Review of The French Postmistress by Julia Stagg

Zut Alors! When her post office burns down, postmistress Véronique starts lobbying for its replacement. But her fellow residents of the small commune of Fogas in the French Pyrenees are too preoccupied to rally to her cause. Mayor Serge Papon, overwhelmed by grief at the death of his wife, has lost his joie de vivre and all taste for village politics (and croissants) and it seems as though deputy mayor Christian (whose tendresse for Véronique makes him her usual champion) will soon be saying au revoir to the mountain community. And to Sarko the bull... Add to this a controversial government initiative to reintroduce bears to the area and soon the inhabitants are at loggerheads, threatening the progress of the sacred Tour de France and the very existence of Fogas itself...  

 

The first thing that caught my attention was the book cover, it is so beautiful yet simple. After reading the back of the book, I knew could see that the back drop and story was going to be different from any book I had read before (In a good way though). I had yet to read a story that had French in it, maybe I will be able to pick up a few new words.

This is the third book that Julia Stagg has written in the Fogas Series, I haven't read the first two books but after reading this one, I really got to know the characters and loved the story so much. The story revolves around Veronique who worked in a post office that was until it burnt down and now she is trying everything to get it rebuilt.

Along with Veronique there is Mayor Serge Papon who having not long ago lost his wife, seems to have more bad things happen to him. Losing his job was just the second bad thing to happen to him in a short period of time. Though in the small town of Fogas, which is within the French Pyrenees there is drama happening everywhere you look. The deputy mayor has his hands full trying to leave the town of Fogas and leaving for good.

Though things take interesting turns in the book when the community decide to introduce Bears back into the mountain community and things get interesting as the story progresses on. I loved the drama that fill every page and made you excited about reading page after page. It was a amazing story about a small town in the French Pyrenees that had people who loved the town so much that they were willing to do whatever it takes to make it a success once again.

I really loved this book, from the French setting to the drama that was surrounding the lives of Veronique and everyone else who lives in Fogas. I even learned a couple of French words along the way.

If I had to sum this book up in three words, they would be Incroyable (Amazing), Excellente (Excellent) and Magnifique (Magnificent).

I would recommend this book to anyone who love a book with drama, love, French, Bears and everything else this story has to offer.

Thank you to the people at Hodder & Stoughton for sending me a copy.

 

   

Cursed from a young age with itchy feet, Julia has lived in Japan, Australia, the UK, the USA and more recently, France. She has worked as a waitress, a 'check-out chick', a bookseller, a pawnbroker and as a teacher of English as a Foreign Language.

In 2004, tempted by a love of cycling and a passion for mountains, she moved to the gorgeous Ariège-Pyrenees region of France to run a small auberge with her husband where she was able to add chambermaid, receptionist, cleaner and chef to her CV all in one go. When not writing or running the business, Julia spent her time out in the mountains, walking the paths and the ridges that provide the beautiful setting for the Fogas novels or riding her bike through the small hamlets and villages that are a vital part of her books.
She currently divides her time between the Ariège and the Yorkshire Dales and for a short while at least, those feet have stopped itching.

   Another day, another book,