The Chateau of Happily Ever Afters Review - Blog Tour + Giveaway

Rating: 4/5

Source: ARC from publisher as part of a blog tour

Where dreams come true…?

Wendy Clayton stopped believing in fairy tales a long time ago. Instead, she has a ‘nice’ life. Nice job. Nice flat. Absolutely no men. Until her life is turned upside-down when her elderly neighbour, Eulalie, passes away and leaves her the Château of Happily Ever Afters!

But there’s a catch: she must share the sprawling French castle with Eulalie’s long-lost nephew, Julian. And no matter how gorgeous he is, or how easily she finds herself falling head over heels, Wendy needs to find a way to get rid of him…

Because surely happily ever afters don’t happen in real life?

Escape to beautiful France this summer with this uplifting romantic comedy. Perfect for fans of Kat French, Caroline Roberts, and Holly Martin.

I was intrigued when the opportunity came up to join this blog tour, this isn't my typical choice of book but this year has been the year of saying yes to more things and I'm so glad I gave this book a go. It was a breath of fresh air when I needed it -now on with the review! 

Wendy and Julian have both inherited a French Estate, nice for them right? What are the chances? Well, as it turns out they've unfortunately inherited the same estate and neither are happy about sharing. So it's down to battle of wits to see who will emerge as the soul caretaker. 

I've never read a book by Jaimie Admans so I wasn't sure what to expect, but I really felt a connection to her characters and writing style from the start of the novel. 

Wendy is a no nonsense kind of women, she is settled in her life and isn't too fond of change. So inheriting a Chateau in Normandy wasn't a part of the plan and could uproot her quiet life, but she hadn't believed the stories her neighbour Eulalie had told her about the magical French home, now she has to see it for herself. 

The only problem is that Wendy isn't the only one on the way to France to see her new Chateau. Julian, male model and considerably more prone to risk taking than Wendy, has inherited half of the estate too on the grounds that he is Eulalie's long lost nephew. I liked Julian's character a lot more than Wendy's, mainly because of how much more open-minded he is when it comes to the other party, he has a good soul despite looking like he'd be overly egotistical. 

This is such a feel good book, it borders on cheesy at times but it was still incredibly enjoyable. There are a lot of funny moments and you'll definitely feel the smile on your face the entire time you read the book. Julian to offer an olive branch to Wendy early on but she's suspicious of this stranger and is ready to fight for inheritance.  

Of course with all this hostility, sparks chemistry. Sort of. If you're looking for a soppy love story, this isn't it -but it's pretty damned good. 

Something I really loved about this book was how descriptive it was, you could really imagine the little Normandy village and surrounding grounds, all painting the picture of the perfect summer getaway. This would be a good read on your holidays, maybe a good read in the winter too if you don't mind being totally jealous of the characters. 

I'd recommend this book to all you chick-lit fans out there, anyone interested in sampling what life in a big French home would be like and anyone who likes the story of a handsome and misjudged protagonist. Thank you to Jenny at Neverland Blog Tours and Jaimie Admans for letting me take part in this blog tour, I had a blast!

Thanks for reading!

Giveaway!

Enter the giveaway below for the chance to win:

French-themed stationery goodie bag.

1 x Paperchase Paris notebook and pen

1 x The Chateau of Happily Ever Afters notebook

1 x little Eiffel Tower model

1 x Eiffel Tower bookmark

1 x The Chateau of Happily Ever Afters magnet

1 x Signed postcard

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Jaimie is a 32-year-old English-sounding Welsh girl with an awkward-to-spell name. She lives in South Wales and enjoys writing, gardening, watching horror movies, and drinking tea, although she’s seriously considering marrying her coffee machine. She loves autumn and winter, and singing songs from musicals despite the fact she’s got the voice of a dying hyena. She hates spiders, hot weather, and cheese & onion crisps. She spends far too much time on Twitter and owns too many pairs of boots.

She will never have time to read all the books she wants to read.

She is the author of chick-lit romantic comedies The Chateau of Happily Ever Afters and Kismetology, and she has also written young-adult romantic comedies Afterlife Academy, Not Pretty Enough, and North Pole Reform School.

Author links:

http://www.jaimieadmans.com

http://twitter.com/be_the_spark

http://facebook.com/jaimieadmansbooks