The Paris Hours by Alex George

 The Paris Hours by Alex George

Pages: 272

Rating: 4 out of 5

Set in 1927 Paris with events all happening over one day, this story shows four common people being touched by living in Paris and having contact with literary and artistic geniuses of the time. All four are searching for something they have lost, sometimes something physical but always some part of themselves. 

Camille, as the maid of Marcel Proust, knows his secrets and keeps them, but did he keep all of hers? Souren, a refuge, and puppeteer with his own version of fairy tales shared with the children in the park. Starving artist Guillaume, hopes meeting Gertrude Stein will change his luck. Jean-Paul a journalist always telling other people's stories, but is inspired to share his painful story, when he meets Josephine Baker. The foursome's paths cross in the end, and each learns what they are really looking for. 

Beautifully describes Paris in between World War I and World War II as a city recovering from war and a center of thought and art. Everyone in the story has been touched by the war in someway, so a bittersweet story. 

Seven Stones to Stand or Fall by Diana Gabaldon

Seven Stones to Stand or Fall by Diana Gabaldon

A collection of seven novellas published in various anthologies over the years, Seven Stones to Stand or Fall deals with interesting side-stories within the Outlander universe. "The Custom of the Army" tells of Lord John Grey's time in Canada, where he and his comrades lay siege to the Citadel of Quebec. "The Space Between" encounters a grief-stricken Michael Murray, a nephew of Jamie Fraser, who has been charged with accompanying Joan MacKimmie, his kind-of cousin, to Paris so she can join a convent. Then there's the ever-troublesome Comte St. Germain .... In "A Plague of Zombies," we meet Lord John once again, this time in Jamaica, where he has been charged with putting down a slave rebellion. "A Leaf on the Wind of All Hallows" details the tragic story of Roger MacKenzie's parents, Jerry and Dolly. In "Virgins," a young Jamie Fraser and his best friend, Ian Murray, become mercenaries in France, and both are rather worried they'll end up in hell for their actions. We learn the story behind how Lord John's older brother, Hal, meets and falls in love with his rather fierce wife, Minnie, in "A Fugitive Green." Lord John travels to Cuba in "Besieged," in order to save his mother, who is a guest of Governor Juan de Prado. But once he learns the British navy is preparing to wreak havoc on Havana, Lord John fears the Dowager Duchess of Pardloe could become a hostage. 

Part of the Outlander universe. 544 pages.

Just One Day by Gayle Forman

Summary: ""Sparks fly when American good girl Allyson encounters laid-back Dutch actor Willem, so she follows him on a whirlwind trip to Paris, upending her life in just one day and prompting a year of self-discovery and the search for true love."

This book is kinda good and kinda bad. I really enjoyed some parts of it: Allyson's travel and her journey of self-discovery. However, there's a part of the book where she goes into a Bella Swan-like depression over a boy...and it's just terrible. She's also self-centered and ungrateful to her parents, which is really frustrating. However, she eventually gets her act together, and turns her life around. 

369 pages

"Blue Notes" by Shira Anthony

Jason Greene is a successful lawyer in Philadelphia when he finds out his fiancee has cheated on him.  He calls off the wedding and decides to spend two months in Paris at his sister's apartment for a much needed break.  While there, he befriends a struggling but talented jazz violinist, Jules Bardin, and offers him a place to stay.  As they get to know each other, they find that they have little in common except for a passion for music.  Jason grew up in a happy family with money while Jules' mother was a druggie who neglected her children.  But Jason's confident appearance hides inner turmoil and anxiety about his life, and only Jules can help him through it.  This was a lovely, well-written story of two very opposite men brought together by their love of music and quests for something more out of life.  Paris and Grenoble figure prominently in the story with plenty of French terms thrown in.  This is the first time I've read this author, and she must be a musician by the sensitive way she writes about performing.  I'm looking forward to reading more in the series.  242 pages (Kindle edition).

Anna & the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

Anna is an aspiring film critic and normal teenage girl who is forcibly relocated by her novelist father to spend her senior year of high school at an American boarding school in Paris, France. Anna is reluctant to leave her family, friends and crush behind, but she soon adjusts to her new life in Paris. She struggles to learn French and navigate a new city, but she luckily finds a welcoming group of friends, including the charming Etienne St. Clair.

Anna and the French Kiss is 100% fluffy and feel-good. It moved quickly and kept me entertained, enough that I requested Perkins' next book: Lola & the Boy Next Door (which I'll put on here as soon as I finish it!). 

372 pages