Paris Mon Amour

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Paris Mon Amour is a story of love, lies and deceit. We meet Alexandra, a British American living in Paris who is married to Philippe. When Alexandra's mum tells her she knows Phillippe is having an affair, Alexandra embarks on an affair of her own with Jean-Luc. Jean-Luc is a sexy 23 year old and just happens to be the is son of Philippe’s best friend. Revenge is sweet or is it?. Alexandra is a 40 year old woman who has suffered tragedies in her past which continue to impact her present. When her visiting mother suggests her husband Phillippe is having an affair, it is a niggling thought which begins to preoccupy her. Bowled over by the appearance of Jean-Luc, a troubled and beautiful young man, Alexandra is soon embroiled in her own passionate affair.

Sometimes you come across a book that you start to read and realise that it's nothing like you had expected it to be. This book was a breath of fresh air really as it went beyond the usual women's fiction path and took us more on an emotional, very grown-up journey of an adulterous affair and the rippling effect it has on all those involved.

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I was hooked by the story right from the very first chapter and raced through the book. I just couldn’t put it down til I knew how Alexandra’s situation would be resolved. As her relationship with Jean-Luc started to spiral out of her control, I found that I was completely unable to put the book down and finally finished it late at night. It was my love of Paris that made me request Paris Mon Amour. As a self-confessed Francophile, I love France – Paris, in particular – and therefore make the rather foolish assumption that I will love anything to do with France. That isn’t always the case.

This novel is beautifully presented, the cover is delicate and very inviting, and the blurb is intriguing. I was especially taken by the first line: "The first time I caused terrible harm to the people I love it was an accident. The second is the reason I'm here." This is a bewitching opener and the beginning of a story that is beautifully written, with care and feeling. On the occasion of the inauguration of the operation, Nicolas Houzé, CEO of Galeries Lafayette, declared: "As we all gradually return to normal life, it was essential for us to take part in the revival of Paris by placing it at the heart of our summer event. Paris Mon Amour is also a way of celebrating the resilience we have all shown, and our ability to look forward to a brighter future by promoting what makes it a must-see destination for French and international visitors. We welcome the initiative of the Galeries Lafayette group to contribute to the revival of tourist activity in the capital, which is essential if we do not want a second summer without tourists. You can count on our support and our concrete support, as with the cancellation of the Covid debt for some 2,000 VSEs and SMEs in the tourism sector. I didn’t love Paris Mon Amour. I found that the story was too slow paced for me. However, I did appreciate it for what it is – a story about the dysfunctional lives of people; about how people act and behave on impulse often to detrimental consequences. When we meet Alexandra she is at the end of her story and begins to recount to us how she came to be at this point. What starts with the discovery of her husband Philippe having an affair, turns into a story of love and redemption, as she herself embarks on an extramarital relationship, whilst dealing with uncertain and evolving family dynamics.Just when I was about to write this post, I found out about Christina Grimmie, a 22-year old singer who I happened to listen to, and was amazed with her beautiful edgy voice. She was killed yesterday by a guy few years her senior. Why? We won't fond out since he shot himself shortly afterwards. That incredibly sad story shades yet another light onto the book I wholeheartedly recommend reading.

Despite that little niggle I honestly couldn’t recommend this book enough. It is a very honest look at infidelity and how it’s effects on all the parties involved. This is a magnificent story. Life's lessons mould people and Alexandra's life is not untouched by tragedy and sadness. However, I think this story is more about about the two men in her life, her husband Phillippe and the gorgeous, but incorrigible Jean-Luc. I’ve always wondered what it must be like to be in someone else’s head, how it would feel to be a good person with a clear conscience, who’s never mean or bitter, who’s never caused anyone any pain. There can’t be many people like that, can there? Overall, Paris Mon Amour wasn’t for me but that is not to say that it isn’t well written. It is, I just couldn’t identify with Alexandra. Whilst I felt sympathy for her I didn’t empathise with he and for me, that fact kept me at a distance rather than feeling completely immersed in the novel.A candid and seductive debut from a writer with plenty more to give based on this emotional but ultimately uplifting tale.

I don’t mind admitting that the ending of Paris Mon Amour did take me by surprise. I’ll even confess to shedding a tear or two along the way. I don’t often cry at books, but this is a very emotional book, and I loved Isabel Costello’s sensuous style of writing. I really hope that there will be a second novel from her before too long! I think the only problem I had with this book was the unrealistic nature of some aspects, a married forty-something woman was betraying her husband in the worst way possible, amidst feelings of certainty that he was doing very much the same thing to her. I understand that these feelings did materialise as a cause for concern as she had seen his texts. I suppose I'd rather that she spoke to him about her justified paranoia. It wasn't the wisest decision to run into another man's arms. I know it didn't quite happen that way, but it did seem awfully convenient. In very much the same way, I felt that she wasn't thinking. Initially, she seemed to be an intelligently, mature woman so I expected her to use her head instead she allowed her libido to take over. I felt for her husband, even if he was cheating, he was a kind man that I felt that her reasons for cheating could only have been that he was cheating. But in spite of her mistakes and foolish judgment, from the start of the book to the end- she had definitely come a long way.Beautifully told through the boulevards and arrondissements of the City of Light, Paris Mon Amour is a sensual novel about inescapable desire and devastating betrayals. It is the story of one woman and two men, and what happens when there is no way out. I wasn't sure what to expect when I started to read Paris Mon Amour. Initially, I was sold on the idea that it was going to be a Mrs Robinsonesque scenario, that is, older woman attracted to a younger man who takes revenge in the sweetest sort of way. But overall, it was a more exacting look at the pitfalls that life throws at us, and that by being drawn into situations which are beyond our control, we can very soon lose sight of what's important.