Amour In Avignon by Jennifer Ivy Walker

Amour In Avignon by Jennifer Ivy Walker
Publisher: The Wild Rose Press
Genre: Contemporary, Erotic Romance
Rating: 3 stars
Reviewed by Fern

Adrift and lonely, Lily Greene travels to Provence to spend the summer with her aunt in the sunny south of France. In the vibrant city of Avignon, she meets Ludo and Auguste, two expert fencers who are also local actors performing in the upcoming Festival of Theater where they will present the classical tragedy, Cyrano de Bergerac.

When Lily joins their thespian troupe, portraying the lead female role, she discovers that real life mirrors the play they are rehearsing, for–just as Cyrano and Christian vie for Roxane– Ludo and Auguste become intense rivals for Lily.
Handsome as a Hollywood movie star, Auguste is used to women falling into his bed. But when Lily spurns his amorous advances, drawn instead to the enigmatic Ludo, jealousy drives Auguste to seek revenge.

Will tragedy strike with a cruel twist of fate? Or will love triumph with Amour in Avignon?

Lily has come to Avignon to spend a few months with her bohemian spirited Aunt Agnes. Agnes rents the small apartment above her shop to her paramour’s nephew, Ludo. A young, strong carpenter. Ludo shares the room with his blond friend, Auguste. Lily feels an instant attraction to Ludo, but Auguste is equally smitten with Lily. Can the three of them find what they really want?

I really enjoyed this short story. I felt the pace of both the plot and the romance was really well balanced – fast enough it didn’t feel like it dragged, but slow enough I loved getting to know a bit about Lily, Ludo and Auguste before their relationships tangled together. I strongly felt all three characters were both realistic and relatable and I definitely think most readers will find the appeal of them a good draw into the book. Aunt Aggie was also a delightful free spirit and a great addition to the small cast of characters giving light and vibrancy to the book as a whole.

I thought the author added a lot of wonderful charm and realism into the story that really gave the vibe of sun-drenched Avignon. There were a number of small French customs – the food, the greetings and such – and this really had me feeling like I could immerse myself in the feel of the town and setting. While I did feel the book lacked freshness with the plotline of the theatrical trope’s play mirroring the complicated relationship between Lily, Auguste and Ludo, I also did enjoy that Lily’s actions were quite modern and she stuck to her guns. While there are plenty of stories out there where plays and real life cross over, I was glad Lily made her own decisions and showed a good backbone without being bitchy or overbearing. I feel Lily’s character really should appeal to a wide range of romance readers.

With some delightfully sensual love scenes and the mirroring of a play within the book there was plenty of things going on in this story and I strongly feel it should hold readers attention from start to finish.

Readers who enjoy a sizzling romance with plenty of action, jealousy and an exotic location as the setting should find this quick read a wonderful story to greatly enjoy.