This showcased a troubling time in France’s history while also pulling at my heartstrings.
Rating: 5/5
1792, France
Rumors of revolution in Paris swirl in Marseille, a bustling port city in southern France. Gilles Étienne, a clerk at the local soap factory, thrives on the news. Committed to the cause of equality, liberty, and brotherhood, he and his friends plan to march to Paris to dethrone the monarchy. His plans are halted when he meets Marie-Caroline Daubin, the beautiful daughter of the owner of the factory.
A bourgeoise and royalist, Marie-Caroline has been called home to Marseille to escape the unrest in Paris. She rebuffs Gilles’s efforts to charm her and boldly expresses her view that violently imposed freedom is not really freedom for all. As Marie-Caroline takes risks to follow her beliefs, Gilles catches her in a dangerous secret that could cost her and her family their lives. As Gilles and Marie-Caroline spend more time together, she questions her initial assumptions about Gilles and realizes that perhaps they have more in common than she thought.
As the spirit of revolution descends on Marseille, people are killed and buildings are ransacked and burned to the ground. Gilles must choose between supporting the political change he believes in and protecting those he loves. And Marie-Caroline must battle between standing up for what she feels is right and risking her family’s safety. With their lives and their nation in turmoil, both Gilles and Marie-Caroline wonder if a révolutionnaire and a royaliste can really be together in a world that forces people to choose sides.
I received an ARC of Beyond Lavender Fields through Shadow Mountain Publishing asking that I read it and feature it on my page. Thank you so much for this opportunity! I really enjoyed this one!
This was everything I didn’t know I needed! I easily fell in love with this historical fiction featuring an enemies to lovers trope. I adored every moment. This showcased a troubling time in France’s history while also pulling at my heartstrings.
This showcased a troubling time in France’s history while also pulling at my heartstrings.
It’s the year 1792, France is facing a war against revolution. There are the royaliste and the revolutionnaires. We follow revolutionnaire, Gilles who has strong beliefs towards a new France. But when he meets the daughter of his boss, owner of the soap factory he works at, he’s struck by her beauty. And when Caroline brushes him off, Gilles is torn at befriending her while also wary as she’s a royaliste. They have very different beliefs for the future of their country. Can they put their beliefs aside to be together?
I absolutely loved how this book is set up! We follow Gilles’ perspective but sprinkled throughout we see an occasional letter primarily written by Caroline to her cousin and how she felt during and after her encounters with Gilles. It was so great to see inside both Gilles’ and Caroline’s head this way.
The enemies to lovers romance was such a slow burn, but I loved every minute of it! Caroline was such a strong female character. She put Gilles in his place and made him work for her affection. I was silently cheering her on whenever she would tease Gilles and make him act right. And I loved seeing the growth for Gilles’ character, growing into a better man from the immature playboy he acted like in the beginning. Their romance while no where near simple was so tender to follow. I just loved it, I couldn’t get enough of them.
The enemies to lovers romance was such a slow burn, but I loved every minute of it!
This was such a beautiful read. I highly recommend this to anyone who enjoys historical fiction and slow burn romances! Especially one that’s an enemies to lovers!