What a charming novel! I am so grateful I had the opportunity to read it through the Harlequin Trade Publishing Romance and Women’s Fiction Winter Blog Tour
The author got right to the point – there was not a lot of pretense or beating around the bush. Sarah and Sophie swap bookshops, with Sarah arguably getting the better end of the deal because she gets to go to Paris (although Sophie has her reasons for wanting to trade places as well).
I loved how Sarah approached books, and the author’s personification of the books (Sarah could hear them sighing, felt that they whispered secrets, etc.) was relatable. Anyone who is a book lover knows that dog-earing pages and cracking spines physically hurts the book. (Not really, but book lovers understand what I mean).
I thought the author did an excellent job of charting Sarah’s relationship with Ridge, her mostly absent boyfriend. I don’t want to give anything away, but the arc was unique and did not go in the direction I thought that it would (and I was glad it didn’t).
I liked all of the secondary characters as well. I saw through Beatrice from the get-go but would love to have Oceane as a friend and guide in Paris. She was the epitome of Paris-chic.
This book read as a love letter to Paris as much as it did to books. The author took great care in describing the sights and the people of Paris, both in the narrative and through Sarah’s eyes. I particularly liked the moments where Oceane or Luiz let Sarah in on a “secret” café or boutique that had specific “rules” for entry (especially loved the antique shop).
I was in Paris with my family two summers ago. It was a brief visit, but it was enough to get a taste of the charm that is so well described in this book. I loved reading the descriptions of the alleyways and arrondissements as they brought back memories of our strolls through the streets. This was a delightful book with likable characters and a spectacular backdrop, and it shouldn’t be missed.
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Author Bio: Rebecca Raisin is the author of several novels, including the beloved Little Paris series and the Gingerbread Café trilogy, and her short stories have been published in various anthologies and fiction magazines. You can follow Rebecca on Facebook, and at www.rebeccaraisin.com
