The Gulf of Lions

by Caitlin Shetterly

From the acclaimed author of Pete and Alice in Maine, comes a standalone and evocative sequel about a mother who, recovering from the trauma of breast cancer and a mastectomy, takes a once-in-a-lifetime trip across France with her two daughters, determined to fully live. There, she finds herself newly awakened by beauty and desire but when the trip takes a turn for the worst, she must decide between a life of pleasure or the deep tethering of family.

Reconciling with her husband after a betrayal and recovering from a yearlong battle with breast cancer, Alice longs for an escape from the trials of everyday life. When the opportunity arises for a once-in-a-lifetime camping trip across France, she packs up her daughters, hoping it’s the new start she so desperately needs.

Alice, teenage Sophie, and young Iris begin their odyssey in the French Alps, entering a foreign world they did not know existed: beautiful people, luscious food, and sensual temptations. It’s a freeing experience—exploring the countryside, sleeping beneath the stars, reveling in the sights and scents of nature. For the first time since her diagnosis, Alice starts to feel alive, less afraid of dying, and less angry about her husband's affair.

But as the family continues south, traveling through Provence, where they camp on the Gulf of Lions, an area of the Mediterranean known for wild, roaring winds and purple fields of lavender, they start to unravel the yarn that binds them together. By the time they head to the charred Pyrenees, and then back across France to stay in a castle that sits on the confluence of two rivers, Alice worries that the trip might have been a disastrous and reckless mistake.

A beautiful meditation on womanhood, personhood, exploration, survival and sexual awakenings, The Gulf of Lions is a breathtaking and emotionally resonant story that plumbs the eternal question: What, in the end, will keep a family from falling apart?

Genres: Fiction, France, Travel, Summer, Literary Fiction, Contemporary, Audiobook

336 pages, Hardcover

First published May 19, 2026

About the author

Caitlin Shetterly is a frequent contributor to National Public Radio where she reports on arts and culture, food, and lifestyle. She can be heard on both All Things Considered and Weekend Edition. For Weekend Edition, she created a series of autobiographical audio diaries about the Recession under the title Diary of a Recession. These diaries, along with her blog, Passage West, inspired her memoir Made For You and Me: Going West, Going Broke, Finding Home (Voice, March 8, 2011).

Caitlin's first book, Fault Lines: Stories of Divorce, was published by the Putnam Berkley Group in 2001. For several years, she wrote a bimonthly column, "Bramhall Square," about relationships and love for the Portland Phoenix.

Caitlin is the Founder and Artistic Director of the Winter Harbor Theatre Company, where she produces and directs works that attempt to tackle the important issues of our time. Caitlin graduated with Honors in English and American Literature from Brown University. She lives with her husband, photographer Daniel E. Davis, their young son, and their salty dog, Hopper. When she isn't writing, directing plays, producing radio pieces, cooking, cleaning or childrearing, Caitlin spends as much time as possible reading, watching "Friday Night Lights" and, especially, walking outside in nature.

Reviews

[Deborah · Rating 3 out of 5]

A somewhat shaky recent breast cancer survivor gets a dream writing assignment to travel through France, visiting various camping locations from north to south and east to west, so she decides to head off with her 8- and 13-year-old daughters for this driving-camping trip. She’s leaving her husband behind, because she hasn’t made up her mind about whether she’ll stay with him. He was a model of loving and stellar support during her cancer treatment, but that was immediately after she caught him cheating, so. The pleasures of the French camping journey were considerably dimmed for me by the insufferable 13-year-old, a sullen brat of the first order, whose only communication seems to be to tell her little sister to shut up, several times a day, and to bark complaints at her mother, who she insists on calling by her first name. Does the little bee-yotch not care that her mother is only one year out from the end of her treatment and is still very scared? She is disdainful that her mother opted not to have reconstructive surgery after her mastectomy, mildly disgusted when she catches a glimpse of her mother’s surgical site. I’ve never been the mother of a teenager, but I just could not like this kid. She spoiled it for me.

[Shantha (ShanthasBookEra) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fabulous summer family saga set on the beautiful French coast with Alice and her daughters Sophie and Iris after she has recovered from cancer. An introspective exploration of womanhood, motherhood and marriage. I loved it and highly recommend.

[Shannon (The Book Club Mom) · Rating 4 out of 5]

A few years ago, I read one of my very favorite pandemic stories of all time called PETE AND ALICE IN MAINE by Caitlin Shetterly. Imagine my surprise when I found out that the author had a new book coming out this spring. Then imagine my extreme excitement when I found out that it was a sequel! I screamed. I really, truly did. If you haven’t read PETE AND ALICE yet, don’t worry your pretty little head off. Shetterly’s latest can be read as a standalone, but I still recommend reading PETE AND ALICE beforehand to get the full backstory.

If your book-loving soul craves stories about women simply living their lives, getting through various seasons of it, tackling obstacles, processing life’s problems, dealing with personal trauma, and perhaps even finally finding themselves during all of the messiness of it, then this book is for you. It touches on motherhood, marriage, friendships, illness, self-discovery, sexuality, and all of the complexities that life throws at us.

The mother-daughter storyline was the icing on the cake for me. Shetterly perfectly captured the dynamic between a woman and her teenage daughter. As someone who’s in the thick of this stage, it brought much comfort and insight to me. It made me realize that I’m not alone in this journey.

READ THIS IF YOU ENJOY:

- Motherhood and marriage
- Family drama and dynamics
- Mother-daughter relationships
- Travel and adventure
- Breast cancer stories
- France setting
- Character-driven novels
- Self-discovery

If you loved Catherine Newman’s SANDWICH or WRECK, then this one will be right up your alley—it has very similar vibes. Perhaps even a little Elizabeth Strout-ish as well. Caitlin Shetterly has proven and solidified herself as an auto-buy/read author for me. Her writing style feeds my soul.

4/5 solid stars for THE GULF OF LIONS!

[Elizabeth Norman · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75⭐️ The food and the setting really won me over. Baguettes 🥖 and butter 🧈 and cheese 🧀 next to the Mediterranean is officially something I want in my life.

[Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I absolutely loved Alice and Pete in Maine and was so excited to learn that this was a sequel. Caitlin Shetterly's writing is gorgeous, absolute poetry. This book is full of beautiful prose. But I did not enjoy the experience of reading it outside of the descriptions of France.

I thought Alice's actions did not match her personality or her words at all. This is a wealthy urban family who don't seem to love the outdoors, so they go camping in France? Looking past that, I didn't find her actions toward other people to be all that realistic either.

I found the children incredibly grating. Sophie may have been written like a normal teenager, but who actually wants to spend their leisure time experiencing that kind of vitriol? I hated every moment with her in it.

It did not make sense to me that all these farmers with camping space became besties with Alice and her kids at every turn. People are not that friendly. Alice and the kids seemed so grumpy and unpleasant and people were fawning all of them for no reason at all.

The last quarter of the book was bonkers. It was like a second novel stuffed inside that was full of holes. Surely there was a better way to resolve this story. Probably a hundred better ways.

3 stars for beautiful prose but I really did not enjoy this at all.

[Rachael · Rating 4 out of 5]

I related SO hard to some of it (breast cancer treatment, perimenopause) and some not at all (being a mother/wife). The imagery was almost…luscious? It was a little much by the end, but most of it really immersed me in the setting. I appreciated the realness of the characters as well and enjoyed the different perspectives in narration.

[Shannon Sabella · Rating 2 out of 5]

A story that had potential was unfortunately undermined, for me personally, by heavy-handed and frequent political commentary, underdeveloped storylines and shallow characters. I am used to author’s viewpoints not matching my own, and I am more than okay with that. However the references in this book just felt too frequent, unnecessary and performative. The final storyline seemed thrown in there just to extend the book, didn’t really add anything and felt rushed and unrealistic. This was a miss for me.

[Jackie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was 50/50 for me.

The parts with Alice, I absolutely loved. The whole book could have worked successfully from just her point of view. 5/5 stars for Alice.

When the book shifted to the points of view of her daughters, Sophie and Iris, it didn’t really work for me. (I also didn’t love how the audiobook was produced using the same narrator for all three perspectives.)

I struggled the most with Iris’s chapters. Some of the descriptors she used for things, especially food, just didn’t feel age-appropriate for an eight-year-old.

I also didn’t love the climax of the story. It didn’t feel needed, and I thought the author could have taken the book in so many different directions and ended up with the same overall feeling at the end.

[Romi Konorty · Rating 2 out of 5]

Every MC was extremely unlikable. The song lyrics were annoying. Randomly adding a new plot 85% of the way into the book and finishing with that was a wild choice and one that made no sense. I was excitedly waiting for this book but it was disappointing and annoying.

[Lesley · Rating 5 out of 5]

A huge fan of Caitlin’s first novel, Pete and Alice in Maine, I was thrilled to read an advanced copy of The Gulf of Lions.
With her signature lyrical writing and characters so vivid, I was swept away from page one and couldn’t put this one down.

Alice is recovering from breast cancer and decides to take her two daughters, Iris and Sophie on a trip to France. Part adventure, part work-the adventure takes them camping in the Alps to Provence, then to the Pyrenees, the Dordogne River Valley, and finally to Lyon.

What unfolds is a story of adventure, determination, secret loves, endurance, inspiration, loneliness, heartbreak, plus a love letter to the region’s culture and food.
At the core, this is the remarkable story of a mother, wife, friend and the resilience of life.

A must-read (pub date 5/2026)

[Leah Cherokee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Alice is a changed woman, her year-long battle with breast cancer made sure of that. Now, in the uncharted territory of healthy-but-not-yet-cured, Alice is trying to pick up the shattered pieces of her old life--aftermath of her husband's affair included--and forge a new life where is a woman, a mother, and a writer once more.

However, even with the promise of a camping trip through the French Alps ahead with her daughters Iris and Sophie, Alice's days are tainted by grief and fogged with uncertainty. Iris's anxiety and Sophie's mercurial teenage spirit are already pulling at Alice's delicate seams; suddenly, the journey through France seems more daunting than liberating. Nonetheless, Alice chooses (and she's not had much choice in the last year) to go.

And just like that, readers, "The Gulf of Lions" has soared into my top 10 books of 2026 list with resounding triumph. It is, without a doubt, the perfect story to devour in the sweltering summer heat when you're looking for something not only with rich, gorgeous landscapes, but with an emotional depth that will pull at your heartstrings. "The Gulf of Lions" is decadent without losing its substance even for a moment. Each conversation between characters, each French meal, each landscape feels deliberately and delicately crafted by Shetterly; they sing together in a gorgeous, poignant tribute to womanhood found and lost, and the messiness between both where life happens. An undeniable triumph, "The Gulf of Lions" is the unassuming book of the summer that needs to be on your to-read list today.

*Many thanks to NetGalley & Harper Books for my advanced review copy of this title*

[Paula Storm · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have heard so much buzz about this book. I didn’t realize it was a sequel to another work because it is billed as a stand alone novel. Perhaps if I had read Pete and Alice in Maine, I would have had a background for these characters and their relationships. It wasn’t until the very end when the family bonds over a shared incident that I started to feel a connection. Otherwise, the mother-daughter, wife-husband and sister-sister bonds seemed cold, not knowing the events that lined them up that way. I feel like if I go back to read the original work now, maybe things from the Gulf of Lions might start to click.

[Ellen Ross · Rating 5 out of 5]

I fell in love with every part of this book and the characters in it. This is one of the most relatable reads lately with themes of trauma, health issues, traveling to find oneself again, and what really makes us feel like we are home. Alice is such a fantastic character because she is raw and real. I supported her even at her lowest times. I loved the setting and the quick pace as the plot goes on. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Bethany Radcliffe]

Delicious writing!

[Amy]

I struggled to give this book a rating— so I didn’t. There are portions of the story that I absolutely loved, especially the chapters narrated in the first person by Alice. I struggled with the chapters that written in the third person, focusing on different characters though. I also struggled to identify the through-line of the story and I was a blindsided by the last few chapters of the book. In some chapters, the writing was so captivating I couldn’t put it down. So yeah… I just can’t put a rating on this one.

[Loriana · Rating 4 out of 5]

A mother daughter camping trip in the French countryside, sign me up! I just loved all the descriptions of the towns, French characters and their pets, food, mountains, streams, and sea. The mother daughter relationship drama felt so relatable (7yo and 13yo). What a brave mom! The twist at the end kept me up late into the night.

[Gwen]

I think Elin recommended this one. I decided to read it while in France because I like to match my settings. But it turned out to be too heavy (breast cancer topic) and slow to read on vacation. I decided to DNF at 20% but others may like it.

Thank you very much to NetGalley and Harper for the advanced reader’s copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

[Blair · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s so confusing sometimes to be a girl 🥲

[Kimberly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Caitlin Shetterly’s The Gulf of Lions really said “let’s take a healing journey” and then proceeded to emotionally dismantle me somewhere between lavender fields, salt air, and decisions that feel a little too human to judge.
Published by Harper—huge thank you to the publisher for the gifted copy because clearly I needed to sit on my patio with a latte in hand and spiral gently before heading into my day.

This is one of those books that doesn’t demand your attention with big twists or dramatic reveals—it earns it quietly, line by line, emotion by emotion. Alice is coming out the other side of breast cancer, but “survival” doesn’t magically hand you your life back the way people think it does. Add in a husband whose betrayal still lingers like an echo she can’t quite shake, and suddenly this trip across France with her daughters, Sophie and Iris, isn’t just a getaway—it’s a grasp at something. Control. Freedom. Maybe even forgiveness.

And listen… on the surface, it’s stunning. The Alps, Provence, the Gulf of Lions, food that feels like poetry, landscapes that practically beg to be romanticized. But underneath all that beauty? There’s tension humming constantly. Conversations that almost happen. Feelings that don’t quite land. The kind of emotional undercurrent that makes everything feel just slightly off-balance, like you’re waiting for something to crack.

What really got me was the mother-daughter dynamic. It’s not softened or idealized—it’s real. Sophie and Iris aren’t just side characters orbiting Alice’s story; they’re reacting to her, pushing against her, needing things from her that she’s not always equipped to give. And Alice herself? She’s complicated in the most honest way. Not always likable, not always right—but deeply understandable. She’s grieving versions of herself she’s lost, trying to reconnect with the ones that still feel possible, and occasionally making choices that feel reckless simply because they remind her she’s alive.

“There are versions of me I don’t recognize anymore.”

That line didn’t just land—it lingered. Because this book understands something a little uncomfortable: healing isn’t clean. It’s not a straight line, it’s not always noble, and it definitely doesn’t look the same for everyone.

And the audiobook? Imani Jade Powers brings this quiet, introspective depth to Alice that feels almost too intimate at times—in the best way. It’s like being inside someone’s thoughts while they’re still trying to make sense of them. The pacing, the tone, the emotional restraint—it all works together to pull you in slowly until you realize you’re fully invested and slightly unwell about it. Highly recommend if you’re someone who likes your stories to feel lived-in rather than performed.

This isn’t a fast read, and it’s not trying to be. It’s reflective, character-driven, and deeply rooted in internal conflict rather than external drama. If you’re a reader who loves literary fiction that leans into emotional nuance, complicated family dynamics, and the quiet question of “what now?” after life changes you—this is absolutely your lane. If you need constant action or tidy resolutions, this might feel too slow. But if you’re willing to sit with it? It gives a lot back.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

It’s immersive, beautifully written, and just uncomfortable enough to feel true. The kind of book that doesn’t wrap things up with a bow, but instead leaves you sitting with your thoughts a little longer than expected—and honestly, I respect that.

So tell me—are you drawn to books that gently help you put yourself back together… or the ones that quietly take you apart first and trust you to figure it out?

#TheGulfOfLions #CaitlinShetterly #HarperBooks #BookReview #CurrentlyReading #Bookstagram #Bookstagrammer #LiteraryFiction #WomenInFiction #EmotionalReads #MotherhoodStories #HealingJourney #HealingThroughBooks #AudiobookLife #ImaniJadePowers #ReadersOfInstagram #BookLovers #SpringReads #CozyReading #BooksAndCoffee #ReadMoreBooks #BookishLife #AdvancedReaderCopy #ARCReads #2026Books

[Anita Lichman · Rating 3 out of 5]

This author has a way of making me feel so angry! After reading Pete & Alice in Maine I swore I’d never read anything by this author again. I was gifted this book by a friend and honestly wasn’t paying attention to the author’s name when I started the book. But, a few chapters in I read chapter titles of Alice and then Pete and stopped to check the author’s name! Argh.

I gave it a chance. I like summer vacations in Europe stories and this had some charm to it. But, my goodness this story takes a turn and then abruptly ends. I don’t even understand what was the purpose of the turn and abrupt end! It just doesn’t make any sense to me! I felt annoyed and as if the entire hook up until the last few chapters was about one thing and the last few chapters was a whole other story. This is no way to treat a reader!

In addition, the change in first person narration for Alice and then third person narration for the girls and Pete felt disjointed. As a reader, I could not connect to the other character’s plot lines/perspectives due to the narration shift. They felt too far away.

I did like the description of the French country side, the food, the camping sites. That was the only redeeming quality.

But, between the points of view changes, the plot lines twist and abrupt ending, and the heaviness of the main character’s description of her breast cancer experiences I just didn’t enjoy this book.

What a disappointment, again.

[Margo Littell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reeling from her husband’s infidelity and still processing her breast cancer diagnosis and treatment, Alice secures an assignment to write about camping across France with her daughters--an opportunity she seizes as a chance for renewal and recovery. Her young daughters, Sophie and Iris, are skeptical but game; her husband, Pete, is supportive but also unhappy to be left behind. On her own in France, Alice meets a variety of locals, who house and feed her and the girls and show her another way of living. Alice recognizes herself for the first time in many months, though her memories of illness and marital discord are never far away.

When Alice meets Didier, a handsome Frenchman, she believes she has found a chance for happiness; he, along with gorgeous food and the beautiful countryside, allow her a peace she has sought for too long. But when Sophie meets a young riding instructor, the idyll of the trip crashes apart, and Alice must reenvision--again--what she wants her life to be. Life happens fast; nothing is forever. Alice and her family will emerge from France forever changed.

***Review originally written for the City Book Review. I received a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.***

***The author's note at the beginning of this ARC was surprising, and, since I read it after I finished the novel, made me rethink the entire book (in a good way).***

[Kristi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved Pete and Alice in Maine and was excited to return to their world. In the interim, Alice was diagnosed and treated for breast cancer. At the beginning of the novel she decides to take her daughters camping in Europe. There was a lot to love in this book. The travel writing was amazing- felt like you were in France with them. Beautiful descriptions of the landscape, views, people, architecture. The food writing was equally exquisite. I really appreciated a lot of what Shetterly (and Alice) had to say about life after a cancer diagnosis, motherhood, being a middle aged woman, middle marriage. There were a few things that did not work well for me, the biggest one being how much I could not stand her daughter Sophie. I get it, I have teenagers and I realize they can talk back and be disrespectful at times but this kid takes it to the next level. I was pretty horrified at how she treated her mom and sister and really kind of hated her. I also did not love some of the plot points, particularly the ending/climax. There were some 5 star parts (Alice, France) -- wish there was more of that. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced digital copy in exchange for an honest review. 3.25 stars

[Despina · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75 rounded up to 4 ✨

I overall enjoyed The Gulf of Lions, and I loved the French setting. The place descriptions were strong and pulled me into the story.

Alice and her physical and emotional states were portrayed in a very real,deeply felt way. The book captures raw emotions around motherhood, marriage, surviving illness, questioning yourself, and trying to keep going when you don’t totally feel like yourself.

I did read Pete and Alice in Maine, but if I’m being honest, I don’t remember a lot of it. I liked this book much better.

I’m still not completely sure how I feel about Pete at the end. He became a rock, calm, supportive, efficient, and while I appreciated that, I’m not totally sure it lined up with the Pete from the rest of the novel. At the same time, people do go through periods where they lose themselves and rally.

The twist definitely made me want to keep reading, and I could see it being real, but I’m not sure I completely believed the way it resolved. It surprised me, and I wonder how the story would have gone without it.

So I’m a little mixed on the last part of the book, but overall I enjoyed it.

[Linda · Rating 2 out of 5]

The story is about Alice as she begins a trip to France with her two daughters, Sophie, age 14 and Iris, age 8. Alice is in search of a new beginning after a year of cancer treatments, and her marriage is troubled. Alice also has a writing job about the trip which includes several camping trips. All good so far, the setup is good, and I am interested. The book soon becomes a travel book with food descriptions, a mouthy teenager, and too many words in French. There are four narratives in the book: Alice, which is in first person, and the girls and husband, Pete is written in third person. This shift in points of view did not work for me, along with the unbelievability of Iris's sections as they didn't ring true for an 8-year-old.

Early on, I knew this was not a book like PETE AND ALICE IN MAINE by this author. This book is repetitive and needs a tighter plot. I wanted more about Alice and Pete and less from the girls. I was so distracted with Sophie and her meanness to her mother and sister.

[Keri · Rating 3 out of 5]

Alice is recovering from breast cancer and her husband's infidelity and has taken her two daughters to France for a vacation/new start/bonding time.  However time spent away from her home with her teen and younger daughter have not been what Alice had hoped, and she feels torn between the person she was before and the person she has become.

I started out really enjoying this one (I mean a vicarious trip to France - I'm in!) but in the end this book just didn't work for me.  I had a bunch of issues with the story - I felt there was an underlying theme of when a mother isn't 100% focused on her children's wellbeing she is being selfish and bad things happen, also I don't enjoy books where a child treats a parent badly and the parent just accepts it.  I did like parts of the book and I thought there were some really good lines and I know this one has some really great ratings so my issues with it may be unique but I just couldn't fully enjoy this one.

3.5 stars

[BHK · Rating 5 out of 5]

This novel felt really different from what I usually read, but it completely pulled me in! The Gulf of Lions is quiet and emotional, but in a way that just sticks with you. Alice’s journey coming out of breast cancer and dealing with her husband’s betrayal, and you can feel how desperate she is to feel like herself again. The trip across France with her daughters sounds dreamy at first, but there’s this underlying tension the whole time. It’s not just a healing trip…it’s messy, complicated, and sometimes uncomfortable. I really liked the mother daughter dynamics. It felt very real and not sugarcoated. It’s not a fast paced read, but it’s immersive and beautifully written. Definitely more of a reflective, character driven story. If you like emotional and layered books about family and starting over, this one is definitely worth it!

[Mccall Hardison]

This family drama set in France was a winner for me. You pickup with Alice and her two daughters as they plan to camp around France for an article she is writing. Alice has recently completed treatment for breast cancer, and is sorting through the pieces of her own fear and trauma, as well as trying to navigate raising two daughters.

The story gives each member of the family their own perspective which I really enjoyed, especially how the author told the story from the girls’ perspectives.

The setting was delectable! I love my summer reading to transport me somewhere else, and this certainly did the trick!

The story concludes with a much different tone and pace, and while it threw me off a bit I was already very bought into the author’s writing and these characters that I was happy to go along for the ride!

[Emma Collins · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Lyrical Journey Through Healing, Desire, and Family Fragility

This was a beautifully written and emotionally layered story about recovery, self-discovery, and the fragile bonds of family. I was especially moved by Alice’s journey after her cancer treatment and how the trip across France becomes both a physical and emotional awakening for her. The descriptions of the French landscapes, from the Alps to the Gulf of Lions, felt vivid and immersive, almost like I was traveling alongside them.

What stood out most was the tension between freedom and responsibility, especially as Alice begins to rediscover herself while navigating her daughters’ different emotional needs. At times, the pacing felt slow and introspective, but the emotional depth and atmosphere more than made up for it. A haunting, reflective read that stays with you.

[Amy M. Mize · Rating 3 out of 5]

Library ebook 📖: This one’s on me. I like to go into books as blindly as possible, and this title kept popping up the pages of reviewers I trust. So I put it on hold with no further research. But… as I stated reading, I felt like I’d been annoyed by these characters before. And I have been! This is a sequel to Pete and Alice in Maine?! And the main characters are Pete and Alice?! This is Pete and Alice in France? Not them again 😆 I thought I would love this book: Mother and Daughter camping trip through France? Yes, please. But these characters (yes, the children, too) are so irritating that they can’t even camp without annoying me. Still, I was considering a slightly higher rating until a situation popped up at the end that really needed more resolution than it got. No more Pete and Alice (or their kids) for me.

[Natalie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I enjoyed the vivid descriptions of the scenery in France, the excellent descriptions of the French food, and some of the mother/daughter interactions. However, I don't think those were redeeming enough for the things I did not enjoy about the novel.

Reading about the narrator's health struggles (while I understand that is a major plot point), plus the anxiety-inducing interactions between mother & teen daughter (why the heck does Sophie call her Alice, be the way?), plus the slightly irresponsible behavior of the mother while on the trip, in combo with the events of the last 30ish pages of the novel, were a bit too much for me. It left me feeling like the plot was all over the place and then ended abruptly.