Book Review: A French Pirouette

Book: A French Piroutette by Jennifer Bohnet

Source: Borrowed from Publisher/NetGalley for an honest review

Publication: Available now

Description:

Au revoir old life, Bonjour Brittany!

Parisian prima ballerina Suzette knows it’s time to hang up her pointe shoes before her next injury ruins her ankles for good. But dancing is all she’s ever known and she’s terrified of who she’ll be after that final curtain falls.

Meanwhile, lonely Londoner Libby is pouring her life savings into buying an auberge that she and her late husband had loved visiting on holiday. It’s a huge risk that could leave her broke…as well as broken-hearted.

And then there’s Brigitte who’s retired to the village for a slower pace of life, but who dreads seeing someone else run her beloved auberge.

Three fresh starts…one unforgettable summer!



Rating: 4 1/2 stars

Review:

This was a sheer delight to read. A French Pirouette follows the lives of three women: Suzette, Libby and Brigitte as their lives undergo a new transition.

Libby Duncan, a British woman and soon to be turning 40 had been thinking about an idea her late husband Dan had for the two of them which was to own their own Bed & Breakfast. It wasn't until Libby had called The Auberge du Canal (a B & B in Brittany, France that she and her husband had vacationed at in the past) to book a trip for her and her daughter Chloe that she found out the place was going to be up for sale. She had the crazy idea to buy it herself to try and run it, this would give her something to do especially since her daughter will soon be off to college in several months.

Selling her B & B was one of the last things that Brigitte ever wanted to do. She had been living there and running it for over 40 years but after her husband Bruno broke his arm, he thought it would be the perfect time to sell their business and move into town. Brigitte is not sure she can cope with this new slower pace of life he husband seems to be craving.

Suzette Shelby is an international French ballerina and at age 38 is nearing the point of retiring and with a recent ankle injury it looks like retirement might be sooner than she thinks. To recuperate, she decides to book a room at the B & B under an assumed name. She thought it would give her the privacy she needed to try to figure out what to do with her life once she will no longer be dancing. However, she also needed to get her ankle well enough to take on what she believes to be her last performances in Swan Lake.

The lives of each women intertwine as the story unfolds, each trying to figure out how to adjust with the new things going on in their lives.

This was a wonderfully charming story because it's a light and easy read that showed how these women re-invented themselves and their lives which lead to something truly amazing.