I don't know about you, but I love reading books set in other countries. You get a tiny taste of a different culture, and it's much more affordable. Here are 3 of my favorites you should buy during our beach read sale, where you can get 25% off your order with promo code beach read at checkout on our website.
1. The Green and the Red, by Armand Chauvel
I enjoyed The Green and the Red partly because it's set in France. Specifically, it's set in a small town in Brittany that is home to La Dame Verte, a struggling vegetarian restaurant owned by Lea, the chef. The town is also the home of one of a big pork producer that's trying to put Lea's restaurant out of business so they can put a museum where the restaurant is. When Lea meets Mathieu, the pork producer's company's marketing director, it's under false pretenses, as he's trying to infiltrate the animal rights community to help force Lea's restaurant to a quicker demise.
Even more than the setting, though, I loved Lea's restaurant and her pet pig, Charlene. I'm a sucker for books involving small businesses or animals. New, $17.95. Buy it here.
2. The Crows of Beara, by Julie Christine Johnson
In The Crows of Beara, Annie is traveling from Seattle to a small Irish village to promote a possible new copper mine to the locals, who are reticent to allow the mine to go forth. Annie, meanwhile, has to deal with a failing marriage and a public relations career that's hanging in the balance, having just gotten out of rehab, on top of the residents, who are fiercely protective of their wild and beautiful home- a home that could be destroyed by the mine. In fact, some of the residents are so resistant to the idea of a mine that they form a coalition to try and stop it.
The Crows of Beara was something both Stan Lee and I enjoyed. (Stan Lee is my cat.) I think Stan Lee liked it because the author is a confirmed cat lady, and he insists that cat people make the best writers. I, on the other hand, liked that the book was set in Ireland and the relationship between Daniel, one of the residents co-opted to the coalition, and his sister and her kids. New, $18.95. Buy it here.
3. Time Was Soft There, by Jeremy Mercer
You might have heard about Shakespeare and Company, in Paris. You might even have visited there. It's an English language bookstore, and it's one of the most famous bookstores out there. It's also the setting for Time Was Soft There: A Paris Sojourn at Shakespeare and Company. Canadian reporter Jeremy Mercer is forced to flee Canada after using a source's name in an article despite the source telling him not to, and the source getting angry and threatening him. Jeremy, afraid for his life, promptly books a flight to Paris and stays in the cheapest accommodations he can find. While there, he ducks into the famous bookstore one rainy afternoon, gets invited to tea at the bookstore, and next thing he knows, he has a job there. I liked this book because I loved the fact that it was set in Paris and a bookstore. Used, $9. Buy it here.