Novel Of The Week: Paris Is Always A Good Idea by Nicolas Barreau

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!!

By now, you are all well aware of my love for Nicolas Barreau's novels and you also know that I wanted this particular one from a long time...I got it for Christmas, I read it and since it's a love story (even if a particular one) and today it's Valentine's Day, I wanted to share with you my review and thought on Paris Is Always A Good Idea by Nicolas Barreau.
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Rosalie Laurant owns a little stationery shop called “Luna Luna” in St.Germain. She struggled a bit finding her path, but now she has quite a beautiful life: her own business (she’s famous for her hand made “wishing cards”), Renè, her health lover boyfriend and William Morris, her dog. What it seemed a day like any other, an old and grumpy man enters her shop: he’s Max Marchais, a famous author of children’s books and, after seeing Rosalie’s hand painted cards, asks her to illustrate his last book.  Of course Rosalie accepts and the book is a success!

Robert Sherman is an New York based English professor…he’s also the founder’s son of a famous law firm, Sherman & Son. Everybody is insisting that Robert should quit teaching and start practising law, so he takes a trip to Paris (his mother’s favourite city) in order to clear his mind. There, in a little shop, Robert finds a children’s book identical to a story (created specifically for him) that his mother used to tell him when he was little. How was it possible that the same story has been written by a French author?

Trying to find an answer to the question, Robert and Rosalie’s lives are about to intertwine and, eventually, they will uncover the incredible truth behind the book.

This was a more mature novel by Nicolas Barreau…the elements are the same: a mistery, characters owners of pets with uncommon names and Paris. But in this novel the plot was more clear and straightforward, with few elements and characters with well delineated personalities. The reading was fun and full of surprises.

This novel reminds me a bit of the movie The Bridges of Madison County, if you read it and  saw the movie, you know what I mean.
Long story short, “Paris is always a good idea” is a beautiful novel, probably the best after “The ingredients of Love”. I liked Rosalie’s character a lot, she’s a dreamer, has a lot of faith in people and has the interesting tradition of climbing the Eiffel Tower every year during her birthday and throw a card with her wish from up there.

My vote: 9/10