Jen’s review of Once Upon a Rose (La Vie en Roses #1) by Laura Florand
She stole his roses.
Fleeing the spotlight, burnt out rock star Layla–“Belle”–Dubois seeks refuge in the south of France. That old, half-forgotten heritage in a valley of roses seems like a good place to soothe a wounded heart. She certainly doesn’t expect the most dangerous threat to her heart to pounce on her as soon as she sets foot on the land.
He wants them back.
Matt didn’t mean to growl at her quite that loudly. But–his roses! She can’t have his roses. Even if she does have all those curls and green eyes and, and, and…what was he growling about again?
Or maybe he just wants her.
When an enemy invades his valley and threatens his home, heart, and livelihood, Matthieu Rosier really knows only one way to defend himself.
It might involve kissing.
And that might be just the start.
I love food, I love books set outside the US, and I love sexy contemporaries, yet I somewhat inexplicably never read any of Laura Florand’s Amour et Chocolat series. When I saw she was starting a new series, I decided to jump in at the beginning this time.
This new series introduces the Rosiers, a family that owns a rose farm in Provence. (One of their cousins is Gabe, a hero from a previous book, so there is some subtle overlap.) Matthieu Rosier is the heir to the empire, and since he was little his grandfather has impressed upon him that the business, the family, and indeed the entire valley where it’s located are his responsibility. When American Layla Dubois shows up saying that she inherited a house and piece of land in the middle of that valley, Matthieu feels threatened, as though he’s already failing to protect his own. Layla is a musician and just wants some place to lay low and try to regain her songwriting mojo, and an old house in the French countryside seems like the perfect place to do that. Despite their divergent goals, Matthieu and Layla are drawn together and wonder if their previous goals were the right ones.
By a wide margin the thing that I loved most about this book was Matthieu. Holy hell, did I love Matthieu! He is one of my favorite kind of heroes: the reluctant leader, the one who never runs away from responsibility even though he sometimes wants to. He is the fixer, the guy who gets it done without fanfare or complaint. While others in his family may leave, may take a break from the responsibility, he doesn’t because to do so would just be unthinkable for him. Even when Layla first arrives and he’s angry and hurt that she is taking a part of “his” valley, he can’t stop himself from watching out for her because she’s in his valley and is vulnerable and if he doesn’t care for her, who will? He is huge and very growly, but underneath he is one of the most sensitive, softest-hearted heroes I’ve ever read. (I couldn’t help comparing him to the Beast from the Disney version of Beauty and the Beast. He looks and acts kind of intimidating, but it’s just a defense to hide his own fears and insecurities.) Seriously, he blushes. When’s the last time you read about a hero who blushes constantly? The big, handsome guy also acts like a dork in front of Layla because she flusters him, and it had me laughing out loud repeatedly, such as the time he encounters Layla just as he’s taken off his shirt while working.
Oh, shit. He jerked the T-shirt back over his head, tangling himself in the bundle of it as the holes proved impossible to find, and then he stuck his arm through the neck hole and his head didn’t fit and he wrenched it around and tried to get himself straight and dressed somehow and–oh, fuck.
He stared at her, all the blood cells in his body rushing to his cheeks.
Of course, all his responsibility does weigh him down sometimes, and part of what he has to learn in this book is that he is worthwhile for who he is, not just because of his position in the family. I wanted to wrap him up and take him home and OMG he is just the cutest.
Because I liked Matthieu so much, it actually took me a little while to warm up to Layla because I wasn’t sure she was worthy! Fortunately, I grew to like her too. She’s lost when she arrives. She’s lost her creative energy, her drive to succeed, and even her love for music. She obviously needs mental and physical space, and she needs to be reminded that she’s more than just her music. I loved the way she understood Matthieu and I loved the lightness and humor of their interactions. I did think sometimes Layla was a little TOO perfect, though. Everything she does is kind and wonderful. A few more flaws would have made her more relatable.
The setting of the book is just plain gorgeous. Florand describes the landscape so lovingly and with so much detail, I was ready to hop on a plane right that minute. Matthieu’s family also play a large role in the book. I presume his cousins will be the heroes of future books, and if the glimpses we get of them are any indication, their stories will be amazing too. I would have liked to get more resolution between Matthieu and his grandfather, because there is clearly a conflict brewing there, but I expect his grandfather’s story line will continue throughout the series.
If I had to pinpoint my biggest criticism, it’s that Matthieu and Layla should have done more talking about their issues. There is a ton of internal monologue in this book, where each character works through stuff in their own heads. That’s great (and freaking adorable in the case of Mattheiu), but I wanted to see more of them working through stuff out loud, too. I kept wanting them to just say those internal comments to each other! For instance, Layla never really tells Matthieu about all the pressure she was under, how she had lost her enthusiasm, why music was so important to her, etc., even after Matthieu learns about her career. They also have a crucial argument near the end of the book that might have been avoided if they had actually discussed a lie of omission Layla makes earlier. Clearly Matthieu’s feelings were still hurt from earlier, but because they never discussed things, it festered until it exploded. It’s not that they don’t talk, and it’s not that I didn’t believe they understood the other. I guess I just felt like there were several important conversations I wanted to see to help convince me that they were starting off fresh and fully informed. It also got a little tiresome when both Matthieu and Layla persist in thinking they’re not that attractive. There is a lot of “No YOU’RE the hot one!” At the start it made sense, but I thought they both should have moved beyond that sentiment pretty quickly.
Despite some flaws, this was a fun book with a sexy, adorable hero, and I’m glad I didn’t wait to give it a try.
Grade: 4.25 out of 5
This book is available from Laura Florand. You can purchase it here or here in e-format.
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