Review + Giveaway: Kiss Me in Paris

22718738Release Date: September 4, 2018
Find it: Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes & Noble

Serena has just flown all the way to Paris for a special pre-Christmas weekend with her sister, Lara. They plan to retrace the steps of their parents’ long-ago honeymoon in Paris, and create a scrapbook for their bereaved mother to remember it by.

It’s supposed to be serious sister bonding…until Lara takes off with her boyfriend instead.

Jean-Luc is Serena’s Plan B, a friend of a friend of Lara’s, who has some space in a place where Serena can stay. Just like his latest relationship, his photography final has been an epic fail. He has one night to retake all his pictures if he is to stay in school.

Jean-Luc can’t stand Serena’s loud voice or her bright orange sneakers.

Serena can’t stand his haughty manners or the way his camera is always in her face.

Together, though, they set out into a cold night that will warm their hearts, creating unforgettable photos and fresh romantic sparks in the City of Lights.

 

I love reading about love blossoming in romantic cities, so I was so excited when I first heard about Kiss Me in Paris!

Serena is in Paris for 24 hours. She was supposed to make this trip with her mother and meet up with her sister who attends college in Paris, but her mom was called away for work. Serena has a plan, though, and she’s excited to retrace her parents’ honeymoon with her sister. That is until she shows up on Lara’s doorstep only to find out her sister is taking off to Spain for a getaway with her boyfriend before meeting up with their mother in London for Christmas. Not wanting to completely abandon her sister, Lara arranges Serena to stay in one of her friends’ dorm rooms. Jean-Luc is not at all prepared for an American girl to come stay in his room—he’s too busy sulking over his ex-girlfriend, ignoring his father’s calls, and worrying about his photography final. However, once Serena shows up, he realizes she may just be the person to help him finish his project and decides to follow her around for the day.

Serena is a girl on a mission, and I really appreciated that. She has an itinerary she needs to stick to so she can complete the scrapbook she wants to give to her mom on what was supposed to be her twenty-fifth wedding anniversary as a way to remember her dead husband. Serena misses her dad so much and believes this will be a way to remember him. However, nothing goes as planned and she isn’t able to see everything she planned to do. Even though her plan is going up in flames, Serena is able to adapt to the situation and starts to carve out her own path with Jean-Luc. My personality is a lot like Serena’s (in the organized, responsible kind of way), so it was relatable watching her trying to adapt to the change and how frustrated it was (especially at the beginning) for her.

The entire books takes place in one day. Each chapter heading includes the time for reference, so that was helpful with keeping track with where we were at. Even though one day seems like a short amount of time to do anything, the book is paced just right. The plot moves along quickly, and I was drawn into where Serena and Jean-Luc would be heading to next. I actually traveled to Paris a few years ago and visited most of the places they go to. It was so easy for me to picture everything and the descriptions of the city were so accurate to my experience there. This was especially true while they were inside the Shakespeare and Company bookstore!

The romance develops very slowly, which is weird to say since the story takes place in only one day. What I mean is that there’s no instant love—feeling start to develop after spending the entire say together (and unpacking some of their inner wounds). It took a couple chapters for me to warm up to Jean-Luc, but once I did, it was easy to ship Serena and him together as they’re super sweet.

Overall, fans of Anna and the French Kiss will love Kiss Me in Paris! It’s such a cute story, and I can’t wait to pick up Catherine Rider’s first novel, Kiss Me in New York!

My Rating:


*This ARC was provided to me by the publisher through Rockstar Book Tours in exchange for a honest review.*

 

About Catherine

A pseudonym based on the dual effort of authors James Noble and Stephanie Elliott. Both are editors—James in London and Stephanie in New York. Their first book together is Kiss Me in New York. Their most recent novel, Kiss Me in Paris, is a companion follow-up.

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Giveaway

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Follow the Tour

Week One

8/27/2018- YA Book Nerd– Excerpt

8/28/2018- Sophie Reads YA– Review

8/29/2018- Lisa Loves Literature– Review

8/30/2018- Confessions of a YA Reader– Excerpt

8/31/2018- Moonlight Rendezvous– Review

Week Two

9/3/2018- Belle’s Book Blog– Review

9/4/2018- The Heart of a Book Blogger– Review

9/5/2018- Sincerely Karen Jo– Review

9/6/2018- Eli to the nth– Excerpt

9/7/2018- Here’s to Happy Endings– Review

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