The Rose Arch

Set in the French countryside, Linda Sole's romantic adventure novel The Rose Arch is the first installment in a new series. The novel follows the journey of young Jenny Heron from her idyllic country childhood in France to a surprise friendship in Paris, and finally through her overwhelming first love affair in the Loire Valley. Coming of age also figures as an important theme in Rosemary Aitken's Stormy Waters, another first novel in a series. Wilhelmina Nicholls and Denzil Vargo grow up in a small Cornish village, each plagued with family troubles. When they fall in love, it's only a matter of time until a fateful secret is revealed. Both novels include beautiful descriptions of the respective landscapes and cultures, as well as convincing depictions of standard characters.