paris – Book Dust Magic

Book Review: A Perfect Paris Christmas by Mandy Baggot #BookReview #Paris #Christmas

GIFTED / Although Christmas books are my absolutely favourite kind to read, this year I finished only four of them. Unfortunately, not one 5 stars read this year. A Perfect Paris Christmas was good and entertaining. Unfortunately I did a bad job when it comes to reading and reviewing it as I got it via Netgalley back in 2020, but here it is finally: my review for this story.

A Perfect Paris Christmas has 378 pages and it was published on September 3rd 2020. I want to thank publishing house Aria for giving me a copy via Netgalley in an exchange for an honest review.

About the book:

FROM GOODREADS /

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…

Review:

I feel kind of bad that I read this book two years too late, as I got it for review back in 2020, but as they say, it’s better late than never, right?

The cover for this festive novel is just gorgeous and the sole reason that grabbed my attention in the first place.
The premise sounded interesting but if I am being honest, I was little sceptical whether I would click with the story, as I find it unbelievable (and also I am firm believer that donors/receivers stay anonymous for a reason). However, as I have read and liked Baggot’s books in the past I knew I wanted to give it a try.

Overall, I can say I liked the story in general.
Main characters were likeable and entertaining.
The writing style was the best part, but in my opinion the novel would be even better if it was shorter.

Some things I wasn’t a big fan of. For some reason I didn’t like Jeanne. Everything about that whole side plot was all red flags for me. And I liked it even less how her story wasn’t explained at all and it was just done poorly and unbelievable.
Like, yeah, you can just take a person from the streets to your house, without checking out anything about that child. And imagine guy doing it, living with a 12 years old minor without noticing police or anyone? Can anyone else see how it looks like??

My favourite character was Louis, but unfortunately he was portrayed as a bad guy.

Also, I think this hotel chain is doomed. I mean, who goes to Paris to cuddle with sheep? There are country hotels with full service for a reason, and you go to Paris for glamour.

Anyway, this was cute story but soooo unbelievable.

Book Review: Paris for One by Jojo Moyes

paris-for-one

Title: Paris for One & Other Stories

Author: Jojo Moyes

Publisher: Penguin, Michael Joseph

Date: February 9th, 2017

Pages: 336

Format: Hardback

Source: from Publisher for review

Synopsis (from Goodreads): From the #1 “New York Times” bestselling author of “Me Before You” and “After You,” a sensational collection featuring the title novella and eight other stories. Quintessential Jojo Moyes, “Paris for One and Other Stories” is an irresistibly romantic collection filled with humor and heart.
Nell is twenty-six and has never been to Paris. She’s never even been on a romantic weekend away to anywhere before. Everyone knows travelling abroad isn’t really her thing. But when Nell’s boyfriend fails to show up for their romantic mini-vacation, she has the opportunity to prove everyone including herself wrong. Alone and in Paris, Nell uncovers a version of herself she never knew existed: independent and intrepid. Could this turn out to be the most adventurous weekend of her life? Funny, charming, and irresistible, “Paris for One”is vintage Moyes as are the other stories that round out the collection.”

Paris for One
Between the Tweets
Love in the Afternoon
A Bird in the Hand
Crocodile Shoes
Holdups
Honeymoon in Paris
Last Year’s Coat
Thirteen Days with John C.
Margot
The Christmas List

Review:

Paris for One is collection of two novellas and 9 short stories.

My favorite story (or I should say novella) was Honeymoon in Paris. It is a standalone novella, but is also connected to Moyes’ full lenght novel The Girl You Left Behind. 80 pages long, the story follows two couples placed in different time, separated by 80 years, who’s stories together make a whole. Even though I really liked it, I think I would appreciate it even more if I have read the novel.

Paris for One is second best in this collection.
It is fun and easy to read, but I think it would be better if the story was set in 90’s, because characters were really bad when it comes to communication. If there were no mobile phones, the story would make more sense.

Other two stories that I really enjoyed were Between the Tweets and Crocodile Shoes.

As for other pieces, I think they were put into this collection just for sake of having enough stories for the whole bind up.
Some were forgetable (Love in the Afternoon), some were there so Jojo Moyes’ fans would have something new to read, and one was so…. silly and ridiculous (I don’t mean it in a good way). The story I’m talking about is Holdups. I really didn’t like that one.

I don’t want to sound rude here, but I’ll say this anyway: some stories sounded like someone’s practice writing, so I couldn’t help but wonder if they were written before Moyes found her voice, before she became a successful writer.

To be fair, when it all comes down together, I think three stars rating is realistic.

I would recommend this collection to fans of Jojo Moyes.
If you haven’t read anything by her before, and you come upon this book, I would still recommend four stories I mentioned as my favorites. It would be a shame not to read them, if you already have a chance to do so.

Early Book Review: Roseblood by A. G. Howard (Buddy Read)

roseblood

Title: Roseblood

Author: A. G. Howard

Publisher: Amulet, ABRAMS

Date: January 10th, 2017

Pages: 464

Format: Physical ARC

Source: from Publisher for a review

Synopsis (from Goodreads): In this modern day spin on Leroux’s gothic tale of unrequited love turned to madness, seventeen-year-old Rune Germain has a mysterious affliction linked to her operatic talent, and a horrifying mistake she’s trying to hide. Hoping creative direction will help her, Rune’s mother sends her to a French arts conservatory for her senior year, located in an opera house rumored to have ties to The Phantom of the Opera.

At RoseBlood, Rune secretly befriends the masked Thorn—an elusive violinist who not only guides her musical transformation through dreams that seem more real than reality itself, but somehow knows who she is behind her own masks. As the two discover an otherworldly connection and a soul-deep romance blossoms, Thorn’s dark agenda comes to light and he’s forced to make a deadly choice: lead Rune to her destruction, or face the wrath of the phantom who has haunted the opera house for a century, and is the only father he’s ever known.

About our buddy read

I read Roseblood with Jasmine from How Useful It Is.

Her review should be live at the same time as mine, so make sure to visit her blog and read her review.

We both composed three questions for each other, and you can read my questions here on my blog (with our answers) and hers on her blog.

1. Have you seen/read Phantom of the Opera before you started this book?

Jasmine: I have seen a movie Phantom of the Opera and I liked it. I saw it a long time ago so my memory is sketchy. It’s cool that this book reference a lot about music, but the story just doesn’t grab my attention.

Irena: I saw Phantom of the Opera movie and I really, really liked it. It has been a while since the last time I saw it and now I think it would have been a good idea if I saw it once more before reading the book.

2. What do you think about the world building?

Jasmine: The world building could be interesting if all of the remaining 25% of the book can be spread out to the first 75% of the book. It has potential to be interesting.

Irena: The world building was done pretty confusing. I honestly think that it could have been done better, maybe if more things were explained at the first third of the book.

3. What part of the book do you find the most interesting?

Jasmine: I find the remaining 25% of the book interesting, but at the same time, it becomes too much information because everything is being revealed at once.

Irena: The legend about Phantom was the most interesting part of the story. I read it twice because I didn’t want to miss anything.

My Review:

I rarely feel guilty about writing my reviews, but this one is one of those rare cases when I do.
Why?
Because I was so excited for Roseblood. I even sent my review request to the publishing house Amulet Books, and, since so many book bloggers wanted to read this book, I know how privileged I am to have recieved a physical proof copy.

You can probably guess that my expectations for this novel were high. I read Howard’s Splintered and really enjoyed it, so when I found out about her retelling of Phantom of the Opera, one of the best musicals out there (which is based on the book I haven’t read), I was so excited. Roseblood quickly became one of my most anticipated new releases.

I am sad to say that this book wasn’t the best book I read this year. It wasn’t as excellent as I wanted for it to be. It was just good. And that is it. I can’t even say I loved it, I can only say that I loved some parts of it (like amazingly described images) and the rest I found to be confusing, boring or mediocre.

The story follows Rune who transfers to new school after a tragedy that happened.
On the very few pages we already can read one of tropes in ya fiction: a new girl finds herself opposite a school diva and becomes her rival.
I don’t mind tropes, they are tropes for a reason after all, and it is on the author how the certain story will develop, and how he/she is going to approach to a situation that most readers have already read about in some other story.
The reason why I’m mentioning it here is simply because I wanted to tell you that in that certain situation, I found myself on Kat‘s (school diva) side.

Rune was hard to connect with.

In whole honesty, it was really hard for me to connect with any of characters. Thorn was too mysterious at first (although as we get to know his story the whole book becomes so much better).
Side characters were intersting, but weren’t explored enough. Rune said she was friends with them, but we got to see them so rarely that when Rune was worried about their friendship, I couldn’t be concered. I just didn’t feel it.

The story itself is very confusing and it takes 150 pages for the story to become somewhat interesting.
150 pages is simply too long, and because I was confused most of the time troughout the whole book, I couldn’t help but wonder if I’m confused because I simply don’t understand the story (because English is not my first language, or maybe my brain cells just don’t work fast enough), or maybe the writer didn’t describe the world in a way to bring it closer to the reader, to make reader understand it better…

Also, I didn’t like how succubus/incubus thing was replaced with the word vampire at times, when these are two (or three if you want) words that mean totally different creatures, so there was no need to add more confusion to already confusing story.

My favorite book character was Diable. He was the ghost cat. Smart little guy! The way author described him made me imagine him as devon rex, so now I wonder what kind of cat breed was he.

The best part of the story is Legend about Phantom. I read it couple of times just to observe everything.

Last 80 pages are the most interesting and where everything starts to make sense.

I feel like, if I ever decide to reread Roseblood, I would enjoy it more.
I am still debating whether I would reread it, because it took me forever to finish it the first time around.
2,75

Book Review: One Christmas in Paris by Mandy Baggot

one-christmas-in-paris

Title: One Christmas in Paris

Author: Mandy Baggot

Publisher: Bookouture

Date: October 7th, 2016

Pages: 394

Format: eARC

Source: from Publisher for a review

Synopsis (from Goodreads): They say Paris is the City of Love, so bring your je ne sais quoiand don’t forget the mistletoe!

Ava and her best friend Debs arrive in Paris just as the snow starts to fall. The Eiffel Tower glitters gold and the scent of spiced wine is all around, but all Ava can think about is Leo, her no-good, cheating ex.

Debs is on a mission to make Ava smile again, and as they tour the Christmas markets, watch lamplight glittering on the river Seine, and eat their body weight in pain-au-chocolat, Ava remembers there’s more to life than men … Until they cross paths with handsome, mysterious photographer Julien with his French accent and hazelnut eyes that seem to see right inside her.

Ava can’t ignore the intense chemistry between them, but her fingers have been burned before and she can’t forget it, especially when her ex, Leo, starts texting again. Can Ava really trust Julien – and what exactly is his secret?

Will Ava go home with a broken heart, or will she find true love amongst the cobbled streets of Paris?

Join Ava and Julien in the most romantic city in the world this Christmas, as they discover the importance of being true to themselves, and learn how to follow their hearts.

Review:

When it comes to books, there’s nothing I like more then to read them on cold days, with a cup of chocolate coffee in my hand, while the Chirstmas (or Disney piano) music is playing.
And you know what kind of books I love to read the most?
Festive reads! They are my favorite, and I could read them all year long.

Now when the Christmas is officially approaching, Christmas books have overtaken my reading schedule.
I have already read more then few books that take part during winter, but One Christmas In Paris is the best festive read I had this year so far.

The story follows a woman called Ava. Her life has not been easy lately. She broke up with her boyfriend, lost her job and fights with her mom who’s dream is for Ava to be a supermodel.
When her best friend Debs invites her to spend Christmas in Paris with her, Ava accepts and they start their wintery adventure.

The story is written in third person and it follows Ava’s perspective, but it also follows Julien, the guy who Ava meets in Paris.

The writing style is really good. At first it took some time for me to get used to it, but after 50 first pages, I was totally invested in the story.

I feel like I have to mention that at the very beginning I found myself resented by some things that characters said.
At one point, there was an argument in which I felt like Ava was shaming rich people for being rich, but the rich guy responded by shaming Ava’s look with sentence (this in not a quote but I’ll do my best to write it as I remember) „By your hair I can tell you are probably interestied in girls.“, but he said it in a mean way, and I thought to myself „What is this, LGBT shaming?“
As it turned out, Ava actually wanted to look like that, but I was a bit put off with those comments.
I have to stress out it was mentioned only that one time, so I decided not to hold on to it.

The story was good, but the setting in amazing.
I love how Paris was present the whole time. By reading the story, the reader explores the city of lights along with characters and there’s no way to forget where the story is taking place.

I happened to be in Paris during Christmas vacation few years ago, so I had no problem imagining streets of that wonderful city during winter, as I saw it mayself and, in my opinion, Mandy Baggot did an astonishing job describing it.

If you’re looking for a festive read that not only will entertain you, but will also show you Paris during winter time, and will make you crave for french food, One Paris In Christmas is a perfect book for you.

Book Review: The Paris Secret by Karen Swan

Title: The Paris Secret

Author: Karen Swan

Publisher: Pan Macmillan

Date: July 14th, 2016

Pages: 352

Format: eARC

Source: from Publisher for a review

Synopsis (from Goodreads):

Not every door should be opened . . .

With stunning locations and page-turning tension, The Paris Secret is an intense and gripping tale from bestselling author Karen Swan.

Somewhere along the cobbled streets of Paris, an apartment lies thick with dust and secrets: full of priceless artworks hidden away for decades.

High-flying fine art agent Flora from London, more comfortable with the tension of a million-pound auction than a cosy candlelit dinner for two, is called in to assess these suddenly discovered treasures. As an expert in her field, she must trace the history of each painting and discover who has concealed them for so long.

Thrown in amongst the glamorous Vermeil family as they move between Paris and Antibes, Flora begins to discover that things aren’t all that they seem, while back at home her own family is recoiling from a seismic shock. The terse and brooding Xavier Vermeil seems intent on forcing Flora out of his family’s affairs – but just what is he hiding?

Review:

I have a confession to make: I never understood the art.
You can put me infront of the most phrased art work in the world, and I will just stand there, totally confused, forcing my brain cells to see the beauty everyone talks about.
I was never good at art class. I hated it. As an outcome to that, I didn’t particularly enjoy learning about it either.
Therefore, when it comes to art culture, telling you that I am bad would probably be understate.

Main theme of this book is the discovery of an abandoned apartman full of paintings collected during World War II.
You can imagine my reaction when everything about it was divulged, all those masters who stood behind those masterpieces.
Yes, I was confused, but I also tried my best to keep up.

Although the name of this novel is The Paris Secret, Paris is not the only city Karen Swoon took us to in the adventure she created.
We also got to visit London, Vienna and Antibes.
However, not one of those places, Paris included, was explored enough to make me feel like I was there or like I was learning something new about those places.

Although the art theme was somewhat miss in my case, I found the story behind the main theme pretty fascinating.
All those secrets that were revealed and consequences that came with their revelation gave interestingness to the story.

I only wish that the love aspect took a bigger part of this book.
I also wish that it was observed more and in my opinion stronger love feature is the one ingredient that missed.
I usually don’t crave for love in books I’m reading, but in this particular novel, on page 70, I cought myself hoping there would be love interest already to spice up this (until then pretty boring) book.

From all the characters in the book, there were only two I wanted to know more about: Xavier and Natascha. They were mysterious and I knew from the moment we met them that there is something about them, that there is more then meets the eye. Although their characters have a part in this novel through the whole story, I honestly wish we got the chance to get to know them even better, especially Natascha.

This is the second book by Karen Swan I read. I read her Christmas at Tiffany’s in December 2015 (you can read my review here) and fall in love with it.
Although The Paris Secret didn’t live up to my expectations, I am more then happy to know that Karen wrote many books before this one and I am looking forward to read them.
It exceptionally makes me happy the fact that most of her books are taking part during Christmas or are Christmas themed, because I really, really enjoy reading Christmas stories.

I would recommend The Paris Secret to everyone who loves art, who likes reading stories about secrets and who enjoys reading family prose.