Today I have a fabulous festive read for you to consider. Many thanks to Rachel’s Random Resources for having me on the tour and sending me a copy of the book to review.
The Book: Turn a tumbledown Paris hotel into a perfect boutique, bookish retreat, and have it open for Christmas? What could possibly go wrong?
When Anais receives a near-derelict Paris hotel in her divorce settlement, her first thought is to tidy it up and sell it immediately. All she wants is to move on and forget her disaster of a marriage ever happened.
But selling it proves impossible, so she has only one option: to make it gorgeous and open by Christmas… when her funds will almost certainly run out.
She’s not counting on the grumpy American bar-owner next door, Noah, coming and interfering at every moment though. Nor is she expecting to find a mysterious room – which holds the key to a one-hundred-year-old secret – about a woman who chose love against the odds.
One thing’s for sure… as the fairy lights twinkle all over the city of lights and the first snowflakes start to fall… this will be a Christmas in Paris to remember.
A totally gorgeous, escapist romantic comedy, with an unforgettable mystery! A perfect festive read for fans of Emily Henry and Sarah Morgan to curl up with this winter.
Purchase Link – https://mybook.to/alwaysparissocial
The Review: This will possibly sound a bit gushing but I loved this book. In fact, I struggled to put it down. I love when Rebecca sets books in Paris so that was already an easy win but this book has so many different aspects to it and they all work wonderfully together. There’s obviously Paris, Anais and Manon, then you add Noah from next door, the hotel itself, the contractors, the antiques and mysteries, Anais’s ex-husband and that’s just the characters. In addition to all of that you have the overarching story of Anais trying to rebuild/get her life back on track after her divorce from her weasel of an ex (not a spoiler honest!) and not once does it get confusing or muddled or too much to deal with.
The whole combination was just blissful and oddly very cosy. I wouldn’t have thought a story of which a large part is a hotel renovation would be cosy but this one definitely is. I also loved all the literary references. I’ve not read any, I don’t think, of the authors mentioned but I’ve heard of many of them and am now tempted to hunt down a few of their books to expand my reading even further. The descriptions of Paris and all the things we associate with it, like the food, were brilliant and just added even more to the overall feel of the book. I loved watching Anais grow and develop in this fabulous setting. She definitely had some hurdles to overcome and while her struggles were so realistic, her approach was inspiring and I enjoyed all of it.
Books are somewhere we can escape from the world, something that can transport us somewhere else and this book does exactly that. I genuinely felt like I was in Paris in the hotel with Anais, I could hear the noise of the contractors working on the hotel, smell the croissants and feel the excitement at uncovering and rediscovering parts of the hotel. My favourite book of Rebecca’s has, for a long time, been The Little Bookshop on the Seine but it’s now got competition from this book, they might have to share the top spot. I loved this book and it’s a firm re-read for me. If you want cosy, mysterious, frustrating and joyful, plus perfect escapism (and Paris), this is the book for you.
The Author:
Rebecca Raisin writes heartwarming romance from her home in sunny Perth, Australia. Her heroines tend to be on the quirky side and her books are usually set in exotic locations so her readers can armchair travel any day of the week.
Social Media Links –
Facebook: @RebeccaRaisinAuthor
Twitter: @jaxandwillsmum
Instagram: @rebeccaraisinwrites2
Newsletter Sign Up: bit.ly/RebeccaRaisinNews
Bookbub profile: @RebeccaRaisin
