Off the Wild Coast of Brittany - Fiction Review

Goodreads:  Off the Wild Coast of Brittany by Juliet Blackwell

Rating:  Really Liked It
Source: Publisher

Description:  Natalie Morgen made a name for herself with a memoir about overcoming her harsh childhood after finding a new life in Paris. After falling in love with a classically trained chef, they moved together to his ancestral home, a tiny fishing village off the coast of Brittany.

But then Francois-Xavier breaks things off with her without warning, leaving her flat broke and in the middle of renovating the guesthouse they planned to open for business. Natalie's already struggling when her sister, Alex, shows up unannounced. The sisters form an unlikely partnership to save the guesthouse, reluctantly admitting their secrets to each other as they begin to heal the scars of their shared past.

But the property harbors hidden stories of its own. During World War II, every man of fighting age on the island fled to England to join the Free French forces. The women and children were left on their own...until three hundred German troops took up residence, living side-by-side with the French women on the tiny island for the next several years.

When Natalie and Alex unearth an old cookbook in a hidden cupboard, they find handwritten recipes that reveal old secrets. With the help of locals, the Morgen sisters begin to unravel the relationship between Violette, a young islander whose family ran the guesthouse during WWII, and Rainier, a German military customs official with a devastating secret of his own.

Genre: Fiction 

Why I Picked This Book:  Blackwell is an author I always enjoy and I absolutely loved a fiction dual timeline book by her that I read last year so I couldn't resist this one.

My Impression:  I love home front stories, I always enjoy Juliet Blackwell's books and this one reminded me a touch of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society which is one of my favorite books.  So my expectations going in to this one were crazy high. 

Unfortunately, it didn't quite live up to them.  Both stories are fascinating.  An island of women left on their own when all their men go off to war.  Left to care for the young and the elderly, find food on an island, and deal with a German occupation the women must band together for survival.  The story pulled at me but I had trouble really connecting with Violetta.   In the present day story line I had the same issue with Natalie.  The story of the lifestyle blogger whose perfect life is falling apart and isn't sure what to do is interesting but Natalie was so frozen I got frustrated with her at times.  I also felt like it had a bit of a slow start.  While we were introduced to the characters it took a little while for the story to gain real traction.

Just because I didn't love it as much as I expected doesn't mean I didn't enjoy it because I absolutely did.  Alex is a great character and while I wished that she and Nat would just talk to each other I loved how the sister relationship evolved.  I also loved the setting and the home renovation.  Alex is just so capable and Natalie seemed so helpless at times that it was interesting to see them play off each other.  I loved the history of the island and the house and seeing the changes between life there during the war and present day life.  Blackwell's writing style never disappoints and is always quick to draw me in and makes the setting come alive even when the story isn't the fastest.  

While not perfect this was an enjoyable read in an unusual setting.  I'm already looking forward to more of Blackwell's fiction titles.

Would I Read More of this Series/Author?  Absolutely!  I love Blackwell's mysteries and fiction.

Would I Recommend this Book?   If you enjoy dual timeline fiction I think you would enjoy this one!

* I received this book in exchange for an honest review.  As always my opinions and impressions are completely my own. *