My Grape Village (The Grape Series Book 7)

Laura Bradbury has so much enthusiasm for what she is doing, even though so much of the work can be frustrating. She and her husband, Franck, have renovated a small house and is beginning to renovate another. The couple is starting a second renovation as this book begins. The pair want to rent these houses to people from Canada, the United States, England, Australia, New Zealand to let tennants know what it is like living in a small French village. The first house is rented, the second will be as soon it is finished. These house are two and three hundred years old and need much work done. Ms. Bradbury wants her guests to fall as much in love with Burgundy as she is. The couple and their daughters, two and a half and four and a half, have just moved back to France from Canada. The kids are starting school.This read is so much fun. Laura can't believe the way things are done in France. Franck is surprised at the ways of Canadian life and differences between the two countries. Culture shock for both, hard getting used to. Laura is getting acclimated to life in Burgundy again. The kids have no trouble fitting in. There are so much laughs in this book. Camille has her third birthday party, Laura making birthday cake, and the critiques of all the little guests. Laura is happy to make a best friend, Marie, one of the mothers at the kid's school. Laura and Franck spend time driving the kids to school, picking them up for a two and a half hour lunch, then back to school. The girls are becoming members of two nations, Canada and France, especially Burgundy. Franck loves being from Burgundy and wants his daughters to love it also. They do and so does his wife.The couple want to renovate several houses. This is the work they want to do, love to do, hard as it is. The two shop at antique shops to make the houses look authentic. Laura Bradbury tells the readers about how hard it is with all the work and trying to keep up with children.Readers meet all the hard working and competent men and some not too competent, who put the house together. And all that can and does go wrong. Ms Bradbury writes of living in the small village, all the different village feasts the family attends. The kids love all these celebrations. This book takes place over a period of eleven months, four season changes.The house is finished. Guests come to stay and enjoy. As for Laure, she is looking at another house or perhaps an apartment in a very old part of a big city. In Burgundy, of course. I enjoy reading about how the French like to eat and drink. What a good book for a Francophile.

Laura and Franck leave Canada with their 2 and 4-year old daughters. Having dual Nationality parents it is their birthright to learn to speak French and become French as well as Canadian. Their village helps them to integrate:“We have little girls here that have come all the way from Canada to help us with the harvest. Everybody, say bonjour to les petites Canadiennes!”My girls snipped off grapes and helped haul buckets to the tractor, and then, when that was full, they were invited to ride on the tractor that was festooned with grape vines. Franck and I followed behind on foot through the vineyards."Their dad delighted his wife and daughters:"Camille gasped. “We never found the princess!” “I think I saw a glimpse of her gown between the rows of vines when you two were riding on the tractor,” Franck said. “We’ll just have to keep looking.”Laura's appalling driving lessons in a standard gear shift car, and lack of adequate training resulted in her damaging the side of their new car as she reversed between two narrow pillars to escape the fury of about ten incensed drivers. Who could resist the charm of her little girls and husband comforting her? "Camille and Charlotte crouched down to get a better look. “It looks like a smile,” Charlotte said, finally. “It looks like the side of the car is smiling.” “You see?” Franck pulled me in closer and dried my tears with his shirt sleeve."Her love for the young man she fell in love with shines through every book:"I caught Franck’s eyes and widened mine. His hazel eyes danced with delight. He knew exactly how I was feeling, but I could tell he was quite enjoying the absurdity of it all."This is an unforgettable series, even for a tee-totaller, despite the copious consumption of alcohol in each book. The joy of living makes each story spectacular.Thank you Laura for sharing your love story with us! We are truly thrilled to have spent time with you and your lovely family and friends. Maybe the potential loss of life made you grab the chance to make sure the world knows how deeply you lived and loved.

As a fanatical Francophile, just when I thought I’d read pretty much everything anyone had to say about house moves to France, along come these great books by Laura Bradbury to rekindle my passion again and fill me with joie de vivre.So in what way does this charming series help to rejuvenate the genre? Although reading of others’ experiences can be interesting and diverting, so many of the books I have read on the subject of ex-pats in France tend to be of the poorly-written “and then the roof fell in, and what with us not speaking a word of French, haha…..!!” variety; Laura, however, as an 18 year-old Canadian, spent an exchange year in the villages around Beaune and speaks fluent French, and is supported by the strong, capable, ever-optimistic Burgundian Franck, the love of her life and husband (read “My Grape Year” first, to find out about how Laura and Franck met). It is her engaging personality which shines through, as she shares with us her personal doubts and fears, and carries us with her on her journey as she learns to relinquish her more metropolitan mentality in favour of the simple, slower pace of life where the French make time to enjoy the daily experience of just living. Indeed, one of the most touching points, (in My Grape Village) and one which has stayed with me, is the wisdom of Franck’s grandmother, who urges Laura to seek “le petit bonheur du jour” - a little grain of pure happiness each day (which is surely an age-old version of today’s mindfulness), and which can be anything from stopping to look at the sun setting on the vineyards to savouring a little piece of dark chocolate - certainly something to cling on to when times get rough.As she is married to a local, and is automatically part of his extended family, the books are less about the standard outsider’s attempt to integrate into French society but more about someone learning to accept, appreciate and value the different perspectives and characteristics of her new compatriots, and how to do so with good humour. This isn’t simply a story of fixing the roof and wondering how to fit in some new closets in an ancient crumbling ruin - it is more the opening of an intelligent heart to the reader, something which is also continued in Laura’s honest and direct internet blogs.

Speaking as one who has yet to find any wine which can equal a good beer I could have done without the added wine enthusiast details but that's just me and other than that I found this really enjoyable. The dealings with local workers and professionals are as funny as they are stressful but the family's emphasis on becoming an active part of the local community must be a lesson for the large numbers living in Brit enclaves and speaking as little French as possible! Recommended and I'll be looking at her other works in the near future.

I found this so tedious and kept thinking if I read one more chapter it just had to get more interesting. In fairness to the author my usual genre is crime based thrillers so I went on to finish the book. It is well written and describes the wine growing region in France where it all takes place. Not my thing but you will enjoy it if you`re into travel or the perceptions people have of particular countries, for example the French people who thought being Canadian meant snowboarding and bears around every corner.

I really enjoyed this book as the rest of the series. It ks so much grounded in the reality of life - magnified in France as a comparison to a quieter, more regular Canada. Laura writes so entertainingly about her family (the French one) and the people working on their houses. I could almost dislike her (not really) for tormenting me with the delightful and delicious food and wine descriptions. Her children are hilarious but I'm glad they are not mine. All in all. I'm looking forward to the next episode.

I felt a little sad reading the fifth and final book in this series.In "My Grape Village" we join the author and her husband Franck as they renovate their second property in rural Burgundy. This time they have two young daughters to settle in school, Laura needs to acquaint herself with the intricacies of gear changing in the family car, and a deadline looms for renting their property to a growing list of clients. What could go wrong?The author charms us once again with her writing, and the descriptions of Burgundian food and wine are irresistible!