Christmas in Paris by Anita Hughes Publisher: St Martin's Griffin (2016 - October 4)
eARC (288 pages)
Via: NetGalley
Rating:
Reading Challenges: Read 2016
Synopsis
Hughes will fill your heart with the sights, sounds, and flavors of new love, glamorous fashion, and decadent holiday cuisine.
Isabel Lawson is standing on the balcony of her suite at the Hotel Crillon as she gazes at the twinkling lights of the Champs Elysee and wonders if she’s made a terrible mistake. She was supposed to be visiting the Christmas tree in the Place de la Concorde, and eating escargots and macaroons with her new husband on their honeymoon. But a week before the wedding, she called it off. Isabel is an ambitious Philadelphia finance woman, and Neil suddenly decided to take over his grandparents’ farm. Isabel wasn’t ready to trade her briefcase for a pair of rubber boots and a saddle.
When Neil suggested she use their honeymoon tickets for herself, she thought it would give her a chance to clear her head. That is until she locks herself out on the balcony in the middle of winter. Thankfully her neighbor Alec, a French children’s illustrator, comes to her rescue. He too is nursing a broken heart at the Crillon for the holidays. With a new friend by her side, Isabel is determined to use her time in the city of lights wisely. After a chance encounter with a fortune teller and a close call with a taxi, she starts to question everything she thought was important.
Christmas in Paris is a moving and heartwarming story about love, trust, and self-discovery. Set during the most magical week of the year, the glorious foods and fashions of the most romantic city in the world are sure to take your breath away.
Find the book: Goodreads, Amazon, Book Depository
My Review
I normally won’t pick up a contemporary romance, especially an adult contemporary romance. However, the cover and the synopsis drew me to Christmas in Paris. It is like a Christmas fairytale and I couldn’t say no to it.
Christmas in Paris begins with Isabel on her hotel balcony in Paris. It was supposed to be her honeymoon but she called off the wedding only days before it was scheduled to take place. Her ex-fiance insisted that she take the tickets for their honeymoon and have a good time in Paris by herself. She agreed and so finds herself alone in Paris at Christmastime.
Alec is supposed to be at the Crillon hotel with his fiancee whom he should be marrying shortly. However, she decided to take off for Australia with a handsome cricket player. Poor Alec is just staying at the Crillon since the room was already paid for and it is much nicer than his flat across town.
Can you see where this is going? I had a guess for the ending before I even began the book. This didn’t really bother me though because I was curious how it would all play out and if my guess would be correct. This really is a winter-y fairytale set in Paris.
Since this is an adult contemporary romance, there is some sex. Nothing is really explicit and I thought the book could have worked just fine without it at all. However, I apparently don’t hold the same view as the rest of the people this book is aimed towards.
In all, I did like Christmas in Paris. It was fairytale-ish and Christmas-y and Parisian. It was a book different from what I normally read but it was entertaining. It reminded me of a Hallmark Christmas movie and I was okay with that. It was endearing and sweet and had a nice ending that wrapped everything up neatly.
I received this book for free from the publisher via NetGalley for
review consideration. This in no way affects my opinion of the title
nor the content of this review.
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