Helpful Score: 1
Note there are mentions of suicides in this story.
Dollycas's Thoughts
Claire/Chance Broussard goes home to Louisiana to be with her grandmother as she lives out her last days. When she finds a broken piece of artwork in the attic. Her grandmother tells her to go to Paris. There is a story that goes with the artwork she found but she will only hear it in Paris. Soon after her grandmother passes Claire heads to Paris and the trip changes her life forever.
the unknown woman
www.smh.com.au
As soon as Claire found the broken mask I was on the internet so I had the right picture of the mask in my head. But this story was about so much more that a mask. Ms. Blackwell takes us back in time where we meet Sabine, a young woman working as an artist's model. It was not the life she had imagined. Then we alternate and come to present day and Claire's experiences in Paris. The author entwines these stories together to give us a wonderful story. One I had a hard time putting down.
The characters from past and present feel so alive and real. I found myself immersed both of their stories at times not wanting to switch back and forth, but the author's way of doing this made each of the stories even more powerful. These characters are unique but in certain ways the same. The were both searching for something and what they found was so unexpected. There is a twist toward the end the totally just floored me. I just didn't see it coming at all.
I enjoyed the description of the setting in both time periods and how over the years many of the places are virtually the same. I was so moved by Blackwell's book The Paris Key that I ended my review of that book hoping to someday travel there. This book has me wishing even harder. I want to see with my own eyes and feel with my own hands these magnificent places.
I enjoyed learning the story of "The Unknown Woman of the Seine" even though yet again there was that suicide element. Learning about death masks was very interesting too. Somehow I feel as my son is nearby as I read these passages and he helps me know I can handle it and to just keep reading. The story overrides my moments of pain.
Letters from Paris is a story of discovery and strength, heartwarming and heartbreaking. A story that will resonate with everyone who reads it.
Dollycas's Thoughts
Claire/Chance Broussard goes home to Louisiana to be with her grandmother as she lives out her last days. When she finds a broken piece of artwork in the attic. Her grandmother tells her to go to Paris. There is a story that goes with the artwork she found but she will only hear it in Paris. Soon after her grandmother passes Claire heads to Paris and the trip changes her life forever.
the unknown woman
www.smh.com.au
As soon as Claire found the broken mask I was on the internet so I had the right picture of the mask in my head. But this story was about so much more that a mask. Ms. Blackwell takes us back in time where we meet Sabine, a young woman working as an artist's model. It was not the life she had imagined. Then we alternate and come to present day and Claire's experiences in Paris. The author entwines these stories together to give us a wonderful story. One I had a hard time putting down.
The characters from past and present feel so alive and real. I found myself immersed both of their stories at times not wanting to switch back and forth, but the author's way of doing this made each of the stories even more powerful. These characters are unique but in certain ways the same. The were both searching for something and what they found was so unexpected. There is a twist toward the end the totally just floored me. I just didn't see it coming at all.
I enjoyed the description of the setting in both time periods and how over the years many of the places are virtually the same. I was so moved by Blackwell's book The Paris Key that I ended my review of that book hoping to someday travel there. This book has me wishing even harder. I want to see with my own eyes and feel with my own hands these magnificent places.
I enjoyed learning the story of "The Unknown Woman of the Seine" even though yet again there was that suicide element. Learning about death masks was very interesting too. Somehow I feel as my son is nearby as I read these passages and he helps me know I can handle it and to just keep reading. The story overrides my moments of pain.
Letters from Paris is a story of discovery and strength, heartwarming and heartbreaking. A story that will resonate with everyone who reads it.
Letters from Paris by Juliet Blackwell is a romance based around a woman's search for herself, an old family keepsake, and two stories from the past. Unfortunately, for me, all the connections in the book - between times, characters, and places, particularly the story of Claire's childhood - seem contrived, and hence lose the feeling of reality that makes books resonate for me. That makes me not the right reader for this book.
Read my complete review at http://www.memoriesfrombooks.com/2016/08/letters-from-paris.html.
Reviewed based on a publisher's galley received through NetGalley
Read my complete review at http://www.memoriesfrombooks.com/2016/08/letters-from-paris.html.
Reviewed based on a publisher's galley received through NetGalley
A lovely romantic story about finding yourself and reclaiming love. Claire is devastated after her Grandmother passes. On her death bed her Grandmother tells her to go to Paris and discover it's secrets. Claire takes this wish to heart and hops on a plane. All her life she has been curious about a sculpture that was in her Grandmother's attic, maybe this is the opportunity to discover its roots. A bit slow at times, but the weaving together of the present day and the historical story were so well done. It did seem as if the 'secrets' were thrown at the reader during the last few pages of the work, but if you read carefully you should have seen them coming.
Thank you First to Read program for giving me the opportunity to review this work.
Thank you First to Read program for giving me the opportunity to review this work.
Letters from Paris is the latest novel by Juliet Blackwell. Chance "Claire" Broussard lives in Chicago, Illinois. Claire (as she prefers to be called since leaving Louisiana) receives a call from her cousin, Jessica. Her grandmother is not well and wants to see Claire. Instead of taking a leave of absence or a few days off, Claire gives up her job, apartment, and boyfriend and heads home to Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana (she has not been happy in Chicago). Her grandmother, Mammaw is very ill. Mammaw raised Claire after her mother passed away in an accident, and she was removed from her father's custody. When Claire is checking the attic for a leak, she finds a box. Inside is a beautiful mask that arrived broken. Claire has many memories of the mask. It intrigues her as a child (and still does) and Claire wonders about the history behind it. Her grandmother encourages her to Paris (where the mask came from) and get answers. After her grandmother passes away, Claire is at loose ends. She feels that she does not belong in Louisiana or Chicago. So Claire heads for Paris. Claire starts with the company that made the mask of the woman. The mask is called L'Iconnue de la Seine (The Unknown Woman of the Seine) and was made by Lombardi family at their atelier. There Claire encounters Armand Lombardi and Giselle Bouvay. They need assistance in the atelier (a sales girl who can translate), and Claire wants information on the mask. Join Claire on her journey for answers about the mask of The Unknown Woman of the Seine in Letters from Paris.
Letters from Paris has an interesting premise. The book tells us the history of the mask by going back in time to 1897 and Sabine Moreau (the model for the mask). I was looking forward to Letters from Paris, but I have to admit that I was disappointed with the book. I found it to be a slow read and a very long book (it really needed to be edited down). This is a stand-alone book (you do not need to read The Paris Key). The writing is good, but it is lacking (the book is nothing like Juliet Blackwell's cozy mysteries). The author did a very good job at capturing time and place with her descriptive writing. There is the mystery of the mask, but there is also the romance that develops between Armand and Claire (first they fight and then slowly get to know each other). The answers Claire seeks come at the very end of the book. I give Letters from Paris 3.5 out of 5 stars. It is a lovely story, but it was just not for me. I could not get into this book, and I felt that it dragged. I am a big fan of Juliet Blackwell, and I will definitely be reading her future works.
I received a complimentary copy of Letters from Paris in exchange for an honest evaluation. The comments and opinions expressed are strictly my own.
Letters from Paris has an interesting premise. The book tells us the history of the mask by going back in time to 1897 and Sabine Moreau (the model for the mask). I was looking forward to Letters from Paris, but I have to admit that I was disappointed with the book. I found it to be a slow read and a very long book (it really needed to be edited down). This is a stand-alone book (you do not need to read The Paris Key). The writing is good, but it is lacking (the book is nothing like Juliet Blackwell's cozy mysteries). The author did a very good job at capturing time and place with her descriptive writing. There is the mystery of the mask, but there is also the romance that develops between Armand and Claire (first they fight and then slowly get to know each other). The answers Claire seeks come at the very end of the book. I give Letters from Paris 3.5 out of 5 stars. It is a lovely story, but it was just not for me. I could not get into this book, and I felt that it dragged. I am a big fan of Juliet Blackwell, and I will definitely be reading her future works.
I received a complimentary copy of Letters from Paris in exchange for an honest evaluation. The comments and opinions expressed are strictly my own.
