Guest Review: A Postcard from Paris by Alex Brown

Annie Lovell is keen to put the spark back into her life and when her elderly neighbour inherits an abandoned Parisian apartment she goes to Paris to discover more. Her curiosity takes an unexpected turn on discovering a bundle of secret diaries hidden within the walls, detailing the life of a young English woman, Beatrice Crawford, who volunteered in 1916 to nurse the soldiers in the fields of France.

 

Captivated by the romantic City of Light, Annie realises first appearances are not always as they seem. Following Beatrice’s journey from the Great War, through the Roaring Twenties and to a very different life in Nazi-occupied Paris, Annie must piece together the events from the past, if she is to fulfil the legacy that Beatrice left for her to find…

Review: I have read and enjoyed quite a number of books written by Alex Brown. I found her last one, A Postcard from Italy, particularly riveting, and was interested to see if this one could have me equally engrossed. I was not disappointed, as this story had me spellbound from page 1 and I literally did not want to put it down. Although the books are listed as part of the Postcard Series, they are completely standalone. I must mention that this book has a beautiful cover that promises the prospect of a romantic visit to Paris within its pages. Other fans of Alex Brown’s books will be delighted to know that, although the story focuses on Paris as the title suggests, there is a connection with the familiar location of Tindledale village. 

This story finds forty-nine year old Annie Lovell, divorced and with 2 grown-up children, pondering her future. When her dear friend and neighbour, Joanie Smith, unexpectedly inherits a property in Paris and asks Annie to go there to check it out, she jumps at the chance of a bit of excitement. Much to the disapproval of her daughter, Annie sets off on her own for fortnight’s holiday in the capital. There she finds a lot more than just an abandoned building. Firstly, she makes new friends in Maggie, her French guest house host, and Kristen, an American tourist, then a love interest in the shape of handsome builder Étienne, but most of all she uncovers a fascinating story of the former owner of the house, Beatrice Crawford, known to her friends as Trixie. With the help of some diaries and papers Annie finds hidden in the house and garden and a few people who knew her, Trixie’s life from the time of the first world war to the end of the second is gradually revealed. At the same time as Annie is making these discoveries, she is also learning some things about herself and her family.

I found this a really compelling story and would recommend A Postcard from Paris to other readers. If you are unfamiliar with Alex Brown’s work, then this would be a marvellous introduction. The characters in the book, from Annie herself to her friends and family and her new acquaintances, are all well developed and have interesting back stories. The main storyline is full of intriguing twists and turns as Annie tries to work out exactly who Trixie is, her connection with Joanie and, in particular, what role she was playing in Paris during the Nazi occupation in the second world war. I was fascinated as each new discovery was made about Trixie’s past. All of this with the backdrop of the sights, sounds and smells of Paris make this a book that I shall certainly revisit. I don’t know if there are more books to come in this series, but I shall be on the lookout. 

To order your copy now, just click the link: UK or US

Blog Tour: Review of A Perfect Paris Christmas by Mandy Baggot

Today is my stop on the blog tour for A Perfect Paris Christmas by Mandy Baggot. I have a review to share with you today and if you like the sound of that you can click here to order a copy of the book now. Don't forget to check out the other stops on the tour for more exclusive content and reviews. 

Here's what it's all about...

United in grief. Pushed apart by tragedy.

Keeley Andrews knows more than anyone that you only live once. So when she receives an invitation to spend two weeks in Paris, all expenses paid, she jumps at the chance.

Ethan Bouchard has had the worst eighteen months of his life. He's ready to give up on everything, including his hotel chain. So when he meets Keeley, it simply isn't the right time.

As Keeley and Ethan continue to bump into each other on the romantic Parisian streets, they can't help but wonder whether this is fate telling them to let go of the past and leap into the future...

Head to Paris this Christmas and fall in love under the lights of the Eiffel Tower with best-selling author, Mandy Baggot.

Review: Well this was my first festive book of the season and I really enjoyed my little trip to Paris. It wasn't all Christmas all the time and so this is definitely safe to read as we make that transition from summer to winter. There is definitely sense of sadness which hangs over this book because the whole adventure is based around loss.

I really enjoyed the romance in this novel. It was very much a kind of enemies to lovers trope but with a twist on that which I won't spoil for you. The romance was slow burn and really quite unexpected in some ways and of course it taking place in Paris just ups that romance level a notch or two. 

I really liked Ethan as a character and liked that we got to hear things from his perspective as well as Keeley's. He was an interesting person and I loved watching his story develop over the course of the novel. Keeley was also an interesting character to read about because of her life thus far and the tragedy that has surrounded it but I really wanted to tell her to get a grip and get on with things at times. Her confidence definitely grew and changed as the novel progressed but I lost my patience with her at times. 

Not only do we have the Paris setting but we also have a hotel, in Paris, at Christmas setting and so the description of the scenes, particularly the interior design aspect of it was really enjoyable. I loved hearing about the decisions that were made when it came to the decorations and also how the design affected the future of the hotels. I enjoyed this book and it made for a good introduction into the festive season. 

About the author

Mandy Baggot is an international bestselling and award-winning romance writer. The winner of the Innovation in Romantic Fiction award at the UK's Festival of Romance, her romantic comedy novel, One Wish in Manhattan, was also shortlisted for the Romantic Novelists' Association Romantic Comedy Novel of the Year award in 2016. Mandy's books have so far been translated into German, Italian, Czech and Hungarian. Mandy loves the Greek island of Corfu, white wine, country music and handbags. Also a singer, she has taken part in ITV1's Who Dares Sings and The X-Factor. Mandy is a member of the Society of Authors and lives near Salisbury, Wiltshire, UK with her husband and two daughters.

Follow Mandy

Facebook: @mandybaggotauthor

Twitter: @mandybaggot

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Website: www.ariafiction.com

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Review: Paris For One by Jojo Moyes

Bestselling author Jojo Moyes brings us a charming and heart-warming short story in association with Quick Reads.

Nell is twenty-six and has never been to Paris. She has never even been on a weekend away with her boyfriend. Everyone knows she is just not the adventurous type.

But, when her boyfriend doesn't turn up for their romantic mini-break, Nell has the chance to prove everyone wrong.

Alone in Paris, Nell meets the mysterious moped-riding Fabien and his group of carefree friends. Could this turn out to be the most adventurous weekend of her life?



Review: Oh what a fab fab read! This book may come in a small package but it certainly packs a massive punch. I had no expectations going into this book, which i think is the best way sometimes don't you? I sat down with a glass of wine and this in my hand and i didn't get up until i had finished both. (This is the perfect length of book for a large glass of red by the way). This book has all the feels. I loved Nell, she really blossomed over the 95 pages of this cute little novella and i had completely fallen in love with her by the end. Her confidence and self-belief grew and she learned how to have fun and be spontaneous.

This book has romance and laughs, a little bit of sorrow and the beautifully described city of Paris. I loved the descriptions of zooming around Paris on a moped, no detail is left out , despite the short length of this novella. The wine and the coffee sounded amazing so i really do defy you not to at least want a croissant whilst reading this delightful little offering. There were also parts which made me laugh, Nell's friends and her American nemesis provide the laughs in spades and along with the aw factor, the writing style was wholly satisfying|!

There are two possible suitors for Nell's heart and the French one of those two will definitely melt your own heart and he's a writer too. They've both been hurt and so you know that makes for the best kind of will they won't they situation. because Nell is only in Paris for a couple of nights, her trip is a short as the book and so you are definitely left wanting more. This ends on a delightful cliffhanger and i so so want to find out from Jojo Moyes exactly what happen next...like now!

Review: Isla and The Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins

From the glittering streets of Manhattan to the moonlit rooftops of Paris, falling in love is easy for hopeless dreamer Isla and introspective artist Josh. But as they begin their senior year in France, Isla and Josh are quickly forced to confront the heartbreaking reality that happily-ever-afters aren’t always forever.

Their romantic journey is skillfully intertwined with those of beloved couples Anna and Étienne and Lola and Cricket, whose paths are destined to collide in a sweeping finale certain to please fans old and new.

Review: this is definitely my favourite book out of the lovely companion novels that Stephanie Perkins has written. I was hooked into this book right from the word go-as soon as I recognised some of my favourite background (and foreground) characters from the other novels in this series. This was quick paced and straight into the romance! The romance level of this book is definitely that little bit higher than in the other book and there are a couple of steamy scenes as well. Of course the the true love never did run a smooth course and so there is high drama on the romance front in this one (get your tissues at the ready!)

I loved Isla, she was just so sweet and lovely. I am sure she would be just as sweet looking in real life. She is a little innocent and Naive and so josh compliments her well in this novel-taking her out and showing her the world. It's funny how mulch more confident and independent she gets over the course of the novel and how much she mellows josh as well-he is definitely ready for college by the time we reach the end of the book! The other characters in this novel are fun too. I love the fact that Isla's friend Kurt is autistic as there definitely aren't enough representations of autisms in fiction today. This author had obviously done her research well as Kurt was at school with all the other kids getting on with his own life, not letting his autism hold him back! Isla's sisters are fun characters to meet and of course we get a little info about Anna and St Clair, Lola and Cricket as well-their part is the storyline did have me squealing with joy somewhat-prepare yourselves for that bit guys! 

I love the fat that these novels aren't sequels but are companion novels, it means that you can read them as standalones, although there will be a couple of spoilers for Anna and the French Kiss if you read this one first-you have been warned! This author weaves the lives of these characters so beautifully and gives them just the right amount of freedom to live their own lives whilst still making the parental and school control realistic and believable. This novel was an incredibly quick read that I managed to fit in around work, having read the other two in a day each I'm hardly surprised, and is definitely the fight thing if you are looking for a sweet and slushy fix. I would recommend reading the other 2 novels first and reading them all at once was also excellent fun! Definitely something to take the bloom out of the autumn/back to school season! 

Review: Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

Anna is looking forward to her senior year in Atlanta, where she has a great job, a loyal best friend, and a crush on the verge of becoming more. Which is why she is less than thrilled about being shipped off to boarding school in Paris--until she meets Étienne St. Clair. Smart, charming,beautiful, Étienne has it all...including a serious girlfriend.

But in the City of Light, wishes have a way of coming true. Will a year of romantic near-misses end with their long-awaited French kiss?

Review: how has it taken me so long to read this book? Unfortunately I think these books have dropped down my list because they are classed as purely reading for pleasure and joy and not for review-that's a shame isn't it? nevertheless, here's  what I thought of Anna and The French-just so damn cute! Everyone has told me how sweet and lovely this book is and I really wasn't let down. When I was younger I really enjoyed books set in schools, everything I read was a book set in a school and so when I found out that this one was set it a school-I was over the moon. This book is like Glee meets every cute teen rom com you've read meets something written by. John Green-it's such an easy read and pleasure in every page. 

In terms of the plot, it's not the most complex of things, girls moves to Paris, meets a boy, boy is taken and the fun ensues from there. The only thing that stopped this book being a five star read for me was that more things didn't happen. I felt a bit like sometimes, we could have gone into more depth on a couple of scenes or found out a bit more about St Clair and his parents but then it wouldn't have been such a quick read so it really didn't effect me enjoying the book one bit. 

Anna seems to have her head screwed on properly, something which I find isn't always the case with YA heroines, so I was pleasd about that. I thought her lack of French skills was fairly improbable but I don't hold that against her and can't wait to read more about her in Lola and the Boy Next Door. St Clair is a bit of a bad boy, leading Anna on somewhat when he already has a girlfriend but he is a real gentlemen at heart and is definitely Anna's knight in shinning armour so he's all good in my books. I really liked the other characters in this novel too and think that they were key to the plot and played their parts well! 

Overall this is just a lovely book and definitely something to sit down and devour all in one go as I did. It's not taxing or challenging in anyway just sweet and romantic, the equivalent of your favourite rom com or Disney movie. It will leave you feeling warm and fuzzy inside and the descriptions of Paris will definitely make you want to go back there and visit for yourself. The brilliant thing is that these characters are revisited in Lola and The Boy Next Door and so I can now go and catch up with them and see how they are all getting on! 

When I Fall in Love - Miranda Dickinson

Elsie Maynard never expected to be starting again...

...but eighteen months on from the biggest challenge of her life, she is doing just that –because she made a promise to the person who believed in her the most.

Determined to step into her uncertain future, Elsie meets handsome Oliver Hogarth, who seems intent on winning her heart; she inadvertently founds a choir, and overcomes obstacles – most of which involve arrogant Torin Stewart.

Then a heartfelt request brings her to Paris – and the final item on ‘The List’ that she never dared complete.

Review: I was so excited about Miranda Dickinson’s latest novel, having been lucky enough to receive a sneak-preview chapter from her in the post; I was desperate to read the rest! I so pleased to find that book number four from this lovely author delivered her usual mix of optimism, cake and of course romance, the perfect recipe! Although the cover might suggest a Christmasey or even a wintery novel, don’t be fooled, none of this book is set in December! When I fall in Love follows Elsie eighteen months on from the death of her husband and her dealings with her best friend Cher, a new choir project and two possible new love interests. Elsie is such a lovely character. She seems too innocent and open for someone who has lost their husband at such a young age… ‘I was loved by the most amazing guy in the world for eight wonderful years. Most people don’t get to enjoy that kind of love their whole lives. I count myself as one of the lucky few’. She has the typical optimism of one of Dickinson’s characters, and you find yourself willing her to open her heart and find love again, all the way through the book.

The story centres around Elsie’s dealings with a new choir she has started with a local, aging rocker. This was unchartered territory for me but I found it to be a really nice hook into the storyline, and it leads to the introduction of several new characters, each of whom add depth to the storyline and come with their own brand of love and sweetness. The addition of Elsie’s family is also really lovely because it makes the whole novel feel like a comfortable cosy night in surrounded by friends and family. The two male characters vying for Elsie’s attention are equally well-developed and seemingly couldn’t be more different from one another, and I think that this was vital for the structure of the storyline. ‘I want to make you feel cared for all the time…and I know were taking it slowly and you’ve had things you wanted to deal with, but I just want you to know that you only have to say the word and…I’ll be there’.

The setting of the novel was really well described, having never been to Brighton, I really felt like I got to know the town and was wandering through its streets with Elsie and the other characters, and of course, Paris was also as elaborately described, and given the level of romance befitting of Miranda Dickinson’s writing. Obviously the book deals in some part with death, and so I did shed a few tears, but there were also parts of the book that made me laugh, especially when Elsie and her sister take a trip to a Swedish furniture store in Croydon, ‘Croydon? Who goes to Croydon for anything?’ A lovely thing is that at the end of the book, the reader is given a bonus, a list of the messages that Elsie’s late husband left for her. I defy even the coldest of hearts not to be warmed by this list, and indeed the whole of the book for that matter. Even if you haven’t read any of Miranda Dickinson’s previous novels, you will be certain to enjoy this one, and most probably want to acquire her others as soon as you finish it. A truly lovely novel!

The Loveliest Chocolate Shop in Paris-Jenny Colgan

As dawn breaks over the Pont Neuf, and the cobbled alleyways of Paris come to life, Anna Trent is already awake and at work; mixing and stirring the finest, smoothest, richest chocolate; made entirely by hand, it is sold to the grandes dames of Paris.

It's a huge shift from the chocolate factory she worked in at home in the north of England. But when an accident changed everything, Anna was thrown back in touch with her French teacher, Claire, who offered her the chance of a lifetime - to work in Paris with her former sweetheart, Thierry, a master chocolatier.

With old wounds about to be uncovered and healed, Anna is set to discover more about real chocolate - and herself - than she ever dreamed.

Review: Another delicious offering from Jenny Colgan! First there were cupcakes, then there were sweets, then Christmas cupcakes, and finally, the ultimate-chocolate! I was eagerly awaiting this chocolate novel, and even the cover in a gorgeous Cadbury purple is just as delicious as I hoped it would be. When we first meet main character Anna, the reader feels immediately drawn to her. She is entirely identifiable, and feels as though she could actually be you or me. Still in the town she grew up in, working in a job she is not entirely satisfied with, and having a slightly strained relationship with her parents, a freak accident at work forces her to get away and take on a new challenge.

As well as the Paris setting being an obvious bonus to this book, the characters than Anna meets are also extremely well written. I love the fact that Anna meets up with an old teacher whilst she is recuperating in hospital, and this is where she learns the French that she uses during her time in Paris. I think that Colgan has been incredibly clever in the way she has knitted together the stories of these two women. I admit that I wasn't expecting to be so taken with Claire's story, and yet I felt it was just as powerful, and deserves just as much recognition as Anna's story in the novel.

I feel that the food deserves a whole review of its own! I had to rush out and buy French food in order to continue reading the novel. The chocolate is described in such beautiful detail, I know I would spend the extortionate amount the shop charges in order to taste just one bit of the pure melting beauty of it. And it's not just the chocolate which one craves, the rest of the food in the novel is described so perfectly, the reader can almost smell the baking bread, the frying garlic and the flaky croissants! Just yum!

Overall this book is just as much fun to read as this authors previous food-based novels, and comes with the warning of not to devour it on an empty stomach. I was entirely greedy and finished it over a weekend. It would make a great holiday read, or some fabulous French escapism of an evening. Readers don't need to have read anything by Jenny Colgan before to enjoy this novel, an tough I have no doubt, they will be searching out the cupcakes and the sweets after the taste of chocolate they get within these pages. I thoroughly recommend this novel to anyone, and as Colgan herself say as the end of the book-Bon appetit!