The Tapestry of Love

Author: Rosy Thornton
ISBN: 978-0-7553-4557-1
Publisher: Headline Review
Source: BookPleasures
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With her children grown, her divorce behind her and her future ahead, Catherine is ready for a fresh start. With a plan and a dream of a new life, Catherine leaves England to move to the rural and idyllic French town in the Cevennes Mountains. Her dream of starting her own tapestry business is in her sights. Though Catherine has fond memories of the holidays she once spent in these French mountains, she soon discovers not everything is as idyllic as she hoped it would be. As Catherine deals with loneliness, dreary weather and the French bureaucracy, she finds friendship, love and a new outlook. When Catherine’s sister Bryony arrives Catherine realizes everything has only just begun.

The Tapestry of love can only be described as a soulful and descriptive journey. The novel chronicles a year in Catherine’s life as she moves from England to France in hopes of a quiet and idyllic life. She has personal dreams of starting a tapestry business and becomes quite successful. Unfortunately life cannot be idyllic all the time. Catherine learns to find peace and comfort with new neighbors and friends in times of turmoil.

The author is a skilled writer. Her descriptive nature left nothing to the imagination. I was able to clearly envision the town, mountain landscape, characters and everything else this novel had to offer. The pace likewise was measured. It fit the idyllic community perfectly while all of this is a charming aspect of the novel it also took away from the book for me. I found that due to the measured pace, I was able to put this book down far to often for my own preference. I also was not compelled to pick it back up quickly, though I did enjoy the story.

Overall, this is a relaxed read. Nothing about the novel is rushed. The story is wonderful, yet I would have preferred less description and more story. While the ending works, I was interested in more than what it gave. I felt that if the story hadn’t seemingly paused as often as it did that I could have learned much more about all the characters rather than feeling a surface relationship. The title would be a great rainy day read or garden read for those who enjoy reading outdoors.