I received the ARC of PARIS IS ALWAYS A GOOD IDEA from @netgalley and I was conflicted about how I felt while reading this book. It was very predictable and the beginning felt completely unrealistic. I grew to enjoy it though!⠀
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Chelsea, the main character, is very closed off and a bit of a workaholic. Ever since her mother died she has seemed to stop living her own life, and when her father wants to get remarried she gets upset and he accuses of her of forgetting how to love. She decides to retrace her post graduation European trip and meet up with the men she loved that year. It didn’t fit for her character at all let me tell you. She was so stubborn and strong and then just poof she was in Ireland. It made no sense to me.⠀
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After I got over that I loved the book. It was beautiful reading about Ireland and making new friends while opening up. There is of course the rival back home at work who she hates but randomly FaceTimes every night of her trip that totally makes sense? But it is sweet especially when he shows up in the city of love, Paris for a work meeting with Chelsea and a potential donor. As they travel and woo a client, they begin to open up about their losses and woo eachother. It’s romantic, it’s sweet, and it’s wonderful traveling the world from my couch!⠀
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I think this romance has a few plot holes and inconsistencies but was sweet and so enjoyable to read! I loved how Chelsea realizes she can’t become who she was before loss and she can’t shove her emotions down. She is beautiful as she is, stronger for what she has lost and she shouldn’t try to change that. It reminds me of that picture of a bowl with cracks and they fill the cracks with gold to make the imperfections the focus of beauty in the bowl. That’s what loss and trauma do to people and yes it is ugly and difficult and horrible, but it shapes who you are as a person and makes you stronger.⠀
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My six word review: ⠀
Full of lessons and European men
