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brendalovesbooks's review
4.0
I loved this! Not because I adore Paris (I do), but because it made me feel happy when reading it. I think it could have been a memoir about the author living just about anywhere, and I would have liked it just as well.
It's a great book to read when you only have little bits of time here and there. The one drawback I can think of was that there were times I wanted her to continue on with a certain part in the story, instead of the short paragraph we got. I was very sad when it came to an end, but it has inspired me to pay attention to the little details in life and enjoy them more.
It's a great book to read when you only have little bits of time here and there. The one drawback I can think of was that there were times I wanted her to continue on with a certain part in the story, instead of the short paragraph we got. I was very sad when it came to an end, but it has inspired me to pay attention to the little details in life and enjoy them more.
kalehummus's review
3.0
The concept was nice, the execution made me feel like I was reading someone's non cohesive twitter feed. The essays were a good read - I enjoyed the elaboration. Reading the one-word sentiments were not quite as interesting to me.
sksrenninger's review
4.0
This book is written in the form of collected long facebook statuses. I actually enjoyed the gimmick as well as the content - although I occasionally found it hard to believe she really posted statuses that long and full - and it made for a short and sweet read. I was studying abroad in Paris for half the time James and her family were there, and the personal connection didn't hurt.
mslenakay's review
4.0
I thought this book would be written differently than it was. At first I believed it would read more like a biography. I assumed there'd be more descriptions, more narrative, but it read more like a journal and I was surprised to learn that I really liked that aspect.
I found Eloisa described Paris and France so beautifully, that I often felt I was there myself. I believe that in itself is the sign of a great author. While different from what I expected, I found this an enjoyable read.
I found Eloisa described Paris and France so beautifully, that I often felt I was there myself. I believe that in itself is the sign of a great author. While different from what I expected, I found this an enjoyable read.
denisecg's review against another edition
4.0
I’ve read this many times over the years and it’s still so good. Wonderful inspiration for travel writing.
freckleduck's review
3.0
I enjoyed this book but the format I found challenging. I like longer format essays with a bit more of a cohesive feel.
nekreader's review
2.0
This book was a gift, and it's so much a wisp of a nothing that I am glad I didn't have to pay for it. It's really nothing more that reading your very clever friend's Facebook posts.
jacki_f's review
3.0
This is a true story about an American romance writer who recovers from breast cancer and decides to relocate with her Italian husband and two teenage children to Paris for a year. The book is a collection of her thoughts and observations over the course of the year. It's written as a series of little vignettes and (as she freely admits) is essentially a collection of her Facebook and Twitter status updates over the course of the year, with the addition of a few longer pieces. The result is a severely disjointed book which talks about interesting sights in Paris, amusing anecdotes about her family, the odd recipe and reports from side trips within Europe without ever really doing anything in depth. Even though the book is short, it took me several days to read it and in fact I read another book at the same time (something I hardly ever do) because it simply wasn't holding my interest.
There are snippets from the book that I really liked but I felt that it was a lazy compilation of assorted thoughts and this was particularly annoying because the potential was there for so much more. The fact that she had been through breast cancer and also recently lost her mother (and a close friend) to cancer were obviously major incentives in her decision to go to France, but this was barely touched on until the very end of the book. The impact on her family is also something that you deduce as a reader rather than having her talk about in any depth. As a travel book it's slightly more successful (at the end she compiles a list of her favourite restaurants, museums and sights which is truly enticing) but again, this is only part of what the book is.
Also, the title really bugged me. Paris in Love? Why? Because she writes romance novels? It has nothing to do with the book!
There are better books about the experience of moving to Paris as an expat, for example: [b:Almost French: Love and a New Life in Paris|331695|Almost French Love and a New Life in Paris|Sarah Turnbull|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1309206862s/331695.jpg|902805], [b:A Family in Paris: Stories of Food, Life and Adventure|10447523|A Family in Paris Stories of Food, Life and Adventure|Jane Paech|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1310354007s/10447523.jpg|15352268] or [b:The Sharper Your Knife, the Less You Cry: Love, Laughter, and Tears at the World's Most Famous Cooking School|880773|The Sharper Your Knife, the Less You Cry Love, Laughter, and Tears at the World's Most Famous Cooking School|Kathleen Flinn|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1266665001s/880773.jpg|2654126].
There are snippets from the book that I really liked but I felt that it was a lazy compilation of assorted thoughts and this was particularly annoying because the potential was there for so much more. The fact that she had been through breast cancer and also recently lost her mother (and a close friend) to cancer were obviously major incentives in her decision to go to France, but this was barely touched on until the very end of the book. The impact on her family is also something that you deduce as a reader rather than having her talk about in any depth. As a travel book it's slightly more successful (at the end she compiles a list of her favourite restaurants, museums and sights which is truly enticing) but again, this is only part of what the book is.
Also, the title really bugged me. Paris in Love? Why? Because she writes romance novels? It has nothing to do with the book!
There are better books about the experience of moving to Paris as an expat, for example: [b:Almost French: Love and a New Life in Paris|331695|Almost French Love and a New Life in Paris|Sarah Turnbull|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1309206862s/331695.jpg|902805], [b:A Family in Paris: Stories of Food, Life and Adventure|10447523|A Family in Paris Stories of Food, Life and Adventure|Jane Paech|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1310354007s/10447523.jpg|15352268] or [b:The Sharper Your Knife, the Less You Cry: Love, Laughter, and Tears at the World's Most Famous Cooking School|880773|The Sharper Your Knife, the Less You Cry Love, Laughter, and Tears at the World's Most Famous Cooking School|Kathleen Flinn|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1266665001s/880773.jpg|2654126].