Paris For One by Jojo Moyes.

       Paris For One

I love the idea of Quick Reads, currently 58 titles by well-known authors and more than suitable for beach reading, retailing at £1 is a bargain. If you enjoy a romantic comedy, then you'll like this one. This one's for the girls.

"She pictured herself and Pete, tangled up in a French hotel bed, gazing out of the window at the Eiffel Tower, holding hands over croissants and coffee in some street café."

Nell Simmons is 26, a sensible and quiet person unless she is with her girlfriends letting her hair down or having a romantic encounter in Paris and then anything can happen! Who knows? She was the type of person who would willingly water your plants if you went on holiday or look after your children if you fancied a night out. She wasn't the type to run off with anyone's husband! Completely trustworthy. On the other hand, her mother liked telling people that her daughter wasn't adventurous or pretty. She added that she wasn't the type to travel and she wasn't a spring chicken. Old before her time? A bit unkind.

It's not surprising that Nell probably preferred the ladette culture of drinking, hanging out with the boys and the inevitable hangovers to nurse with Magda, Trish and Sue and their annual weekend in Brighton. Boyfriend Pete, if he could be called that was the unreliable, easy-going guy who had more of a colourful past than Nell. He thrived on adventure and danger and had travelled around the world. In Laos and Kenya he had two narrow escapes but he had survived.

Nell wanted to spend a romantic weekend away and Paris was the obvious choice. It was November time, just perfect. Unfortunately, she chose the wrong weekend, the same weekend planned by the girls to visit Brighton. They had visited Brighton every year for six years and so far, no-one had missed it. Until now. Nell broke the news to Magda that Pete was taking her to Paris (even though it was Nell who had paid). Her friends didn't think much of Pete. In their eyes he was a loser and a pratt.

The story begins with an anxious Nell who has been waiting at the station for 30 minutes, feeling worse for wear, worrying that he will not turn up. And of course he doesn't. A fifth text and a response to say that he is caught up at work and he tells her to go and enjoy herself. The intention is for him to catch her up later. So, reluctantly she boards the Eurostar, still hopeful that he will turn up and it won't be a disaster. But there are further complications when Nell reaches the Hotel Bonne Ville to find the room has been double booked and she ends up sparring with a rude American woman who insists on having the last room herself. It soon turns into The World's Worst Romantic Weekend. Could it get any worse?

Fabien is a budding writer earning a living as a waiter, still in a state of despondency after a failed relationship with Sandrine. He had been editing his manuscript for the past 6 months and felt unhappy that his characters were flat and their voices fake. A clumsy accident resulted in the loss of his manuscript and further despondency.

A chance meeting or two between Nell and the Frenchman and a 22 minute whistle-stop tour of Paris on a moped taking in the sights of Notre Dame, the Champs-Elysees and the Eiffel Tower provided a necessary distraction for a dejected Nell and the start of a fleeting, romantic encounter.

"That was the most bloody terrifying and absolutely best thing I have ever done in my entire life." Yet she loved it. The music, the drink, the Parisian atmosphere. It all goes to her head. There are one or two surprises left before Nell returns home looking decidedly more relaxed, happy and confident. In fact, a different person. Full of mischief and joy.

"We had one perfect night in Paris. It would be a shame to spoil it."

So what did Nell get up to? What happened to Pete and more importantly, what happened between Nell and Fabien? Find out for yourself……

Publisher: Penguin Random House UK.   ISBN: 978-1-4-5-91893-0


REVIEW it by Carol Naylor.

Copyright 2015. Permission must be obtained from the writer before any of this article review is reproduced.

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