Genre: contemporary romance
Themes: grief, second chances
Published: 2013, translated 2016
Pages: 242
Source: book swap gift
My Thoughts:
I loved the title of this book and the cover is so eye-catching. This novel was a quick and enjoyable read. The name of Diane’s literary cafe in Paris is called “Happy People Read & Drink Coffee.” She’s grieving the loss of her husband and daughter and moves to Ireland. She has a little romance with her neighbor Edward who was a moody jerk (with a wonderful dog, Postman Pat). She begins to heal and laugh again but realizes she shouldn’t rush into something until she has figured out her future and who she wants to be.
It was translated from French so the characters all smoke cigarettes constantly! The Irish setting was so picturesque and wild. I didn’t care for Edward’s mood changes and his reasons for being so rude and disrespectful seemed unreasonable even given his childhood. Felix was a fun character I wanted to see more of and so was Edward’s sister Judith. I enjoyed the overall tone and message of the book. (I hope the sequel features more of the bookstore!)
A thoughtful look at grief and moving forward.
Publisher Description:
Diane seems to have the perfect life. She is a wife, a mother, and the owner of Happy People Read and Drink Coffee, a cozy literary cafe in Paris. But when she suddenly loses her beloved husband and daughter in a tragic car accident, the world as she knows it instantly vanishes. Trapped and haunted by her memories, Diane retreats from friends and family, unable and unwilling to move forward.
But one year later, Diane shocks her loved ones and makes the surprising decision to move to a small town on the Irish coast, finally determined to heal and rebuild her life alone—until she meets Edward, the attractive yet taciturn Irish photographer who lives next door. At first abrasive and unwelcoming, Edward initially resents Diane’s intrusion into his life of solitude . . . until he can no longer keep her at arm’s length, and they fall into a surprising and tumultuous romance. But will it last when Diane leaves Ireland, and Edward, for the home she once ran away from in Paris? At once heartbreaking and uplifting, Diane’s story is deeply felt, reminding us that love remembered is love enduring.
About The Author:
Agnès Martin-Lugand (born Saint-Malo) is a French writer of novels. A psychology major, she turned towards writing and published her first novel, Les gens heureux lisent et boivent du café (Happy People Read and Drink Coffee), as a self-edition via Amazon’s Kindle platform on December 2012. Rapidly noticed by literary bloggers close to the self-publishing medium, she was approached by Florian Lafani, responsible for the digital development of Michel Lafon editions, proposing her to enter the traditional publishing world. Once the novel was among Michel Lafon’s catalog, the publisher assured the translations to multiple European languages, particularly to Spanish, Italian, Polish and Turkish.
Her second novel, Entre mes mains le bonheur se faufile , was published by the same company in June 2014.
http://www.agnesmartinlugand.fr/en/
Did you enjoy this post? Please take a few seconds and click to retweet! [bctt tweet=”Book Review| Happy People Read & Drink Coffee #bookreview #2020reads #orangecountyreads”]
This post may contain affiliate links, which means I receive compensation if you make a purchase using this link. Thank you for supporting this blog and the books I recommend! I may have received a book for free in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.
Follow OrangeCountyReaders on Goodreads, Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. Support Us on Ko-Fi and Amazon. And please, feel free to leave a comment!
The OC Book Girl 