Book Review: The Paris Secret by Karen Swan

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Blurb: Not every door should be opened . . .

With stunning locations and page-turning tension, The Paris Secret is an intense and gripping tale from bestselling author Karen Swan.

Somewhere along the cobbled streets of Paris, an apartment lies thick with dust and secrets: full of priceless artworks hidden away for decades.

High-flying fine art agent Flora from London, more comfortable with the tension of a million-pound auction than a cosy candlelit dinner for two, is called in to assess these suddenly discovered treasures. As an expert in her field, she must trace the history of each painting and discover who has concealed them for so long.

Thrown in amongst the glamorous Vermeil family as they move between Paris and Antibes, Flora begins to discover that things aren't all that they seem, while back at home her own family is recoiling from a seismic shock. The terse and brooding Xavier Vermeil seems intent on forcing Flora out of his family's affairs - but just what is he hiding?

My Review 

This year debut authors are taking over the publishing scene than established authors. For me. Why? Every established author's book I read hasn't been as memorable as their previous title. A disappointment! Winter 2014 Karen Swan released Christmas in the Snow. And since then she's released two other books that were good. But they couldn't make me forget Christmas in the Snow. This year, the Paris Secret has made me forget how thrilling Christmas in the Snow was. Finally! Evidence that authors can write books so much better than their previous title if they put extreme effort! A fucking star to this!—★

The storyline of this book is amazing! I watched Woman in Gold last year(?) and I was so intrigued by the art world and the looting of art by Nazis during the second world war! Now a book that can be compared to Woman in Gold! I can see this book with its edge-of-seat suspense being adapted into a movie!—★★

You'd also love the main character Flora Sykes. I don't need to tell you how great Karen Swan is good with developing sophisticated females in high-flying careers!—★★★

I must also add that books written in third-person do not draw my interest as much. But always, always, Karen Swan writes in third-person and makes me feel as though I'm not being locked out of the character. She's about one of the few authors that make third-person very personal and fun to read.—★★★★

Setting, suspense, romance! Vienna, Paris, London, Antibes. The mystery behind the secret apartment with lots of art by notable artists. The taut, tension-filled romance between Vermeil and Flora. God, I said I hate romance, but try as I did, I couldn't hate Flora and Vermeil! A remarkable, magnetic duo! Karen Swan's romances are worth reading for readers who've fallen out of love with the genre. Since I read Christmas in the Snow I asked Swan to give me mystery, suspense that isn't tied with the romantic plot, and finally, she has and I have enjoyed it! So much! I wouldn't naturally enjoy anything about WWII or anything historical, but the vibrancy Swan injected into this book made me sit up rather than read with one-eye closed.—★★★★★★

My rating is definitely six out of five stars!!

I recommend this novel to anyone who wants glamourous-lit with writing that isn't shallow but well-written! Some authors can do glamorous-lit and make you feel as though you're reading something you could have written at 12 or lower. (Won't give names but you mostly find this with old, established authors) Karen Swan is certainly not one of them! If you've always been looking for a book that injects the contemporary into WWII narratives, this book is so up your lane!

Festive Book Review: Christmas on Primrose Hill by Karen Swan

PURCHASE |GOODREADS 


My Synopsis 

Imagine This: You have an ordinary job that has become mundane. You live with your dad. You still have the old friends you used to play with since your wee ages—and that's not a good thing!

One accident. And you are an internet sensation! Retweets, favourites, and of course a little dislikes on YouTube by the always embittered and unsuccessful. And oh, a follow from an international star!

Except your boss and your colleagues want you to keep up with this accident to raise donations for a charity organisation for testicular cancer awareness.

You think they are crazy. You wouldn't possibly make an attempt once more to off yourself... even for charity... even for a popstar who would probably unfollow you realizing how boring you really are.

Until he DMs you. Suddenly you'd do anything for charity! Twelve days of Christmas. Twelve dares of Christmas. 

Include finding your missing mother who just upped and left four years ago, and you've got yourself one heck of a holiday season to get it (your life—professional, love and life) all together. 

Hold up, readers! It's going to be a very Nettie Christmas! 

My REVIEW. 

I loved this book!

The storyline is good! After one tragic accident in which Girl comes out in one piece, she's all over London, doing stunts behind a laughable costume and gaining the interest of one popstar who's practically chasing her all over London. Cue in the mystery of her missing mother and you have an engaging formula!── ★

Nettie is so cool. When in her costume. And a pretty normal girl-next-door stereotype when she's out of it. But she makes a lovely lead whose story you want to see through till the end!── ★★

Other characters need to be celebrated too. There's Jules, the crazy, albeit one-dimensional friend who loves to party and likes guys with hot-bods. There's Caro, the tech, gum-chewing colleague who can't stand the presence of a guy a few seconds acting normal. There's also Mike, the boss who's having a hard time controlling all the women, that is, all his employees. You'd also love Jamie, the popstar who's always following our lead but making it look so normal you wouldn't call him a stalker. A star!── ★★★

Plus, there's also the two's romance! A feature I kept looking out for.── ★★★★

Though I immensely enjoyed this read (thanks to the romance), I couldn't really shake off the feeling that it wasn't as great as Swan's previous festive-not-quite-festive title, Christmas in the Snow. Karen's novels are known for their sweep-you-off-your-feet romantic plots with an engaging sub-plot of mystery. But this title's sub-plot wasn't engaging enough—as compared to her previous title's, I should add. Judging it as a standalone, like it is, I enjoyed it. But doing a comparative analysis I'm not sure I can give it all the stars it deserves.

So my rating: Four stars (judged with Christmas in the Snow!) but definitely a Five-star read when considered as a standalone.

Christmas on Primrose Hill is available on Amazon. Go get it along with Christmas in the Snow if you haven't read that one too.

I recommend this book to anyone who's a fan of festive novels that are not excuses for authors to just get in a Christmas tree and some mistletoe and just add a bit of a storyline. A book that can be read anytime of the year despite it being a festive read! You should also get it if you are a fan of Karen Swan (or not!)


My work not done here. Off to post my reviews on both Amazon and Goodreads. 

Summer Book Review: Summer at Tiffany's by Karen Swan

      Purchase|Goodreads

My Synopsis

Imagine This: You are almost-married. You have the most-adorable boyfriend in the world. Except, no matter how many times your friends, family are persisting you set a date, you are not ready to get married yet.

You were once married. So even though you love your boyfriend with all your heart, you are not sure you want to risk your freedom for an institution that doesn’t favour the woman.

Meanwhile, your boyfriend’s cousin is getting married in her early twenties. The same age you were before you got married. Would she make a mistake similar to yours? Would she consider her love eternal and ignore the signs of a cheating husband—or more to her situation—a surfer boyfriend who’s sticking with her because he smells an inheritance?

Your best friend, who’s also your boyfriend’s sister, wants you to destroy this marriage. This wedding cannot happen. In your attempts to put sense into the cousin’s head, and prevent her from making your mistakes, you find yourself believing every argument you rake up to put her against marriage. Woah. You had no idea how much you wouldn’t be willing to marry your boyfriend now.

Except your boyfriend has noticed your insecurities, and eavesdropped on all your arguments with his cousin marriage.

And soon he’s giving you an ultimatum: You have three months to set a date for the wedding. Simply saying ‘yes’ isn’t enough. He wants ‘I do’ soon.

This summer you’d find yourself entangled in your friends’ problems, risking falling back into the arms of your ex, and wondering if you are willing to let your freedom go for the love of your life... or keeping your freedom intact and being with Mr. Right. 

Cassie's life summed up for your delight.

MY REVIEW

I loved this book! 

I have never read Christmas at Tiffany’s! But this is my third title from Karen Swan, and as with every author I love, I jump into their latest without reading the blurb. So you could tell my surprise when I found out there was already a prequel. Suddenly, I was worried, I wouldn’t like this book very much. What with a storyline continued from where a previous title left off?

Except, I really, very much loved it because of its ability to adapt as a standalone novel! Summer, commitment issues, wrecking weddings, heart attacks, English summer adventures—a star to the storyline!── ★

You’d love its lead, really. Cassie is amazing, rhymes with Carrie and could also be likened to the iconic lead character of Sex and The City. She’s very girl-next-door, very contemplative when it comes to relationships—she offers lots of insight here. You’d love her for her populated life with exotic friends, extravagant parties and the tendency for drama to follow her everywhere she goes—much like Carrie Bradshaw! A star.── ★★

There are other characters you'd also love. There's Suze and Arch—our lead's boyfriend's sister and her husband, they are my favorite couple in the book! You'd love Suze for her tendency to be overprotective of her husband, and her deprecating wisecracks against him. You'd also love Arch for his tendency to rebel against his wife's orders... when she's out of earshot. There's Kelly, the elegant all-black New Yorker friend hiding news about her pregnancy. There's also Anouk, the hard-hearted Parisian friend who'd kill our lead if she steps out not looking perfect enough. Luke, is the ex boyfriend who seems to have moved-on and causing our lead headaches. Theres's Gem, the cousin who's all about giving yoga lessons for the troubled when she isn't exactly Zen with a Capital 'Z' as she claims. Lovely characters.── ★★★  

Humor is a feature in this title you'd love, and one thing I've noticed about Swan's summer-novels... some ridiculous, audacious summer adventures! Ooh, there's also the appearance of Cold Play. And DRAMA, DRAMA, DRAMA—without being irritating—that's engaging!── ★★★★

Does reading two of Karen's novels (before this) give me the right to spot a trend to her writing? Unlike her previous releases, there was no brow-lifting mystery in this title. I was a bit disappointed. There was mystery all right, but it would have been nice to have some mystery not entangled with the romantic plot (as with her previous titles).

So my rating: 4.5/5 stars.

Karen Swan's latest is available on amazon.

I recommend this book to anyone who loves a summer-title laden with lots of girl-fun! Anyone who wants a romantic title that isn't  irritatingly-harlequin-styled (because that's the reason we all quit Harlequin Romance!) should go for this. Also if you loved Christmas at Tiffany's, then I'm very much sure this would be a winner to you too (because who doesn't love a reappearance of characters they adored!)

My work not done here. Off to put up my review on Amazon and Goodreads. 

Ground-Breaking Titles of 2014: Books That Changed The Face of Chick-lit

I had been meaning to post this way back when I had too much time on my hands but never got around to. So as I have taken a mini-blogging break, I would leave you with my list of:

GROUND-BREAKING Books of 2014: BOOKS THAT CHANGED THE FACE OF CHICK-LIT.

(Not listed in any order)

The List by Joanna Bolouri.

Following the adventures of one shy girl with a naughty list, this book has a plot that sets it apart from all other chick-lit titles you’ve ever read. Told in the form of a diary, this book has lots to keep you engaged and SO MUCH MORE TO KEEP YOU GASPING FOR SHOCK! Not to mention it’s funny as hell, and of course sexy as Helen Mirren.  PURCHASE| READ REVIEW

An Open Marriage by Tess Stimson.

I love Tess Stimson because she’s not afraid to use the letters on her keyboard to talk about issues a lot of society frowns upon (except for the old who are now embracing a YOLO approach to life). Focusing on the much hush-hushed swinging life of older marriages, Tess Stimson pens an emotionally steamy novel stacked with lots of lessons to learn from in our rapidly-changing society blurring the lines between adultery and fidelity as well as morality and immorality.  PURCHASE| READ REVIEW

Christmas In The Snow by Karen Swan.

This book puts down the notion that Chick-lit cannot be fast-paced and very intriguing without guns and women sleuths. Karen Swan speaks on issues of feminism and women in high-ranking positions where male-domination is the opposite of what’s said in a Beyoncé track. Now, a book about ‘dark family secrets’ with dark, twisted family secrets! Absolutely ground-breaking! .  PURCHASE| READ REVIEW

A Husband’s  Confession by Zoe Miller.

This is not your ordinary infidelity book! I never thought the main issue behind a book about infidelity could be something besides the ‘Oh, well, he cheated’ fact. Laced with family rivalry, intrigue, suspense and lots of ‘when the fuck is he going to cheat?’ moments, this book is told in present day and past day narratives that gives it a hallmark character! .  PURCHASE| READ REVIEW

Courting Trouble by Kathy Lette.

Listed as the funniest book of 2014, Kathy Lette’s latest release isn’t all about one big book with so much chemistry between the protagonists and too much to laugh at. Putting across issues such as battling rape and its repercussions for feminists and rape-haters all-alike, Kathy Lette tells a remarkable story laden with suspense and so many issues of sexism swept under the carpet. .  PURCHASE| READ REVIEW

So there you have it. And you can vouch that as it appears on this blog, these books have NEVER, EVER, EVER BEEN DONE in chick-lit/women’s fiction. These titles demonstrate chick-lit is not all about ‘That Pink Book’! And by these titles, CHICK-LIT WOULD NEVER, EVER, EVER BE THE SAME AGAIN!

Book Review: The Summer Without You by Karen Swan

MY SYNOPSIS

Imagine This: A pause. That’s all it takes to bring your eleven year fruitful relationship with your super-hot adrenalin junky boyfriend to a halt.

His reason?

He needs to put some distance between you two so you could fall in love all over again and move from the routine both of your lives have become.

But should it be so?

Aren’t you having the best time of your life with him? For crying out loud, you guys were supposed to get engaged then married the next month. This can’t be happening, you keep telling yourself. But he leaves for the airport. And you are left with no option than to go shoot a friend’s wedding in New York.

Things don’t happen as you think it would. You end up in the Hamptons, being heartsick from loneliness sharing a ginormous property with roommates who to be frank, if you still had your entire sense intact you wouldn’t have decided to crush with for half a year.

This pause is putting a strain on what’s left of you and your boyfriend. You can’t get a hold of him when you call because he says so. He’s out there, hiking all over Asia, spending time in monasteries, being hot, shaving his hair bald, and growing a goatee… when all you do is to mop around wearing his clothes everywhere (in replace of a swimsuit!!).

Of course you too can have fun like he is doing, doesn’t matter how reserved you are. You can have the time of your life this summer and leave your ol’ uptight British self where it doesn’t belong in the Hamptons and paaartaaay(!!) as well as work.

But what with your roommate having problems of their own? What with neighbours being electrocuted and boyfriends being clubbed to death? What with the fear of Sandy rearing its head across shores again and the staunch campaign of preventive measures you are a part of? What with the hot thirtyish guy you can’t get out of your mind because… you might be attracted to him, or possibly, frightened of him?

Rowena Tipton’s life summed up for your delight.

MY REVIEW

OK. So maybe summer is over, to hell with summer reads! Who wants to be in the Hamptons at this time of the year anyway with the northeasterners approaching shores? But you can’t let 2014 pass away without reading this book! Chances are Karen Swan would release a new, kicking Summer read 2015 and you’d regret you didn’t get a hold of this!

I enjoyed the storyline. Girl hauls over to the Hamptons leaving London for the summer since her boyfriend pressed the pause button on their relationship, Girl decides she’d have the time of her life without him and make the most of this summer like he is doing, cue in roommates with complicated lives, women who fart and blow their noses all over their faces in yoga poses, neighbours who litter seashores and a new chin-length haircut (the first time in her life!). 

You have the bomb in your lap, flip pages cautiously. Fab storyline.── ★

Rowena Tipton is a must-read character. Too much soul you’d love to befriend a Brit (who has cleaner teeth albeit). Sweet, beautiful and well-developed. You would love her for her penchant to take on the problems of others and help them go through it all. You would love her for sucking at every selfie photo (like every other normal person out there). Oh, her curiosity gives this book the suspense it has. And sometimes, you would just love her for her need to show her boyfriend the dress she wore a night before through Skype cam when someone is being clubbed to death below her window.── ★★

The other characters were also, hmm, ah-mazing!!! There’s Bobbi, the loud, professionally ambitious roommate who always, always wants a selfie moment and is always dragging our lead to a glamorous event! There’s Humphrey, who dropped medicine for waiting at events and shagging every other girl, every other night (no talent wasted there). There’s Greg, the workaholic roommate who’s having a traitorous affair this summer. You would also love Florence, the Town leader of some sorts, spearheading the seed bombing campaign. Melodie, the yoga instructor loved for her melodiously soothing voice and her high flexibility to stay in complex yoga poses for minutes. There’s also Ted, the dark, hot thirtyish guy who won’t stop staring at our lead. Matt, the jackass boyfriend who would leave his girlfriend on her own the whole of summer (because people cannot really cheat in four months… except Rowena!). Lots of other characters I haven’t mentioned for you’d have to quit reading this review and stop procrastinating! A star to all these characters who made this book memorable(––this word has a more scintillating effect when read the French way)! ── ★★★

Humor, check. Suspense: It’s just so, so, hard to still love an author who keeps you on the edge of your seat for over 300 hundred pages. I ate this book up in two days! And I wouldn’t even show that much interest in a cupcake! (Yes, there’s more to life than cupcakes!).── ★★★★

Super-fantabulous ending! Applause, applause, can’t wait for Karen Swan’s next. Because I’d eat anything non-fattening that offers that much excitement (P.S: My persisting food imagery throughout this review might be because I’ve starved for hours––but didn’t realize––in my quest to finish up this book!)── ★★★★★ 

Karen Swan’s fabulous summer read, The Summer Without You, is available on Amazon. While you are at reminiscing your lost summer days, you can also get all of Karen’s Christmassy books to jet-start the excitement to your holiday season! (Would probably get mine also if they do not take a decade to get to this country! In that case, can’t wait for 2024, woo-hoo!)

I recommend this book to anyone who loves their chick-lit sunny, breath-taking (I mean it! Keep your inhaler nearby for the suspense!) and anyone who just wants anything to arm themselves with in case their spouses, partners call a pause on their relationship to go hiking around Asia.

My work not done here. Off to post my review on Goodreads. (And never on shitty Amazon, because I won’t axe part of this review for nothing!)

Oh, forgot my rating: Obviously a five-star book (5/5)