This book follows Catherine as she grows up in an English household & dreams about living in France. Once she gets there, however, things are great for a while, as she meets a great guy, moves in with him, has a baby, then things go to Hades in a handbasket. She starts a blog, Petite Anglaise, as a catharsis, as a way to sort out her feelings & thoughts by writing. There she meets James, & fireworks happen for a while. After she breaks up with HIM, she has to learn how to find herself again. Cute book, I'd classify it as a "fluffy" read....fast & light ( )

Enjoying all this Paris and blogs as I do, I enjoyed this book. ( )

Purchased during a spate of Francophilia, this book was in the travel section of my local superstore outlet. As this chain does not have a biography section, Travel may have seemed like an obvious place to catalogue it, but it would have been better served by being placed under the Relationships banner.

Young expat living la Vie francaise in Paris? Sounds good. But is was not to be. The hooks, being her life in Belleville and her love of all things French, are merely hooks. In the meat of the text, the location, the city and her people are barely mentioned. What is really of interest to the author via this book is her own belated coming-of-age. The location - the selling point for me - is rather irrelevant, as the story could have taken place anywhere, and rather than making its appeal global, it is an average tale of a 30-something woes, but stripped of the pure depth of colour that would have attracted me.

The tone is rather Cosmo-style; one of a girlfriend ruminating over coffee the failed aspirations of grown-up life. The honesty and directness in which that author recounts her desires and decisions, seedy betrayals and all are stirring. That she devotes little time considering or even caring to be aware of the views and motivations of others outside of their direct interactions with herself makes her, in my view, rather unsuited to the book format. The confessional, self-interested tone belies the book's former incarnation as an online journal.

The overall experience of reading was akin to being unable to escape the company of an acquaintance one likes but does not really know as they complain about their sex life. ( )

I've been a friend of the author for years - so knew the whole story before the book came out. I enjoyed the book, but felt weird while reading it - reading about the private life of somebody you know is strange. ( )

In her first book, aptly titled Petite Anglaise, Catherine takes us through an eloquent and wistful journey through her life as she rediscovers herself through her blog, her friends and her family. Based on true events, this story of Catherine Sanderson brings a new life to her popular blog. The book follows the span of a year, from the start of the blog, to Catherine’s settlement into being a single mother. She takes us on a special insider’s trip into her world, her life with boyfriend Mr. Frog and daughter Tadpole. Her love affair with frequent blog commenter Jim from Rennes, and the ups and downs of relationships that are all too common in any city, in any country.

More at: http://thenovelworld.com ( )