Review - Christmas in Paris

Christmas in Paris

by Anita Hughes

Release date 10/04/2016

277 pages

2 out of 5 stars

According to the publisher, "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 introduces us to two different characters:  Isabel, who just called off her wedding, and Alec, whose fiancee just left him for another man.  Isabel and Alec both end up at the very fancy Hotel Crillon, trying to heal their mutually broken hearts.  

As can be expected, the two end up in neighboring suites, so of course their paths cross.  When Isabel gets locked out on the room's balcony, she tosses her shoe onto Alec's balcony.  He helps her escape the Parisian cold and get back into her room, and the two become fast friends.  

As friends, they explore Paris and take in all of the beautiful yuletide sites, all while sharing their romantic woes.  Of course, they both end up realizing that while their hearts may be broken, the other may be just what they need to love again.

This book gets two stars from me.  The plot is completely unrealistic, the characters fall flat and don't develop much beyond hopping from one relationship to another, and the dialogue is so trite that it's hard to imagine any actual humans speaking that way.  The author spends the majority of the book name-dropping different stores and restaurants in Paris; while this is somewhat enjoyable for avid francophiles, it's hard not to wish that more of the book was dedicated to telling a coherent story.

Christmas in Paris was undeniably bad, but in the style of a cheesy Christmas movie.  As you're watching it, you recognize that it's low-quality entertainment, but it's trashy and fun and you want to watch it until the end.  While every single chapter of this book had multiple eye-rolling moments, I didn't want to quit because I did find myself wanting to know how it ended.  

I can't say that I'd recommend this book to any of my readers, but if you happen to read it, it will probably help you get into the Christmas spirit.  

On that note, I'd like to wish everyone a very safe and happy holiday season.  How ever you may be celebrating this year, I hope that this Christmas is a beautiful one for you and your loved ones!