Review: A Wedding in Provence by Ellen Sussman

I decided to read this while I was travelling this summer.  I like to read books that are set in the places I'm visiting while I'm there.  I started this while in France, visiting chateaux in the Loire Valley - so not exactly Provence, but the same country.

I read most of this book while on the train from Paris to Brussels, then Brussels to Bruges and back, and then Brussels to London.  It's an okay book, didn't love it, didn't hate it.  Sometimes those are the most difficult to review.

This is the story about an older couple going to Provence to get married at a friend's bed & breakfast.  The scenery is beautiful, but the people gathered for the wedding aren't feeling so fairy tale like.

There isn't anything too dramatic or horrible,  just a typical family drama.  Two sisters, one good with her act together, the other something of an irresponsible bad girl.  The irresponsible daughter shows up at the wedding with a guy she met on the plane.  The good daughter shows up alone, her boyfriend finding an excuse to avoid the trip.  Somewhere along the way the good daughter decides she's tired of being good and the bad daughter is forced to behave responsibly.  I found it a bit of a stretch to assume that their entire personalities were transformed based on the events of one weekend, but this is why it's fiction.

I didn't feel any strong connection to the characters.  In fact, I kind of disliked the couple getting married.  The mom especially seemed like a rather unpleasant person, and I don't think that was the intention.  I didn't ever get the feeling that this couple had some great love that was going to solve all their other problems.  The couple I liked more was the one running the Bed & Breakfast, despite their problems, they seemed genuine.

Overall, the book was okay.  A fairly quick read, it held my interest and did well to pass all the time I spent on trains.

I received a review copy via NetGalley.