Monday, November 9, 2015

The Little Bookshop on the Siene - Rebecca Raisin

Starting this week, I will be reviewing one holiday book a week until January 1, 2016. That's right, every week I'll bring along either a new, or favorite, Christmas novel to share with you. I've mentioned before I am a huge fan of the holidays and while I love a good Thanksgiving, the Christmas spirit is one I hang onto for months. Plus, holiday themed books have the cutest book covers (this one is probably my favorite). Hopefully you enjoy those I've selected and I would love to hear your suggestions for others I should read too!

Rating: 5 stars
Published: October 2015
Many thanks to Netgalley and Carina for providing an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Amazon Goodreads
Sarah Smith feels like something is missing. She's got her bookstore, her friends, her books, and Ridge Warner, but she's no longer satisfied with it all. Then she gets a call from a fellow bookstore owner, Sophie, who interests Sarah with the idea of a bookstore swap. Without much thought, Sarah trades spaces with Sophie and moves to Paris to run Once Upon a Time. She's got a list of items on her bucket list she'd like to complete while there, along with spend some quality time with Ridge while he's home from writing assignments, but Paris's most popular bookstore might prove to be too much for Sarah.

If my reading/sleeping habits are something you know about, then you will know what I mean when I say the following. I stayed up until 11 pm reading this book in one sitting. I love sleep, I'm in bed at 9 pm every night, but this book was one I could not put down. I considered it at 9, again at 9:30, and gave myself another thirty minutes once it hit 10, but I could not put it down. I needed to know the ending, I wasn't sure if it was a HEA or not, but I had to know. Now that I do know, I need to get this book into the hands of every person I know! Seriously, it's that good. I haven't read a Rebecca Raisin book before, she's a new-to-me author, but I will be reading all her books after this.

Sarah is me in book form; I truly believe in the magic of books and I'd give my right arm to have her bookstore (and her man). She's a true romantic, total bookworm, and feeling a little lost in life as she faces some unsure future plans. I love that Sarah said yes to the switch, despite the fact that it seemed so out of character for her. That's what makes a book so adventurous and fun, doing something out of character is always a good story line. Plus, Paris! Rebecca Raisin described it with so much detail that I literally hungered for some macaroons and wine. I could see the cobblestone streets, the Siene, and all the beautiful people. Ridge is one hunk of a man as well and I definitely enjoyed seeing their relationship play out long distance. Especially as Sarah found herself fitting in to Paris and with her fellow coworkers.

The bookstore she took over was so interesting to read about and I loved all the individual characters we met there. I never felt like I had one main character, there were several, and it was so entertaining to read their interactions and read about Sarah's growth as she does all the things she'd never thought she'd do before. The building is phenomenal, one I'd only wish to see in real life. The romance is beautiful, a very key part to the story, but Sarah's interactions with the bookshop patrons were my absolute favorite. I'd be very interested to see what happens with all the characters and can't wait for this series to keep growing.

The Little Bookshop on the Seine is the first book in The Little Paris Collection, but is not the first book about Sarah. While it can be read as a standalone (I read it as such), there is a series called The Bookshop and you can start from the beginning with Sarah in The Little Bookshop on the Corner.

Post a Comment

© Carlene Inspired. Made with love by The Dutch Lady Designs.