Gardens, France, a magical farm in upstate New York and a woman who books a flight to Lisbon on a whim — seven books I would hand you right now
Spring makes me want to go somewhere. Not necessarily on a plane, though that is nice too, but somewhere. Into a Tuscan courtyard. A French village. A garden in upstate New York that holds answers to questions you did not know you were asking. These seven books will take you there. Memorial Day is this weekend, and a long weekend is the perfect weekend to relax and read.
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The Temptation of Gracie by Santa Montefiore
A woman travels to Tuscany for a cooking holiday and finds herself drawn back into a past she thought was safely behind her. Santa Montefiore writes the kind of novel that makes you want to sit in a sun-drenched Italian courtyard and never come home. Romantic and full of the kind of detail that makes you feel the heat and smell the lavender. If you have not read her yet, start here. You will not stop at one.
The Garden of Small Beginnings by Abbi Waxman
A recently widowed woman signs up for a vegetable gardening class, mostly to get out of the house, and finds that growing things has an unexpected way of growing you back too. Funny, genuinely funny, the kind that makes you laugh out loud. Abbi Waxman is a wonderful writer and this is her best.
Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen
A family with a magical apple tree, a garden that has opinions about who belongs in it, and two sisters finding their way back to each other in a small North Carolina town. As a North Carolina reader I have a particular affection for this one. It reads like a warm afternoon — quiet, a little enchanted and over too soon. If you loved anything with a touch of magic and a strong sense of place, this is the book for you.
The Night Garden by Lisa Van Allen
On a farm in upstate New York there is a wild maze of gardens at its center that local legend says can give visitors answers to life’s most difficult questions. The caretaker, Olivia, has spent her entire life there with a secret that keeps everyone at arm’s length, until her childhood best friend returns. Magical, lyrical and completely absorbing. If you loved Garden Spells you need this one immediately.
Between Coffee and the Sea by Marcus Breitfield
One morning, without a plan and only with the wish for air and lightness, a woman books a spontaneous flight to Lisbon. What she finds there is not a dramatic turning point but something quieter — a journey back to herself, cobblestone by cobblestone, between the scent of coffee and the sound of the sea. This is a slim, beautiful read, more a novella than novel, and exactly the kind of book you finish in an afternoon and sit with for the rest of the day. Read it while relaxing this weekend.
Toujours La France! by Janine Marsh
![Toujours La France Janine Marsh living in rural France spring book]](https://pineconesandacorns.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/Toujours-La-France-Janine-Marsh-living-in-rural-France-spring-book.jpg)
Janine and her husband Mark gave up their city jobs in London and moved to a small village in rural northern France, renovating a barn and building a new life among characters like Mr and Mrs Pepperpot, Jean-Claude and the infamous Bread Man. Warm, funny and full of the kind of village life that makes you want to pack a bag and go. This is the third in the series, start with My Good Life in France if you haven’t found Janine yet. Once you do you will read everything she has written.
The Keeper of Lost Things by Ruth Hogan
A woman inherits a beautiful English country house and the extraordinary collection of lost objects her employer spent a lifetime gathering, a button, a brooch, a child’s shoe, each one waiting to be reunited with its story. Quiet, warm, a little magical and set in the most beautiful English garden. It is the kind of book that reminds you that small things matter and that everything lost has the possibility of being found. One of my favorites on this entire list.
Looking for more books? Everything I have recommended can be found on My Bookshop. Most are also available from Barnes & Noble, Bookshop.org, and on Libby from your local library.
What are you reading this spring? Tell me in the comments — I am always looking for the next one.
If you enjoyed this post, I would love it if you shared it. You can find me on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterestand X — I would love to have you along.
Have a great day. I will see you tomorrow for Sweet Treats for Your Sweet Tooth my monthly collaboration with Sheri.
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On My Radar
Thank you for the book recommendations, I’ll be adding them to my list! I enjoyed “Garden Spells,” and I also liked her “Other Birds.” I’m in a reading lull right now – I recently finished “The Correspondent” by Virginia Evans and I have two new books that I haven’t started yet – “The Queen of Wishful Thinking” by Milly Johnson and “Yesteryear” by Caro Claire Burke.
I really liked your post the other day about waiting and the waiting room – what an imaginative and vivid way of approaching the topic of how we wait to do things that are important to us.