Review: One Summer in Paris

Over the last few years Sarah Morgan has become one of my favourite romance authors. Her books are always delightful and full of fun and lots of emotion, too. She's been writing books that aren't strictly romances lately, which has been a nice change of pace. One Summer in Paris is her latest and it was a joy to read.

Here's the synopsis:

USA TODAY bestselling author Sarah Morgan returns with this heartwarming novel about the power of friendship, love and what happens when an ending is just the beginning…
To celebrate their twenty-fifth wedding anniversary, Grace has planned the surprise of a lifetime for her husband—a romantic getaway to Paris. But she never expected he’d have a surprise of his own: he wants a divorce. Reeling from the shock but refusing to be broken, a devastated Grace makes the bold decision to go to Paris alone.
Audrey, a young woman from London, has left behind a heartache of her own when she arrives in Paris. A job in a bookshop is her ticket to freedom, but with no money and no knowledge of the French language, suddenly a summer spent wandering the cobbled streets alone seems much more likely…until she meets Grace, and everything changes.
Grace can’t believe how daring Audrey is. Audrey can’t believe how cautious newly single Grace is. Living in neighboring apartments above the bookshop, this unlikely pair offer each other just what they’ve both been missing. They came to Paris to find themselves, but finding this unbreakable friendship might be the best thing that’s ever happened to them…

Fun fact about me: I've been trying to learn French for the last year or so using a couple of different apps. Mostly I'm doing it for fun but I am Canadian and feel that I should have a better handle on our other national language. Reading this book reminded me of the other reason I started learning and that's to travel more confidently. I have no plans to go to Europe any time soon (though I'd love to get there within the next five years) but I would like to be able to speak French when I do. I really liked reading as Grace taught Audrey French and wished she could teach me too! (Side note: any French learning tips would be greatly appreciated. Merci!)

One thing I constantly wondered about is how Grace's daughter might feel that her mom has befriended someone who's basically the same age as her. Don't get me wrong, I love that Morgan had the women become friends because I think it's good to have friends, or acquaintances at the very least, who are different ages. I just feel that Grace's daughter, Sophie, might have some thoughts on the matter. Or maybe she's a lot more aware than I give her credit for. It's a weird, small thing to be focused on but there we have it.

But what about the actual story? It was a really good one. It had pretty much everything I want in a novel: laughs, broken and then mended hearts, some sad and tender moments, traveling, and amazing friendships between equally amazing women. In these kinds of books, the characters can make it or break it for me. If I can't find something to like about them, I'm not invested. But Grace and Audrey were both fantastic. They were both really broken when they found each other and I adored reading as they helped each other become stronger women.

I was so invested in Grace that I was feeling incredibly protective and would have loved to give David, her husband, a piece of my mind. And maybe thrown a few things at him too. I therefore appreciated that Audrey was fiercely protective of Grace as well. That all being said, I was really hopeful Grace and David would be able to actually talk and work out what went wrong (or not exactly right) with their marriage. They seemed so solid that I was sure they would be able to overcome the bullshit David was putting them through. I was also really invested in Audrey and felt very much like a big sister as I was reading what she was going through. I was rooting for her the entire way through the novel and hoped she'd be able to smooth some of the prickles she had due to her upbringing.

One Summer in Paris was a delight and Sarah Morgan will continue to be on my must-read list, especially when I'm in the mood for a great story with equal parts light-hearted and realistic moments. Life isn't perfect but by the end of her novels you remember how we can make it through all those bumps in the road - because there's usually a wonderful Happily Ever After at the end.

*An e-ARC of this novel was provided via NetGalley in exchange for review consideration. All opinions are honest and my own.*