Just For the Holidays

Author/Guide: Sue Moorcroft

Why a Booktrail?

2000s: Who doesn’t fancy a holiday in France?

ISBN: 978-0008175559
Genre: Humour, Romance

Comment

What you need to know before your trail

Think summer in the south of France and what comes to mind? Sun, sand and long, lazy lunches, not to mention a carafe of wine or two. Well, it would be good if it wasn’t for the fly in the ointment what with three teenagers, two love interests, one divorcing couple, and a very, very unexpected pregnancy.

Not exactly the nice holiday Leah Beaumont was hoping for . Her sister Michele’s family is falling apart at the seams,and it seems as if it’s up to Leah to pick up the pieces and try to hold them all together. The handsome helicopter pilot staying next door might help time fly..

Locations

Reset

Travel Guide

Just for the Holidays (c) TheBookTrail

Alsace

Strasbourg – A tip from Sue Moorcroft herself:

“I had a fabulous few days researching Strasbourg and the surrounding countryside. A very important part of familiarising myself with an area is to eat and drink plenty of the local fare, of course! So I did.”

“I would recommend a visit to Patisserie Christian, 10 Rue Mercière, Strasbourg, for amazing cakes. It’s in the shadow of the Gothic magnificence of the Cathédrale Notre Dame de Strasbourg and if you can get a table outside, you can admire the cathedral as you eat. And you must visit the cathedral itself. There aren’t enough words to describe it.

“The fictional setting of Muntsheim sounds rather nice however – despite the complex parking in the rue des Roses, there are gorgeous shops in the nearby Place de la Liberte. They sit in the novel here at a cafe watching the sun make diamonds of the splashing water in the fountains” It’s also the square where the local market is. If you’ve not been to a market in Alsace – NOW is the time to do it. It’s like nothing else on earth.

Alsace is also evoked in other flavours too – Flammenkuche has to be tasted to be believed.

Booktrailer Review

Susan: @thebooktrailer

If you love France, have always wanted to fly in a helicopter and fancy a laugh, then you are going to love this novel. The author really did her research with the helicopter thing – the story of how is funny in itself – the ends to which a writer will go to!

Leah, the main character, has some guts – she loves Formula 1, drives a fast, posh car herself, eats chocolate for a living and is about to come into contact with the aforementioned flying machines. I want to be her.

There’s a lot of Alsace to enjoy in this novel – from the scented fields as evoked on the cover to the French flair which is woven throughout the novel. This is not so much French France but the part where Germany and so many nuances of both cultures combine in a flammenkuche of literary delights.

Oh and you will need to be eating when reading this novel – probably chocolate. Or at least have tissues to hand to curb the drooling this book will create.