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judithdcollins's review
5.0
A special thank to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. 4.5 Stars
The Paris Winter, a story of contrasts: light and darkness, wealth and poverty, loyalty and betrayal, innocence and awakening set during the vivid Belle Époque—a remarkable historical fiction thriller, written by master storyteller Imogen Robertson
Ah, escape to Paris, set in 1909, we meet Englishwoman, Maud Heighton. She is studying art at the Académie Lafond, an all-female painting school suitable for women of a middle-class background. However, like so many starving artists, she is out of money.
When one of the fellow students (Rose) is found dead, after committing suicide, she begins to second guess her career, as she does not want her life to turn in this direction, putting a damper on her aspiration of being an artist.
Meet, Yvette, young lower-class Frenchwoman who makes her living as an artist's model and sometimes supplements her living by having rich lovers to help out with expenses.
Next, Russian Tanya, glamorous, rich, bright and sensational—assures Maud she can help her out with her financial problem with a job so she can still paint and still afford to reside in the City of Lights.
Maud meets French gentleman, Christian Morel, and is to be a companion to sickly sister, opium addict Sylvie Morel, while teaching her to paint and sketch, in turn for living in the luxurious setting. At first, she is delighted as she enjoys her company, she has a place to live, good food, and her painting improves.
However, nothing is as it appears—a nightmare of murder, danger, and violence. When it looks too good, beware. The three girls Maud, Tanya and Yvette become friends and find themselves caught up in a dangerous web of deception, fraud, revenge, jewels, corruption and a criminal plot.
As the pace picks up,the author takes us on an exciting adventure and journey through a series of paintings with vivid descriptions of Paris and its strong contrasts between the glamour, allure, and the dark and poor. I was captured by the art, the talented artists, the passion, the vibrant city (which I love), the architecture, and the array of eccentric characters. There was also a nice contrast between the three girls’ personalities, which made for an interesting mix of wit, humor, and intrigue.
Beautifully written, infused with art and artists of time, with literary prose, descriptive settings, well-crafted plot, likable and complex characters, and well-researched Parisian period details. Historical fiction fans will love the intrigue and emotion of this compelling story, a historical literary psychological mystery thriller of greed and deceit which hooks you until the end.
I also enjoyed the interview with the author at the end of the book, which included inspiration for The Paris Winter, along with teasers of her other books. Looking forward to reading more from this author--Love the front cover!
Judith D. Collins Must Read Books
The Paris Winter, a story of contrasts: light and darkness, wealth and poverty, loyalty and betrayal, innocence and awakening set during the vivid Belle Époque—a remarkable historical fiction thriller, written by master storyteller Imogen Robertson
Ah, escape to Paris, set in 1909, we meet Englishwoman, Maud Heighton. She is studying art at the Académie Lafond, an all-female painting school suitable for women of a middle-class background. However, like so many starving artists, she is out of money.
When one of the fellow students (Rose) is found dead, after committing suicide, she begins to second guess her career, as she does not want her life to turn in this direction, putting a damper on her aspiration of being an artist.
Meet, Yvette, young lower-class Frenchwoman who makes her living as an artist's model and sometimes supplements her living by having rich lovers to help out with expenses.
Next, Russian Tanya, glamorous, rich, bright and sensational—assures Maud she can help her out with her financial problem with a job so she can still paint and still afford to reside in the City of Lights.
Maud meets French gentleman, Christian Morel, and is to be a companion to sickly sister, opium addict Sylvie Morel, while teaching her to paint and sketch, in turn for living in the luxurious setting. At first, she is delighted as she enjoys her company, she has a place to live, good food, and her painting improves.
However, nothing is as it appears—a nightmare of murder, danger, and violence. When it looks too good, beware. The three girls Maud, Tanya and Yvette become friends and find themselves caught up in a dangerous web of deception, fraud, revenge, jewels, corruption and a criminal plot.
As the pace picks up,the author takes us on an exciting adventure and journey through a series of paintings with vivid descriptions of Paris and its strong contrasts between the glamour, allure, and the dark and poor. I was captured by the art, the talented artists, the passion, the vibrant city (which I love), the architecture, and the array of eccentric characters. There was also a nice contrast between the three girls’ personalities, which made for an interesting mix of wit, humor, and intrigue.
Beautifully written, infused with art and artists of time, with literary prose, descriptive settings, well-crafted plot, likable and complex characters, and well-researched Parisian period details. Historical fiction fans will love the intrigue and emotion of this compelling story, a historical literary psychological mystery thriller of greed and deceit which hooks you until the end.
I also enjoyed the interview with the author at the end of the book, which included inspiration for The Paris Winter, along with teasers of her other books. Looking forward to reading more from this author--Love the front cover!
Judith D. Collins Must Read Books
jbarr5's review
4.0
The Paris winter by Imogen Robertson
Story of a woman who is studying art in Paris and how she got there through abuse. Opium and other rumors make others think she is dead.
Especially with the tiara being stolen...lots of mystery surrounding the diamonds and suicide attempt...
Love the images of Christmas holidays and decorations.
I received this book from National Library Service for my BARD (Braille Audio Reading Device).
Story of a woman who is studying art in Paris and how she got there through abuse. Opium and other rumors make others think she is dead.
Especially with the tiara being stolen...lots of mystery surrounding the diamonds and suicide attempt...
Love the images of Christmas holidays and decorations.
I received this book from National Library Service for my BARD (Braille Audio Reading Device).
kdurham2's review
3.0
Check out the full review at Kritters Ramblings
Told over the course of one season, a winter in Paris, Maud is struggling to make ends meet while pursuing her love of painting. Through a fantastic chance, she is paired with a "couple" who are in need of a companion and life looks like it may be on the up and up - so she thinks! Divided into two parts, the first part centering around her time with this interesting couple and the second part is after a major event occurs.
First, let me say that the first few times I picked up this book to read I only had a moment or two to read and once Part Two came around, I had some really good chunks of time and was able to really get in and read it. On that note, the first part read a little slow to me and I flew through the second, there was also quite a bit more action in the second part which I loved. Without the second part picking up, I am not sure I would have liked this book as much.
Told over the course of one season, a winter in Paris, Maud is struggling to make ends meet while pursuing her love of painting. Through a fantastic chance, she is paired with a "couple" who are in need of a companion and life looks like it may be on the up and up - so she thinks! Divided into two parts, the first part centering around her time with this interesting couple and the second part is after a major event occurs.
First, let me say that the first few times I picked up this book to read I only had a moment or two to read and once Part Two came around, I had some really good chunks of time and was able to really get in and read it. On that note, the first part read a little slow to me and I flew through the second, there was also quite a bit more action in the second part which I loved. Without the second part picking up, I am not sure I would have liked this book as much.
hippiechick56's review
3.0
This is a good enough read but there are so many historical fiction books available that they all start to read the same.
msnyderk's review
4.0
This was a classic kind of tale taking place in historic Paris with female art students as its' main characters. The setting and characters really attracted me. I suspected the arrangement for Maud was a little too good to be true. There were spots in this book where the story dragged for me. Still, I thought it was well-conceived and interesting.
glrreid's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
poleksya's review against another edition
3.0
Iako ovo nije vrsta knjiga koju inace ne citam, ova me je privukla iz nekog razloga. Knjiga je pomalo jednostavno napisana, a recenice i dijalozi otrcani. Medjutim ima divnih opisa Pariza i kako je izgledao u tom periodu. Prilicno dobro docarava atmosferu Pariza 1909-1910 godine i bilo mi je lako zamisliti zimu u Parizu tih godina. Likovi su plitki i nerazradjeni, i prilicno stereotipni. Radnja je dosta predvidljiva. Nakon glavnog obrta oko trecine knjige, radnja je tekla skoro potpuno onako kako sam i ocekivala. Deo knjige se vrti oko sveta slikarstva i nekako mi se cini da pisac i nije toliko upucen tako da delovi knjige vezani za to izgledaju nekako usiljeno. Zvuce kao nesto sto je neko negde cuo od nekog ko se razume i ponovio sve to iako nema pojma sta to znaci. Opet s druge strane mi je drago sto sam procitala ovu knjigu, mozda zbog Pariza ili vremena :)
jennykd2's review
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
booksnaturemagic's review
5.0
Excellent. Engaging, fully developed female characters who stood on their own - I noticed that rarely (if ever) did any of the women have to be "saved" by a man during any of their adventures. Thank you for that!