French Relations

A great read with Tash (our heroine) going to France to visit her mother and quirky stepfather. The entire family with a few mismatched add-ons ends up summering at this chateau. Hilarious antics result -- you will laugh out loud. Reminiscent of Jilly Cooper, with all the different characters, but DON"T MISS THIS ONE!!!!!

Tash has lost a boyfriend, needs a job and decides that now is the best time to accept her mother's office to spend a month with family in a chateau in Paris. Once she arrives, Tash decides that maybe she made a big mistake in coming. After all she is trying to mend a broken heart and along comes Hugo, her childhood crush. As if that is not bad enough, it seems that Nials, an Irish actor might be interested in her or does she have it all wrong. As if having two gorgeous men after her is not enough, guess who shows up? Yes, her ex-boyfriend Max. This story was great because here you have a shy, insecure girl like Tash who manages to snag the attention of the most attractive men there. Not only that but you get to meet her adorable mother, her drunk stepfather, her bitchy glamorous sister and her liberal, right wing, brother. Along with the family you meet other wacky friends and foe. I really enjoyed this book enormously except for the fact that the two people who are destined to end up together (I won't spoil the surprise) do not get a chance to actually say I love you. I guess this is the sign of a good book and story line when you are racing through the pages in order to hear the main character say..."you are the one that I have been waiting for!" I can't wait to read the sequel "Well Groomed" to find out how what happens to Tash and the rest of her family. Excellent book.

Reading this book isn't going to solve the world's problems; but it will make you forget about them for a few days. At 800 pages, it can look daunting, but you won't want it to end. Tash French is a great heroine, not beautiful, not perfect, not trying to be. The whole cast of characters is really well defined. The book takes you through a summer holiday in France with the French family and miscellaneous friends, and all of the wacky things that happen to them. It was just plain fun to read. I liked it so much, I ordered all of Fiona Walker's books - she has a really good sense of humor. There are certain scenes that had me laughing out loud because you could visualize them happening, they were written so well. I highly recommend and have passed my copy on to friends.

French Relations is Fiona Walker at her best. The title of this book refers to two things: Tash French, the novel's heroine, and the fact that she spends her summer in France at her family's beautiful, but slightly run-down, mansion. Fiona Walker's writing shines because of her characters, and Tash French is a great, well-rounded heroine. Tash is incredibly shy, insecure, and overweight; yet through the summer she's able to find her own type of strength. The heroes are equally likeable: Hugo, a rich, smug playboy who treats Tash (and all other women he comes across) horribly, and Niall, a heartbroken, drug-addicted Irish actor, who's almost as insecure as Tash. You're bound to find yourself rooting for Tash to get together with one of these men. The book has an incredibly large cast of supporting characters, which can make it hard to follow. At the same time, the large, zany group of people staying at the French mansion gives the book much of its charm. There's Alexandra, Tash's well-meaning but somewhat oblivious mother, Sophia, Tash's beautiful, disapproving stepsister, a randy Australian with an enormous dog, and several others. Keep in mind that this is really only half a book. You may think the story has ended, but you need to buy Well Groomed to see how things really turn out. Buy this book, you'll read it over and over again.