Review: 24 Hours in Paris

Full disclosure before we get rolling: I’ve known Romi Moondi/her work for over a decade, having read her indie books and helped plan an event that she was a featured author at back in 2013. I was so thrilled that she was finally being traditionally published because I knew she deserved it. Therefore, I was pretty pumped to read 24 Hours in Paris. I say this to explain there was a bit of bias and a whole lot of really high expectations going into reading this new rom com. While I can’t say that I loooved 24 Hours in Paris, I can say that it was funny, entertaining, and enjoyable.

Here’s the book’s description:

All bets are off in the City of Light . . . where life and love can change in less than a day
After calling off her engagement, Mira escapes on an all-expense paid business trip to Paris. Despite the delicious food and flowing wine, she can’t forget the ache of leaving her fiancé behind or the fact that she’s just blown up her personal life. And messing up simply isn’t Mira.
She’s used to being in control. Meticulously planning. But now she’s at the mercy of the travel gods, and they are not acting in her favor. Subways are missed. Trains don’t run. Flights are overbooked. And by the time she arrives at the airport to go home, there are no new flights to NYC until the next day. The worst part? She’s now stuck in Paris for twenty-four hours with her arrogant and insufferable co-worker Jake whose constant flirting and annoying optimism is more than she can handle.
But as they spend the next twenty-four hours in Paris, exploring the city in all its beauty, Mira realizes that she and Jake have more in common than they thought, and he may turn out to be the best thing she discovers in the City of Love.

One thing you must know about Moondi is that she is funny. I found myself laughing throughout this story and I just love how clever Moondi is and that, by extension, her characters are whip smart too. That was probably my favourite thing about both Mira and this book. Too many rom coms these days are light on the “com” – but not Moondi’s novel. (In fact, you might even argue it’s light on the “rom”.) I wish I had noted some of the particularly humorous quotes but, alas, I was enjoying my reading experience too much to stop and write anything down or take pictures! You’ll just have to read it to see what I mean!

A few other reviewers have noted something that I think bothered me but I wasn’t able to put my finger on exactly what it was. Mira had never been to Paris and yet moved around the city extremely effectively. Would it really have been that easy for her? It’s not a small city but I can’t recall a single moment where she was even remotely lost or struggling with the city. Other than, of course, the initial hullaballoo that led her to being “stuck” in the city for an extra day. And I know a lot of people in Paris speak English but Mira didn’t seem to have many language barrier issues at all either. It just didn’t ring very true to me and must have stuck with me more than I realized.

What 24 Hours in Paris does really well is inspire strong wanderlust. My goodness, I don’t think I’ve ever wanted to travel to Paris more than when I was reading Moondi’s novel. There were a few places I recognized as I read the book (recognized based almost entirely on other books and a few movies that I’ve watched based in the city) as well as several new spots that I’d love to visit someday. This part of the story was a balm during a time where travel has been really limited.

24 Hours in Paris isn’t just a romantic comedy. Romi Moondi’s novel is also a love letter to Paris. This is a book to read if you enjoy armchair traveling and characters who are funny and smart and may or may not fall in love by the time you get to the last page.

*An egalley was provided by the publisher, Wattpad, via NetGalley in exchange for review consideration. All opinions are honest and my own.*