Sophie Valroux’s Paris Stars by Samantha Verant

Hi everyone!  Happy Publication Day to Sophie Valroux’s Paris Stars by Samantha Verant.   Set in a chateau in France as well as in Paris, the foodie in you will appreciate this one.

From The Publisher:

Everybody wants a piece of grand chef Sophie Valroux. With her once-destroyed reputation fully recovered and then some, Sophie is making her mark in the culinary world. She’s running the restaurants of Château de Champvert, the beautiful estate that she inherited from her grandmother. She and her fiancé, Rémi, are closer than ever, and she’s even bonding with his daughter Lola. Everything should be perfect.
Yet, Sophie still feels something in her heart is missing.
When she’s invited to cook at an exclusive event her culinary idol is attending, she thinks this could be the thing to catapult her to greater heights, maybe even bring her one step closer to her one and only dream of achieving the stars–Michelin stars.
But fate has other plans for Sophie. After she accepts to cook for the Parisian elite, her world crumbles. She suffers a fall and loses her senses of smell and taste. Certain that her career will vanish if people find out, she keeps this secret to herself, not even telling Rémi. She fakes it all: the menus for every meal, the taste of fresh figs, the juicy cherries in the orchard. All she has to do is get through life–and the event–tasteless without missing a single step. Fake it ’til you make it…right?

Book Review

I thoroughly enjoyed this book.  The French chateau and Paris setting were the perfect escape to a country I love to explore. The chateau and its acreage are beautifully described and transported me to Sophie’s past and present.  Sophie’s character is central to the story and is well developed.

Sophie inherits the chateau and estate from her recently deceased beloved Grandmother.  Her Grandmother also left her with the her passion for cooking as well as her drive for independence. The chateau not only becomes a place for visitors to stay but also a place where locals can also enjoy its amazing cuisine.  Surrounded by a team of support of interesting characters, Sophie’s career-damaging past seems to have been left in the U.S.

The book also has plenty of romance.  Sophie and Remi have grown up together with Sophie visiting France each summer.  Now engaged to single parent Remi, she’s happier than she’s ever been.  Yet she can’t help but feel that something is missing in her life – the sought-after Michelin star.

I love strong, independent females and Sophie’s character exudes this. After needing to take care of her mother for many years, she’s learned to rely only on herself.  Even a traumatic injury that jeopardizes her career is concealed in hopes that it will go unnoticed. It is only after she participates in an exclusive culinary event in Paris, with its damaging injury, that Sophie is able to determine what she truly wants out of life.

What I Liked About Sophie Valroux’s Paris Stars:

• The strong independent protagonist
• The Chateau and Paris settings
• Sophie’s level of personal growth and insight to find a life she can enjoy.

I Recommend This Book To:

Those readers who enjoy fiction set in France or about food.

My Rating:

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Add Sophie Valroux’s Paris Stars to your Goodreads shelf

Acknowledgments:

Thank you to Berkley Publishing and Edelweiss for the ARC of this book in exchange for the honest review provided here.

Similar Books I’ve Reviewed:

Maggie Finds Her Muse by Dee Ernst

The Vineyard at Painted Moon by Susan Mallery

It’s Better This Way by Debbie Macomber

Thanks for reading and supporting my blog.  Are you a foodie?  Let me know in the comments.  As always, I hope you have a wonderful day.