Escape to the Little Chateau by Marie Laval

 Will Amy’s dreams of a Provençal escape come true? 

There are many reasons Amy Carter is determined to make Bellefontaine, her farmhouse hotel in the French countryside, a success. Of course, there’s the time and money she’s put in to making it beautiful, but she also has something to prove – particularly to people like Fabien Coste.

Fabien is the owner of the nearby château, and he might just be the most arrogant, patronising man Amy has ever met ... unfortunately, he’s also the most handsome. 

But as rumours circulate in the local community and secrets about the old farmhouse begin to reveal themselves, Amy quickly sees the less idyllic side of life at Bellefontaine. Could Fabien be the man to help prevent her Provençal dream from turning into a nightmare? 

My favourite thing about this book has to be Fabien Coste; following a spiky first meeting between Fabien and Amy, inevitably, they can't stop thinking about each other.  I loved the way Fabien looked out for Amy when she first arrived despite her protests!

Amy is completely new to the area and has her work cut out to get Bellefontaine ready and make it a success.  She could really do without the distractions of unwelcome bumps in the night!

This book has a much darker side to it than you'd realise from its front cover!  There is a history to Bellefontaine that started long long ago and Amy may regret getting mixed up in; but will she stick it out or will she sell up and move back home?  

I found that there were a lot of characters to keep track of in this book alongside the Roman / Greek history side of the story which made me use some brain power!  

The suspense element of this suspense romance really gets going in the latter part of the book and I actually gasped at one point.  It's a pretty dark story but the romance also shines through it all.

I read this in one go on a very rainy October day! An author I'd definitely consider checking out again in the future.

* I received a free advanced copy of this book from Choc Lit in exchange for an honest review *

Escape to the Little Chateau is out now (Happy Publication Day!!) and can be purchased here: