighbor and an amazing dog. Both will help Katherine heal and see that there is still so much to life.The pace of this story allows for long bike rides in the countryside and for cafe au chocolate while strolling the marketplace and chatting with the many vendors. That doesn’t mean the story is slow. The leisurely pace is soothing but not soporific. It is healing, but certainly has no trouble speeding up when crises arise and danger is an issue. If time and life had allowed, I would have read this book in one sitting. It certainly had no trouble holding my interest. I am eager to read the other two books in the series, though this could be considered a stand-alone. I want to know what else happens to these characters. I want to read more of this author’s wonderful writing. I highly recommend this book and probably this whole series to you if you enjoy the best of women’s lit. This certainly compares well with authors such as Jill Mansell, Anita Hughes, and Connie Chapell. The other two books in this series are:Promises to Keep #2 and I Promise You This #3

Patricia Sands writes a sequel to her first book about house switching for times of vacation, and this time she goes not to Italy where in the first book she meets fine Italian people and stayed in a swell cottage with a maid and goats passing by. This time she goes To Provence across from Italy into France...near Nice and Monaco. She switched her house in Canada for a 3 story cottage right by the sea. It is heavenly to read about her adventures there and the people she meets and the historic, fairytale places she visits. This book is like a glorified travel guide with characters and stories thrown in. It's a perfect way to learn about an area, what is offered there in scenery, ancient ruins, fantastic restaurants, sea holidays. It is so well described, you can nearly smell the salt air and see the lights dancing on the harbor and shoreline on moonlit nights. You can taste the food: wine and cheese, and find out the hundreds of years of history behind the making of the cheeses. And the language....when in the first book you are in Italy...you learn some Italian, and in this book set in France, you learn French. It is so natural and easy. You'll love it. The ending of this book left you up in the air as to how it really ended up...with a question mark. I guess maybe she wants you to write you own conclusion which for me would be fun to do. Bravo for these books. They deal with heartache and grief, but move on to healing and hearts mended and ready for life.See Gee

A wonderful book, loved every page. Patricia Sands knows how to write a good story. It involves happiness and sadness, a lousy break up of a marriage with no warning, he just took off one day while she was at work and moved in with his pregnant girlfriend, leaving his wife destitute and unable to function. Her husband controlled her life to the point she didn't think she could function alone. They could not have children which devastated her knowing he was having a baby with another woman. With good friends support, counseling, a good job, she finally, after months, began to take charge of her life, doing baby steps at a time. Advised to go away from her home for a vacation to try to make plans for herself.and function alone, to try to gain control of her life. After a few try's with friends, she decided to take a trip to France, a place she loved living more than 20 years before. She joined an exchange house program and exchanged her house in Toronto, Canada, with a family from Provence, France. She loved her aged stone farmhouse near a charming little village and easily made friends at cafés and markets and grew to love the dog who came with the house. Goats were herded by her house every day and she enjoyed the goat herder, an intelligent elderly man who liked to leave his bustling job and get out in the country where he could enjoy the peace and quiet of his goat herding job.She began riding an old but dependable bike and investigated the area. She felt her new location was a perfect match for her and thoroughly enjoyed each day, making the most of her time, taking yoga, attending cooking classes, joined a bike club and went on bike tours, even met a couple of handsome men who showed an interest in her meeting them from the new girlfriends she made. She exchanged dinners and lunches with friends. She fell in love with Provence and hated the thought of leaving. She had to go back to Toronto and start a new job and tend to her large home.But good news was in store for Katherine and handsome kindhearted Philippe. Katherine was to return to France and write a report on various places in France, only this time instead oof Provence, she would be staying in Antibes on the French Riviera. She was excited and was taking her best friend with her for the first 3 weeks of her 3 month stay. The accomodations were heavenly, the views supurb. They were located near old Antibes with great shopping markets and charming cafés and bistros. They were in heaven. But the best part is located in the town was her good friend, Philippe's cheese business, where the finest cheese in France was made. Philippe saw Kstherine in town and ran to see her. Katherine was thrilled to know this is where he lived. Of course they picked up where they left off and saw each other dsily. It wasn't long before they knew there was something really special between them. After Kstherinr's friend returned home Katherine and Philippe stayed together at Katherinr's house. They traveled, Philippe was a master tour guide and took Kstherine everywhere, wining and dining her. It bothered Kstherine thst she was 10 years older than Pjiloppe, but Philippe did not mind a bit. he thought Kstherine was the most beautiful, intelligent, remarkable women he had met in the 7 years his wife had died. He had two beautiful grown daughters who were happy their father found someone he enjoyed being with. When the 3 months were up and Kstherine had to leave, the lovers were devestated. Philippe begged her to stay on, but Katherine had a job and a home to care for and in tears left Philippe crushed. She refused Philippe from taking her to Nice to the airport. She was miserable leaving. Just as she was checking her baggage at the counter. The maid eho drove her excused herself and told Kstherine to wait before checking in as she had to make a phone all and would be tight back. In a few minutes, someone was calling her name. It was Philippe who ran to her avd pleaded her not to leave him, thst he knew they could resolve all their differences and make a life together. Katherine weepy with joy. She was not leaving. She was going to stay on and continue helping Philippe redo his large estate home and redo his gardens, where her talentsWere useful and in decorating their home. it was a happiness dream for them. Katherine couldn't believe what heavenly yarns her future held ... Here in Thibes with the man she loved beginning a whole new life ... her new life that she would manage herself with the man she knew would support her dreams and help make them come true. This was a wonderful story. I hope to meet this handsome couple again, I hope in another Patricia Sands book.Carole Beighey

I smelled the flowers; saw the lavender fields; and rode through the cliffs on a motorcycle. The descriptions were wonderful, and I feel as though I have been to Provence !

I read this having read something about the author on a blog I subscribe to. I did not know what to expect but I am so glad I have found this wonderful author. The story is complex but easy to follow (if that is not a contradiction in terms). I found the descriptions of Elisabeth's experiences so moving, especially taking into account the present situation in the Middle East and in Ukraine. The primary characters all had difficulties in their lives - some more easy to overcome than others. That in itself made fascinating reading.And then of course the South of France - Provence. We have visited this lovely part of the world on several occasions, most recently as friends moved there a few years ago. I also have the other two books in the series and I am very much looking forward to reading them, as well as other books by this fabulous author.

The characters in the story are so true to life. Any one of us at some time in our lives could relate in some way. The heartbreak, the joy and all that happens in between has been captured by Patricia Sands so effortlessly. Her style holds your attention and makes it difficult to put the book down.Her descriptions of the little towns in Provence are so vividly described, you almost feel as if you're right there with her sharing in all the beauty of the area.

This is, by far, the best book I have read in a long time. I don't say that very often. Before I read this book I had never read a Patricia Sands book. I was given a free copy of this book, in exchange for an honest review.I was totally engrossed in this book right from the beginning. I loved it. I laughed hysterically in some parts, and I cried in others. As the story unfolds, and I learn what's happening in Katherine's life, I come to understand her. I understand why she reacts to her circumstances, by doing certain things. The struggles Katherine goes through take her from being a totally dependant and manipulated woman, to a new, self reliant, confident woman. Katherine goes from a life, where she experiences profound sadness to overwhelming joy. I have never read such a wonderful descriptive story of how a woman can, and will, change so much, if she's given the opportunity to do so.Katherine's new life takes her on a wonderful journey, and a future filled with joys and possibilities, beyond her wildest imagination. Her journey takes her to a land she's yearned to go back to for 22 years, a place she had been to in her youth. Wait till you read the vivid description of this country she visits. The depths Patricia Sands goes to, to make us feel like we're there, instead of just reading about it, are unbelievable. You're going to imagine you can see the countryside in your minds eye.So, ladies, find a comfortable chair, and get ready to experience Katherine's journey. I look forward to continuing this journey, with Katherine, by reading the other two books in this series. Oh, and I suggest you start reading on your days off, because you're not going to be able to put it down once you start it.Valerie BargewellSent from my iPhone

What a beautiful story! You will be very shocked and surprised how this story begins and shown how in an instant life can change and one is forced to forge a new path. On their 22nd anniversary, our heroine - Katherine, comes home to find her husband has left the usual roses with the usual card. Except in the card is a letter that tells her he is divorcing her to marry a woman young enough to be his daughter. Worse, to the barren wife, is that said young woman is pregnant with her husband's child.Yes, this is another story about an unsuspecting wife (though at fifty-five, she's a little older than most) having to pick herself up after an unexpected divorce and figure out who she is. And yes, she will survive. The heartbreak doesn't start here, so after a dreadful winter, where everything goes wrong she agrees to do a house exchange holiday in the South of France. Not an uncommon plot for sure, but the thing that sets this book apart from the rest is the loving descriptions of the places mentioned. Not only France, but also of Canada where Katherine lives, of Auschwitz where her mother was a prisoner during WWII, and of the Riviera. Provenance of course sounds breathtaking in every way, the flowers, the vineyards, the castles, the wines, the cheeses, the hills, the beaches, the marketplaces, they are all beautifully and vividly described. I also liked the way the author portrayed Katherine realistically growing from feeling lonely and out of place to the newfound joy that takes her over as she begins to fit in, make friends and develops a love affair with Provence. While there is romance in the book, the main romance is the one that Katherine begins with Provence. The feeling is contagious and after reading this book I want to visit the south of France.My Favourite Line From This Novel is “one joy scatters a thousand griefs”. Even though a great travelogue - this Novel is truly a beautiful gift and everyone should put it on their list to read!

Definitely an easy read but it is a good one! Truly enjoyed it and will order the next one!