Review: The French Impressionist by Rebecca Bischoff + GIVEAWAY! (CLOSED)

Hello, everyone! Today is my stop on the blog tour for The French Impressionist by Rebecca Bischoff hosted by Xpresso Book Tours so huge thanks to them!

I was sent an e-copy of this book in exchange for an honest review as part of this book tour.

Down below as always, you'll find my review of the book as well as the links to where you can purchase a copy of the book for yourself as well as the author's links and last but not least, a GIVEAWAY! I hope you all enjoy this book review! 

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Rating: PG

Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary

Score: ❤❤❤❤

Page Count: 259

Stand Alone

Publisher: Amberjack Publishing

Published: December 6th, 2016

Rosemary is fifteen and gloriously free, on her own for the very first time. Part of an exchange program for aspiring artists, she arrives in sunny southern France with a single goal: she doesn’t plan to leave, ever. She wants a new life, a new family, and a new identity. But her situation, crafted from lies big and small, is precarious.

Desperate to escape haunting images from her past and a stage one helicopter parent, Rosemary struggles to hide her lack of artistic talent and a communication disorder that has tormented her all her life. She believes her dream of a new start will come true, until she unwittingly finds herself enveloped in a decades-old mystery that threatens to ruin her only chance for success. Determined to stay, Rosemary must choose whether or not she’ll tell the biggest lie of all, even if it means destroying the life of someone she cares about.

Dramatic, heartwarming, and full of teenage angst, The French Impressionist perfectly captures the struggle of those who feel they have no voice, and also shows the courage it takes to speak up and show the world who we really are.

Review:

PROS:

1. When I first saw the cover of this book, I thought it looked really cute and it made me very interested in what the book was about. At a glance, it seemed like a fun little tale about a girl who runs away to France only to slowly have her lies unravel but it ended up being a much deeper story than that. I read this book as fast as I could and I'm happy to say that despite the not-so-good reviews on Goodreads, I am bringing you some good words about this book. Here's the review:

2. I loved getting to learn more about Rosemary's character and the communication disorder that she struggles with throughout the book. It's the first time I've ever read a book with a main character dealing with a communication disorder so I loved getting to learn more about it as Rosemary's story unfolds. I thought the characters were fun, interesting, and great compliments to the story. I adored Sylvie and Emile and enjoyed seeing how much they cared about Rosemary even though they didn't know much about her and had no idea why Rosemary was really there in France other than the lie she gave them. I thought the characters were very realistic and even though our main character came off as a little bit immature at times, I felt like she was very mature for her age at other moments in the book. It was a good balance that kept me caring about Rosemary and her story.

Source

3. I loved that this book is set in France but this time not in the well-known city of Paris. Instead, it takes place in Nice, France which I loved since it's a setting that not many books choose to take place. I loved going with Rosemary as she experiences the vibrant shops and markets with their bright colors and rich architecture that mixes the old with the new and I wanted to explore even more of the city along with her. It was a colorful backdrop to the more serious topics this book handles and I think it added a nice contrast that made the story so interesting to read.

4. Overall, this book is emotional at times but still a great read and I had fun watching the story progress until the very end. I think it would be a great read for the beach or if you're missing summer and need something lighthearted with just a dash of emotion to entertain you. The writing is great, the story is vivid, and I could see myself rereading this one in the future.

The reason why I didn't give this book a five-star rating is because I would have loved to see a different ending than the one this book got. I felt it was just a little too "nice" especially after everything that happened in the story. I also thought Rosemary's mother's reasoning for treating her daughter the way she did despite being afraid to lose her was a bit much and came across as a little extreme. I think if her character's actions had been toned down just a bit, it would have made her character a little more enjoyable. I also thought Rosemary's mother and her boyfriend didn't have big enough parts in this story. I would have loved to have seen just a little more of them in the story to really get to know them as characters. 

You Can Purchase The Book Here:

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

Kobo

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About The Author:

Rebecca Bischoff currently resides in Idaho with her family and works as a speech-language pathologist. She loves helping others, especially kids and teenagers, discover their own unique voices and learn to share who they are with the world. When she isn’t writing, she loves to read, spend time with her kids, and make awkward attempts to learn foreign languages.  She is drawn to all things both French and Italian, used bookstores, and anything made out of chocolate. 

Author Links:

Facebook

Twitter

Blog

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