Title: Not Quite Nice
Author: Celia Imrie
Genre: Women’s Fiction
Opens: …The small town of Bellevue-Sur-Mer sparkled like a diamond on the French Mediterranean Coast…
Blurb: Theresa is desperate for a change. Forced into early retirement, fed up with babysitting her bossy daughter’s obnoxious children, she sells her Highgate house and moves to the picture-perfect town of Bellevue-sur-Mer, just outside Nice. With its beautiful villas, its bustling cafes and shimmering sea, the village sparkles like a diamond on the French Mediterranean coast. Theresa soon discovers a close-knit set of expats and settles to the gentle rhythm of seaside life as she embraces her new-found friendships and freedom. However, life is never quite as simple as it seems and as skeletons start to fall out of several closets, Theresa begins to wonder if life on the French Riviera is not quite as nice as it first appeared.
My Thoughts: I really enjoyed this light fluffy read – and can relate to feeling used and abused by a demanding selfish grown-up child who thinks that everything hubby and I worked hard for has to be handed to her on a platter. Sixty-year-old Theresa has one such child and when she is laid off from her job the thought of being an unpaid navvy for her daughter for her remaining years fills her with horror. So on impulse she buys a small house in the fictional town of Bellevue-sur-Mer just outside Nice in the south of France. So Theresa now lives not quite in the city of Nice and events that occur are not quite nice either – so I really appreciated the very clever title punning on the two meanings of ‘nice’..
Of course life is not all roses in her new home – starting with a naked man jumping out of a hotel window into her back yard and his insanely jealous, mega rich, wife calling her whore in a strident voice the next day. But she soon makes friends with the local ex-pats. For a small community of friends there are a lot of secrets and then when you add to the mix theft, kidnapping and assault and you have a very exciting read. Despite her naked introduction to her new circle of friends, Therese starts to make a life – she starts to learn French, sets up a cooking school to earn a bit of money and even finds herself attracted to a very nice man.
This is Celia Imrie’s first fictional book – and she has done very well by allowing humour to take over the story at times without it descending into silliness. The lightness balances nicely with the more drama ridden topics of infidelity, sex-changes, homosexuality, drug use and criminal activity. I was often laughing out loud at some of the events – gasping at some more meatier ones and then getting angry at the behaviour of a plethora of offspring that come to get what they can out of their various parents – or think they have the right to be rude to a parent who stands firm against them. The overall message is – it is your life, your needs and your choice. Do not let your children emotionally bully you. Learn to say no when it doesn’t suit you to do what they want.
Beautifully descriptive writing the small Mediterranean town came alive for me on the pages – old buildings, narrow streets steep steps, brightly coloured flowers everywhere and lovely cafes to enjoy the sparkling sea from. I was hooked from page one and certainly hope this will not be her last book.
For more about the author – Click Here
A – Excellent Stuff – a real page turner and hard to put down. I carved out extra reading time just so I could finish it. This book got carted into the bathroom with me, read over meals, read at work, and/or kept me up late at night. If this author has more work, I will certainly read it.
With thanks to Allen & Unwin and the author for this copy to read and review. Allen & Unwin recommended retail price is $29.99.
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