The Riviera by Karen Aldous
Published by:Carina
Publication date: 10th July,2015
Genres: Romance
4 stars ****
The Blurb
The journey is only as good as its end…
It’s been a hard journey, but Lizzie Lambert’s life is a Provençal dream come true. Her business is wildly successful, and with her little boy and the love of her life, Cal, she is making a beautiful home on the vineyard for their blended family.
But when Cal goes to America to support his son through a teenage crisis, it becomes clear the kid’s not the only one with some growing up to do: Cal’s glamorous ex-wife wants to get her claws in him again. As Cal spends longer and longer away, Lizzie wonders, was it all too good to be true?
Escape to Provence with Karen Aldous’ The Riviera, the perfect read for an idyllic summer.
It’s been a hard journey, but Lizzie Lambert’s life is a Provençal dream come true. Her business is wildly successful, and with her little boy and the love of her life, Cal, she is making a beautiful home on the vineyard for their blended family.
But when Cal goes to America to support his son through a teenage crisis, it becomes clear the kid’s not the only one with some growing up to do: Cal’s glamorous ex-wife wants to get her claws in him again. As Cal spends longer and longer away, Lizzie wonders, was it all too good to be true?
Escape to Provence with Karen Aldous’ The Riviera, the perfect read for an idyllic summer.
My Thoughts
Ok before I get started can we please just take a moment to appreciate the gorgeousness of The Riviera's cover. Another stunner for a Karen Aldous book.
I fell in love with Karen's writing when I read The Chateau a while ago so when I was offered the chance to be part of her blog tour for her latest book The Riviera I jumped at the chance. This book is actually the sequel to The Vineyard which I hadn't realised until I had already started. At times I did wish that I'd read The Vineyard first as I missed not knowing the back story but this didn't impact on my enjoyment of the story especially as Karen Aldous did a fantastic job of drawing on the crucial bits from The Vineyard. The book can be read as a stand alone but if like me you prefer to read books in order then I would definitely suggest reading The Vineyard first.
The Riviera opens with Cal and Lizzie totally loved up and making plans for their future that includes Cal renovating a beautiful home for them on his vineyard. Lizzie's business is going from strength to strength and everything just feel right. Unfortunately their happiness is thrown a huge curve ball when Cal has to jump on a plane to the US to deal with some issues concerning his teenage son, Jack. What should be just a few days runs into weeks and after spending a few days in Nantucket with Cal and his son and Cal's ex-wife Kelly a seed of doubt is planted in Lizzie's mind about Kelly's intentions and just how Cal feels about her.
Well Karen has done it again, just as she did with The Chateau and I now need to go to the French Riviera. Her beautiful, vivid descriptions of the French Riviera and Cannes made me feel as though I was there and left me longing for a trip to the sunshine. At the end of The Chateau I was desperately in need of a trip to Switzerland.
Karen does a wonderful job of immersing you in the lives of her characters. Lizzie is such a wonderful,warm character but she is very sensitive and it is apparent that she has been through so much. With Cal's ex Kelly's marriage unravelling Lizzie's paranoia is heightened and she convinces herself that Cal is going to return to Kelly. It's clear from Karen's writing that Lizzie hasn't had the best history when it comes to previous relationships so it is easy for us to see why she is becoming increasingly stressed by Cal spending so much time with his son and ex. Normally a character like Lizzie would probably grate on me as she comes across as a bit of whiner however Karen does such a brilliant job of writing her that I just didn't feel like that at all.
I also loved Cal's relationship with his son, Jack - the bond that grows between these two as the story progresses is heart warming and makes Cal even more appealing as the male lead in the book.
There are some twists in The Riviera but if I'm honest I had started to work them out. It's a story packed with family drama and some secrets that will rock the worlds of those involved. A fabulous easy read that is perfect holiday reading or indeed the perfect read for whenever you want to be swept away to somewhere warm and exotic on a grey dreary day. Highly recommended.
I fell in love with Karen's writing when I read The Chateau a while ago so when I was offered the chance to be part of her blog tour for her latest book The Riviera I jumped at the chance. This book is actually the sequel to The Vineyard which I hadn't realised until I had already started. At times I did wish that I'd read The Vineyard first as I missed not knowing the back story but this didn't impact on my enjoyment of the story especially as Karen Aldous did a fantastic job of drawing on the crucial bits from The Vineyard. The book can be read as a stand alone but if like me you prefer to read books in order then I would definitely suggest reading The Vineyard first.
The Riviera opens with Cal and Lizzie totally loved up and making plans for their future that includes Cal renovating a beautiful home for them on his vineyard. Lizzie's business is going from strength to strength and everything just feel right. Unfortunately their happiness is thrown a huge curve ball when Cal has to jump on a plane to the US to deal with some issues concerning his teenage son, Jack. What should be just a few days runs into weeks and after spending a few days in Nantucket with Cal and his son and Cal's ex-wife Kelly a seed of doubt is planted in Lizzie's mind about Kelly's intentions and just how Cal feels about her.
Well Karen has done it again, just as she did with The Chateau and I now need to go to the French Riviera. Her beautiful, vivid descriptions of the French Riviera and Cannes made me feel as though I was there and left me longing for a trip to the sunshine. At the end of The Chateau I was desperately in need of a trip to Switzerland.
Karen does a wonderful job of immersing you in the lives of her characters. Lizzie is such a wonderful,warm character but she is very sensitive and it is apparent that she has been through so much. With Cal's ex Kelly's marriage unravelling Lizzie's paranoia is heightened and she convinces herself that Cal is going to return to Kelly. It's clear from Karen's writing that Lizzie hasn't had the best history when it comes to previous relationships so it is easy for us to see why she is becoming increasingly stressed by Cal spending so much time with his son and ex. Normally a character like Lizzie would probably grate on me as she comes across as a bit of whiner however Karen does such a brilliant job of writing her that I just didn't feel like that at all.
I also loved Cal's relationship with his son, Jack - the bond that grows between these two as the story progresses is heart warming and makes Cal even more appealing as the male lead in the book.
There are some twists in The Riviera but if I'm honest I had started to work them out. It's a story packed with family drama and some secrets that will rock the worlds of those involved. A fabulous easy read that is perfect holiday reading or indeed the perfect read for whenever you want to be swept away to somewhere warm and exotic on a grey dreary day. Highly recommended.
About The Author
Karen
Aldous enjoys village life on the edge of the north-downs in Kent with easy
access to the buzz of London. Not only does she love the passive pleasures of reading
and writing, she also craves the more active pursuits with her family and
friends such as walking, cycling and skiing especially when they involve food
and wine!Karen gets much of her inspiration from her travels and if she had to choose, France, Greece, Switzerland, Italy and Lake Tahoe in US would be her favourites. However, wherever she goes, she discovers a new character emerges in 'Karen's World'. She likes to write about strong independent women who can direct their own lives - but struggle to control them! And, of course there's always a gorgeous hunk or two!
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