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Nice #1
Not Quite Nice
Theresa is desperate for a change. Forced into early retirement, fed up with babysitting her bossy daughter's obnoxious children, she sells her Highgate house and moves to the picture-perfect town of Bellevue-sur-Mer, just outside Nice. With its beautiful villas, its bustling cafes and shimmering cerulean sea, the village sparkles like a diamond on the French Mediterranean coast. Once the hideaway of artists and writers, it is now home to the odd rock icon and Hollywood movie star, and, as Theresa soon discovers, a close-knit set of expats. There's Carol, the infinitely glamorous American and her doting husband David; the erstwhile British TV star Sally; the ferocious Sian and her wayward Australian poet husband; the sharply witty Zoe with her strangely youthful face and penchant for white wine--and the suave Brian who catches Theresa's eye. As Theresa settles to the gentle rhythm of seaside life she embraces her new-found friendships and freedom. However, life is never quite as simple as it seems and as skeletons start to fall out of several closets, Theresa begins to wonder if life on the French Riviera is quite as nice as it first appeared.
336 pages, Paperback
First published February 26, 2015
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 435 reviews
August 22, 2015
This book totally illustrates the fact that famous people can get books published regardless of quality; whereas, if submitted by an unknown writer, they would be thrown straight on to the rejects pile. I love Celia Imrie as an actress, but sadly she is not as talented as a writer. Where to start? Well I should have known from the first chapter which presented the family from hell treating our 'heroine' in the most vicious and appalling way possible, that I was not going to find well-written, original, believable or interesting characters. I was unsure at this point whether the book was attempting to be a farce but it soon became clear as other characters were introduced that we were going to be treated to a bunch of cliche-ridden caricatures rather than real, fully fleshed-out, interesting characters. The plot was unoriginal and lazy. There was absolutely no real sense of being in the south of France. How on earth can she manage to write a book that gives no real sense of the locale? I found the book boring and eventually skimmed through to the end. I was on holiday when I picked this book to read and was really prepared to love it because it was written by Celia. So very disappointingly!!
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October 29, 2014I received this ARC from Bloomsbury. It's difficult to write a review without saying how much I admire Celia Imrie's acting (and I do, very much); however, I'm pretty sure that most of the publicity surrounding this launch will concentrate on her film work, rather than the book itself. NOT QUITE NICE is her fiction debut; a chirpy tale, in the tradition of what I have come to think of as Books Set in France, With Recipes, Featuring an Ageing Heroine, Who, After Some Tribulations, Finds Out Something About Herself. It wasn't entirely my cup of tea, probably because I receive so many books of a similar type, written in a similar way. The style is generally comforting, with recipes sewn into the plot and characters that fall squarely into a number of those well-worn types that often work better in movies than on the printed page. There's the Predatory Daughter; the Grandchildren from Hell; the Glamorous American Woman; the Suave Love Interest; and of course, the Heroine of Advancing Years, Determined to Grow Old Disgracefully. Some of the linguistic cliches made me wince a little: the "azure Mediterranean" gets rather too many mentions - and the dialogue often sounds peculiarly middle-aged, even when children are speaking. But that doesn't mean to say that this book won't appeal to many. There are pallid shades of LA CUCINA in here; and of MISS GARNET'S ANGEL; and of course, A YEAR IN PROVENCE. I won't give this a star rating - I think we're all too obsessed with stars, both on and off the screen. Suffice it to say that this is a warm, light-hearted, fast-paced tale that fans of Peter Mayle will enjoy.
November 18, 2015
Not Quite Nice is the first novel by British actor and author, Celia Imrie. A particularly bad day that sees her “let go” from her job and abused by her daughter and granddaughters has Theresa Simmons seriously considering life elsewhere. This “sea change” idea soon takes a firm hold and she sells up, moving from Horrible Highgate to Bellevue Sur Mer, which is very close to, but Not Quite Nice, and well out of baby-sitting range. Her Mediterranean village boasts a lively ex-pat community, and Theresa soon finds herself in the thick of the local dramas.
In this delightful story, Imrie gives the reader a cast of (mostly) charming characters: a widowed ex-actress, a pair of gay men, a narcissistic elderly woman with a flair for cutting remarks, an apparently loving American couple, an Australian lothario and his jealous wife, a timid mother and her bullying son, an ex-prisoner, a self-centred daughter and her three spoiled children, a long-absent hippy son, an over-achieving daughter and a mysterious woman who claims to be recuperating.
All sorts of happenings fill this enjoyable read, including (but not limited to) naked men jumping from hotel balconies, muggings, a cookery club, power boat lessons, robberies, drug deals, credit card cloning, elopement, bank account embezzlements, an artistic installation, a trans-gender revelation and a dramatic climax. And while at first it appears that many of the adult children are selfish, money-grubbing, nasty types interested only in their inheritance, they prove to be as human and flawed as their parents.
There are plenty of laugh-out-loud moments in this highly entertaining novel, which falls firmly into the hen-lit genre, with the main characters aged in their sixties and seventies, thus guaranteeing it a readership amongst that group. But with eight delicious-sounding recipes included, lovers of epicurean delights will also find this an enjoyable read. 4.5★s
In this delightful story, Imrie gives the reader a cast of (mostly) charming characters: a widowed ex-actress, a pair of gay men, a narcissistic elderly woman with a flair for cutting remarks, an apparently loving American couple, an Australian lothario and his jealous wife, a timid mother and her bullying son, an ex-prisoner, a self-centred daughter and her three spoiled children, a long-absent hippy son, an over-achieving daughter and a mysterious woman who claims to be recuperating.
All sorts of happenings fill this enjoyable read, including (but not limited to) naked men jumping from hotel balconies, muggings, a cookery club, power boat lessons, robberies, drug deals, credit card cloning, elopement, bank account embezzlements, an artistic installation, a trans-gender revelation and a dramatic climax. And while at first it appears that many of the adult children are selfish, money-grubbing, nasty types interested only in their inheritance, they prove to be as human and flawed as their parents.
There are plenty of laugh-out-loud moments in this highly entertaining novel, which falls firmly into the hen-lit genre, with the main characters aged in their sixties and seventies, thus guaranteeing it a readership amongst that group. But with eight delicious-sounding recipes included, lovers of epicurean delights will also find this an enjoyable read. 4.5★s
April 15, 2015
Ridiculous plot with stereotypical gay and transgender characters, obnoxious adult children abusing their senior citizens parents. Totally unbelievable story with way too much going on. Celia Imrie should stick to acting.
December 17, 2019
Well, it’s an apt title. Or an alternate could be Not Quite Good.
Ugh. I’m so disappointed. I was so looking forward to reading this book, the first by Celia Imrie, one of my favourite actresses. I assumed it would be funny and feature older characters finding love. Older character romance is my favourite and so rarely done. There was also the promise of the French riviera and some feminist empowerment.
And cue the ‘fantasy vs reality’ meme… Ugh.
The book has two female leads. Theresa, a divorcee, is fired from her administrative position in a solicitor’s office and, faced with a retirement of babysitting her bratty granddaughters, packs up and moves to a seaside town just near Nice in France. There, Sally, an ex-game show hostess, resides with the dream of returning to serious acting and buying a bigger home.
Their ‘friends’ include an obligatory gay couple, a stylish American couple, an older botoxed-to-the-hilt loudmouth drunk, the mousy nondescript newbie, a corporate highflyer (whose first scene involving her slapping Theresa like some sort of trashy Dr Phil guest is too ridiculous for words) and her philandering poet of a husband.
One thing many of the characters have in common is their children are horrid. And I mean horrid. I can’t quite fathom that a/ children would treat their parents like they do in this book or b/ anyone would let their children treat them like they do in this book. I’m sorry, it’s unbelievable. Okay, so there might be people out there with awful children but I would assume they were horrible parents in the first place. These middle aged horrors seem to have all been hatched from hell with no help from their mother or father. One bad apple might be understandable but for these characters to *all* have such demon children is weird.
The main plot of the book is not these parents sorting out their middle aged evil spawn, or them finding some sweet romance, or them having any sort of life affirming epiphanies. No, it’s them being victims of a conman thief. The conman’s identity isn’t even made a secret, so the only mystery you have to solve is why these grown ass women are so naive and pathetic.
I want to go on and on about these English characters going to another country and only mingling with other English people when they get there but to point out how blatantly racist this is would just get me cranky again… I really feel for the poor locals.
Actually they aren’t only English, there’s a couple of Americans and even an Australian (just don’t even get me started on this, I mean it's like Imrie decided to cast Paul Hogan or Bryan Brown's evil twin from the 80s into the role and we're supposed to think he's what? cute? funny? quirky? I can't even...) but they’re all white (diversity is merely the token gay couple) and all extremely non-French. So much for immersing yourself in the place.
The weak plot and horrible characters are not even saved by any sort of flowery pretty descriptive passages. There’s water and sunshine and restaurants and… Oh, there’s random foodporn which is also strictly non-French. I was so utterly confused about this. Again, way to immerse yourself in the setting…
I glanced at the other reviews for this book and a couple mentioned the book might have worked better for them if they’d listened via Audible as Imrie narrates. I’m here to tell you, this is not the case. I listened and swapped over to reading often as Imrie’s slow drawn out narration of most of the scenes increased my impatience with the novel. The sad thing here is that her voice was how, I would assume, she imagined the characters to sound/act as she read and some of her choices for their tone made me hate these people even more, if possible.
I’m so sad (mad?) that the only reason this was published was because it was written by a well known actress. Surely no publisher would have snapped up this mess on its own merits.
Plus I’m horrified that I’d already purchased the sequel to this mess, Nice Work. My only question is, will I embark on some sort of social experiment and read it. Maybe. One day. Not quite now.
1 out of 5
Ugh. I’m so disappointed. I was so looking forward to reading this book, the first by Celia Imrie, one of my favourite actresses. I assumed it would be funny and feature older characters finding love. Older character romance is my favourite and so rarely done. There was also the promise of the French riviera and some feminist empowerment.
And cue the ‘fantasy vs reality’ meme… Ugh.
The book has two female leads. Theresa, a divorcee, is fired from her administrative position in a solicitor’s office and, faced with a retirement of babysitting her bratty granddaughters, packs up and moves to a seaside town just near Nice in France. There, Sally, an ex-game show hostess, resides with the dream of returning to serious acting and buying a bigger home.
Their ‘friends’ include an obligatory gay couple, a stylish American couple, an older botoxed-to-the-hilt loudmouth drunk, the mousy nondescript newbie, a corporate highflyer (whose first scene involving her slapping Theresa like some sort of trashy Dr Phil guest is too ridiculous for words) and her philandering poet of a husband.
One thing many of the characters have in common is their children are horrid. And I mean horrid. I can’t quite fathom that a/ children would treat their parents like they do in this book or b/ anyone would let their children treat them like they do in this book. I’m sorry, it’s unbelievable. Okay, so there might be people out there with awful children but I would assume they were horrible parents in the first place. These middle aged horrors seem to have all been hatched from hell with no help from their mother or father. One bad apple might be understandable but for these characters to *all* have such demon children is weird.
The main plot of the book is not these parents sorting out their middle aged evil spawn, or them finding some sweet romance, or them having any sort of life affirming epiphanies. No, it’s them being victims of a conman thief. The conman’s identity isn’t even made a secret, so the only mystery you have to solve is why these grown ass women are so naive and pathetic.
I want to go on and on about these English characters going to another country and only mingling with other English people when they get there but to point out how blatantly racist this is would just get me cranky again… I really feel for the poor locals.
Actually they aren’t only English, there’s a couple of Americans and even an Australian (just don’t even get me started on this, I mean it's like Imrie decided to cast Paul Hogan or Bryan Brown's evil twin from the 80s into the role and we're supposed to think he's what? cute? funny? quirky? I can't even...) but they’re all white (diversity is merely the token gay couple) and all extremely non-French. So much for immersing yourself in the place.
The weak plot and horrible characters are not even saved by any sort of flowery pretty descriptive passages. There’s water and sunshine and restaurants and… Oh, there’s random foodporn which is also strictly non-French. I was so utterly confused about this. Again, way to immerse yourself in the setting…
I glanced at the other reviews for this book and a couple mentioned the book might have worked better for them if they’d listened via Audible as Imrie narrates. I’m here to tell you, this is not the case. I listened and swapped over to reading often as Imrie’s slow drawn out narration of most of the scenes increased my impatience with the novel. The sad thing here is that her voice was how, I would assume, she imagined the characters to sound/act as she read and some of her choices for their tone made me hate these people even more, if possible.
I’m so sad (mad?) that the only reason this was published was because it was written by a well known actress. Surely no publisher would have snapped up this mess on its own merits.
Plus I’m horrified that I’d already purchased the sequel to this mess, Nice Work. My only question is, will I embark on some sort of social experiment and read it. Maybe. One day. Not quite now.
1 out of 5
August 19, 2022
A "Nice" break after "The Amityville Horror" (LOL) and suitably twisted in all kinds of ways with twists and turns that will keep you entertained if you are looking for a light read.
April 14, 2015
Opens: …The small town of Bellevue-Sur-Mer sparkled like a diamond on the French Mediterranean Coast...
I really enjoyed this light fluffy read – and can relate to feeling used and abused by a demanding selfish grown-up child who thinks that everything hubby and I worked hard for has to be handed to her on a platter. Sixty-year-old Theresa has one such child and when she is laid off from her job the thought of being an unpaid navvy for her daughter for her remaining years fills her with horror. So on impulse she buys a small house in the fictional town of Bellevue-sur-Mer just outside Nice in the south of France. So Theresa now lives not quite in the city of Nice and events that occur are not quite nice either – so I really appreciated the very clever title punning on the two meanings of ‘nice’..
Of course life is not all roses in her new home – starting with a naked man jumping out of a hotel window into her back yard and his insanely jealous, mega rich, wife calling her whore in a strident voice the next day. But she soon makes friends with the local ex-pats. For a small community of friends there are a lot of secrets and then when you add to the mix theft, kidnapping and assault and you have a very exciting read. Despite her naked introduction to her new circle of friends, Therese starts to make a life – she starts to learn French, sets up a cooking school to earn a bit of money and even finds herself attracted to a very nice man.
This is Celia Imrie’s first fictional book – and she has done very well by allowing humour to take over the story at times without it descending into silliness. The lightness balances nicely with the more drama ridden topics of infidelity, sex-changes, homosexuality, drug use and criminal activity. I was often laughing out loud at some of the events – gasping at some more meatier ones and then getting angry at the behaviour of a plethora of offspring that come to get what they can out of their various parents – or think they have the right to be rude to a parent who stands firm against them. The overall message is – it is your life, your needs and your choice. Do not let your children emotionally bully you. Learn to say no when it doesn’t suit you to do what they want.
Beautifully descriptive writing the small Mediterranean town came alive for me on the pages – old buildings, narrow streets steep steps, brightly coloured flowers everywhere and lovely cafes to enjoy the sparkling sea from. I was hooked from page one and certainly hope this will not be her last book.
With thanks to Allen & Unwin and the author for this copy to read and review.
May 5, 2015
This was a nice light read, describing the move to a little village just outside Nice on the French Riviera of a woman retrenched, badly treated by her daughter and grandchildren and looking for a new life in her retirement. I read this as an e-book, but I think it would be perfect as an audiobook, because I could just hear Celia Imrie narrating it.
I think this is her first novel, and she’s done a good job. It’s a fun read, one which made me jealous (being set in the Mediterranean!) - it was just what I needed at the time!
I think this is her first novel, and she’s done a good job. It’s a fun read, one which made me jealous (being set in the Mediterranean!) - it was just what I needed at the time!
March 2, 2017
I actually really enjoyed reading this first novel by Celia Imrie. It might not be for everyone, but personally I found it a great bit of escapism and couldn't put it down. I'm a fan of Celia Imrie's film & tv work and wasn't sure what to expect from her writing - I was hoping it would be a good read and not just cashing in on her acting fame. I was really pleasantly surprised. I found Celia Imrie's style of writing very good, with great flow and comedic tones, including some laugh-out-loud moments. Her descriptions of the beautiful locations transported me to the sandy beaches and azure water. Fans of The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel films will no doubt see the resemblance between their storylines and this book - being focused around a group of mature ex-pats in an exotic location - but once I'd got into the book and started finding out about the characters and their various storylines I was hooked. Any fans of those films and that particular genre would appreciate this book. Personally I'd actually love to take a trip to the Nice area now and take this book with me to read while I'm there! I found it very enjoyable! :)
April 21, 2015
A story about mature Brits living near Nice; a cookery club with recipes thrown in between chapters, this book was trying to mimic the style of authors such as Nicky Pellegrine but aimed at older readers. The characters were not believable and the book failed to capture the essence of the village in which it was set. An outlandish story that was written in quite a childish manner. Saying that it provided a mindless read and may make a good beach read if you enjoy chick lit and can relate to over 50 female characters
August 24, 2015
What an enjoyable way to spend a weekend afternoon by escaping to the Cote D'Azur, and to the charming town of Bellevue-sur-Mer, and its delightful array of residents. The initial descriptions of the town, conjured up pictures of a pretty town in Southern France, and I had the feeling the whole time that it felt like a similar sort of place to the one in Dirty Rotten Scoundrels. And in fact that feeling didn't leave me during the book, and there was a similar storyline to the film, running through part of the book, which made me both smile and gasp.
Theresa is fed up with the way her daughter and grand children treat her, and when she is forced to retire, she decides on a change, and moves to the south of France, and the town of Bellevue-sur-Mer, where there is a thriving ex-pat community.
Sally was a children's TV presenter in the 70's and has been living the expat life for many years now, but doesn't have as much contact with her children as she would like. Then there are Benjamin and William who are a lovely couple, Ted who makes a fabulously hilarious entrance to the book and his wife Sian.
And there is Brian, who is there when Theresa is mugged on one of her first days in France, and helps her out and becomes her lodger. Brain also helps out, when Theresa starts running cooking classes for the ex-pats to gain an income.
Not Quite Nice is a great look at ex-pat life in the south of France, with many moments that will make you laugh and smile. Almost all the characters seem to be hiding something, and as the months roll by, they start unravelling, some with more shocking outcomes than the others.
Imogen, Therese's daughter, reminded me so much of Shirley Valentine's daughter, with her attitude towards her mother. She seems more worried about how the move will leave her babysitter less, than her mother's happiness.
There are recipes dotted about between some of the chapters, mainly for Nicoise delicacies, which are always great to see, although as someone who doesn't cook, I can't really test them out or comment further on them.
I really loved Not Quite Nice, and would love to return to the location again in the future, and really hope the Celia Imrie will be writing some more books.
Theresa is fed up with the way her daughter and grand children treat her, and when she is forced to retire, she decides on a change, and moves to the south of France, and the town of Bellevue-sur-Mer, where there is a thriving ex-pat community.
Sally was a children's TV presenter in the 70's and has been living the expat life for many years now, but doesn't have as much contact with her children as she would like. Then there are Benjamin and William who are a lovely couple, Ted who makes a fabulously hilarious entrance to the book and his wife Sian.
And there is Brian, who is there when Theresa is mugged on one of her first days in France, and helps her out and becomes her lodger. Brain also helps out, when Theresa starts running cooking classes for the ex-pats to gain an income.
Not Quite Nice is a great look at ex-pat life in the south of France, with many moments that will make you laugh and smile. Almost all the characters seem to be hiding something, and as the months roll by, they start unravelling, some with more shocking outcomes than the others.
Imogen, Therese's daughter, reminded me so much of Shirley Valentine's daughter, with her attitude towards her mother. She seems more worried about how the move will leave her babysitter less, than her mother's happiness.
There are recipes dotted about between some of the chapters, mainly for Nicoise delicacies, which are always great to see, although as someone who doesn't cook, I can't really test them out or comment further on them.
I really loved Not Quite Nice, and would love to return to the location again in the future, and really hope the Celia Imrie will be writing some more books.
February 28, 2015
Was really disappointed in this book. I'm a fan of Celia Imrie on screen, so was expecting something interesting. cultured and intelligent. It's full of dysfunctional, badly spoken, boring characters, all of whom I would have been glad to see fall off a cliff into the sea...very depressing philosophies of life here. No uplift. Humour was of the slip on a banana skin infantile variety. I'm taking this book straight to Oxfam, where it might help somebody buy a tent!!! Maybe I shouldn't have picked up a book from the bottom shelf of Tesco!
June 25, 2015
Too many characters, I had to keep turning back to previous pages to refresh who was who. Sorry but story too silly and too much crammed in, burglaries, muggings, card clones all in the space of a couple of pages. Thankfully I bought it in a charity shop and that is where it is going back to. Sorry Celia, but this one isn't for me.
February 26, 2020
3 1/2 stars. Got better towards the end. Might try the next book in the series. Likable characters.
Read
May 12, 2015Novel set in the Côte d’Azur (“..it’s not quite Nice … but it’s very near..”)
Bellevue Sur Mer where the Brits of BSM (not to confused with BDSM, of course, though shenanigans amongst this, the older incomers are rife!) have come to settle like a flock of starlings on the Côte d’Azur. Take Theresa, who in Blighty is nothing more than a useful babysitter for her daughter and grandchildren, and when she is made redundant, well, she needs to make some choices about her future. Echoes here of Imrie’s character in the film, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel.
She soon sets her sights on Bellevue – a shimmering pearl on the Côte d’Azur – and finds a darling little place that suits her down to the ground. Gradually she is chumming up with other Brits Abroad and her social life begins to flourish. She finds the confidence – so lacking at home – to start a cookery club, and the flamboyant and colourful residents congregate at her house. The author slots in some choice recipes for the reader to feast upon, including traditionals such as Pissaladière and Merda de Can (you might guess how that could be translated, and you would be right – nothing to do with dog poo apart from the colour match - it is a kind of gnocchi, comprising potatoes and Swiss Chard).
But as in real life, things turn out quite differently for many of the characters and when a series of increasingly violent burglaries hit the community, some pull together, whilst others have their own agenda. They are not a sedentary bunch of expats but they embrace friendship, and have a high degree of pluck to see them through the vagaries of life in the South of France.
It is a light read that at times struggles to find its rhythm but it is written with sincerity, humour and warmth and some of the observations of both the locale, the customs and the people are beautiful brought to life. The backdrop of the Côte d’Azur adds colour and heat, from Marseille to Menton, as the “yellows of February, the daffodils, mimosa and lemons make way for the purples, reds and shocking pinks of Spring”. Enjoy.
Bellevue Sur Mer where the Brits of BSM (not to confused with BDSM, of course, though shenanigans amongst this, the older incomers are rife!) have come to settle like a flock of starlings on the Côte d’Azur. Take Theresa, who in Blighty is nothing more than a useful babysitter for her daughter and grandchildren, and when she is made redundant, well, she needs to make some choices about her future. Echoes here of Imrie’s character in the film, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel.
She soon sets her sights on Bellevue – a shimmering pearl on the Côte d’Azur – and finds a darling little place that suits her down to the ground. Gradually she is chumming up with other Brits Abroad and her social life begins to flourish. She finds the confidence – so lacking at home – to start a cookery club, and the flamboyant and colourful residents congregate at her house. The author slots in some choice recipes for the reader to feast upon, including traditionals such as Pissaladière and Merda de Can (you might guess how that could be translated, and you would be right – nothing to do with dog poo apart from the colour match - it is a kind of gnocchi, comprising potatoes and Swiss Chard).
But as in real life, things turn out quite differently for many of the characters and when a series of increasingly violent burglaries hit the community, some pull together, whilst others have their own agenda. They are not a sedentary bunch of expats but they embrace friendship, and have a high degree of pluck to see them through the vagaries of life in the South of France.
It is a light read that at times struggles to find its rhythm but it is written with sincerity, humour and warmth and some of the observations of both the locale, the customs and the people are beautiful brought to life. The backdrop of the Côte d’Azur adds colour and heat, from Marseille to Menton, as the “yellows of February, the daffodils, mimosa and lemons make way for the purples, reds and shocking pinks of Spring”. Enjoy.
May 6, 2015
Just OK I'm afraid. Not very well written and far too many characters to keep track of. Very very light and fluff - and slightly ridiculous.
October 1, 2016
I picked up this book because I enjoyed the author's performance as an actress in the Best Exotic Marigold Hotel movies.
This is an interesting look at an expat community on the Cote D'Azur.
This is an interesting look at an expat community on the Cote D'Azur.
June 30, 2018
What a lovely summer read ! Enjoyed this over two afternoons in the garden and thrilled to find there is a sequel. I love Celia Imrie as an actress and now as an author too.
January 23, 2020
I loved this book and at times I couldn’t put it down, an entertaining read.
July 28, 2020
My mum recommended this book and I can see why. Celia is a good writer.
October 9, 2021
Shelve this book under "middle-aged woman rediscovers zest in her life" and "English people misbehaving abroad". This is light-hearted escapism, starting when Theresa, on a whim, buys a house in a lovely seaside town on the Riviera. The small community of English-speaking expatriates, embraces the new arrival, and soon Theresa is enjoying her new life. But it's not all baguettes and vin blanc , and drug dealers, con men and corporate spies soon appear on the scene.
I can't say this was particularly well written - it seems that towards the end, the author just wanted to get this book done and get all the stories wrapped up, which led to some really implausible and far-fetched revelations. The characters, especially the children of two of the female characters, were caricatures of entitlement and nastiness. And there were a lot of characters!
Conclusion : suitable reading fodder for a rainy afternoon, but not memorable, and not engaging enough for me to look for other books by this author/actress
I can't say this was particularly well written - it seems that towards the end, the author just wanted to get this book done and get all the stories wrapped up, which led to some really implausible and far-fetched revelations. The characters, especially the children of two of the female characters, were caricatures of entitlement and nastiness. And there were a lot of characters!
Conclusion : suitable reading fodder for a rainy afternoon, but not memorable, and not engaging enough for me to look for other books by this author/actress
March 11, 2015
Not Quite Nice by Celia Imre was a Gransnet giveaway.
The book is set in the South of France, and its large than life characters sparkle with wit and life, the Mediterranean sea simmers with sunshine.
Theresa has impulse purchased a charming little property overlooking the sea, in a quaint town. She soon meets a group of expats and looks forward to settling into her new, exciting life. Things don’t run smoothly, and some of the expats turn out to be a bit weird, with secrets they don’t really want to others to know.
The main focus of the story is the characters, loveable eccentrics who you feel you’d love to meet and chat to. The plot is straight forward, with no great surprises, but enough to make an amusing and readable tale.
The description of the town is excellent- the old buildings, narrow streets, steep steps, colours of flowers, contrast between sunlight and shadow. Familiar to anyone who has walked through a Mediterranean village, and to the author who dedicated the book “to my pals who brought me here to Nice, and to the city whose beauty saved and inspired me”.
Although the story is superficially light, there are two underlying ideas which are quite profound. The first is - don’t expect to understand your children and make expectations for them. The second is - be a bit selfish when the children have flown the nest, and do what you want to do, not what the family or society expect you to do.
I loved the idea of slipping in recipes. You felt like heading for the kitchen to try them out, before heading to the computer to look for French property sale sites!
The final two sentences were the final flash of humour, bringing the book full circle! (don’t look, read the book first!)
The book is set in the South of France, and its large than life characters sparkle with wit and life, the Mediterranean sea simmers with sunshine.
Theresa has impulse purchased a charming little property overlooking the sea, in a quaint town. She soon meets a group of expats and looks forward to settling into her new, exciting life. Things don’t run smoothly, and some of the expats turn out to be a bit weird, with secrets they don’t really want to others to know.
The main focus of the story is the characters, loveable eccentrics who you feel you’d love to meet and chat to. The plot is straight forward, with no great surprises, but enough to make an amusing and readable tale.
The description of the town is excellent- the old buildings, narrow streets, steep steps, colours of flowers, contrast between sunlight and shadow. Familiar to anyone who has walked through a Mediterranean village, and to the author who dedicated the book “to my pals who brought me here to Nice, and to the city whose beauty saved and inspired me”.
Although the story is superficially light, there are two underlying ideas which are quite profound. The first is - don’t expect to understand your children and make expectations for them. The second is - be a bit selfish when the children have flown the nest, and do what you want to do, not what the family or society expect you to do.
I loved the idea of slipping in recipes. You felt like heading for the kitchen to try them out, before heading to the computer to look for French property sale sites!
The final two sentences were the final flash of humour, bringing the book full circle! (don’t look, read the book first!)
September 15, 2019
Theresa has lost her job and on impulse decides to "retire" to Southern France. She finds a lovely flat with a view of the harbor in Bellevue-Sur-Mer, a small village near Nice, where she meets a group of ex-pats, mostly British, who befriend her. But not all is perfect in paradise. A series of burglaries and a couple of vicious muggings have people on edge. Not to mention the family difficulties each of them has - cheating spouses, ungrateful children, dwindling funds, alcoholism, etc.
In her debut novel, Imrie has given us a sort of “coming of old age” story. I loved Theresa, though I wanted to shake her a few times when she put up with bad treatment by her ungrateful, selfish daughter and her bratty grandchildren. Still, this is a woman who has always done her best and who is slowly but surely realizing that she deserves some pleasure in life. The cast of supporting characters was marvelous as well: the smooth and attentive Brian; Sally a former British TV star; Americans Carol and David; “dragon lady” Sian and her philandering Aussie husband Ted; the witty, seemingly never aging octogenarian Zoe; compliant Faith and her pushy son Alfie who insists she needs a mansion rather than the small flat she’d prefer; and gay couple Benjamin and William.
I thought it was an enjoyable, fast novel. Perfect for a vacation read. The bad guys get what’s coming to them, and everyone learns a lesson or two. It’s not exactly a happily-ever-after ending, but it gives me hope for the future of these characters. There are two more books in the series (thus far), and I look forward to reading them.
In her debut novel, Imrie has given us a sort of “coming of old age” story. I loved Theresa, though I wanted to shake her a few times when she put up with bad treatment by her ungrateful, selfish daughter and her bratty grandchildren. Still, this is a woman who has always done her best and who is slowly but surely realizing that she deserves some pleasure in life. The cast of supporting characters was marvelous as well: the smooth and attentive Brian; Sally a former British TV star; Americans Carol and David; “dragon lady” Sian and her philandering Aussie husband Ted; the witty, seemingly never aging octogenarian Zoe; compliant Faith and her pushy son Alfie who insists she needs a mansion rather than the small flat she’d prefer; and gay couple Benjamin and William.
I thought it was an enjoyable, fast novel. Perfect for a vacation read. The bad guys get what’s coming to them, and everyone learns a lesson or two. It’s not exactly a happily-ever-after ending, but it gives me hope for the future of these characters. There are two more books in the series (thus far), and I look forward to reading them.
March 30, 2019
Listened to in audio format.
Not Quite Nice is British actress Celia Imrie`s debut book. I read a lot of thrillers so Not Quite Nice made a fun, light hearted change.
BelleVu Sur Mer was just outside Nice and had a thriving ex pat community. The story centred mainly around Theresa who emigrated to France after being forced into early retirement. Sally a children's TV presenter who found herself typecast and never worked again. Glamorous Carol who made Theresa feel welcome and her husband David. Business woman Sian and her adulterous Australian husband Ted.
I really enjoyed this book about the over sixties and seventies inhabitants of Bellevu Sur Mere. Although this was a light hearted read Celia managed to weave some dark threads in the tale. Including a con man, muggings, burglaries and card cloning. There was also one big storyline I definitely did not see coming.
It's Mothers Day in the UK tomorrow and the disrespect and contempt Imogen showed Theresa annoyed me.
I recommend this fabulous read. I have had this book on my TBR list for a while so I am lucky enough to have the sequel on my Kindle ready to listen to.
Not Quite Nice is British actress Celia Imrie`s debut book. I read a lot of thrillers so Not Quite Nice made a fun, light hearted change.
BelleVu Sur Mer was just outside Nice and had a thriving ex pat community. The story centred mainly around Theresa who emigrated to France after being forced into early retirement. Sally a children's TV presenter who found herself typecast and never worked again. Glamorous Carol who made Theresa feel welcome and her husband David. Business woman Sian and her adulterous Australian husband Ted.
I really enjoyed this book about the over sixties and seventies inhabitants of Bellevu Sur Mere. Although this was a light hearted read Celia managed to weave some dark threads in the tale. Including a con man, muggings, burglaries and card cloning. There was also one big storyline I definitely did not see coming.
It's Mothers Day in the UK tomorrow and the disrespect and contempt Imogen showed Theresa annoyed me.
I recommend this fabulous read. I have had this book on my TBR list for a while so I am lucky enough to have the sequel on my Kindle ready to listen to.
January 10, 2020
Honestly, I don't know what to say about this book. The description of it—an older woman fed up with her life deciding to uproot and move to the south of France—sounded good, and the fact that she runs into a lot of British ex-pats seemed logical, and so I took it for a straightforward story. But by the time I got to the end, I wondered whether Celia Imrie (an actress whose work I have enjoyed) is just a really bad writer with no original ideas, or if she purposely set out to write this as a parody of British ex-pats everywhere. There was no cliché that didn't serve, no "typical" behavior missed out, no "type" who wasn't on display and skewered at some point by someone in the book. None of the characters was particularly likeable and some were positively repugnant. The one and only savior of the book was the portrayal of the locale (in a small fishing village close to Nice), and even there, the author's descriptive powers being somewhat limited, you could only revel so much in the oceanside lunches and café coffee breaks. I was looking for a benign, pleasant, "fluffy" book to read after a series of long, obscure, complicated character studies, but this wasn't it.
March 29, 2017
In the end I liked this fun and frothy story of ex-pat life on the Cote d'Azur. The pacing is is patchy - a very slow start that had me abandon the book a number of times and none of the characters did it for me and the panto villian could be spotted 100 pages out but....I came back to it so it definitely had something. And the last quarter rolls along at a ridiculous pace so I was hooked in to finish it. An ideal holiday read.
March 30, 2019
The novel pulled me in, I've read it in a day. It's full of drama on a variety of topics. Giving 4 stars only because at times it becomes pretty predictable but not enough for me not to want to finish it and find out the ending asap. Great if you need a quick escape to cot d' azur with other middle aged people :)
February 5, 2024
Well that was miserable, there I was reading about the happy lives of senior citizens living abroad, quite cozy and happy. Then it takes a real down turn, vulgar children (adults) of the old folks. It then proceeds to make every single one of them either attacked, robbed or just down right miserable, how bloody depressing!
Picked this up as a light read and wish I hadn’t bothered !
Picked this up as a light read and wish I hadn’t bothered !
June 7, 2016
A pleasant enough read but nothing special. It all felt a little clichéd.
February 21, 2025
A light, enjoyable read. The ending felt cluttered and overdone by a bit. Overall, a solid read.
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