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Bordeaux Housewives: A Charming French Expat Romantic Comedy About Living a Double Life Under the Cameras
Introducing the perfect Summer read for 2006. Bordeaux Housewives is a romantic comedy combining a heady mix of sunshine, sex, Sancerre and secrets.
When an ordinary English family swap dreary suburbia and the rat race for the glorious countryside of France they have no idea just how much their lives are going to change.
For in addition to the culture shock, they have been selected to appear in a reality TV show about their Good Life lifestyle. But they also have a secret life which they need to hide from the cameras…
Meanwhile, at the local bar, another expat is finding that local attractions amount to more than wine, cheese and sunflowers…
When an ordinary English family swap dreary suburbia and the rat race for the glorious countryside of France they have no idea just how much their lives are going to change.
For in addition to the culture shock, they have been selected to appear in a reality TV show about their Good Life lifestyle. But they also have a secret life which they need to hide from the cameras…
Meanwhile, at the local bar, another expat is finding that local attractions amount to more than wine, cheese and sunflowers…
432 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 1, 2006
7 people are currently reading
87 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
May 2, 2013
This was one of those books that I thought would be predicatable but it turned out to be anything but. It was an entertaining read and I found myself rooting for the Haunt family in their escape. The author was good in her characterisations and descriptions and I found myself feeling sorry for some and loathing others.
Read
July 22, 2012I have given this book no stars, as there was nothing good about it. I read it for a book club.
April 24, 2022
I must have read this book a few years ago but recently found it again so thought I would do a re read. Well I'm so glad that I did.
Not at all the predictable chic lit book that you might be expecting.
I don't give spoilers so you will need to read it for yourselves but trust me a really good and unexpected tale.
Great central couple - except the wife's jealous streak, and their kids even have characters too!
Lovely description of life in France for some Brits but also how nasty moneyed people can be.
I especially disliked Timmie.
Very well written, I will look out for other books by this author, although I have a feeling that I may have already read some of them.
If you want a different but absorbing tale then this is the book for you.
Not at all the predictable chic lit book that you might be expecting.
I don't give spoilers so you will need to read it for yourselves but trust me a really good and unexpected tale.
Great central couple - except the wife's jealous streak, and their kids even have characters too!
Lovely description of life in France for some Brits but also how nasty moneyed people can be.
I especially disliked Timmie.
Very well written, I will look out for other books by this author, although I have a feeling that I may have already read some of them.
If you want a different but absorbing tale then this is the book for you.
June 11, 2020
Barely tolerable. Rolled my eyes and gave up several times. Stupid characters. Probably took me a month to read it: read at least three other books in that time and only came back to it when I was in between books.
March 11, 2022
A fun and lighthearted tale set around expat Brits living in France
March 14, 2024
This was so good I literally couldn't put it down, I wanted to know what happened next to the characters. I felt like I knew some of them personally. Really easy reading
August 13, 2025
It’s cute, a lot going on in it but at the end it gets pretty good with some action from some illegal stuff. But a good short summer read
July 4, 2013
Voiced in a playful, darkly comical tone, Bordeaux Housewives lives up to the words in its title in that it's airy and exquisite—Bordeaux—and at the same time, fierce and dangerously thrilling—housewives. While I will be the first to acknowledge there isn't anything highly substantial or literarily tasteful about this book, it's a hell of a fun, flirty read, and it's one that should be accompanied by a glass of champagne and a sunny day—if only for pure entertainment.
The secrets and dreams and fears of Maude, Daffy, and Emma, our delightful housewives—and I say delightful in the broadest sense because once you see the ruthlessness, paranoia, and human inadequacy in them yourself, you may start thinking differently—are not only hysterical to keep up with, but also inanely human, which is why I loved the characters so much. Waugh introduces a unique, vivid cast of charming characters who are so easy to relate to and even easier to fall in love with. They're rather two-dimensional, tending to have the shallowest of weaknesses, and their rightful happily ever afters are a little saccharine, yes, but I adored them so much, I feel they deserve their happy (or not so happy) endings. They make poor decisions solely in the name of creating drama and can be annoyingly flimsy, but they are, if anything, memorable. They weren't written to give lessons or teach morals, so I don't hold anything against them; I think the characterization is, while only developed on the surface, one of the strongest aspects of the novel.
The Haunts run an undercover business beneath their sickeningly perfect cloak of domesticity—down to the sun-kissed children and house in the south of France—and get into all sorts of senseless trouble. Maude is starkly plain, and yet she's one of my favorite characters because of the reckless way her mind works. Horatio wins the "most clueless husband" award for sure, but he's equally funny and just delightful.
Daffy's life is a little bleaker. Stranded Bordeaux alone due to her pig of a husband's demands, she's the passive, obtuse character I expected to hate, but ended up cheering for, by the end of the book. She's ridiculously helpless and even a little pathetic, but she's so frail, so comically flawed, that even she hits a nerve.
And then there's Emma. Shameless thing, but a delight of a character to read about. She's unscrupulous and immensely dislikable, but that's her charm; she's toxic, but she's delicious. I loved her even though I wasn't supposed to!
The setting, I also am enchanted by. Reminiscent of the French countryside, from the fresh vegetables, the yummy men, the warm atmosphere, Bordeaux sounds homey, endearing, and even a little magical, which provides a marvelous escape. For those of you who've always wanted to run off to France: live vicariously through Bordeaux Housewives!
Pros
Hilarious // Charming // Makes me want to live in Bordeaux! // Each and every character captivated me in their own way // Pace is slow but the pages turn quickly! I finished this one before I knew it // The perfect breezy read
Cons
Slow start // Characters aren't could-be-your-best-friend realistic // Rather unexciting and absent plot
Love
Verdict
While the story of Daisy Waugh's British chick-lit novel itself is nothing groundbreaking—it's mildly amusing, at most—the twisted situations three seemingly discordant families get themselves into—as well as the twisted way in which they are all connected—are brilliant. The plot thickens as words said and unsaid meddle with their lives, and the ensuing chaos is an absolute hoot. With charming characters, tongue-in-cheek humor, and a carefree, casual style akin to that of Sophie Kinsella, Bordeaux Housewives relays the juicily constructive—and of course, mistakingly destructive—power of gossip, as well as the appreciation for free will, justice, and of course, true love.
Rating: 9 out of 10 hearts (5 stars): Loved it! This book has a spot on my favorites shelf.
Source
Complimentary copy provided by TripFiction in exchange for an honest and unbiased review (thank you, Tina!).
The secrets and dreams and fears of Maude, Daffy, and Emma, our delightful housewives—and I say delightful in the broadest sense because once you see the ruthlessness, paranoia, and human inadequacy in them yourself, you may start thinking differently—are not only hysterical to keep up with, but also inanely human, which is why I loved the characters so much. Waugh introduces a unique, vivid cast of charming characters who are so easy to relate to and even easier to fall in love with. They're rather two-dimensional, tending to have the shallowest of weaknesses, and their rightful happily ever afters are a little saccharine, yes, but I adored them so much, I feel they deserve their happy (or not so happy) endings. They make poor decisions solely in the name of creating drama and can be annoyingly flimsy, but they are, if anything, memorable. They weren't written to give lessons or teach morals, so I don't hold anything against them; I think the characterization is, while only developed on the surface, one of the strongest aspects of the novel.
The Haunts run an undercover business beneath their sickeningly perfect cloak of domesticity—down to the sun-kissed children and house in the south of France—and get into all sorts of senseless trouble. Maude is starkly plain, and yet she's one of my favorite characters because of the reckless way her mind works. Horatio wins the "most clueless husband" award for sure, but he's equally funny and just delightful.
Daffy's life is a little bleaker. Stranded Bordeaux alone due to her pig of a husband's demands, she's the passive, obtuse character I expected to hate, but ended up cheering for, by the end of the book. She's ridiculously helpless and even a little pathetic, but she's so frail, so comically flawed, that even she hits a nerve.
And then there's Emma. Shameless thing, but a delight of a character to read about. She's unscrupulous and immensely dislikable, but that's her charm; she's toxic, but she's delicious. I loved her even though I wasn't supposed to!
The setting, I also am enchanted by. Reminiscent of the French countryside, from the fresh vegetables, the yummy men, the warm atmosphere, Bordeaux sounds homey, endearing, and even a little magical, which provides a marvelous escape. For those of you who've always wanted to run off to France: live vicariously through Bordeaux Housewives!
Pros
Hilarious // Charming // Makes me want to live in Bordeaux! // Each and every character captivated me in their own way // Pace is slow but the pages turn quickly! I finished this one before I knew it // The perfect breezy read
Cons
Slow start // Characters aren't could-be-your-best-friend realistic // Rather unexciting and absent plot
Love
It was the single piece of advice [her husband] gave to her: watch out, Daphne, [the French] all hate you. Because we won the Battle of Britain, or something, he said (she'd watched his raspberry lips moving). The Battle of something-something and something else. Lots of battles. We'd also won the Olympic bid, the war in Iraq, and there was something about a C.A.P. or S.C.A.R.F.E. or a pair of S.U.N.G.L.A.S.S.E.S. (her joke).
Verdict
While the story of Daisy Waugh's British chick-lit novel itself is nothing groundbreaking—it's mildly amusing, at most—the twisted situations three seemingly discordant families get themselves into—as well as the twisted way in which they are all connected—are brilliant. The plot thickens as words said and unsaid meddle with their lives, and the ensuing chaos is an absolute hoot. With charming characters, tongue-in-cheek humor, and a carefree, casual style akin to that of Sophie Kinsella, Bordeaux Housewives relays the juicily constructive—and of course, mistakingly destructive—power of gossip, as well as the appreciation for free will, justice, and of course, true love.
Rating: 9 out of 10 hearts (5 stars): Loved it! This book has a spot on my favorites shelf.
Source
Complimentary copy provided by TripFiction in exchange for an honest and unbiased review (thank you, Tina!).
June 24, 2013
Maude and Horatio have moved to France with their highly intelligent children, they claim to be living a simple life, farming and selling organic veg but how are they making so much money, and what goes on in that secret room of theirs? The ex pats are curious and have thoughts of their own.
Daffy is married to Timothy, a downright nasty bully and on a trip to France she spies a run down hotel and expresses an interest, Timothy seeing his chance to escape and spend more time with his mistress buys it for her then abandons her with no passport and not allowing her to see her young son whom he sent to boarding school. Distraught Daffy has to try and make a go of it to persuade Timothy to come back and let her have her son.
Lady Emma is bored in France living the good life, what mischief in general can she get up to and of course there is the gorgeous French builder Jean Baptiste who has a part to play in all their lives.
Outside of the main characters there are other smaller ones both French and English, some I loved and others I despised. A strange book, I found it oddly written, almost comes across as "here are the facts, get on with it!". Good story line but didn't blow me away!
Daffy is married to Timothy, a downright nasty bully and on a trip to France she spies a run down hotel and expresses an interest, Timothy seeing his chance to escape and spend more time with his mistress buys it for her then abandons her with no passport and not allowing her to see her young son whom he sent to boarding school. Distraught Daffy has to try and make a go of it to persuade Timothy to come back and let her have her son.
Lady Emma is bored in France living the good life, what mischief in general can she get up to and of course there is the gorgeous French builder Jean Baptiste who has a part to play in all their lives.
Outside of the main characters there are other smaller ones both French and English, some I loved and others I despised. A strange book, I found it oddly written, almost comes across as "here are the facts, get on with it!". Good story line but didn't blow me away!
July 22, 2015
A good example of "don't judge a book by it's cover"! The cover illustration is rather fluffy, but it was a good read, with a great storyline and fun, interesting characters. I enjoyed reading it so much that I was sorry when it came to an end.
February 4, 2008
Light and airy. Could have been funny or serious but was neither.
August 4, 2008
Funny light reading.
July 28, 2011
Very funny, loved the french bits
February 1, 2012
bought it,flipped through two or three pages then gave it away.
September 22, 2012
Amusing light hearted book, ideal holiday reading.
Read
November 20, 2012meh. Probably why it was in the clearance bin.
September 12, 2013
Ok for a light summer read.
Odd storyline which completely fell apart at the end.
Odd storyline which completely fell apart at the end.
September 27, 2015
odpočinková četba, ideální před spaním...klasický happy end, kterému předchází poměrně dost zákrut, ale i tak je poměrně jasné, jak to dopadne. oddechové čtení, nic nenáročného..
September 2, 2015
Fun summer read with quirky characters.
January 6, 2010
very enjotable book! A bit of an escape.
April 1, 2017
Fantastic trashy read - fast-moving and easy. I loved that there was a lot of French in it as well - definitely a help when improving language skills.
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews