Maggie's French Romance

by Caroline Rebisz

Is there a better way to escape your troubles than to start a new life in the beautiful French countryside?

Recently divorced, Maggie Morley is excited to be starting a fresh challenge managing a holiday village in the Dordogne. A chance for her heart to heal and to throw herself into a shiny new career.

Unfortunately, all is not as it seems at the exclusive holiday resort. Maggie soon finds out that the site needs much more than a bit of TLC. A number of her team do not share her vision for success and push back against her plans. But Maggie Morley will not give up without a fight.

Benoit Navarre has been in charge of maintenance at the holiday village for years. A grumpy old Frenchman, he has seen managers come and go. This time things are different. Maggie Morley fascinates him. There is something about her that promises to melt his frosty heart.

Can Maggie and Benoit, coming from quite different backgrounds, find some common ground or will their differences drive them apart?

A heart-warming romance set in the vibrant Dordogne countryside.

249 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 13, 2025

About the author

Caroline has always had a passion for reading and has a wide range of tastes. As a teenager she wrote her first novel, very much before the days of self-publishing. Unfortunately it was consigned to the loft only to surface when moving house recently.
Caroline spent over 35 years working in financial services. Meeting many interesting people during her career, she was lucky to have many experiences which have weaved their way into her stories. When she had the chance to take early retirement, she and her husband moved to the countryside in Norfolk. It was their new home, an old pub, which inspired her first novel A Mother’s Loss. Loving books which have a dual timeline, where the past and present live in the same space, made the story of Sarah come to life. A Mother’s Deceit was also based in their Norfolk home and is a prequel to her debut novel.
Her novel, A Costly Affair, had been brewing in her mind for years. On a trip to Manchester when working for the bank, she observed a couple meeting for the first time on the train and a story of deception and blackmail was formed.
The Sixpenny Bissett trilogy was inspired by her recent move to a thatched cottage in Wiltshire. It focuses on friendship, love and a good dose of humour.
Caroline’s stories refuse to fit neatly into a particular genre. A story comes to her and has to be written. She is currently working on both a murder mystery and another romance story set in France.
Follow Caroline on X @Carolinerebisz

Reviews

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a charming story! I loved tagging along with Maggie and Benoit in their professional lives and personal love story in France. With all their trials, tribulations, and challenges, they proved that life doesn't end when you get to a certain age later in life. All you need is love. I loved reading about characters that are the same age as myself. Excellent read.

[Anne Roscoe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Later in life...

Excellent. Much of the story is relatable to people in middle age. This is one of the reasons I gave this book a five star rating. The story tells of the difficulties of personal and professional challenges in later life. It also shows that life can definitely change for the better of you take a chance.

[Danuta Rebisz · Rating 5 out of 5]

A lovely romantic novel with plenty of twists and turns. The descriptions transported me to the south of France.

[Ann McGoran · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am probably being a bit harsh giving this just three stars. It is only because I am not big on romance stories. However, I thought this was very entertaining. Maggie is a divorced woman in her 50s and moves to France to take on managing a failing holiday resort. She is used to managing people but doesn't know the French way of doing things. Handyman, Benoit, at the resort teaches her the way the French people do things! He comes across to Maggie as distant and not willing for change. When Maggie arrived at the holiday resort she arrived with her precious dog, crumble. During an investigation of a room that one of the employees is stashing drugs on site poor crumble is killed by the perpetrator. Benoit provides comfort for her and buries her precious dog. Actually over time they fall in love with each other but they are tiptoeing around not being honest about their feelings. Then, following a trip to visit his son Pierre, Benoit is involved in a car crash where he ends up in intensive care having had surgery. This is when Maggie then decides she has to be honest with him. Fortunately, when he comes around he is being honest with her about his feelings. It seems that the employees at the holiday resort had already picked up on their budding relationship and were not surprised when it was announced to them. Maggie wins the prize of employee of the year from the company that she works for and she takes that back to her team to say that they are all complicit in her success.

[Cath · Rating 3 out of 5]

it is an ok book. but I thought there would be more about life in France. more about the running of the holiday complex.. more about the staff ?
I'm not one who wants to read about sex in books, he did this she did the other 😩 so with that I skipped along til they had finished. it did somewhat spoil the book for me.