Pond Lane and Paris

I very much enjoyed Pond Lane and Paris by Susie Vereker last week. The heroine, Laura, has endured the illness and death of her husband - a man she married young - and also one, as it becomes clear as the story unfolds - who was rather selfish and feckless, leaving Laura to do the work of supporting them.
The story opens as Laura discovers that she can no longer afford to upkeep her home - Pond Cottage - and takes the opportunity to try out a job in upscale Paris... Her new surroundings provide the catalyst for her to begin to rediscover herself. The beauty of this story is not only in it's romance - and the romance that is in there is very real and touching - but in the cast of differing characters, all with their own problems, and how they interact and move towards solving them. We all know people like the people in Pond Lane and Paris. Laced with gentle humour, and unfolding situations kept the pages turning and I was disappointed to reach the end seemingly too quickly.