Originalmente visto aqui Franny Marten é uma jovem do Oregon que teve de lutar pela vida desde os seus dezassete anos após ter perdido ambos os seus pais. Viu-se obrigada a trabalhar em vários sítios para poder pagar o seu curso de veterinária e sempre viveu de forma frugal. Agora finalmente tem um trabalho estável, a sua casa apenas a si e ao banco pertencem e Franny encontra-se realizada. Pelo menos, na parte profissional da sua vida. Já a sua vida amorosa é outra coisa. Franny que apenas quer encontrar um homem que cuide de si e que a ame por quem ela é, tem um mau gosto incrível. O seu namorado do momento, Marcus, passa a vida a criticar o seu aspecto e o seu estilo de vida e Franny sabe que esta relação está prestes a chegar ao fim, embora ela não tenha força de carácter o suficiente para ser ela própria a terminar esta ligação amorosa. Mas Franny é surpreendida quando descobre, pela própria mulher de Marcus, que este é casado e que mandou a sua esposa terminar o caso amoroso. Franny decide então para consigo mesma, esquecer os homens e concentrar-se noutros aspectos da sua vida. Como a sua carreira de veterinária.Mas então conhece Jake Bronson, um homem irresistível e que a conquista desde o primeiro momento. Claro que quando ele desaparece sem lhe deixar uma explicação, Franny está convencida que mais uma vez foi enganada pelo sexo masculino e decide fechar o seu coração em copas.Contudo, o destino dá sempre as voltas mais mirabolantes e os dois voltam a encontrar-se na reunião em Provença para que Franny foi convidada. É a reunião da família Marten, da qual Franny não sabe nada pois o seu avô há muito se havia desvinculado destes parentes. Agora, no entanto, Franny abraça a ideia de conhecer novos familiares, uma família que paira na sombra de dois assassinatos. Resta saber se Franny irá de igual forma, abraçar a ideia de perdoar Jake Bronson, o único homem que a fez sentir-se especial.Os livros desta autora já não constituem grande surpresa para mim, como é fácil constatar. Estou mais que habituada à sua escrita simples, sem grandes efeitos ou complicações. É um discurso feito para entreter e envolver o leitor numa aventura e é isso que a autora consegue fazer sempre. Com as suas descrições de cenários paradisíacos é sempre garantido que estas leituras façam o seu leitor descontrair e sonhar que se encontram nestas praias e nestes cenários de férias muito apelativos.Uns livros são mais virados para o romance, outros mais para o mistério. A linha é ágil e é certo que nos livros de Elizabeth Adler poderemos sempre encontrar algo dos dois. Neste caso, em Encontro na Provença, acho que a balança tende claramente para o romance. Não houve grande mistério para desvendar, apenas esperar que o assassino encontrasse justiça e portanto o foco manteve-se no romance entre os vários personagens desta obra.Tive oportunidade de ler sobre a região da Provença e também tive a oportunidade de revisitar Saint Tropez, com Lola e Jack Farrar do livro Verão na Riviera. Engraçado como já não é a primeira vez que a autora refere os seus livros em passagem. Acho curioso e é uma oportunidade de termos um breve relance de outros personagens que já conhecemos de outra altura. E um pouco egocentrista, mas deixemos esta última passar.Por isso, aquilo que posso dizer, é que continuo satisfeita com esta fórmula da autora e enquanto não me fartar, posso dizer que vou continuar a ler os seus livros. Entretém-me, como sempre digo. São leituras leves, com sabor a férias e que me permitem voar para sítios distantes que gostaria, algum dia, de visitar.
Post Listen Review: Stop me if this has happened to you before because this book has a very believable premise and I am sure it happens all the time. You are a vetrinarian who has worked very hard to become one and you feel like your life would only be fulfilled if your boyfriend Marcus Marks would propose to you so that you could have your career as well as your 2.5 children. So when he calls and says you have to meet because "we need to talk" you go and aren't exactly thrilled about it. But instead of your boyfriend Marcus Marks (whose name reminds me of Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch) you find his... gasp... wife. Well, naturally what happens is that you become fast friends with her and soon you are invited by some relatives that you don't know very well to go to Provence, France and you invite the woman who was married to your boyfriend to go with you. Yay! Before you go, a man comes into the vet's office with a dog named Criminal. First you chastise him for naming his dog Criminal (because names like Fluffy, Fido and Mr. Fancy Pants are much more dignified) and then you make a dinner date with him. What do you do next? Watch him sprain his ankle and sleep with him because it is a great idea to get in bed with the next guy you meet, it helps you get over heartache.Then he doesn't call the next day and you are furious. Eventually you find out that he is an ex-spy or something whose first wife was tragically killed months before giving birth. And he was just checking you out because he has ties to your distant relatives and he wants to make sure you are not trying to rob them or pass bad wine off to them or anything and so you forgive him.Then you and another distant cousin, who is a young asian school girl, and your friend who used to be married to your ex-boyfriend hang around France for a while so you can get to know the ex-spy better and have some sex with him. But while there you find out that the woman who was married to your ex-boyfriend isn't Miss Georgia in a beauty pageant way but rather in a stripper stage name way. You stay friends though and she is split between two French guys that are both hot on her.Unbeknownst to you, there is a murderer in the family and he is on the loose, despite your current boyfriend, the ex-spy turned private investigator's efforts to catch him. The murderer naturally hates the ex-spy and wants to kill him in the same way he killed his own brother. But instead the murderer tries to kill you, yet your current boyfriend the ex-spy turned private investigator is there in time to rescue you. Although you do end up in the hospital. Whew. Also you have more sex somewhere in there and/or think about sex. One of the French guys hooks up just fine with your friend who used to be a stripper and was once married to your ex-boyfriend even though she used to be a stripper and not a beauty pageant winner.Sometimes while you are in France you help out at a winery also. But that is before you are almost killed.Imagine all that with a narrator whose voice reminds you of the part in Monty Python and the Holy Grail where the French soldies says, "I fart in your general direction," and you have a pretty good idea of what this book was. I don't recommend it.Pre-listen guess: The description on the back sounds like the logline for a Dianne Keaton movie. Not a fan.
What do You think about Invitation To Provence (2005)?
s,reading,travel and life in Maine.Funny Quote of the DayMiddle age is when your age starts to show around your middle.Bob HopeMonday, May 30, 2011Memorial Day MondayI'm old enough to remember when it was called "Decoration Day" - it was the day that everyone went to the cemetery to lay wreaths and flags and flowers to decorate the graves of those who were lost "in the war."Now of course, we know it as Memorial Day: a day to stop and remember all those who have served their country, and especially those who made the ultimate sacrifice. I chose this picture of a harbor here in Maine instead of the cemetery scenes so common today because this is really what we're celebrating-- the service and sacrifices so many made so that we can enjoy this beautiful sky, the freedom to sail and picnic and work and love, and the gorgeous red white and blue stars and stripes.Please take some time to thank a veteran today. And enjoy your holiday however you spend it.Posted by Tina at 12:02 AM 1 comments Links to this postSunday, May 29, 2011More Mini- ReviewsSince I've been letting my reading eye wonder a bit further afield and not doing just required reviews, I've been able to get to some books that just jumped off the shelf yelling "read me read me". One is part of a series I've been wanting to try, and the other is by an author who pleased me with some of her other works. It's wonderful to be able to read just for pure fun.Title: Invitation to ProvenceAuthor: Elizabeth AdlerPublisher/Format: St. Martin's Paperbacks (2005), Mass Market Paperback, 352 pagesCharacters: Franny Martin, Jake Bronson, Raffaella MartinSubject: love, family, life in ProvenceSetting: Provence FranceGenre: fiction; chick lit, romanceSource: public libraryFranny Martin is recovering from the discovery that her boyfriend is a two-timing cheat. This knowledge was shared by his wife, with whom Franny becomes fast friends. At the same time, Franny receives an invitation from her aunt Rafaella to come to Provence for a family reunion. She decides to go and take Helen (the ex-wife) with her. When follows is rather typical boy meets girl, girl falls, boy doesn't call back, girl discovers boy again in France, other girl meets other boy, etc. etc etc. It sounds very banal and stereotypical, but the characters in this one have a bit more to deliver, and the romance plot includes a bit of a mystery, a bit of detective work, and some interesting international scenes. All in all a pleasant read for a pre-summer afternoon. I really didn't expect that I would get as wrapped up as I did, but I found myself rooting for Franny and Jake, and realized that suddenly the afternoon was over, the book had come to a pleasant conclusion, and I'd spent a relaxing Sunday.
—Tina
I picked up this book over the summer at a flea market, and being in a breezy mood I was attracted to the cover and hoped to learn a bit about Provence. This really was a fine book, but I just didn't find it very engaging. I found the characters a little flat and could never really lose myself in the story. It didn't have much of the kind of humor I like, and everything just seemed a bit much to me....like the literary equivalent of a Hallmark TV movie. The descriptions of Provence were nice at times, but didn't transport me the way some other "on location" books have. There was just enough to keep me reading it, but it took me a while and the ending though okay wasn't worth the effort to me. I think others would like it, but it just wasn't for me.
—Janel
Como tem sido hábito, a autora mantém o seu registo e não deixa de surpreender. Adoro a forma como descreve as paisagens e os locais maravilhosos que fazem parte deste livro e fiquei deliciada quando no final ela faz referência a Lola e a Jack e ao Hotel Riviera, personagens de Verão na Riviera, um dos livros da autora de que mais gostei. Achei esta perspectiva bastante interessante, quase como reencontrar "pessoas" que conhecemos!Em relação à acção gostei de Franny e Jake, os protagonistas, a par com Rafaella, a dona do Solar dos Marten. Mas são as pequenas histórias que enriquecem os livros de Adler: Clare e o seu curso de culinária que trará surpresas imprevisíveis; Felix que vive na Ásia e que tem o mistério da Pequena Azul; os amores de Rafaella e a relação conturbada com os filhos; os amores, as mentiras e a vingança.Gostei do enredo, do deslumbramento que senti em relação à Provença, mas confesso que Romance na Toscana e Verão na Riviera são para mim os melhores que li da autora, até agora.
—Vera Neves
