On the Bookshelf Book Review: Paris for One

Paris for One and Other Stories
by Jojo Moyes
My Rating:  **** out of 5 Stars

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What the story is about

This book starts with a novella, Paris for One, and then adds a few short stories in the mix.  I love Jojo Moyes. Her characters are so real and her heroines are such strong women, even though they might not even know it at first.  

Paris for One begins at a train station, where 26 year old Nell is waiting for her boyfriend to meet her.  She has planned a romantic weekend holiday to Paris. He never shows up, which, we find out later, is not much of a surprise.  Nell who has never been to Paris, or anywhere else for that matter, decides at the last minute to go on her own. Unfortunately, even with this uncharacteristic burst of independence, Nell encounters problem after problem and decides to return home the next day and cut her holiday short.  That is until she meets Fabien.

Fabien is a waiter in a charming French bistro.  He has just come off a long-term relationship gone bad and is depressed.  His friends try to pull him out of himself and get him to go out with them, and for the most part he refuses.  He spends most of his non-work time helping his father with his tourist boat business and riding his motorcycle around the streets of Paris.  Then he meets Nell.

This sweet story chronicles Nell’s transformation from shy and unsure to confident and happy thanks to Fabien’s sweet and caring ways.  And because of him, new Nell finally finds love in the City of Lights.

What I liked about it

I never used to like short stories.  I always felt that as soon as I got to know and like the characters, the story was over and I had to get used to new characters in a completely new story.  Maybe I felt that way because the short stories weren’t well developed. These are not like that. Obviously Paris for One was a novella, so it was a little longer, but even the other stories drew me in and the plot lines were so sweet and so engaging, they felt like a full story.

As I said before, I am a big fan of Jojo Moyes.  I have read all of her Me Before You series, and while some found these to be sappy, I found them to be well written women’s fiction.  You are able to see yourself in her characters even though they all face different challenges and life experiences.  Her writing makes you feel, and that is what I love about good women’s fiction, short story or not.

What I didn’t like about it

I liked some stories more than others, and some characters more than others as well.  But overall, I found the book to be charming and can’t really say that there was anything I didn’t really like about it.  

Other books like this one:

If you haven’t read Jojo Moyes before, I suggest you try:

Me Before You; After You; Still Me

Other sweet stories you could try:

Chestnut Street by Maeve Binchy
384 pages; published in 2014
Amazon Affiliate Link: Buy from Amazon
Binchy wrote charming stories set in Ireland and was a master of writing short stories that were interwoven to make a great collective piece.  She is another author skilled at creating characters that make you feel. These are older books, but if you are a fan of well-written women’s fiction, I highly suggest you check her out!

Sweet Romances – a book list