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The Hotel Riviera

3.59 of 5 stars 3.59 · rating details · 460 ratings · 45 reviews

She thought she was in love...
American Lola Laforet is swept away in a whirlwind wedding to a handsome Frenchman and finds herself the chef/owner of the Hotel Riviera, a gemlike retreat snuggled up against the blue Mediterranean. In their first blissful year as newlyweds, her life seems to be a dream come true. But then charming Patrick Laforet disappears one day with noth...more

Paperback, 336 pages

Published August 16th 2004 by St. Martin's Paperbacks (first published 2003)

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Tender Is the Night by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Queen Victoria and the Discovery of the Riviera by Michael Nelson

The Casebook of Monsieur Jonquelle, Prefect of Police of Paris by Melville Davisson Post

The Riviera

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Sep 30, 2012 Nathalie S rated it 3 of 5 stars

As soon as I started listening to Elizabeth Adler's "The Hotel Riviera", I was hooked. And what is there not to like--gorgeous setting (in St.Tropez on the French Riviera) with lush descriptions of the Mediterranean and the beaches. The main character, American Lola Laforet (whose first mistake was to marry a Frenchman lol!) is a wonderful chef hence luscious descriptions of food! Lola is part owner of the Hotel Riviera, a small wonderful hotel which would be just the kind of place I would go to...more

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Aug 08, 2011 John Mcconahey added it

The Hotel Rivera by Elizabeth Adler

The sorts of stories that rock my soul are those that have extreme credibility, leaving the impression that the events portrayed could have actually happened as they were described. Adler once again shortcuts that process, losing a few points on my WOWometer. All the same, this is still a pretty good book.

Lola Laforêt is patronne and chef at an eight-room hotel on the Côte d'Azur near St. Tropez. Six months earlier, her husband had forgotten her birthday and...more

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Nov 15, 2011 Adam rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: audiobooks-a-z

Post Listen Review: I wish Elizabeth Adler would knock it off. This book is about poor little rich people in the French countryside (who can afford to live in the French countryside) that are so miserable because they don't have love in their lives. God this is getting old. If you want to hear about how that one percent we keep hearing about live, listen to this book. And if you want to be brainwashed into thinking that all women really need in their lives is a good man, listen to this book. If...more Post Listen Review: I wish Elizabeth Adler would knock it off. This book is about poor little rich people in the French countryside (who can afford to live in the French countryside) that are so miserable because they don't have love in their lives. God this is getting old. If you want to hear about how that one percent we keep hearing about live, listen to this book. And if you want to be brainwashed into thinking that all women really need in their lives is a good man, listen to this book. If you want to hear about fast cars, expensive motorcycles and boats, listen to this book. If you want to be incredibly bored and horrified at the message this book gives to women, read this book. I hated this book. Let me tell you why.

First off, the woman, Lola Laforet owns a freaking hotel in France. She is not struggling. But she was dumb enough to marry this guy who sleeps around on her all the time. So she is soooo sad. Then the moron disappears and she is confused and sad. She supposedly tries to look for him but it doesn't seem to me like she tries that hard. And she is sad. Then it is assumed that he is murdered and that she might be the suspect. She is confused and sad. Then she sees a naked guy. She is not sad. The naked guy is with some chick but that doesn't really seem to bug Lola much. She looks at the woman and thinks,"he could spread her with butter and jam and she'd be perfect for his breakfast." That was the most unappealing combination of sex and breakfast I have ever heard.

Next, Lola has a pet hen. Why? Because the hen deserves her love more than her unfaithful husband (who might be dead but MORE importantly sleeps around) and sleeps in her bed. In her bed? A hen?? Man that is a lot of chicken crap to clean up in the mornings.

But she is so sad she listens to Barry White albums alone. Because the gorgeous French countryside is too damn depressing I guess.

Lola constantly says she doesn't belive in love buy she pines away that her no good, philandering, probably dead husband doesn't love her. She pines away that she doesn't have kids. She pines away over newlyweds. Yeah this is someone who doesn't believe in love right?

The manly dude who owns a sailboat and was the naked jam or whatever smells lavender, beeswax, a mix of other flowers and jasmine but in the next sentence it says he DOESN'T KNOW about FLOWERS. Anyone else see a glaring contradiction here? I do know nothing about flowers and I really could not tell you what jasmine smells like. The manly dude also compares Lola's eyes to Bambi. Cause tough sailor guys love to sit around and watch Bambi.

All of Lola's good memories she can think of only when she looks at crap she bought. Not pictures of friends and family, not the scent of mother's home cooking, no, the clothes and crap she bought. And in case you didn't think she was materialistic enough, she in her mind, defends Marie Antoinette, convinced that is was a misquote about eating cake. Even if it was a misquote, Marie Antoinette was anything but sympathetic to the tons of poor people around her, just like Lola.

Also, the bad guys in this are always people who started life poor but then became rich. So I guess being poor at birth makes you evil. What a wonderful stereotype to reinforce.

The husband who might be dead (or worse had an affair, yes Lola thinks it is worse for someone to sleep around than be DEAD) turns out not to be dead and in the end stops his lover from killing Lola but he dies in the process. This convinces Lola that the guy truly loved her. Let me tell you something. Trying to keep someone from getting murdered is just common courtesy, it is not love. And besides, she doesn't believe in love remember?

The least believable scene to me in this whole book is when the hen is murdered. Ok so the dead (but not really) husband's girlfriend kills the stupid hen, named Scramble (brilliantly lame name). Then the naked guy finds Lola crying over the stupid hen and he comforts her and thinks to himself how vulnerable she is or something. I guarantee you that is not what he was thinking. What he was thinking was, thank god that chicken is dead so next time we have sex in her bed I will not be rolling in chicken crap.

Chicken crap, that's a good way to describe this book. So for anyone who loves chicken crap, give them this to read.

Pre-listen guess: Oh boy, here we go. Another crap fest of strangers with smoldering eyes in landscapes none of us can afford to visit. I will be shocked if I think this deserves any stars at all.(less)

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Apr 30, 2012 Joanne rated it 4 of 5 stars

An enjoyable read. The author really makes you feel like you are at the Hotel Rivera experiencing the sights, enjoying the meals, drinking wine with the patrons and feeling the end of summer warmth and breezes.

Lola March LaForet is the owner/chef of the little hotel in France. Her husband Patrick has disappeared and she's sure it has something to do with another woman. Suddenly his Porsche is found and she is suspect in his disappearance. Her friends elderly Miss N and hunky sailor Jack help he...more

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Aug 04, 2012 Linda rated it 2 of 5 stars

Typical Elizabeth Adler storyline set in a lush tropical paradise. The story revolves around an American, Lola, who marries a Frenchman, Patrick, and becomes the chef/owner of the Hotel Riviera. Patrick is less than the ideal husband, what with his womanizing and frequent disappearances. This time, however, he has been gone for six months and Lola is left wondering what has happened to him, all the while trying to cope with the running of the hotel. Now a new wrinkle - someone has dropped anchor...more

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May 13, 2012 Rita rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Depois de ter ouvido e lido várias críticas favoráveis a Elizabeth Adler, foi com alguma curiosidade que iniciei esta leitura.

Lola Laforêt era uma americana realizada, com um casamento estável e um hotel que representava tudo o que ela era. Desde a decoração, que à primeira vista poderia parecer descontextualizada, mas que no fundo tinha toda uma história, até ao local onde se centrava, mágico e para os seus hóspedes quase como um lar. Contudo, tudo muda quando o seu marido Patrick desaparece mi...more Depois de ter ouvido e lido várias críticas favoráveis a Elizabeth Adler, foi com alguma curiosidade que iniciei esta leitura.

Lola Laforêt era uma americana realizada, com um casamento estável e um hotel que representava tudo o que ela era. Desde a decoração, que à primeira vista poderia parecer descontextualizada, mas que no fundo tinha toda uma história, até ao local onde se centrava, mágico e para os seus hóspedes quase como um lar. Contudo, tudo muda quando o seu marido Patrick desaparece misteriosamente.

Sendo a minha primeira experiência com a autora fiquei bastante agradada com a sua escrita e com o modo como descreve o ambiente que envolve as personagens. Elizabeth Adler tem uma escrita bastante envolvente e um modo de descrever, neste caso o sul de França, que quase nos transporta para aquele mundo. Nota-se no seu modo de escrever, que a autora adora viajar e que fala por justa causa, o que é muito interessante.

Relativamente às personagens, penso que se encontram igualmente bem descritas e humanizadas. Novamente transparece que já viajou bastante porque o modo como descreve os franceses tem o seu quê de verdade.

Na minha opinião pessoal peca somente na mudança por parte de Jack Farrar, um americano que viaja por todo o mundo no seu barco, que é um mulherengo nato e que depois de conhecer Lola muda completamente. Acredito que as pessoas podem mudar, a vida encontra-se repleta de mudanças, pois não somos seres estanques, mas o meu lado céptico, considera difícil que uma pessoa mude do dia para a noite, só de modo de gradual. Contudo, o facto de Lola ter receio de se envolver e de recear sofrer ou de se entregar a ele, com medo que não seja de confiança, acaba por colmatar em parte este aspecto.

Quanto às restantes personagens gostei muito da Srª Nightingale, uma das inquilinas do hotel, pela sua força, coragem, perspicácia e bondade. Mostra ser daquele género de pessoas que se gosta instantaneamente e que são capazes de fazer tudo pelo próximo.

“Verão na Riviera” mostrou-se, deste modo, um livro agradável e leve, óptimo para passar uma tarde bem passada, sem exigir muito do leitor. Sendo os pontos mais agradáveis a reter, as descrições e o facto de não ser somente um romance, mas de também possuir um toque de intriga, mistério e suspense.

(http://magia-livros.blogspot.pt/2012/...)(less)

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Aug 28, 2010 Erin Beckwith added it

I'm ashamed to say I wasted my time reading this book...impulse grab at the library. If anyone thinks the Twilight books are bad, well...they haven't read Elizabeth Adler. She makes Stephanie Meyer seem like Nabokov. To describe this book as "vacuous" would be an understatement. I will give it this, the descriptions of food were, well, appetite inspiring...but they were almost completely literal, and I couldn't help thinking of how the author lives in Palm Springs and probably has gobs of money...more

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Sep 28, 2012 Filipa rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: chick-lit, contemporary, english-books, library, not-own, romantic-suspense, 2012-reads

O Hotel Riviera é um pequeno refúgio no sul de França. O hotel encontra-se situado mais propriamente em Cote d'Azur, perto de Saint Tropez, uma zona normalmente associada a riqueza, a extravagância. Um paraíso azul, invejável, onde Lola March Laforêt mantém o seu pequeno hotel que prima pela simpatia, qualidade de serviço e pela gastronomia saborosa. Isto porque Lola, não é só a gerente deste simpático hotel, mas também a chef de serviço. Este hotel é o orgulho de Lola e é também a sua razão de...more

O Hotel Riviera é um pequeno refúgio no sul de França. O hotel encontra-se situado mais propriamente em Cote d'Azur, perto de Saint Tropez, uma zona normalmente associada a riqueza, a extravagância. Um paraíso azul, invejável, onde Lola March Laforêt mantém o seu pequeno hotel que prima pela simpatia, qualidade de serviço e pela gastronomia saborosa. Isto porque Lola, não é só a gerente deste simpático hotel, mas também a chef de serviço. Este hotel é o orgulho de Lola e é também a sua razão de viver. Sem este espaço, Lola não seria nada, além de ficar sem casa e sem emprego. É, sem dúvida alguma, a sua joie de vivre. O hotel foi construído transformado depois de se ter casado com Patrick Laforêt, o francês que conquistou Lola em Las Vegas. Contudo, Patrick não pode ser considerado o homem de sonho de nenhuma mulher, pois além de ter o vício do jogo, tem também o vício das mulheres e há seis meses que este desapareceu e deixou Lola desamparada e com o casamento em suspenso.
Lola sabe perfeitamente que a única razão plausível para este desaparecimento é outra mulher, porque o seu marido é um ser-humano completamente previsível. Assim, Lola mantém a gerência do hotel por mais um verão, que sem ela saber, iria mudar o resto da sua vida.

Quando vê uma embarcação atracar na enseada onde tem o seu hotel, com um homem completamente fora do vulgar como comandante da embarcação, mal sabe que a sua vida vai dar uma reviravolta completa. Jack Farrar, um americano de Newport, e que adora viajar pelo mundo, não sabe igualmente, que quando conhecer Lola March Laforêt, a sua vida dificilmente será a mesma...

Sendo eu, conhecedora das obras de Elizabeth Adler, posso com certeza, dizer que Verão na Riviera não é dos seus melhores livros. De facto, esta leitura deixou muito a desejar, tal como a anterior já tinha deixado. Não posso dizer que vou deixar de ler esta autora, porque seria uma mentira, mas a verdade é que depois de ter lido Romance na Toscana, ainda não consegui ler outro livro dela que lhe comparasse ou superasse.
Este livro foi ligeiramente mais mistério do que romance, ao contrário dos anteriores. O foco principal está no desaparecimento de Patrick Laforêt e o romance é posto em segundo lugar e na verdade, fez a autora muitíssimo bem, pois foi exactamente o mistério que salvou o livro.
A escrita da autora continua ao nível de sempre e esse é um elemento constante que continua sempre a agradar-me - uma escrita leve, fluída e sem nenhum floreio em especial. É a típica leitura destinada a limpar a mente, leve e descontraída. Outro elemento constante na autora e aquele que vejo como sendo a sua imagem de marca, é as viagens que ela leva os seus leitores a fazer. Se quer viajar mas não o pode fazer por qualquer motivo, ler os livros de Adler é uma segunda escolha igualmente compensadora. A autora leva-nos a todo o mundo e neste livro podemos conhecer melhor o sul de França: Cote d'Azur, Marseille, Saint Tropez, e também um pouco de Itália.
Podemos deliciar-nos com as paisagens que a autora nos descreve, mas também com a gastronomia a rigor. Esta é uma marca indelével nestes livros.

O mistério não foi propriamente surpreendente, mas ainda assim, conseguiu trazer-me algumas surpresas com as quais eu não esperava. Gostei, sobretudo, da participação de Miss Nothingale, uma das hóspedes usuais do hotel Riviera, viúva de um ex-inspector da Scotland Yard, que tem uma mente desperta, ágil e que é a personagem que acaba por descobrir a pólvora, a chave do mistério de Patrick.

Contudo, o romance entre Lola e Jack desiludiu-me um pouco, foi um bocado pãozinho sem sal. Estava à espera de um romance arrebatador, digno do paraíso de sul de França e acabei por criar expectativas demasiado elevadas para este casal. Tiveram alguns momentos ternurentos, mas foi apenas isso. As próprias personagens tiveram um desenvolvimento muito superficial, especialmente Lola que é abandonada pelo marido e esperava mais exploração desta personagem. Já para não falar que achei ridículo que ela tivesse uma galinha como animal de estimação e achasse que a galinha a amava e compreendia. Eu gosto de te mente aberta, mas há coisas que simplesmente me parecem absurdas. Enfim.

Concluindo, este livro não me encheu as medidas, apesar de a vertente misteriosa ter sido interessante, bem como a luta pelo Hotel.
Uma leitura que não deve ser feita com muitas expectativas, mas que entretém.
Espero que o próximo livro de Elizabeth Adler me conquiste de forma mais notória.
(less)

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Apr 01, 2013 Sharon rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: romance

Adler writes on-bodice-ripping romances about 40-something women. This protagonist runs a small hotel on the French Riviera. The story centers around her missing husband. She solves this mystery with the helps of her gusests and a handsome stranger who just happens to anchor his boat nearby. Good reading for a cold-suffering mom.

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Mar 24, 2013 Pat Saley rated it 3 of 5 stars

I had really enjoyed the historical fiction book by Adler, "Fortune is a Woman" (tho the title is hokey), but this was a little disappointing in that book's wake. It painted the French Riviera as a beautiful place but it was pretty much a "fluff" book. Those have their place of course but I wasn't sitting on a beach somewhere ;-)

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Jul 29, 2011 Booklady rated it 4 of 5 stars

I thoroughly enjoyed this book in a "just for fun" way... nothing deep here, but a good read all the same. Adler's characters are well devined, plots are interesting and mostly un[redictable. A delightful escape.

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May 12, 2010 Brooke rated it 5 of 5 stars

This book was amazing. It's one of my favorite books. It's sad, romantic and witty. It had a little action in it. I could not keep this book down. I highly recommend for anyone to read it when they get a chance.

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Aug 17, 2009 Shari rated it 2 of 5 stars

Vacation fluff book about a woman (chef) running a boutique hotel in the south of France and who is trying to solve the mystery of her husband who mysteriously disappeared.

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Aug 07, 2012 TaniaM rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Acabei finalmente este livro e tenho a dizer que vou fazer uma pausa na autora!

Que protagonista tão sem sal, o contexto do livro é engraçado, Saint-Tropez, praias, sol, um hotel mas depois achei o enredo fraquinho! A fórmula é sempre a mesma, elas têm sempre maridos parvos que arranjam amantes e que as deixam e depois subitamente conhecem o amor mas só na última página é que surgem os pedidos de casamento, ele até tinha pinta e animou um bocado a história e a amiga dela inglesa é a melhor person...more

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Aug 17, 2012 Noora rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: jännitys, romantiikka, viihde

Siirappia, imelää ja ah, niin helppoa. Mutta kuitenkin samaan aikaan niin viatonta ja naiivia. Sopivaa lomalukemista.

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Jun 26, 2011 Danika rated it 4 of 5 stars

A great romance novel that anyone can relate to. Its very steamy and has many killer twists.

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May 03, 2013 Diane rated it 5 of 5 stars

Very exciting and action packed. I loved the main characters and the sweet little Hotel Riviera.

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Apr 27, 2010 Harper Haven rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: audiobook, romance, mystery

It was formulaic but I quite enjoyed it. The reader, Carrington MacDuffie was very good.

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Apr 20, 2012 Carol Eshaghy rated it 3 of 5 stars

Love all is author's books and their interesting locations.

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Feb 06, 2009 Terry Beller rated it 2 of 5 stars

It was a sappy romance novel - not as bad as most.

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Jul 20, 2012 Peggy added it

I love the conbination mystery and describing the hotel

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Sep 21, 2011 Andrea rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

A good book when you want a fun and romantic read.

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Jul 19, 2012 Claudia rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Até hoje o que mais gostei desta autora!!!!

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Jan 31, 2011 Karen rated it 4 of 5 stars

Very good murder mystery/romance

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Jan 20, 2011 Mary rated it 3 of 5 stars

romance, we all need it sometimes ;-)

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Nov 16, 2010 Rachel rated it 2 of 5 stars

OK Beach read

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Mar 23, 2010 Linda rated it 2 of 5 stars

Vacuous...

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Apr 07, 2009 Capecelia rated it 5 of 5 stars

very good!!!!

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Oct 06, 2011 Joanne rated it 3 of 5 stars

Good!

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Oct 12, 2009 Merty rated it 5 of 5 stars

With Elizabeth Adler, you will get that fantasy escape and it was pure fun, easy, light reading for stressful times!

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About Elizabeth Adler

Born in Yorkshire, North England, Elizabeth Adler met in London her future husband, Richard, a American. They had lived in England, Ireland, France, Brazil, and USA. Today, the had one daughter and live in Palm Springs, California. Her first novel, Private Desires, launched an enormously successful writing career, she also wrote as Ariana Scott. She has now written over twenty internationally accl...more

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