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ellesea's review
4.0
3.5 stars
Travel and romance are a perfect combination for me as I settled into this coach tour themed novel visiting popular tourist spots.
Catherine "Cat" Parsons had a drunken one night stand with her flatmate, Alex and now wants to escape. So, Cat books a last-minute tour with Ventureseek to put some space between them. It's two weeks away and she hopes by the time she gets back, there's no awkwardness. Little does she know, this adventure will make her see life and love from a whole new perspective.
The author has written a fun novel highlighting the pros and cons of embarking on a coach tour with strangers. Cat's fellow travellers are an eclectic bunch and like her have a reason to be on such a trip. Their antics on the whistle-stop tour of Europe make than her "bus besties" and while I can relate to some of their mishaps, it becomes tiresome after a while. So, for me, the saving grace is Jean-Luc Caron!
The chance meeting with Frenchman, Jean-Luc is kismet, he's Cat's pen-pal from when they were teenagers after meeting in Australia when he was an exchange student. They've had no contact since they were nineteen years old, but it's clear both still have an affection for one another. He's the knight in shining armour, but I don't believe Cat is the right woman for him.
It's not often I don't "take" to a leading character, but Cat is one I struggled with. As a thirty-five-year-old woman, I found her behaviour and language to be very immature. She's certainly not someone I'd expect to teach high school students. Her reasons for trying to keep a relationship with Jean-Luc casual after taking their tentative relationship to a new level are selfish especially when she realises his feelings still run deep. Thankfully, she sees sense in the end. I also remember such women like Cat do exist in the real world because I do know someone like her.
Some of the tour-stops triggered memories from the times I've visited them; Paris, Antibes, Florence and Rome. I laughed when the group each bought a gelato when looking at the Leaning Tower of Pisa because that's what I did at my then three-year-old's insistence. For those who haven't travelled to any of the places mentioned, the author paints inviting welcomes for your bucket list.
For me, That Night In Paris is a roller-coaster of a novel with highs and lows but overall, it's a fun and flirty read with some hilarity along the way. It's a wonderful distraction and a chance to escape from the real world in these troubled times.
***arc generously received courtesy of One More Chapter via NetGalley***
Travel and romance are a perfect combination for me as I settled into this coach tour themed novel visiting popular tourist spots.
Catherine "Cat" Parsons had a drunken one night stand with her flatmate, Alex and now wants to escape. So, Cat books a last-minute tour with Ventureseek to put some space between them. It's two weeks away and she hopes by the time she gets back, there's no awkwardness. Little does she know, this adventure will make her see life and love from a whole new perspective.
The author has written a fun novel highlighting the pros and cons of embarking on a coach tour with strangers. Cat's fellow travellers are an eclectic bunch and like her have a reason to be on such a trip. Their antics on the whistle-stop tour of Europe make than her "bus besties" and while I can relate to some of their mishaps, it becomes tiresome after a while. So, for me, the saving grace is Jean-Luc Caron!
The chance meeting with Frenchman, Jean-Luc is kismet, he's Cat's pen-pal from when they were teenagers after meeting in Australia when he was an exchange student. They've had no contact since they were nineteen years old, but it's clear both still have an affection for one another. He's the knight in shining armour, but I don't believe Cat is the right woman for him.
It's not often I don't "take" to a leading character, but Cat is one I struggled with. As a thirty-five-year-old woman, I found her behaviour and language to be very immature. She's certainly not someone I'd expect to teach high school students. Her reasons for trying to keep a relationship with Jean-Luc casual after taking their tentative relationship to a new level are selfish especially when she realises his feelings still run deep. Thankfully, she sees sense in the end. I also remember such women like Cat do exist in the real world because I do know someone like her.
Some of the tour-stops triggered memories from the times I've visited them; Paris, Antibes, Florence and Rome. I laughed when the group each bought a gelato when looking at the Leaning Tower of Pisa because that's what I did at my then three-year-old's insistence. For those who haven't travelled to any of the places mentioned, the author paints inviting welcomes for your bucket list.
For me, That Night In Paris is a roller-coaster of a novel with highs and lows but overall, it's a fun and flirty read with some hilarity along the way. It's a wonderful distraction and a chance to escape from the real world in these troubled times.
***arc generously received courtesy of One More Chapter via NetGalley***
booksnbookends's review
4.0
A bus holiday with a difference. All aboard for a whistle stop coach tour of Europe in this gorgeous book!
Cat Parsons is on the run. Her roommate has admitted to being in love with her after a messy one night stand. The main issue really is that she doesn't love him back and doesn't know what to do about it. A spur of the moment coach trip is booked to escape from the madness. However, love always does come calling for us all eventually. The first stop is Paris, the city of love...
The main thing I took away from this book is that I never want to do a coach tour. I've seen Coach Trip on TV often enough to know that it's just not for me, but this just reaffirmed it. In this book there's dodgy lodgings and enough shenanigans to last a lifetime.
I really enjoyed this book, it transported me to lots of places in Europe I'd love to visit. There's more description of some cities than others but it was enjoyable nonetheless. I can't wait until this pandemic is over so I can go and visit some of these places. Thank you to Sandy Barker for transporting me in the mean time!
Cat Parsons is on the run. Her roommate has admitted to being in love with her after a messy one night stand. The main issue really is that she doesn't love him back and doesn't know what to do about it. A spur of the moment coach trip is booked to escape from the madness. However, love always does come calling for us all eventually. The first stop is Paris, the city of love...
The main thing I took away from this book is that I never want to do a coach tour. I've seen Coach Trip on TV often enough to know that it's just not for me, but this just reaffirmed it. In this book there's dodgy lodgings and enough shenanigans to last a lifetime.
I really enjoyed this book, it transported me to lots of places in Europe I'd love to visit. There's more description of some cities than others but it was enjoyable nonetheless. I can't wait until this pandemic is over so I can go and visit some of these places. Thank you to Sandy Barker for transporting me in the mean time!
nikkiereads's review
4.0
Chick lit is not my usual go-to genre but I was in a mood and it paid off. This was an amazingly enjoyable story that left me dreaming of traveling through Europe and craving food.
I will say that for a chick-lit, I was expecting the romance to be more on the nose? But the romance took a more predominant spotlight until the second part of the book. For the first half we see Cat befriending her bus buddies and running from landmark to landmark in Europe, eating and drinking wine until they fall on their beds. I will admit that this was my favorite part of the book, everything is described in such a beautiful way that it made me want to say “fuck it” and book a flight and tour through Europe.
The friendship displayed between the bus buddies was something that I treasured, everyone was very supportive regarding each other’s circumstances. All the characters were relatable and well written, my only concern is how can Jean-Luc be so perfect? Like, c’mon this man has got to have a flaw!
Also, throughout the book we see Cat undermining her reason to escape to the tour because she doesn’t think it is as bad as the other’s reason to be on the tour and that just gets annoying after a while. By the end I felt like she was throwing a pity party for herself because of this. I like that she was emphatetic but this happened so often that it just… I don’t know, it was bothersome.
Now while the romance kicks in until the second half, it really caught my attention. During the moments where Cat and Jean-Luc are together I was sure to forget the bus buddies even existed; Cat would mention Lou and I would snap out of it like Huh, there are other characters in this book. Overall, I really liked the relationship between the two of them and I want a Jean-Luc for myself, please.
That Night in Paris is the second book on the Holiday Romance series. And there is no need to read it before this one, they are not connected plotwise. The first book (One Summer in Santorini) was actually inspired by the author’s real-life love story!
I will say that for a chick-lit, I was expecting the romance to be more on the nose? But the romance took a more predominant spotlight until the second part of the book. For the first half we see Cat befriending her bus buddies and running from landmark to landmark in Europe, eating and drinking wine until they fall on their beds. I will admit that this was my favorite part of the book, everything is described in such a beautiful way that it made me want to say “fuck it” and book a flight and tour through Europe.
The friendship displayed between the bus buddies was something that I treasured, everyone was very supportive regarding each other’s circumstances. All the characters were relatable and well written, my only concern is how can Jean-Luc be so perfect? Like, c’mon this man has got to have a flaw!
Also, throughout the book we see Cat undermining her reason to escape to the tour because she doesn’t think it is as bad as the other’s reason to be on the tour and that just gets annoying after a while. By the end I felt like she was throwing a pity party for herself because of this. I like that she was emphatetic but this happened so often that it just… I don’t know, it was bothersome.
Now while the romance kicks in until the second half, it really caught my attention. During the moments where Cat and Jean-Luc are together I was sure to forget the bus buddies even existed; Cat would mention Lou and I would snap out of it like Huh, there are other characters in this book. Overall, I really liked the relationship between the two of them and I want a Jean-Luc for myself, please.
That Night in Paris is the second book on the Holiday Romance series. And there is no need to read it before this one, they are not connected plotwise. The first book (One Summer in Santorini) was actually inspired by the author’s real-life love story!
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