That Holiday in France by Rhoda Baxter |(Novella) | Blog Tour Review |@RhodaBaxter @BOTBSPublicity

Independently published
Available in ebook and paperback (27 May 2020)
198 pages
Source: Copy received for review

ABOUT THE BOOK

When Ellie’s boyfriend forbids her from going to France to attend her best friend’s wedding, she decides she’s had enough. She dumps him and goes to France by herself. But travelling alone is scary and Ellie realises how reliant she’d become on the men in her life.

On holiday, she learns to trust her own judgement and grows in confidence. Just when she decides she doesn’t need a man to complete her, she meets Ash, who is everything her ex wasn’t.

But is Ellie willing to give up her new found independence and link herself to another man?

That Holiday In France is a standalone story set in the little Yorkshire village of Trewton Royd.

Ideal for fans of Mhairi McFarlane or Sophie Kinsella.

MY THOUGHTS

My thanks to Sarah Hardy of Book on the Bright Side Publicity for the tour invitation and for providing the copy to review. Although Rhoda is an author that I’ve been aware of for a while I am new to her books. I understand that some characters from a series are featured here but I haven’t read any of the others and this can easily be read on its own.

When Ellie receives an invitation to her best friends wedding, she is desperate to go. There is just one problem, well two actually. Sophie lives in France and that’s where the wedding will be. And secondly, Luke her boyfriend of four years, doesn’t want to go and forbids Ellie from going.

All her life Ellie has been reliant on men – first her father and then her boyfriend and being too compliant –  by taking over all the housework and looking after her dad after her mum left, and letting Luke make decisions for them both, but in the face of her father’s hostility to her plans and to Jake’s boorishness, she decides do something for herself for a change. She tells Luke they are finished and plans to go to France. She has never ventured outside of Yorkshire on her own before and is rather a nervous traveller, but she is determined to start as she means to go on.

Ellie was a warm and engaging character, she had a job she enjoyed in a bakery with a very supportive boss, but lacked confidence in her own abilities – something that can affect many of us, but I was pleased to see her grow in confidence and gradually throw off the shackles of opinions and prejudices ingrained on her from others. Some of her initial opinions about some other guests at the wedding made me wince but I realised that those were the opinions that she had been brought up with and now she needed to make her own judgements. After all that she had discovered about her own self worth, I was very much hoping that Ellie wouldn’t give up her new found confidence and independence for the odious Luke.

The French countryside made an excellent location for Ellie to find new friends, and romance too if she was brave enough to take a chance. The story had a good pace and flow and the different personalities were well crafted. An enjoyable read that is uplifting and heartwarming.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Rhoda Baxter writes romantic comedies about strong heroines and nice-guy heroes. Having studied microbiology at university, Rhoda likes all things science geeky. She also loves cake, crochet and playing with Lego. She lives in Yorkshire with her young family and wishes she had more time to bake.

You can find out more about her (and get a free book by signing up to her newsletter) on her website.

Author Links:
Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

Book Links:
Amazon UK