Review,  Women Fiction

It Started With A Note by Victoria Cooke

It Started With A Note by Victoria Cooke
Publication Date:
December 2nd 2018
Publisher: HQ Digital
Read date: February 25th 2019
Genre: Chick Lit / Women’s Fic / Romance
Pages: 290
Stars: 4/5

‘An unputdownable read’ – Rachel Burton on Who Needs Men Anyway?
One lost letter. A chance to change her life!Superhero single mum Cath always puts other people first. But now that she’s seen her son safely off to university (phew!), life seems a little, well…empty.
 
So when Cath unexpectedly discovers some letters written by her great-grandfather during the First World War, she decides to take herself on an adventure to France to retrace his footsteps.
 
Cath expects to spend her holiday visiting famous battlefields and testing out her French phrase book. What she doesn’t anticipate is that her tour guide, the handsome Olivier, will be quite so charming! Soon Cath isn’t simply unearthing the stories of the past – she’s writing a brand new one of her own, which might end up taking her in a very unexpected direction…
Bestselling author Victoria Cooke is back with a truly romantic and heart-warming read!
Readers love Victoria Cooke:‘What an amazing author. A breath of fresh air to the literary world. ‘
‘I will look forward to other books by this author and would definitely recommend reading this book, just brilliant!’
‘I loved this book! It gripped me from the start, so much so that I read it in one sitting…and was sad that it ended !! ‘
‘Definitely looking forward to reading more from this author.’
‘Please get writing some more books Victoria!’

It Started With A Note was beautiful French countryside romance, revolving around Cath, her trip to France retracing her great grandfather’s footstep by fulfilling his dying wish and finding a new meaning and perspective of life.

Plot was really interesting. 37-years-old, Cath was a single mother who lived life for others that included her lousy bother- Gray and unconcerned son-Kieran. She deserved more in life. All she needed was a ‘me-time’ in foreign country, a perfect way to get away from monotonous life and spend her employee of the year bonus. Tired of Gary’s unappreciative attitude, inspired by her great grandfather’s letters from WWI era, and after persistent persuasion of her work friend- Kaitlynn, Cath decide to take break and go to France and retrace her great grandfather’s footstep. But falling in love and holiday romance wasn’t in her itinerary.

This was different from all previous books I read by Victoria Cooke. Writing was amazing, flawless, taking me right into the setting of the book. Author brought out lifelike image of places, food and characters in it. And the heartwarming romantic scenes were the cherry on the top.

What I loved most about the book was, author covering the famous WWI memorials- Lochnagar Crater, Mametz Wood, Neuve Chapelle memorial, Menine Gate, In Flanders Fields Museum and many more- and all historical titbits on them in emotional and touching voice of Cath. Cath’s great-grandfather’s letters were another best part of the book. I loved to read them all. His love for his wife and daughter was heartfelt.

Cath’s sensitive and empathetic nature took her close to her great-grandfather who was long gone. She could feel what he might be seeing and experiencing. It changed her perspective and gave her strength to roam the streets of foreign land alone. Author expressed her feeling so realistically that I could feel it myself. Along with her it amazed me how her great-grandfather managed to learn French in dire situation.

Cath was funny, charming, practical, empathetic and sensitive woman. I loved how quickly she befriended other tourists at her hotel and how she met Olivier through them. Her bonding with American couples was unique and refreshing. I loved the ladies of the book, Martha, Kaitlynn, Cynthia and Jackie. They brought out the best in Cath and how they motivated her to live life better.

Cath’s relationship with Olivier and all other characters was charming to read. Her development was great. I loved how she turned out independent, strong woman. How she came out of her monotonous routine and embraced beauty and culture of foreign country, found her love for travelling, and her passion that she lost in raising her son alone.

Olivier was perfect gentlemen. He was everything you want in your partner- smart, knowledgeable, empathetic, funny, lively, handsome, rich and he could cook! He also had bad and dark past but I loved his honesty about it. He was real prince charming. It was crazy Cath took so long to accept her feeling for him. The time she took to decide about her relationship with Olivier and future was bit too much. From her perspective it was genuine but for me as a reader, it felt like she was over complicating things. Anyway, I loved how it turned out in the end.

The happily-ever-after ending was cherry on the top of all the wonderful things in the book.

It felt little slow in last 30% of the book. As I said I didn’t appreciate how long it took for Cath to decide what she want from her relationship with Olivier, even though Olivier was ready to work it out and coming up with all different option.

Overall, it was entertaining, engaging with beautiful writing and characters. A chic-lit, holiday romance in French countryside that I recommend to fans of this genre.

Author: Victoria Cooke 

Purchase Link: Amazon.in / Amazon.com

*** Note: I received e-ARC via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review. ***

Previous books I read by Victoria Cooke

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Hi, I'm Yesha, an Indian book blogger. Avid and eclectic reader who loves to read with a cup of tea. Not born reader but I don't think I’m going to stop reading books in this life. “You can never get a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough to suit me.”

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