French Lessons

By: Natalie Vivien

Narrated by: Stephanie Murphy

Length: 6 hrs and 49 mins

Publisher's summary

Would you have the courage to restart your life - and give love a chance - in a completely different country?

Vida Toujours has struggled all of her life, working hard for everything she's ever earned, using her all-consuming job as a Chicago doctor to numb herself against the emptiness she carries inside. Overprotective of her heart, Vida pushes people away, and despite her loneliness, she's made an art of remaining detached and disconnected. Then she receives an unexpected letter from France.

An aunt that Vida never knew she had has died, willing Vida a chateau in the French countryside. What feels like an impossible dream is now Vida's reality: She's an heiress, and the last living member of a family legacy steeped in secrets.

When Vida arrives at the chateau, there are more surprises in store for her. She could never have predicted the effect that Renee Chanson, the fiery and captivating woman she meets at the chateau, would have upon her. And she could never have imagined how the decades-old mystery of her family's past would, at last, unfold.

Can Vida learn to trust and open her stubborn heart to the possibility of a French romance? Or will she make the same mistakes her mother made and let the love of her life run away from her, leaving her to nurse a permanent broken heart?

French Lessons is a poignant, passionate novel about coming to terms with the past and learning to love; a tender romance to curl up with.

©2014 Natalie Vivien (P)2016 Natalie Vivien

A book for the Imaginative, Romantic Soul.

For those of you that allow a novel to be a great escape and don't stop to nitpick at the probability of occurrences, then this book is for you. I enjoy books that take me away from daily stressors and this one did the trick. I found the two main characters quite captivating. secondary characters were a mystery I couldn't wait to solve.
A journey well worth taking.

Overall decent book.

The build up was painstakingly slow, I almost got frustrated, but finally it came. Interesting culmination, I'll say. The ending was predictable. The narrator's voice was pretty good, however she gave me the sense of hyperactivity, nonstop running throughout the whole book. Overall ok.

A truly engaging and romantic love story.

If you could sum up French Lessons in three words, what would they be?

Engaging, bittersweet and enjoyable.

What did you like best about this story?

The writer uses tension for both the mystery and the romantic parts of this story very well.

Which scene was your favorite?

I'm not sure but it's probably any scene that had the character of Renee in it because I half fell in love with her myself while reading this story. Also I'm sure it had nothing to do with the fact that her physical description bears more than a passing resemblance to Alex Kingston and sounds like a beloved TV character named River Song ;)

If you could rename French Lessons, what would you call it?

There you are love! What took you so long.

Any additional comments?

One of my favorite audio books! This is beautiful love story with a strong mysterious under current. I can't wait for more of this author's work to become audio books as this is the only one out at the moment.

I'd rate this 4.5 Overall...

I've had this audiobook in my wishlist for a long time and finally got it. loved the narrator's different voices (all pleasant and the British accent was my fav). I liked the basic storyline of this book, but the mystery part seemed to drag on a bit long and slow the book down in the middle, but the ending was super sweet and made it all better :) if I could rate this a 4.5 I would.

Weird storyline but ok

Would you recommend French Lessons to your friends? Why or why not?

Depends. The story was a bit weird, and it was kind of mystery that felt like it was building up to a major twist. I was intrigued till the end but I don't know if it would hold everyone's attention.

Fantastic Narration

Stephanie Murphy does an excellent job working through the narrative. She is both funny and fantastic at the variety of accents.

Excellent voice acting

Really enjoyed listening to this one. She did an excellent job with the French as well.

I couldn't stop listening.

I was rapt in this book. the passion emanating from the characters in this book was amazing. I loved the twists and turns. amazing writer.

Great, but I couldn’t lose myself

I’ve listened to a few of this author’s books, and am pleased to report that she is a lovely story teller. And here comes the compliment sandwich. The narrator has a very pleasant voice, but I do have a couple of tidbits there. Although her voice is smooth and of a pleasant tone, the cadence is a bit fast for at normal speed. However, that’s not really my reason for 4 stars. I would love to hear more of a story telling than a reading here. I found it hard to lose myself in this performance. If the narrator could just get that down she’d be absolutely wonderful in my book... ;)

Wonderful book and narration

This is a wonderful story and the narration is great. I loved the mystery surrounding Vida's mother and enjoyed the outcome. Highly recommend this audio book!