The sign on a pretty street in the heart of Saint-Germain
reads: Luna Luna, Rosalie's Wishing Cards
It is a boutique stationery shop that belongs to 28-year-
old
Rosalie Laurent, a graphic design artist. She sells
stationery and has racks of beautiful all occasion cards,
Pens, paper weights, gift wraps, and "wishing
cards".These
are her best sellers. She designs and personalizes
"wish"
cards for her customers Her constant companion in her
newly decorated all-shades-of-blue shop is William
Morris.
A well behaved, adorable Lhasa Apso, named after the
Victorian Painter, sleeps next to the front door in his
little bed and is an added delight to Rosalie.
Her relationship of three years with Rene Joubet, a
personal
trainer, seems to be going nowhere. Rene disapproves of
Rosalie's diet, lack of exercise and her love of
croissants.
Her daily croissants and walks to the park with her pet
is
her regime with no plans to change it. Her rocky
relationship with her widowed and affluent mother is
testy.
The artistic life her daughter is leading is unacceptable
to
Catherine Laurent. She wants Rosalie to marry a rich,
successful man and that does not include Rene. Rosalie
loves her shop and is a romantic and a dreamer.
Max Marchais is a successful writer of children's books.
At
70, he is a lonely widower in a big empty house in the
country with more money than he ever dreamed of. He
continues to grieve for his wife, Marguerite, who was
killed
accidentally when cycling. A car door flew open, causing
her to fall and break her neck... Shattered, he is
spending
his golden age reading books and has no desire to write.
His
publisher, however, has other idea. He
pursues him relentlessly to write another children's
book.
This time he offers a new creative illustrator and Max
goes
to Luna Luna to meet her. He and Rosalie join forces to
create The Blue Tiger. An instant best seller,
they become
friends.
American Professor Robert Sherman has returned to Paris
after twenty-six years. When he visited the City of
Lights with
his beloved mother, they always planned
to return together, but his mother died recently. His
fiance, Rachel, has given him an ultimatum. Rachel
insists he join
his father's law practice and make some real money, but
Robert
wants to continue as a Professor, perhaps remaining in
Paris. Wandering the streets of Paris, he stops outside a
stationer's window and stares at a display of a book
including The
Blue Tiger. A story his mother read to
him every night when he was five years old. That is his
book. Who stole it?
I loved everything about PARIS IS ALWAYS A GOOD IDEA:
the title, the
cover, the story of Robert and Rosalie, Paris, The Pont
des
Arts, an old wooden bridge with one side facing the
Eiffel
Tower the other facing Notre-Dame. Romantic, you betcha!
Already on
my keeper shelf to be re-read, PARIS IS ALWAYS A GOOD
IDEA stole my
heart. I recommend it to everyone who believes in chance,
fate and
love. 5 stars. Nicolas Barreau is a new favorite author.
Rosalie Laurent is the proud owner of Luna Luna, a little
post-card shop in St. Germain, and if it were up to her, far
more people would write cards. Her specialty is producing
"wishing cards," but where her own wishes are concerned the
quirky graphic artist is far from lucky. Every birthday
Rosalie sends a card inscribed with her heart's desire
fluttering down from the Eiffel Tower - but none of her
wishes has ever been fulfilled.
Then one day when an elderly gentleman trips up in her shop
and knocks over a post-card stand, it seems that her wish
cards are working after-all. Rosalie finds out that it is
Max Marchais, famed and successful author of children's
books who's fallen into her life. When he asks her to
illustrate his new (and probably last) book, Rosalie is only
too glad to accept, and the two - very different - maverick
artists become friends.
Rosalie's wishes seem to be coming true at last, until a
clumsy American professor stumbles into her store with
accusations of plagiarism. Rosalie is hard pressed to know
whether love or trouble is blowing through her door these
days, but when in doubt, she knows that Paris is Always a
Good Idea when one is looking for the truth and finding love.
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