Celebrations at the Chateau

By: Jo Thomas

Narrated by: Anna Acton

Length: 8 hrs and 24 mins

Publisher's summary

Brought to you by Penguin.

A wonderfully romantic, feel-good new novel set in a French château over the most magical time of the year! From the best-selling author of Escape to the French Farmhouse.

When their grandfather dies, Fliss and her sisters are astonished to inherit a French château! Travelling to Normandy to visit the beautiful if faded house, they excitedly make plans over delicious crêpes and local cider in the town nearby.

But they soon discover the château needs major work, a huge tax bill is due...and there's a sitting tenant, Madame Charlotte Cadieux, to whom they owe a monthly allowance!

Unable to sell but strapped for cash, Fliss determines to spruce up the elegant old rooms and open a B&B. But why are Jacques - Madame's grandson and the mayor - and the other townsfolk so hostile? How did Fliss' grandfather come to own the place anyway? And will Jacques and Fliss be able to put their differences aside to save the château?

It seems like nothing but trouble. But as the old year gives way to the new, it could be a new beginning for them all....

Inspired by Escape to the Chateau, this is a cosy and uplifting novel to curl up with, from the author of Escape to the French Farmhouse and Finding Love at the Christmas Market.

©2021 Jo Thomas (P)2021 Penguin Audio

I loved it but was disappointed by 1 thing

I love a clean, cozy read with good vibes. I thought I had found it and was truly enjoying this story. Jo Thomas is an excellent writer who creates a mental escape to different countries and this time it was to France. She’s so good at painting a mental picture and this narrator was perfect! She used different accents for different characters and she made this story come to life. My only hang up is that usually if a storyline is going to present a moral dilemma for me it is usually introduced early in the book and I stop reading it. However in this book “a situation” was introduced 3/4 of the way through that I did not like. It was not sexualized or that would have caused me to stop reading it immediately but a stolen kiss to someone else’s spouse is still wrong to me (and infidelity is always wrong no matter how someone tries to justify it.) So for that reason I dropped to 4 stars but this would’ve been 5 stars if it didn’t have that situation in the storyline. Also as a side note there is reference to a ghost but there is not one (and it was fairly obvious which is why I waited and I was right.) To some, like myself, that also would have meant book returned because I don’t mess with anything spiritistic. Overall, Jo Thomas is 1 of my favorite writers. (I highly recommend “Chasing the Italian Dream.” No moral dilemmas involved 😊.)