The Little Bookshop on the Seine by Rebecca Raisin

The Little Bookshop on the Seine
by Rebecca Raisin

Published: 2020
Publisher: HQN
Genre: Women's Fiction, Holiday, France
Paperback: 416
Rating: 5
Goodreads

Little Paris Collection series:
The Little Antique Shop under the Eiffel Tower
The Perfume Shop off the Champs-Élysées
The Little Bookshop on the Seine

First sentence(s):
With a heavy heart I placed the sign in the display window.

Zombie sighting:
Here if you rushed anywhere people would think you were being chased by a killer plague of zombies or something.
-chapter 2

Le Vie En Rose

Bookshop owner Sarah Smith has been offered the opportunity to exchange bookshops with her new Parisian friend for 6 months! And saying yes is a no-brainer – after all, what kind of a romantic would turn down a trip to Paris? Even if it does mean leaving the irresistible Ridge Warner behind, Sarah’s sure she’s in for the holiday of a lifetime – complete with all the books she can read!

Picturing days wandering around Shakespeare & Co, munching on croissants, sipping café au laits and people-watching on the Champs-Elysees Sarah boards the plane. But will her dream of a Parisian Happily-Ever-After come true? Or will Sarah realise that the dream isn’t quite as rosy in reality…

My two-bits:

Christmas in July ;-)

Loved that this story was set in a bookstore.

I found this to be a delightful romance with Paris and its bookstore community moreso than focus on a couple.

~*~
* Listened to audiobook version.

* part of Bookshop challenge (here)

* part of Paris in July (here)

Bookworms in France

Fantastique!

Booksellers along the Seine are a treat for bookworms from all over the world.

~*~

The Paris Library
by Janet Skeslien Charles
Historical, WWII, France | Goodreads
Paris, 1939. Odile Souchet is obsessed with books and the Dewey Decimal System, which makes order out of chaos. She soon has it all – a handsome police officer beau, an English best friend, a beloved twin, and a job at the American Library in Paris, a thriving community of students, writers, diplomats, and book lovers. Yet when war is declared, there's also a war on words.

Montana, 1983. Widowed and alone, Odile suffers the solitary confinement of small-town life. Though most adults are cowed by her, the neighbor girl will not let her be. Lily, a lonely teenager yearning to break free of Froid is obsessed by the older French woman who lives next door and wants to know her secrets.

As the two become friends, Odile sees herself in Lily – the same love of language, the same longings, the same lethal jealousy. The Paris Library’s dual narratives explore the relationships that make us who we are – family and friends, first loves and favorite authors – in the fairy tale setting of the City of Light. It also explores the geography of resentment, the consequences of unspeakable betrayal, and what happens when the people we count on for understanding and protection fail us.

One Summer In Paris
by Sarah Morgan
Women's Fiction, France | Goodreads | my review
To celebrate their twenty-fifth wedding anniversary, Grace has planned the surprise of a lifetime for her husband—a romantic getaway to Paris. But she never expected he’d have a surprise of his own: he wants a divorce. Reeling from the shock but refusing to be broken, a devastated Grace makes the bold decision to go to Paris alone.

Audrey, a young woman from London, has left behind a heartache of her own when she arrives in Paris. A job in a bookshop is her ticket to freedom, but with no money and no knowledge of the French language, suddenly a summer spent wandering the cobbled streets alone seems much more likely…until she meets Grace, and everything changes.

Grace can’t believe how daring Audrey is. Audrey can’t believe how cautious newly single Grace is. Living in neighboring apartments above the bookshop, this unlikely pair offer each other just what they’ve both been missing. They came to Paris to find themselves, but finding this unbreakable friendship might be the best thing that’s ever happened to them…

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* image source: Les bouquinistes sur les quais a Notre Dame by Eugene Galien Laloue

* part of Paris in July (here)

Lovely Books and Things - 7.5.20

Lovely Books and Things
My Weekly Books and Films Update
Linking up with:
Sunday Post (details)
Mailbox Monday (details)

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HAPPY THINGS:

1. Strawberry Drop Biscuits from NYT cooking (here) - added chocolate chips for extra yummy

2. Hadestown musical - performed pieces on NPR Tiny Desk Concert (here) - hope this show goes on tour with a stop in San Francisco

3. Honey Bear Scavenger Hunt by artist fnnch - something fun to look for on my walks about town

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Bought:

Don’t Send Flowers
by Martin Solares
Mystery, Crime, Mexico | Goodreads

The Nickel Boys
by Colson Whitehead
Historical, Pulitzer Prize 2020 | Goodreads
Library: audiobook

The Night Watchman
by Louise Erdrich
narrated by author
-Historical, North Dakota | Goodreads
Freebies: from Free Little Library

Stamboul Train
by Graham Greene
Classics, Mystery, British lit, train travel | Goodreads
Don't have this cover version, but cover love this one.

For Review:

Falling for Provence
by Paulita Kincer
courtesy of France Book Tours -Thanks!
Women's Fiction, France | Goodreads
~*~
Virtual Author event: hosted by Booksmith
Listen to archive of this and check out their calendar for future free author events (here)
Tune in Tuesdays 11am pst VIRTUAL: ZYZZYVA & The Booksmith Present: Lockdown Lit @ Lunch

A conversation with:
Why We Swim by Bonnie Tsui
Nonfiction, Swimming | Goodreads
The Firsts: The Women Who Shook Capitol Hill by Jennifer Steinhauer
Feminism, Politics, History | Goodreads


A conversation with:
Nothing Is Wrong and Here Is Why by Alexandra Petri
Essay, Politics, Humor | Goodreads
You Never Forget Your First: A Biography of George Washingtonby Alexis Coe
History, Biography, Politics | Goodreads

We Want Our Bodies Back: Poems
by Jessica Care Moore
Poetry, Feminism | Goodreads
Virtual Author event: hosted by Politics and Prose Bookstore
Listen to archive of this and check out their calendar for future free author events (here)

The Art of Her Deal: The Untold Story of Melania Trump
by Mary C. Jordan
Biography, Politics | Goodreads
Virtual Author event: hosted by Book Passages
Listen to archive of this and check out their calendar for future free author events (here)

Rebel Chef: In Search of What Matters
by Dominique Crenn, Emma Brockes
Memoir, Food | Goodreads
~*~
AND watched: on YouTube

Sanditon (2019)
The Musical 200 Years Later
Creator: Chris Brindle
Based on book by: Jane Austen, Anna Lefroy
Stars: William Hastings, Rebecca Huish
Musical, Jane Austen-theme | my rating: 4
In 1817 Jane Austen left an unfinished novel full of characters, issues and situations for posterity to finish sometime in the future. After she had inherited the manuscript in 1845 her niece Anna Lefroy added a continuation, similarly unfinished. In 2014 Chris Brindle put both fragments together and finished them as a play whilst also filming a documentary in Hampshire and Berkshire about the rivalry between niece Anna and nephew James Edward to honour and build the literary reputation of their late aunt. To mark the bicentenary of the death of Austen and the writing of 'Sanditon' Chris wrote and filmed two versions of 'Song For Jane Austen' and then kept on writing songs for all the characters in the book. Gradually the Play became a Musical with assistance of the recording studio of guitarist David Edward Booth in Bedfield Suffolk, and the piano genius of Vicky Clubb in Colchester. Finally with the assistance of Angie Diggens the whole thing was reduced to a show that could be premiered on the small stage of the Studio at 'The Other Palace' in Victoria, London on July 26th 2019. This filmed version is the work of more genius from Steve Dorrington, Tristan Syrett and Roger Allen at Colchester film-makers Aura Films.

AND currently binge-ing:

on Netflix:
Schitt's Creek, season 5
Marcella, season 1
Breaking Bad, season 5

on Crunchyroll:
Zombie Land Saga (Japanese anime)

~*~

Happy July the 4th weekend
~*~
* comment and TELL me what you have acquired for your shelves recently
* Shelter In Place - Day 111, Week 17
Thanks for stopping by :-)

Witches and a Phantom in France

Mystérieuse!

~*~

Witches, wine, and revenge set in early 20th century France...
The Vine Witch by Luanne G. Smith | Goodreads
The Glamourist by Luanne G. Smith | Goodreads
The Conjurer by Luanne G. Smith | Goodreads | Release date: January 2021

For centuries, the vineyards at Château Renard have depended on the talent of their vine witches, whose spells help create the world-renowned wine of the Chanceaux Valley. Then the skill of divining harvests fell into ruin when sorcière Elena Boureanu was blindsided by a curse. Now, after breaking the spell that confined her to the shallows of a marshland and weakened her magic, Elena is struggling to return to her former life. And the vineyard she was destined to inherit is now in the possession of a handsome stranger.

Vigneron Jean-Paul Martel naively favors science over superstition, and he certainly doesn’t endorse the locals’ belief in witches. But Elena knows a hex when she sees one, and the vineyard is covered in them. To stay on and help the vines recover, she’ll have to hide her true identity, along with her plans for revenge against whoever stole seven winters of her life. And she won’t rest until she can defy the evil powers that are still a threat to herself, Jean-Paul, and the ancient vine-witch legacy in the rolling hills of the Chanceaux Valley.

~*~
Phantom doings...

The Phantom of the Opera
by Gaston Leroux
Classics, Horror, France | Goodreads
First published in French as a serial in 1909, The Phantom of the Opera is a riveting story that revolves around the young, Swedish Christine Daaé. Her father, a famous musician, dies, and she is raised in the Paris Opera House with his dying promise of a protective angel of music to guide her. After a time at the opera house, she begins hearing a voice, who eventually teaches her how to sing beautifully. All goes well until Christine's childhood friend Raoul comes to visit his parents, who are patrons of the opera, and he sees Christine when she begins successfully singing on the stage. The voice, who is the deformed, murderous 'ghost' of the opera house named Erik, however, grows violent in his terrible jealousy, until Christine suddenly disappears. The phantom is in love, but it can only spell disaster.

Leroux's work, with characters ranging from the spoiled prima donna Carlotta to the mysterious Persian from Erik's past, has been immortalized by memorable adaptations. Despite this, it remains a remarkable piece of Gothic horror literature in and of itself, deeper and darker than any version that follows.


For Love of the Phantom by Davyne DeSye | Goodreads
Skeletons in the Closet by Davyne DeSye | Goodreads
Phantom Rising by Davyne DeSye | Goodreads

This sequel to Gaston Leroux's Phantom of the Opera begins just after Christine and Raoul leave the Phantom in his lair in the basement of the Opera House. After faking his own death to escape the authorities, the Phantom sets out to find Christine again, eventually following her to London. With a detective after the Phantom and Christine endangered when Jack the Ripper begins his killing spree not far from Christine's home, the Phantom must put his life at risk for his love.

Will Christine -- desperate for song (which her husband, Raoul, has forbidden in his jealousy) -- finally open her heart to the Phantom, as he desires?

~*~
* image source: Au bord de la Seine by Eugene Galien Laloue

* part of Paris in July (here)

Paris in July 2020

Paris in July
hosted by Thyme for Tea
(details & signup)
Paris in July is an international blogging event that brings together lovers of Paris and all things French, for a Virtual visit to Paris through literature, film, theater, art, music, food, wine and memories.

READ:

Paris by Edward Rutherford
Historical, France, Paris | Goodreads

Murder in Clichy by Cara Black
Mystery, France, Paris | Goodreads | my review | my rating: 4

LISTEN: Audiobooks

The Little Bookshop on the Seine by Rebecca Raisin
Chick-lit, Christmas, Paris | Goodreads | my review | my rating: 5

One Summer In Paris by Sarah Morgan
Women's Fiction, France | Goodreads | my review | my rating: 4

The Black Swan of Paris
by Karen Robards
Historical, WW2, Paris | Goodreads | my review | my rating: 4
Picnic in Provence by Elizabeth Bard
Memoir, Food, France, Provence | Goodreads |my review | my rating: 5

Death in Provence by Serena Kent
Mystery, France, Provence | Goodreads | my review | my rating: 5


PARTICIPATE: France Book Tours

Falling for Provence tour
July 20-31 (details)
my review | my rating: 4

SHOP:

Paris Letter
creation by Janice MacLeod | etsy

MISC:

Witches and a Phantom
books featured:
The Vine Witch by Luanne G. Smith
The Glamourist by Luanne G. Smith
The Conjurer by Luanne G. Smith
The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux
For Love of the Phantom by Davyne DeSye
Skeletons in the Closet by Davyne DeSye
Phantom Rising by Davyne DeSye

Bookworms in France
books featured:
The Paris Library by Janet Skeslien Charles
One Summer In Paris by Sarah Morgan

Food and France
books featured:
Mastering the Art of French Eating: Lessons in Food and Love from a Year in Paris by Ann Mah
Dirt: Adventures, with Family, in the Kitchens of Lyon, Looking for the Origins of French Cooking by Bill Buford
The Secret French Recipes of Sophie Valroux by Samantha Verant

Films and France
films featured:
I Am Not An Easy Man
Blind Date
Madame Goes to Paris

Photos and France
book featured:
Shakespeare and Company by Sylvia Beach

Expats and France
books featured:
Code Name Hélène by Ariel Lawhon
French Like Moi: A Midwesterner in Paris by Scott Dominic Carpenter
L'Appart: The Delights and Disasters of Making My Paris Home by David Lebovitz
Confessions of an Expat in Paris by Vicki Lesage

film featured:
Emily in Paris

Happy Bastille Day!
book featured:
The Lost Vintage by Ann Mah

Royals and France
book featured:
Marie Antoinette’s World: Intrigue, Infidelity, And Adultery In Versailles by Will Bashor

film featured:
Lady J

Fashion and France
books featured:
The French Photographer by Natasha Lester
The Paris Secret by Natasha Lester
The Queen of Paris: A Novel of Coco Chanel by Pamela Binnings Ewen

film featured:
Yves Saint Laurent: His Life and Times

San Francisco and France
book featured:
Frog Music by Emma Donoghue

WWII and France
books featured:
The Paper Girl of Paris by Jordyn Taylor
The Dressmaker's Gift by Fiona Valpy
The Book of Lost Names by Kristin Harmel
Red Mistress by Elizabeth Blackwell

Jaunt out of Paris
books featured:
The Reader on the 6.27 by Jean-Paul Didierlaurent
The Safe Place by Anna Downes
Death in Provence by Serena Kent

Yarn Along - Paris theme
book featured:
Paris by Edward Rutherfurd

Films and France pt2
films featured:
Puerto Ricans in Paris
Radioactive

Foodie and France
Falling for Provence by Paulitta Kincer
Death in Provence by Serena Kent
Vanessa Yu's Magical Paris Tea Shop by Roselle Lim

Mystery and France
books featured:
The 7th Woman by Frédérique Molay
Crossing the Line by Frédérique Molay
The Book Artist by Mark Pryor
The French Widow by Mark Pryor
The Godmother by Hannelore Cayre

Goodbye Paris in July
book featured:
Goodbye Paris by Anstey Harris

LISTEN: Spotify - Paris Cafe Jazz



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