“French Coast” by Anita Hughes
Blurb: Serena has the job she’s always dreamed of and Chase, the man her heart never dared to. As a new editor at Vogue, she bags the biggest interview of the year with Yvette Renault, the infamous former editor of French Vogue, in The Carlton-InterContinental Hotel during the Cannes Film Festival. She eagerly jets off to France while Chase stays home, working with her father, a former senator, on his upcoming mayoral campaign.
Everything feels unbelievably perfect…until it doesn’t. The hotel loses her reservation hours before her big interview. Serena fears that she’ll have to go home without her story, but then she meets Zoe, a quirky young woman staying in the suite below Yvette’s who invites Serena to stay with her. Serena is grateful for her mysterious roommate’s generosity, but it seems that there’s more to her story than meets the eye. To make matters worse, soon after arriving in Cannes, Serena learns a shocking secret about her parents’ marriage, and it isn’t long before she begins to question her own relationship. With her deadline looming and pressure mounting, Serena will have to use her investigative journalism skills, new friendships, and a little luck to get her life and love back on track. Fast paced and impeccably written.
French Coast will draw readers in to the intoxicating world of the Cote D’Azur. Hughes’ beautiful prose and sense imagery bring the food, fashion, and feel of the ocean to life in this audacious new novel.
My Review: “French Coast” has been a book I’ve been wanting to read for a long time now, and I’m so happy I was able to finally read it.
From start to finish, the author’s writing captured me (like it does with all the books I’ve read of hers), and I couldn’t get enough. I was a little curious as to why Serena would pick up and leave her new fiancé, Chase, so quickly, but she had a job to do, and she didn’t want to miss out on her big chance. Once she arrived in France, met Zoe, and learned Yvette’s stories, I found it interesting at how the stories from the past and the present correlated. I really enjoyed Serena’s character, and by the end, I saw that she’d transformed into her true self.
One of my main things I wished that there could have been more scenes with Serena and chase, because I really liked them.I also wondered if she wanted more closure from him. I also wish we could see into her new life, considering all the changes, (sorry, no spoilers).
I read this book in two days, so if you’re looking for a quick summer beach read, I highly recommend this book.
I give “French Coast” 5 stars!
**Buy “French Coast” now!: Amazon Barnes & Noble
* * * * *
About author, Anita Hughes: Anita is the author of Lake Como, Monarch Beach, and Market Street. She attended UC Berkeley’s Masters in Creative Writing Program, and has taught Creative Writing at The Branson School in Ross, California. Hughes lives in Dana Point, California, where she is at work on her next novel.
Leave a Reply