My Story as an American Au Pair in the Loire Valley (French Illusions Book 1)

I thoroughly enjoyed this lovely story about a young girl in Paris, whose expectations, reactions and attitude reminded me of my own girls when they were that age. An engaging read and I'm looking forward to a sequel!

Maybe the plot wasn't as interesting sometimes, but it's a biography, it's a look into someone's life. It's definitely not as plot driven as a novel.

I would love to read the sequel right now! I hope it'll be offered in a preview or something soon!

I really enjoyed this book, and would have rated it 4 stars had their been a "to be continued..." line at the end. The book ends rather suddenly, with so many questions I felt invested in going unanswered. After doing some online research I found that there will be a follow up book. I think the author would have better luck with that second book if there was an indication at the end of the first that it was coming.

I liked the character, Linda. So brave and courageous to go to another country without speaking the language and believing in herself that she would learn the language and be able to do her job. She also had the ability and personality to make friends easily. I'm looking forward to the second book.

.I BECAME ENGROSSED IN THE BOOK IMMEDIATELY, HOWEVER IN AN ATTEMPT TO LOCATE WHERE THIS AU PAIR WAS REALLY LIVING AS I LIVED IN THE AREA SHE WAS LIVING FOR THREE YEARS, I CAME A CROSSED A REVIEW WHICH WAS A SPOILER FOR ME. I HAVEN'T PICK UP THE BOOK SINCE. WINTER IS COMING AND I DO READ MORE. SADLY AS IT TURNS OUT THE CITIES, TOWNS AND THE FAMILY ARE ALL FICTIONAL WHICH ALSO TOOK AWAY A LOT FROM ME. I THINK THE AU PAIR IS TRYING TO PROTECT THIS FAMILY FROM ANY LOCAL GOSSIP OR FINGER POINTING.

I was a little disappointed with this book, both with the author and her employer. With the author, I find myself a bit perturbed at her deception by promising something she couldn't deliver. Her employer, especially the wife, was thoroughly disgusting and clearly riddled with some strong insecurities. In spite of these misgivings about the characters, I still found enough to charm me and want to know more about what happened to Ms. Kovic after her misadventure. I wish her well.

I thought it was an interesting portrayal of life as a non french speaking nanny in France. My only criticism is that there needed to be a little more follow up at the end. Let us know what happened down the road.

The summary for this book was quite misleading. I expected something more and I really had a hard time getting into it at all. The premise is that a young women wants a change so applies for and gets a job as a French Au Pair, but the job is more difficult because she lies on her application - beginning with the fact that she has no experience and cannot speak French. If you are expecting some comic adventures to come of this situation, as I was, you would be mistaken.

Although we know at the outset of this story that the main character is in her early twenties, it seems that she does not have a clear idea of what the results of her "dream" will be. The ending was also chopped off, and the book felt unfinished - like there should have been a sequel. That being said, I did like a peek inside a French family with children and the situations that an au pair has to deal with.

I bought this book because I am currently living in France, temporarily, so I thought it'd be fun to read about other experiences. The writing is pretty amateur, which annoyed me a bit but it was generally fine, as it was her experience that I was most interested in getting out of the book. However, the end of the story is completely unsatisfying -- it was barely an end at all. It was as if the author just got lazy and didn't want to finish the book. No closure for the reader.

Firstly ... congratulations to Linda for pulling together her French Illusions book. Anyone who can write and publish a memoir gets an automatic 2 stars from me ... for sheer effort and perseverance.

I'm a big fan of the Memoir/Expat genre -- and have read more than my fair share, which is why I feel comfortable with giving the book 3 stars. But I should be clear that I gave up on the book and didn't finish it - so my review is just based on only the first third.

I think this book is an laudable first draft, but it needs to go through a few more rounds of editing and proofing to polish it up. Some scenes dragged on and were full of description narrative that didn't seem to add anything to the story line, and yet more scenes were weak and glossed over, creating encounters and interactions that just didn't seem believable. I just couldn't get vested in the main character, and sympathized more with the Chateau owners.

With some additional time spent on developing the story arc and tightening up the narratives and story-line, this book could become one you wouldn't want to put down.

When I started this book, I thought of the author as a selfish, lazy wannabe, who deceived an employer who was in the late stages of pregnancy and really needed good childcare help. Obviously she had never studied any foreign language in high school otherwise she would have known that one doesn’t go to another country and instantly speak conversational French. I concluded in the end that Linda was naïve (as we all were at age 21) and wanted more out of her life than she was willing to work for.
Writing from a diary penned 35 years ago made me think that the author used some creative writing to pull the story together. Still the book was an easy read and written with great descriptions of events and interactions.
There were 2 issues this book pointed out. I felt that Madame was isolated in her chateau which caused depression and then she developed postpartum depression. She was raised in a home of privilege and then married into a situation where she didn’t have the extensive household help that she was accustomed to. Then she took advantage of Linda’s deception by mistreating her, knowing that she probably wouldn’t leave too quickly. What I didn’t understand is why Madame didn’t do her own childcare and leave the time consuming cooking, home cleaning and laundry to her other employee.
My other concern is the possible mistreatment of au pairs in general, using them as low paid servants rather than strictly for childcare. Young people go to another country for the cultural experience and as a status symbol with their friends. They often don’t complain when they work longer hours than they were promised since they know that they could be sent home and their “dream” would come to an end. On the other hand, au pairs don’t realize the additional cost to the host family when they live in. (cellphone, food, dinners out, car insurance, medical expenses, extra utilities, etc.)
I was anxious to see what Linda had accomplished in her life in the past 35 years and found it curious that she doesn’t have a linkedin.com account, so concluded that graduating from the University of Washington (my alma Mater!) and raising 2 children, were the extent of her contributions to society. Still she is proud to brag that she ”winters in Gilbert Arizona and spends her summers on a boat in the Pacific NW.” That doesn’t sound like she contributes to making this world a better place.

I really enjoyed the story about the struggles of this American au pair. However, I was quite surprised when I reached the end of the book, rather abruptly! I was hoping to learn more of Linda's story, especially considering she moved to France to learn French in the first place and that was never accomplished in the book.

I usually read heavier material, but having a French connection I gave this a try. Someone younger and considering becoming an au pair might enjoy it and learn some good tips from the girl who was one in this story.

I couldn't put it down. My only disappointment is that it ended too soon...what happened to Adam? Linda kept the reader engaged every minute. I enjoyed the "author's voice" and am eagerly awaiting her next book.

Her bad experience may not have been all her fault, but her attitude certainly contributed to her misadventure. The French people in general have a wonderful way about them if you just attempt to learn their language BEFORE you land on their soil. don't bother reading.

The author wants to learn a foreign language so she can get a more exciting job traveling and so decides to sign up for an au pair position with a family in France. Unfortunately, she starts off with a major deception - she lies and says she speaks fluent French and she doesn't speak it at all. Needless to say, once she arrives and admits the lie, the family matriarch is disappointed but is in a jam and decides to let her stay. It never really works out, partially because the whole relationship is poisoned by the original deception and also because the matriarch is quite demanding. The two never get along. Our author was looking for a softer job than the family had in mind - much less household work and more free time. The author has absolutely no experience in childcare, nor how to take care of the newborn infant, so she has to learn as she goes. The clash of personalities continues to spirals until the inevitable break.

The author writes about her daily life there in the manor and some of it is interesting but it is very domestic. She would much rather be in town meeting with the new set of younger people that she has met this. This causes great conflict in the household. I was very uncomfortable with the original deception and wished the author could have somehow made reparation by making extra effort but the whole thing seemed doomed from the beginning.

A good book for students of French (particularly beginners) but not wonderful prose, as the writer uses a quasi-diary technique. I enjoyed it mostly because I am a Francophile but I am not sure it would appeal to everyone. The ending - because it was factual - was disappointing.

It was somewhat entertaining, but the heroine wasn't particularly likeable...she went to France, accepting a job under false circumstances, then seemed more than a little whiney when things didn't go her way. Yes -- her employer wasn't the nicest person, but Linda brought a certain amount of the problems on herself.