CHRISTMAS IN PARIS by Anita Hughes takes place in the span
of about a week.
Maybe two, but no more than a month. Our heroine starts
the book in love with one man and engaged to another by
the end of it. She's either an absolute idiot with no
self-awareness nor understanding of how relationships
actually work, or she's an exceptionally sheltered
fourteen-year-old girl, who dreams of her prince coming
but has never stopped to think about what do once he gets
there. The language she uses about other people, but
particularly men, demonstrates a very sheltered
understanding of humans. For example, she's very afraid
at one point as some petty theft has happened and she
puts all her trust in a man she met approximately 36hrs
before. This is not a decision that most women traveling
alone would make. Additionally, there's a whole bit with
a fortune teller that I found a bit old-fashioned.
The author clearly wanted to capture the magic of Paris
at Christmas (I mean, it's the literal title) and that's
fantastic. If someone is looking for a tourist guide to
how to "do" Paris at Christmas, than this would perhaps
be helpful. All of the highlights are included and the
writing is good at communicating that magic. On that
front, the story is a lovely diversion from real life.
However, when it comes to the love story, I couldn't
track with the heroine, nor could I believe any of the
other characters in this work. The tagline says this
story is about trust, but I'm not entirely sure how it
can be in the time frame the author sets up. Call me a
cynic, but I want happily ever afters and those require
time and trust and communication and things that take
longer than a week to build. I spent the majority of this
work rolling my eyes and wondering if "trust" is
something that we're allowed to assume can be automatic
at the level this work expects.
I'm also someone who enjoys happily ever afters that
could work in "real life". I don't usually go for the
ones that can only exist in romance novels, so CHRISTMAS IN
PARIS just
didn't work on me.
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.
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