First advance reviews of A Secret Garden in Paris!

The first advance reviews of A Secret Garden in Paris are coming in on Goodreads, and they’re wonderful. I am so absolutely delighted!

Here’s some short extracts:

In A Secret Garden in Paris, Sophie Beaumont has shown gardens not only to be places of beauty and tranquility for all to enjoy but uses them as the setting for the characters to come to terms with problems and situations they are facing. Their involvement with gardens and flowers helps each of the women find peace and solutions to the challenges of life plus also making it an enjoyable book to read. (Vicki)

I loved learning about these women, where they had come from and what challenges they were dealing with in their lives.
It was also amazing to discover how their lives intertwined.
This truly is a story of love and loss, romance and revelations, and what better setting for it than a secret Paris garden
. (Maree)

What an absolute joy to read. With Parisian grandmother Mattie as the central figure, surrounded by a collection of characters all dealing with sorrow while trying to move forward. I’m by no means an avid gardener, yet the descriptions of the beautiful gardens around Paris made it easy for me to feel like I was walking through them. With a healthy dose of romance, a few beautiful friendships and the strength of family this was a beautiful read that has left a huge smile on my face and joy in my heart. (Libby)

You can see the full reviews here.

Great little trailer for Sabina and the Cats of Rome!

Check out this fun little trailer for Sabina and the Cats of Rome!

The illustrations in the trailer are from the book, and created by the fabulous Laura Wood, but the photos are ones I took myself in Rome some years ago–including the photos of some Roman cats that were hanging around at the spot where Julius Caesar was assassinated (there was a wreath at the spot marking where it was). It was seeing those cats that first planted the seed of this story…

First advance review for Sabina and the Cats of Rome!

The first advance review of Sabina and the Cats of Rome has just appeared, and it’s absolutely lovely! The review is by Brenton Cullen and has appeared in Books+Publishing this week. Here’s a short extract (full review is for B+P subscribers only):

Masson’s storytelling is engaging and accessible, offering simplicity for independent reading while maintaining a rich plot. Laura Wood’s black and white illustrations bring Sabina and Cleo to life, depicting seven scenes from the story...

It’s a great start for this fun little chapterbook, which is coming out with Christmas Press in October.

Publication day for the North American edition of The Paris Cooking School!

It’s the official publication day today, August 6, of the North American edition of The Paris Cooking School! It’s a lovely hardback production, published by Alcove Press, and distributed by Penguin Random House throughout the US and Canada. Here’s hoping it lands in the hands of many many readers who take it to their hearts!

Author copies of the North American edition of the Paris Cooking School!

Yesterday I got a lovely surprise in my mailbox: author copies of the gorgeous North American edition of The Paris Cooking School, published by Alcove Press!

It’s a beautiful hardback, with a great dustjacket sporting a new blurb, colour author pic and a couple of nice quotes on the back, as well as gilt writing on the internal spine.

So wonderful to hold it in my hands, especially ahead of the publication day next Tuesday, August 6, in the US and Canada!