FranceBookTours -- Fa La Llama La

I received this book free of charge from "the author/publisher"

Everyone who knows me is aware of my love affair with France. That's why I jumped at the chance to review a romantic comedy novel by Stephanie Dagg called Fa-La-Llama-La.

I read Dagg's previous book, a memoir called Heads Above Water, during which she describes her family's efforts to begin a holiday farm with fishing and llamas. Here's my review of Heads Above Water.  
When I began reading Fa-La-Llama-La, frankly, I was tired. I didn't know how much I'd get through that night, but I quickly got swept up in the story of poor Noelle, who had been dumped by her fiance and lost her job so she had moved back into her parents' home just in time for Christmas. By the time Noelle had agreed to pet sit some llamas, packed her car and driven across France in a worsening blizzard, I was shivering in sympathy. Dagg's word pictures took me to that darkened house in the French countryside as Noelle's luck got worse -- no power and no furniture. As she settles down to
wait out the storm in a nest of sleeping bags and blankets, she's awakened in the middle of the night by an intruder with keys. A new owner from Australia who isn't too pleased to find Noelle in his empty house and llamas in his fields which were supposed to be empty.

"They assured me they'd sold the llamas." Was I imagining it or did he sound a little less sure of himself. The torch went back to the contract.
"Well then, they're obviously homing llamas since they're out there in the field,"....

The two continue verbal sparring, which can only lead to them respecting each other as they both blunder through a snowy Christmas in France. The fact that they are both new to France helps the reader experience it as though for the first time when they tramp through the snow to take a llama to a manger scene in the church's midnight service.
The traditions of France, the strength of family, the appreciation of good food and good wine all shine through Dagg's descriptions, interwoven with the blossoming romance.
So in the end, Fa-La-Llama-La, didn't leave me shivering in the cold with Noelle; it left me feeling lovely and warm as I ended another trip to France, if only in a book.
I highly recommend Fa-La-Llama-La for a quick, escapist read and a little travel to France.
Make sure you sign up for the global giveaway open internationally.
1 participant will win a $10 gift card.

Stephanie Dagg

on Tour December 5-16 with

Fa-La-Llama-La

(Christmas romantic comedy) Release date: October 21, 2016 Self-published ASIN: B01MF7F813 165 pages

Author’s website Goodreads

SYNOPSIS

It’s very nearly Christmas and, temporarily jobless and homeless, Noelle is back at home with her parents. However, a phone call from her cousin Joe, who runs a house-and-pet-sitting service, saves her from a festive season of Whist, boredom and overindulging. So Noelle is off to France to mind a dozen South American mammals. She arrives amidst a blizzard and quickly discovers that something is definitely wrong at the farm. The animals are there all right, but pretty much nothing else – no power, no furniture and, disastrously, no fee. Add to that a short-tempered intruder in the middle of the night, a premature delivery, long-lost relatives and participation in a living crèche, and this is shaping up to be a noel that Noelle will never forget. Fa-La-Llama-La is a feel-good, festive and fun romcom with a resourceful heroine, a hero who’s a bit of a handful and some right woolly charmers.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Hi, I’m Stephanie Dagg. I’m an English expat living in France, having moved here with my family in 2006 after fourteen years as an expat in Ireland. I now consider myself a European rather than ‘belonging’ to any particular country. The last ten years have been interesting, to put it mildly. Taking on seventy-five acres with three lakes, two hovels and one cathedral-sized barn, not to mention an ever increasing menagerie, makes for exciting times. The current array of animals includes alpacas, llamas, huarizos (alpaca-llama crossbreds, unintended in our case and all of them thanks to one very determined alpaca male), sheep, goats, pigs, ducks, geese, chickens and turkeys, not forgetting our pets of dogs, cats, zebra finches, budgies and Chinese quail. Before we came to France we had was a dog and two chickens, so it’s been a steep learning curve. I’m married to Chris and we have three bilingual TCKs (third culture kids) who are resilient and resourceful and generally wonderful. I’m a traditionally-published author of many children’s books, and and am now self-publishing too. I have worked part-time as a freelance editor for many years after starting out as a desk editor for Hodder & Stoughton. The rest of the time I’m running carp fishing lakes with Chris and inevitably cleaning up some or other animal’s poop. Visit her website. Follow her on Facebook, Twitter Buy the book: Amazon.com | Amazon.fr | Amazon.co.uk

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You can enter the global giveaway here or on any other book blogs participating in this tour. Be sure to follow each participant on Twitter/Facebook, they are listed in the entry form below.

Enter here

Visit each blogger on the tour: tweeting about the giveaway everyday of the Tour will give you 5 extra entries each time! [just follow the directions on the entry-form] Global giveaway - international: 1 winner will receive a $10 Amazon gift card

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Tuesday Intros -- Fa-La-Llama-La

Every Tuesday, Diane at Bibliophile by the Sea posts the first paragraph of her current read. Anyone can join in. Go to Diane's website for the image and share the first paragraph of the current book you are reading.

I'll be reading and reviewing Fa-La-Llama-La by Stephanie Dagg for France Book Tours. I read and reviewed Stephanie's previous memoir Heads Above Water where she described her family's move to France and attempt to start a camping and fishing vacation retreat. I guess she has

successfully done it now, because she has llamas and goats and all sorts of barnyard fowl. I'm sure this new novel, which she describes as a romantic comedy, will be just the mood lifter I need during the coming weeks.
Here's the intro:

"How are you fixed for the next week or so?" my cousin asked.
Talk about a silly question. I glowered at my phone.
"Joe, it's nearly Christmas," I reminded him. "I'm temporarily living with my parents, as I know you know. I will be eating too much, which is bad since it will go straight to my hips, and probably drinking too much, which is also bad, but given recent events, I'm not sure I care. With any luck I'll forget about them."

The events that Noelle wants to forget about are losing her job, being dumped by her fiance and the death of her grandmother, so she takes a pet-sitting job feeding llamas in France over Christmas.
Hope you're reading something to raise your spirits or to challenge your mind.

First Paragraph, Tuesday Teaser -- Heads Above Water

Every Tuesday, Diane at Bibliophile by the Sea posts the first paragraph of her current read. Anyone can join in. Go to Diane's website for the image and share the first paragraph of the current book you are reading.
Next week I get to review my favorite kind of French book -- a memoir about someone moving to France. It's called Heads Above Water and is by Stephanie Dagg.

Here's the intro:

We arrived in Ireland in 1992, when times were good, cars were held together by string, and food prices were almost non-existent. Having only ever lived in cramped housing estates in England with tiny gardens and too many neighbours, we couldn't believe our luck at finding a bungalow in the countryside to rent. We called it Harry's House, after our amiable landlord. He didn't put the rent up in over three years, and on the rare occasions we had a building-related problem, he was at the front door to sort it out within minutes. Harry's House had a large back garden and a fantastic view over nearby fields and distant Cork city. It was in a row of five other bungalows all  housing lovely families. 

Also this week  is Teaser Tuesdays. Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Open to a random page of your current read  and share a teaser sentence from somewhere on that page. BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teaser.
Here's my teaser from 23%:

Fairies first. According to this version, fairies used to bathe in hot springs near these rocks. The Fairy Queen was quite happy with this, so long as the fairies got home before dark. But of course, one day they didn't and the Queen got cross.

I'm looking forward to this one.