The Secret French Recipes of Sophie Valroux

By: Samantha Verant
Published Year: 2020
Publisher: Berkley
Pages: 352

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I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This in no way shape or form influenced my opinion of this book.

Summary (Provided by Goodreads): A disgraced chef rediscovers her passion for food and her roots in this stunning novel rich in culture and full of delectable recipes.

French-born American chef Sophie Valroux had one dream: to be part of the 1% of female chefs running a Michelin-starred restaurant. From spending summers with her grandmother, who taught her the power of cooking and food, to attending the Culinary Institute of America, Sophie finds herself on the cusp of getting everything she's dreamed of.

Until her career goes up in flames.

Sabotaged by a fellow chef, Sophie is fired, leaving her reputation ruined and confidence shaken. To add fuel to the fire, Sophie learns that her grandmother has suffered a stroke and takes the red-eye to France. There, Sophie discovers the simple home she remembers from her childhood is now a luxurious château, complete with two restaurants and a vineyard. As Sophie tries to reestablish herself in the kitchen, she comes to understand the lengths people will go to for success and love, and how dreams can change.

First Impressions

This cover makes me want to jump inside and live in it. Her dress, the sky, the chateau. Even the font of the title jut drew me in. I’m also a bit of a sucker for books about chefs (see my previous review about A Sweet Mess) so I was immediately drawn into a book that also occurred over seas.

What I thought

I wanted to really like this book, but it just didn’t work for me.

Sophie starts off as a chef in a 2 star Michelin restaurant waiting to get its 3rd star. When the restaurant loses a star, she gets thrown under the bus for intentionally sabotaging the restaurant. With her life falling apart, she learns that her Grandmother in France is ill. After falling into a depression because her career is over as she knows it, she decides to go visit her grandmother and make sure she is healthy.

The beginning of the book made me feel uncomfortable just because I was so angry at the fact that she got thrown under the bus. Once she got to France I started to enjoy the book a little more. I wanted to see how she pulled herself back together while also reconnecting with her past.

I loved all of the characters at the chateaux. I wish that there had been even more of them than there was. When she reconnected with Remi, her crush from her childhood summers in France, I was excited for a slow burn, but instead received an instant declaration of love on his part. I really appreciated that Sophie told him that she needed time and that she wasn’t in a space for that kind of relationship, rather than getting swept up.

My real issues with this book started at about 70% of the way through. I felt like the book could’ve been finished at that point and I struggled to get through the rest of the book because I didn’t understand what more could happen. There was a lot that got resolved at 70%, so the rest of the book felt unnecessary. Even though this was never quite a book that I didn’t feel like I couldn’t put down, I looked forward to picking it back up. Once I hit that final quarter, I no longer felt like I needed to read this book.

The story was cute and the writing was good. I just felt like this book was too long for its own good. If there had been more drawn out in the middle and then the final 30% was about the final 15%, I think that would have made it much more enjoyable.