Marc Levy translated by Sam Taylor
Self-Pub, Sep 2017
Kindle, 290 Pages
Also available in paperback, audiobook
Genre(s) Contemporary Romance, Foreign
Source Author’s rep
Other books by this author
If Only It Were True, All Those Things We Never Said, Replay
My Disclaimer:
I was provided a complimentary copy of this book. I am voluntarily providing an honest review in which all opinions are fully my own. I am not being compensated in any way.
~ Judi E. Easley for Blue Cat Review
What it’s about…
Mia is an actress whose husband David, an actor, has cheated on her once more. In spite of currently starring in the same film with her husband, Mia flees London to hide in her friend’s Paris cafe as a waitress.
Paul is trying to recapture his initial success by living in Paris. He thinks he may be in love with his Korean translator, though he can’t quite understand why his books are so popular in Korea.
Arthur, BFF of Paul, and his wife Lauren stop by to see Paul while on vacation. They hook Paul and Mia up on a dating service and hope for the best.
Can two ex-pats solve the problems of the world as well as their own love lives while staying “just friends”? They can try.
Technical Tidbits…
The cover is mostly writing, but I’m a softie for couples under umbrellas. It’s not great, but it’s bright and open and it catches the eye. It certainly relates to the story, as well.
The storyline is very interesting and well executed, I felt. A novel way of handling the romance formula of bringing together the lovers who start about as far apart as they could be. It could only be worse if they really disliked each other.
The characters were well developed. You got to know them quickly and they became more rounded out as the story went on. You learned their secrets and idiosyncrasies. You could almost predict what would make them twitch.
The pace was very good. It was fast through the whole story with few exceptions. It kept you focused and totally involved in what the characters were doing, even the secondary characters were interesting.
The tension was there all the way to the end when it finally snapped.
And this is where you STOP if you don’t want to see any SPOILERS…
The good, the bad, and the ugly…and how much it lit up my life… ✰✰✰✰
I kept wondering through the whole book why Paul never questioned why his books were so popular in Korea. Why he didn’t check that situation out before it reached the point it did. Of course, then it would have spoiled the story. He really had his head down trying not to see what was really going on.
And his Korean translator/mistress who he suddenly decides he’s in love with who he doesn’t communicate with between books? What’s with that? How can he see that as any sort of normal relationship? He’s really hiding from life completely. Arthur and Lauren are right to try to get him involved with a real person!
There’s the other side of Paul, though. Like when he takes Mia not to the opera but on top of the opera. Yes, he takes her to the rooftop of the opera house to see Paris at night. If that’s not a romantic gesture, nothing is. They got in trouble for doing it, but OMG, imagine it! All of Paris at your feet! Lit up at night! Breathtaking.
And at the Book Faire when everyone is talking about the wrong books, he can’t seem to stop them. Because of politics, no one can change the program from what it has been scheduled to be without causing a lot of trouble and people getting into serious trouble. So he can’t even really ask what’s going on. And the Korean mistress is nowhere! Finally, he gets to sit and talk with the American Ambassador’s partner and he has some idea about what’s going on. Then his Korean editor shows up and lo and behold look who she is! She tells him the truth about her story and why it had to be a secret. I kept wondering why the political party allowed the books to be printed if they were that incendiary. It would be nothing to them to simply destroy the whole publishing company. But apparently, they allowed several books to be published.
Then Mia disappears and Paul writes his best book yet. He writes Kyong’s story. He wins a huge writing award. And then he tells the story behind it all publically.
I loved the way the author ended this. The scene he created is very European in tone. And very romantic!
Advertisements Share this:- More
