Dreaming of France -- Book Set in Paris

Thank you for joining this weekly meme. Grab a copy of the photo above and link back to An Accidental Blog. Share with the rest of us your passion for France. Did you read a good book set in France? See a movie? Take a photo in France? Have an adventure? Eat a fabulous meal or even just a pastry? Or if you're in France now, go ahead and lord it over the rest of us. We can take it.

One of the reasons I started writing books set in France was because I couldn't find many books that I enjoyed. If Nicolas Barreau had been writing, I might have skipped it all together. Last week, I picked up his novel Paris is Always a Good Idea, and I read most of it that afternoon. I finished it the next

morning before I went on a run.
Many times, I hesitate to read novels written by French authors. They rarely have happy endings and frequently they are about metaphysical ideas that go over my head, or maybe they're simply lost in translation.
This book felt magical right from the beginning, in the same way that Chocolat felt otherworldly.  It focuses on Rosalie Laurent, who runs a postcard store in St. Germain, Paris. In her early 30s, she's an artist and sells her wishing cards as well as launching one from the Eiffel Tower each year on her birthday. She has a struggling business, a nice enough boyfriend who doesn't share her interests and a meddling mother who hoped for more. Her luck changes when a publisher asks her to illustrate a children's book by a famous children's author. American Robert Sherman enters the picture when he is passing her shop and he sees her book in the store window, a story that he has known since he was five years old. He accuses the children's author of plagiarism and the love/hate relationship begins.  Robert has a law degree, but is considering an offer to teach literature at the Sorbonne in Paris. His girlfriend Rachel is furious that he isn't more ambitious.
Both Robert and Rosalie have settled for a mediocre life until they find each other and a few other surprises.
What did I dislike about the book, the title, which is a quote credited to Audrey Hepburn. I wonder if it was called something else in French.
Maybe this book just called out to something in my life right now, but I was transported to Paris and entertained on the entire journey.

Thanks so much for playing along with Dreaming of France. I really appreciate your participation and I hope you'll leave a comment plus visit each other's blogs.

Paris Is Always A Good Idea Plus First Paragraph and Tuesday Teaser

Today, I'm teaming up with Vicki Lesage, author of Confessions of a Paris Party Girl to tell you about some books for people who love France. (Find my teaser and first paragraph at the bottom).
I haven't read all of these books, so make sure you take a look at the reviews before you plunge in and buy one.
Audrey Hepburn had it right when she said "Paris is always a good idea." The City of Light is loaded with charms and wonders you can't find anywhere else on the planet.

Books about Paris are a surefire hit – from romance to mystery to intrigue, what better way to fantasize about Paris than reading a book about it, preferably over a glass of Bordeaux? Vicky hand-picked a selection of French-themed books below and to help you decide which ones fit your style, she asked each author to answer two of the following questions: 1. Why is your book a "good idea" for someone who loves Paris/France? 2. If your book was a drink, what would it be? 3. Which scene might raise a few eyebrows? 4. Who would absolutely hate your book? Read their responses and check out their books!

Becoming Josephine by Heather Webb

Why is your book a "good idea" for someone who loves Paris? Becoming Josephine is about a famous and beloved French historical figure and much of the novel takes place in Paris. Which scene might raise a few eyebrows? One of the scenes set during the September Massacres, also, perhaps one of the hotter scenes between Napoleon and Josephine. Genre: Historical Fiction, Women's Fiction Buy now or read the book's description: Print: $15.00 | Kindle: $7.99 Connect with Heather: Website | Facebook | Twitter

Je T'Aime, Me Neither by April Lily Heise

Why is your book a "good idea" for someone who loves Paris? Paris is almost a character in my book rather than the setting, perhaps a coy antagonist? I'd like to think that the passion of Paris was a root of most of my romantic misadventures, but I can't blame it all on Paris! Who would absolutely hate your book? Readers looking for an idealized story of Paris. Truth is more interesting than fiction, but reality can clash with some people's dreams of perfect Paris. Genre: Memoir Buy now or read the book's description: Print: $13.49 | Kindle: $6.99 Connect with Lily: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

Paris, Rue des Martyrs by Adria J. Cimino

Why is your book a "good idea" for someone who loves Paris? It will transport you to the Paris of Parisians... You won't feel as if you have vacationed in Paris, but as if you have lived there. If your book was a drink, what would it be? Café au lait: Bitter and sweet, dark and light... Opposites come together, creating unforgettable flavor! Genre: Contemporary Fiction Buy now or read the book's description: Kindle: $3.99 Connect with Adria: Website | Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

Confessions of a Paris Party Girl by Vicki Lesage

If your book was a drink, what would it be? A glass of red wine – classy but accessible. You want to share it with friends and you have fun drinking it. Which scene might raise a few eyebrows? The airplane vomit story, for sure. Or maybe the passing-out-on-the-bathroom-floor story. If you enjoy drinking, this might make you stop. If you don't drink, you can smugly watch me learn my lesson. I do eventually grow up, it just takes a while. Genre: Memoir Buy now or read the book's description: Print: $14.99 | Kindle: $4.99 Connect with Vicki: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

I see London, I see France by Paulita Kincer

If your book was a drink, what would it be? An Absinthe Chocolate Cocktail. Traveling with three kids while figuring out if a marriage is worth saving brings some definite worries, thus the absinthe to help forget those worries. And the chocolate, well that makes everything better, right? Which scene might raise a few eyebrows? Some of the scenes in my novel are hot, but they don't get into graphic details of slot a fitted into slot b. What might raise some eyebrows would be Caroline, the main character's, realization that she may have some prejudices. She rolls around the beach in Nice and is certain she is ready to break her marriage vows to have sex with a sensual gypsy man (think Johnny Depp). She leads him up to her hotel room and realizes she's never been inside a building with the man. She only pictures him outdoors. And the prejudice of the hotel clerk plants doubt in her mind. Most middle class Americans have trouble admitting they may have prejudices. Genres: Fiction, Women's Fiction Buy now or read the book's description: Print: $14.00 | Kindle: $4.99 Connect with Paulita: Website  Facebook Twitter Goodreads

Paris Was The Place by Susan Conley

Why is your book a "good idea" for someone who loves Paris? At times Paris Was the Place is like a guided walking tour of Paris. You get to eat delicious crepes, hear some good jazz music, drink red wine and fall in love. Which scene might raise a few eyebrows? When narrator Willie Pears falls for a Frenchman she meets in Paris, she jumps in his truck and heads to the South of France. It's a drive that turns out to be one long roadtrip of foreplay. Genres: Fiction, Women's Fiction Buy now or read the book's description: Print: $26.95 | Kindle: $10.99 Connect with Susan: Website | Facebook | Twitter

The Paris Game by Alyssa Linn Palmer

Why is your book a "good idea" for someone who loves Paris? It's an especially good idea if you're fond of late night jazz, or wandering the streets of the Left Bank. That's where I focused most of the story. If your book was a drink, what would it be? Something quite strong, whiskey on the rocks. Which scene might raise a few eyebrows? The entirety of chapter one. Genres: Mystery, Romance, Suspense Buy now or read the book's description: Print: $15.95 | Kindle: $4.99 Connect with Alyssa: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

Gastien: The Cost of a Dream by Caddy Rowland
If your book was a drink, what would it be? If The Gastien Series was a drink, it would be absinthe, of course! That was the preferred drink of the bohemian artists of nineteenth century Paris. Strong, beautiful and mind-altering, the "green fairy" is a drink that forges its own path, daring to be different. Who would absolutely hate your book? People who don't like dark, raw, gritty, emotional, and - at times - brutal stories would hate my book. I don't write "pretty" stories, I write about the sublime joy and bitter tragedy of being human. That doesn't guarantee "happy" but it does guarantee "real". Genre: Historical Fiction, Family Saga, Drama Buy now or read the book's description: Print: $14.99 | Kindle: $4.99 Connect with Caddy: Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

Which books match your style? Share in the comments!
Playing along with Diane at Bibliophile by the Sea with First Paragraph, and Tuesday Teaser with Miz B of Should Be Reading, here's the first paragraph, which will count as my teaser too, from Paris Rue des Martyrs by Adria J. Cimino.

Rafael Mendez arrived like a thief in the night at 120 Rue des Martyrs. He ran all the way from the train station, where he had left one small, ragtag suitcase in a rented locker. His sneakers slapped noisily along the cobblestones, then pavement, in time with his own tears, and the rain falling from a grim Parisian sky. 

Hope you'll try one of these books set in France.