The Provence Cure for the Brokenhearted: A Novel

As my local Border's was closing, and the discounts were getting larger and larger, I found more and more books that normally I would never see. I don't shop for romance. I don't even wander into that section but books were everywhere at that point and the cover of this one drew my attention. I didn't rush home and read this. It went into my "to read" stack on my windowseat in my bedroom. Months later, I picked it up on my way to bed and started reading. I was pleasantly surprised.

Don't get me wrong, this is chick lit. It's not going to win a Nobel Prize for Literature. It's fluff but it's fluff with substance. Think Under The Tuscan Sun or Chocolat and you get the point. I call it "intellectual chick lit" as we all need a little fluff in our lives every now and then inbetween novels of fact or fiction that fire all brain cells. Our lives can run amock and physically drain us so a comfortable, snuggly read is a good thing.

Heidi is the main character but she is only one of the brokenhearted. Two years ago, her husband, her soulmate, the one she couldn't even breathe without, was killed in an accident. She is shattered and lost but struggles on because of their son, Abbott. Abbott has his own broken heart over his father's death and has become an obsessive/compulsive germ-a-phobe who is constantly worried about his mother. Heidi can't get her act together even two years after her husband's death. She is unable to return to the bakery she adored and created with her husband, Henry. She can't find her keys most days. She's lucky she remembers to show up at her sister's wedding. Enter her strong and determined mother stepping in and sending her off to the old family home in Provence with her son and 16 year old niece, Charlotte. Charlotte comes complete with black and blue hair, teenage angst and her own broken heart.

Maybe one of the things that I liked so much about this book is quite simply, I liked the characters. I liked how Heidi talked about Henry to Abbott, actually encourages Abbott to keep him in his heart. I like that regardless of her odd looks and attempts at shocking the world, Heidi just accepts Charlotte as she is and Charlotte respects that. Heidi may be grieving and broken, but she is still wise. I also agree that sometimes, the only way to get over something so devastating is to get away from the daily sights and smells that keep you stuck. Healing in Provence sounds just as wonderful as healing in Tuscany.

There is some predictability in this novel but there is comfort in that also. The humor, the tears and the believability of the story kept me turning pages and returning to this novel at bedtime. The food...the food is a nice bonus. I liked it for exactly what it is.

When I finished this novel, I decided to investigate Bridget Asher a bit to maybe purchase another novel for those time I need a comfort read. I discovered that Bridget Asher is one of the pen names for the author Julianna Baggott. Another pen name is N.E. Bode under which she writes children's books - a nice discovery for future gifts. I did find that Julianna is quite diverse in her writings and a few titles have intrigued me. I may just have to delve deeper into this author!

Hmmm, maybe that's the real blessing of this book. It lead me to discover the author and possibly to find more joy in more books. I'm not seeing a negative to this.