As the oldest child, there are certain expectations, whether these are placed upon us by our parents or ourselves - that line is blurry. I resonated with many elements of this story and it was so easy to feel for Rose, even if exact details of our circumstances didn’t match.

One of my favourite characters of any book I’ve ever read, I just fell in love with her and her honest, humble but troubled life. Founded in 1863, Parisians bought it in sufficient numbers week after week to ensure its survival for over a century. It’s five years in the future, and she can’t make sense of what has happened for her life to get to this point. Rose is tired of having to carry all her family’s expectations on her back and no one caring about her at all. From his beginnings at Lenôtre and then Fauchon, to the creation of Maison Pierre Hermé Paris in 1997, his biography looks back at the history of the man who, from Paris to Tokyo via Marrakech, laid the foundations of contemporary haute-pâtisserie.The story would’ve been better rounded out if our protagonist’s relationship with Marco, a childhood acquaintance, was the core plot point. Things start to go wrong when Kate is subjected to a traumatic experience, which alters the course of her life entirely.

The premise is fascinating but I found the story in itself quite depressing, all those years lost over a house – I’m not sure if I’m the only one who felt this way, it just seemed so sad and unnecessary. Even if it doesn't make you want to move to France, you'll still wish you could open your window at night and hear that nightingale singing to you. In 1987, American director Harold Prince staged a short-lived musical version on Broadway under the title Roza with a libretto and lyrics by Julian More and music by Gilbert Becaud. I thought the concept was really interesting; on the night she gets engaged to her long-term boyfriend, Dannie awakes to find herself in another apartment with another man. I got about 100 pages in before I decided to listen to the rest as an audiobook and let me tell you, I enjoyed it so much more than I anticipated.It’s set in the 80s, although technology is more advanced than it is now and Britain has just lost the Falklands war. Whilst her personality is very different to mine, I found parts of her journey to be very relatable and realistic. With the publication of this book, I feel like a loved one has been released from prison and now I have come to visit him,” said Lili Golestan, the translator of the book into Persian, after the ban was lifted. NO” is not in her vocabulary, and when she is disappointed and not rewarded for her efforts and help, Rose decides to use her three-week vacation to go to Paris to find her dreams. He plants his toes in the French earth and turns his lyrical gaze on the land, the people, the deep community spirit.

I picked up this book because I adored the author’s other book, Our House, so I was keen to read some of her other work. The Charente: roofs of red terracotta tiles, bleached-white walls, windows shuttered against the blaring sun.

The issue with essays is that you can absolutely adore one, but have to force yourself to finish another – so you’re never quite sure, overall, how you feel about the book in its entirety. Seeing how life was for non-English speakers in America in this era was so fascinating, and I totally fell in love with each and every one of the characters! I actually hadn’t read anything by Ian McEwan before this but I liked the sound of it, it’s absolutely nothing like anything I’ve read before.