The Riviera House Swap by Gillian Harvey

 

On the day of her fortieth birthday, Nina's divorce is finalised. Feeling that she's always taken the safe option in life she sets off for the French Riviera to see if the boy she fell in love with on an exchange trip twenty-three years ago remembers her.

I won a copy of The Riviera House Swap by Gillian Harvey in a competition by The Bookload on Facebook. This is not my usual type of read but I was surprised at how quickly I got into the story and finished the book within two days. I also need to comment on how beautiful the cover is, the terracotta colour is stunning.

Nina is risk-averse, she always opts for the safe and steady option in life. When her divorce is finalised on the day of her fortieth birthday she realises that there may have been times when she should have said yes, rather than no, and had a little bit more excitement in her life. One of her big regrets is that she didn't run away to France at the age of seventeen to be with Pierre, the boy she fell in love with on an exchange visit.

Divorce means that the house Nina shared with her husband has to be sold. With only a couple of months left until completion, she decides to take part in a house swap and ends up back in the area of France she visited twenty-three years ago. With some internet sleuthing she manages to track down Pierre and "accidentally" bumps into him. It would seem that he does remember her and feels the same way.

Nina is helped along the way by the sister and brother of the man she has swapped homes with. Sabine is a wanderer with a lust for adventure, she helps Nina try new experiences and tries to convince her that she's not too old to travel. Antoine is kind and dependable, seemingly always on hand to rescue Nina when things don't go to plan.

The Riviera House Swap by Gillian Harvey is a light and easy read. The ending is predictable but the setting and the people are wonderful.

Author Details

Gillian Harvey is a freelance journalist and the author of two well-reviewed women’s fiction novels published by Orion. She has lived in Limousin, France for the past twelve years, from where she derives the inspiration and settings for her books such as A Year at the French Farmhouse and A Month in Provence.