Review & Tour ~ The Provence Cure For The Brokenhearted by Bridget Asher

The Provence Cure for the Brokenhearted: A Novel
Author ~ Bridget Asher
Publisher ~ Bantam Dell
Publication date ~ March 29, 2011

Brokenhearted and still mourning the loss of her husband, Heidi travels with Abbott, her obsessive-compulsive seven-year-old son, and Charlotte, her jaded sixteen-year-old niece, to the small village of Puyloubier in the south of France, where a crumbling stone house may be responsible for mending hearts since before World War II.

There, Charlotte confesses a shocking secret, and Heidi learns the truth about her mother’s “lost summer” when Heidi was a child. As three generations collide with one another, with the neighbor who seems to know all of their family skeletons, and with an enigmatic Frenchman, Heidi, Charlotte, and Abbot journey through love, loss, and healing amid the vineyards, warm winds and delicious food of Provence. Can the magic of the house heal Heidi’s heart, too?

My thoughts ~ 


Heidi has a gift for making beautiful pieces of art in her bakery. She is a well-known, talented pastry chef. But she has lost her desire to create. Along with her car keys, lids to the toothpaste and jelly, friends, checkbooks - and the most important thing in her life, her husband. It’s been two years since Henry died in a car accident, and Heidi still hasn’t found her way back to the land of the living. She’s not sure if she ever will, or even if she wants to. But she knows that she needs to, if not for herself, than for her son Abbott. A little boy who loves to hear “Henry stories”, worries a great deal about his mom, and has developed some OCD tendencies in the wake of his father’s death. 

Up until her teens, Heidi would spend each summer at her family home in Provence, along with her mother and sister. There they would laugh, play with the boys next door, enjoy the simple life, and hear the stories of the home. They heard of the magic wonders that occur in this beautiful spot, the love that is found, and the miraculous healing of the heart. They hear of the great fire that literally stopped at their doorstep, and of their great grandparents, who could never have children - that is until they visited this beloved spot and were then blessed with the family they dreamed of, yet had given up on. Then one summer, Heidi’s mom went to Provence alone, needing time to sort through some personal issues of her own and hoping the magic healing powers of the house will soothe her aching heart. 

Despite the joy of her sister’s wedding, Heidi still cannot get passed her grief. She tries to put her pain aside to celebrate with her sister, but arriving late for the bridesmaid’s toast doesn’t help matters. However, she does feel useful when helping to deal with Charlotte, her sister’s soon-to-be step-daughter. A sixteen-year-old young woman struggling with being a teen, her father getting remarried, finding her own identity, and keeping a secret of her own. When a fire occurs at the Provence house Heidi’s mother is beside herself. That house means so much to her. But not as much as her daughter and grandson’s happiness. So along with Heidi’s sister, they concoct a plan for Heidi, Abbott, and Charlotte to go to France to oversee the renovations from the fire, and to maybe find some of the magic that the house possesses.

Heidi arrives in Provence and immediately gets off to a rocky start. Not only is their rental car broken into and all their possessions stolen, but then it breaks down. Julien, the son of their neighbor and one of the boys Heidi played with as a child comes to their rescue. There definitely seems to be an attraction between the two, but both are dealing with tremendous amounts of pain, and neither one is looking for love. Can either one move past their hurt and move on with their lives, experiencing love, friendship, tears, and laughter for the first time in a long time? Will the secrets that are revealed bring this family closer or tear them apart? Will anyone experience the magic this house presumes to possess?

The Provence Cure For The Brokenhearted is a story full o f hope, promise, and the love one feels for someone even after they are gone. It’s about families finding each other, about secrets being told, and about coming home again. It’s a story about believing in oneself, hope for the future, coming together, and dealing with the past. The Provence Cure For The Brokenhearted is a tender-hearted love story that tackles moving on from grief and opening up to love again.

About the author ~ 

Critically acclaimed, bestselling author Julianna Baggott also writes under the pen names Bridget Asher and N.E. Bode. She has published sixteen books over the last ten years.


Her latest novel, The Pretend Wife, written under the pen name Bridget Asher, was published in June 2009. Her first Bridget Asher novel, My Husband’s Sweethearts has sixteen overseas editions. In spring 2011, Random House will publish The Provence Cure for the Broken-Hearted, with another Asher novel under contract.

She lives in Florida with her husband writer David G.W. Scott and their four kids, and is an associate professor at Florida State University’s Creative Writing Program.

In 2006, Baggott and her husband co-founded the nonprofit organization Kids in Need – Books in Deed, that focuses on literacy and getting free books to underprivileged children in the state of Florida.

Connect with Bridget on her website, Facebook, Twitter, and on her blog.

Review & Giveaway ~ The Bird House by Kelly Simmons

The Bird House: A Novel
Author ~ Kelly Simmons
Publisher ~ Simon & Schuster
ISBN ~ 1439160937
Publication date ~ February 1, 2011


About the book ~ 


Every family has its secrets. But when you are suddenly the matriarch, tending the dark fires of memory, and your own mind is fading, who do you dare to share them with? Your diary, or your eight-year-old granddaughter?

Interweaving diaries penned forty years apart, Kelly Simmons’s captivating second novel, The Bird House, blends the fierce voice of Ann Biddle, a woman struggling to bond with her only grandchild, Ellie, while railing against the ravages of early dementia, with her point-of-view as a young wife and mother. We witness the secrets of Ann’s family and her grand-daughter and daughter-in-law’s through every lens — from the clarity of the rearview mirror to the haze of Alzheimer’s. And we see her grappling through the ‘60’s with sleep deprivation, breast cancer, her own mother’s death, a passionate affair, and a tragedy that leaves her stunned until, four decades later, her whip-smart granddaughter unwittingly sheds a burst of light on the family’s shadowy history.

A subtly tense, darkly psychological tug of war between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, present and past, The Bird House is a moving treatise on family, love, and memories—both lost and found. And proves a worthy successor to her book club favorite debut, Standing Still.

Click HERE to read the first chapter

My thoughts ~ 

Ann Biddle isn’t sure which of her memories she can trust these days and which ones she cannot. Right from the start Ann lets us know that she killed her daughter. She tells of a not-so-perfect marriage and of other things she wishes she could have changed in her past. But how much of these memories are completely accurate? How many are distortions of a past that she now struggles to remember? Or could these be recollections she has constructed in her mind to protect herself from the real truths, the real hurts? Just how many family secrets are trapped in not only Ann’s memory, but in the old trunks hidden away in her attic?

Ann’s granddaughter Ellie is given a project for school that she needs Ann’s help on. She must recreate the past, with a theme that runs throughout the family history, and then retell it in her own way. Ellie is a bright, reserved, sweet, precious eight-year-old who sometimes may be to mature for her own good. She is acutely aware of her surroundings, aware of her grandmother’s fading memory, and aware that her mother, Tinsley –(Ann’s daughter-in-law), - has reservations about the time Ellie spends with her grandmother. But is the reason for Tinsley wanting to keep Ann and Ellie apart due to Ann’s fading memory and her concern for Ellie’s safety when she is with her? Is it because she is jealous of the growing relationship between the older woman and young girl? Could it be because she knows that Ann may be aware of her secret? A secret she will do whatever is necessary to keep, including keeping grandmother and granddaughter apart. 

Ann tells us her story through her diary entries, fluctuating between the present when she works with Ellie on her project and dealing with her failing memory, to the past when she discusses her marriage, her father’s disappearance and fraud, regrets and the death of her child. The book is filled with situations that have more than likely happened in our own lives, with characters that are real, believable, and most likely remind us of someone who we know and love. You will be engaged in Ann’s story from page one; wanting to know what her secrets are and how close to reality her perceptions of the past are. The Bird House is a beautifully told story of heartbreak, fading memories, past loves, guilt, family secrets, and the power of three generations of women.

About Kelly Simmons

Kelly Simmons is the author of the critically acclaimed Simon & Schuster novel, Standing Still, and coming in February, The Bird House. She is a former journalist and advertising creative director who lives in the Philadelphia area with her family, and divides her time between writing, teaching, public speaking, and vacuuming up dog hair. She was born and raised in Waukegan, Illinois, and credits weekly visits to the Waukegan Public Library for her literary prowess. (Her determination to succeed, however, could only come from being a Cubs fan.) Visit her website at www.bykellysimmons.com.

Connect with Kelly on Facebook and Twitter.

Click on the TLC logo to visit the other stops on  The Bird House: A Novel tour.

Thank you to TLC Book Tours and the author I have one (1) autographed copy of The Bird House: A Novel to give away.

GIVEAWAY Rules for entering:

* This contest is open to residents of USA only

* Please complete the form below - do not leave information in the comments - it will not count.

* The contest will end on March 2nd at 11:59PM EST; 1 winner will be selected and contacted thereafter.

* Once the winners are contacted, they will have 48 hours to respond to my email or another winner will be chosen (make sure to check your spam filters!).

* Book will be shipped directly from the author. 

FTC Full Disclosure ~ I received this book from the publisher as part of the TLC tour