A Dose Of Escapism....
A trip to Paris in this uncomplicated romance with a likeable protagonist in Hannah and a glorious setting which makes for lighthearted and easy reading. A dose of guaranteed escapism with some armchair travel thrown in.

First of all this gave me serious wanderlust!! I’d love to have an Angelina hot chocolate.

I loved the story. I thought it was a bit serendipitous, a bit far fetched but in a fun way that could be real, and loved the focus on building your own confidence, and how its never too late to come into your own.

I was seeking a light read, a little romance and feelgood and this definitely ticked those boxes. Hannah and her boyfriend Si (not quite sure about that as a name - it irritated me as did the character!) are travelling between Venice and Amsterdam, heading to a wedding. The train divides (as they frequently do on the continent) and they are separated. Hannah is heading for Paris without her suitcase and with very little money. This is a romance so, although the scenario is actually quite frightening, that isn’t the tone of the story. Hannah is ditzy, bumping through life, frustratingly clumsy and disorganised and with a huge insecurity complex. The book and the reader spend the day in Paris trying to unpack some of her insecurities and I’m not sure that they entirely do. What is clear is that Hannah is not really with the right chap and maybe, just maybe the nice French guy who she spends her day with might be the one. This is a lovely gentle story about a blossoming romance and self revelation and a bit of a beautiful advertisement for Paris. The Parisian scenes are beautifully written and described- clearly some off the beaten track spots here. The romance is intriguing ..it’s not full blown chemistry, more a gently unravelling ..I very much enjoyed the book. I was torn between 3 and 4 stars because I didn’t feel it consistently- sometimes it seemed like one too many drinks in yet another little hideaway spot and I needed just a little more spark. But I did find myself unable to put the book down as I chased towards the end trying to find out what happens to Hannah. She’s a very human character and I loved that she admitted to being size 12! So much to like in this read. With thanks to Netgalley and Orion Books for a digital copy of this book.

Uncoupling has been on my radar for months now, and on Christmas Eve Eve I finally put aside my festive books and opened this one. I finished as the clock struck for midnight the next day, seeing in Christmas. I was utterly entranced. This book gave me much-needed hope for warmer days, carefree summers and chance romances that simply aren’t possible in our current sanitised, distanced world.

Hannah is on holiday with her boyfriend, Si, and they catch a train from Venice to Amsterdam for his sister’s wedding. When Hannah can’t sleep and moves forward a few carriages, the train splits and she heads to Paris instead. Another passenger, Léo does the same, and tripping over his bag, before she knows it Hannah is on the back of a stranger’s motorbike exploring Paris with this long-legged gorgeous French man.

I have never been drawn to Paris in the way that others are, but this book made me utterly fall in love with the city. The adventure, the possibilities, the mouth-watering smells and sights experienced through Hannah make me want to hop on a plane as soon as all of this is over. The fact that they are only in Paris for a day made it exciting and full of possibilities, as if fate made this day happen and it unfolds into a wonderful time for both of them.

Hannah was a fantastic main character, and I personally related to Hannah hugely. She has grown cautious in life as she approaches 30, reluctant to pursue her passions even though she hates her job, and allowing her boyfriend to essentially manage her life for fear of screwing it up. She is a people pleaser and is struggling to see a way to move forward and initiate a change. That is, until she is stranded in Paris with a maxed out credit card and no passport. Playing it safe is no longer an option. Her caution is her safety net, and that has been my main feeling throughout all of this. It was reassuring and exciting to see the possibility that I could still be the spontaneous and carefree Hannah when this is all over, throwing caution to the wind and going on an adventure.

Léo is one of my favourite male leads in a long time. I loved that he pushed Hannah to want more from her life, and not just accept the lot she’s been handed. He is honest, compassionate and heavenly to look at (in my brain). He took on a life of his own in my imagination and it was so easy to see him sitting next to Hannah, drinking hot chocolate or eating a crepe. If you’ve seen the Netflix show ‘Emily in Paris’, I imagine Léo similarly to Emily’s hot neighbour, Gabriel.

One bookish thing that I love just as much as a wonderful love interest, is a past love interest that I can hate. Rather than being a flat-out scumbag, Si is instead the type of man that you meet a lot in life: they take on tasks for you, which starts off as thoughtfulness, and ‘oh isn’t he so different to the men I’ve dated before’, then slowly it becomes smothering and you wake up one day and decide you can’t spend another minute with this person. Léo woke Hannah up to the possibilities of open and equal love, but it took Simon being an asshat for her to realise that the only thing holding her back was him.

God, I LOVED this book. It’s so dark, so early at the moment and I not only miss the summertime, but carefree days where we didn’t even know how much 2 metres was. This book was a brilliant antidote, and I am so happy to have found it when I did. Romantic, the ultimate in escapism and inspiring hope for the upcoming year.

Nice easy read. Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC.

The sinopsis of this book immediately caught my attention.
This story is like to read a Sunday TV film. Easy, simple.

For moments I did not like how repetitive Hannah was and how slow the story started, sometimes I felt like was a tourist guide around Paris and no much thing happening.
The end was quite a rush resolving all really fast.

Overall Uncoupling is easy and simple read for a Sunday afternoon with a cuppa.

This book was an absolute joy. I read it over Christmas Eve and Christmas Day and it was just a lovely, romantic, light read.

Hannah gets separated from boyfriend Si on a train on their way to his sister's wedding in Amsterdam, when she changes carriages for a nap and the train splits in two. She ends up spending the day in Paris with a total stranger from the train who shows her around, whilst looking back over her relationship with Si. Would highly recommend for a light, romantic read.

A lovely debut which made me feel as though I was in Paris!
I whizzed through the book and was pleasantly surprised at Hannah & Simon's fate not succumbing to the chick-lit ending I was expecting, but still romantic and loved the 7 months later at the end! Hannah was not my favourite character, but I felt she was real and well-developed.

A delightful rom-com which seems to be written almost in real-time, or at least, over the course of a day.
From boarding the train, where the story begins, the internal life of the MC and her surroundings are vividly drawn; providing some much needed vicarious travel! Though I found myself longing to be in Paris through the detailed description of architecture, food and even clothes, I really enjoyed Hannah's story. It sits centrally in it's genre with bubbling romance, funny moments and a satisfying denouement. Highly recommended for fans of rom-coms and Paris!

As one who has a lasting fear of getting on the wrong end of a separating train (don't ask) this spoke to me from the start. A really gorgeous read that made me hungry (need flaky pastry now) and made me yearn to return to Paris and see it in a whole new light. A terrific read.

Uncoupling

Hannah wakes up in Paris. Si wakes up in Amsterdam after their overnight train uncouples. The train uncoupling signifies the beginning of the end of Hannah and Si and the romantic start of Hannah and Leo.

Hannah; unconfident, afraid to be her own true person is transformed when she meets Leo who encourages her to believe in herself again and take lead of her own life.

Leo and Hannah spend a whirlwind day out in Paris together which makes them both want to lead their true authentic lives.

Uncoupling is an enjoyable easy read. It takes the reader to the very streets of Paris. I felt like I was travelling reading this novel.

Thank you to Orion and Netgalley for an early review copy of this book in return for an honest review.

I loved this book! It read like a love story to Paris, Hannah's day in the city was so well described, I enjoyed the fact that the main story only covered the period of one day.

As for Hannah I could relate to her a lot and she was a likeable main character.

A 5 star read for me and I'll look out for what the author writes next.

Could one split second change her life forever?

This is a gorgeous romance. I really laughed at the train splitting into two different destinations. I often panic about this when travelling and ask the staff, the passengers and then anyone on social media if I'm in the right carriage. Never quite believing I'm safe until the actual split. Such a great premise for a book.

Adored all the sightseeing and travelling around Paris it really make me feel I was there once again and I loved how Hannah and Leo's relationship developed over the day but I couldn't help worry how this might affect poor Si.

The writing brings the characters to life and they feel realistic and flawed. I also really enjoyed all their backstories which helped me understand their behaviour and choices.

Talking about choices I couldn't stop until I knew what Hannah would do. With a couple of twists along the way you'll need to read it to find out but I found it very satisfying and romantic.

If you enjoy your RomCom with some depth - you will enjoy this.

Oh, I absolutely LOVED this book. I read it in two sittings because I fell right into the story and the characters.

Uncoupling is the story of Hannah who finds herself unexpectedly in Paris whilst travelling to her boyfriend's sister's wedding. There she meets the swoon-worthy Léo and goes on a whistle-stop adventure around the city whilst waiting for her train.

I loved Hannah, she was the perfect heroine because she wasn't overdone or daft. She felt so real. And Léo was very easy to fall for. Their story, and Hannah's own story, was told expertly. So easy to get wrapped up in the beautiful writing and living vicariously through their travels.

Highly recommended.

Thanks to Netgalley and Orion for the chance to read and review.

2.5 stars. This book is hard to review for me because the beginning was so slow that I relied on sheer will to finish it, but I will say that it was worth it. The writing is not too bad, though I find it annoying that the author has the tendency to repeat phrases within one scene, which is kind of weird given that the characters could just get to the point. I liked the way she incorporated flashbacks into Hannah’s thoughts, but also I’m sick of first person POVs so it was slightly tiring. However, I did like the fact that the main point of the story is Hannah’s growth as a person, rather than some romantic takeaway. Surprisingly, the romance was developed pretty well for two people that have known each other for a day. That partially explains the repetitive descriptions of the places of interest in Paris since the middle of this book reads like a travel brochure. I do feel that Lorraine Brown handled Hannah’s and Léo’s backstories well, and that it wasn’t over-the-top or anything. The ending seemed convenient but satisfying, and I’m not one to dig out plot holes so no complaints. I liked Léo the most, since he was calm and talked a lot of sense, saying many quote-worthy lines. I also found the side characters pretty intriguing, given their responses to certain situations. Overall, this book would be suitable for people into slow-burn, I just wasn’t feeling it. The romance is good though, once it starts.

3.5 stars

Not my normal read and does include a couple of the tropes I dislike; a catalog of disasters and never getting to your destination, reminds me too much of feverish dreams! Hannah suspects that Simon, her fiancee isn't being honest with her and she wonders if he's having an affair with another bridesmaid. They get on a train to Amsterdam from Venice and during the night Hannah moves carraiges to get a better rest. She does eventually get to sleep although Leo, a fellow passenger is playing his music loud. Unbeknown to her the train splits and she and Leo head for Paris, Simon for Amsterdam. As I said jeopardy is not my favourite, neither is a travelogue of all Paris's tourist spots but Hannah used the few days to mature and have a more independant and nuianced look at her relationship. I liked how the author didn't use the obvious errors for Hannah and Simon's break up and I was pleased that Hannah did her photography course. I must confess I scan read a few sections.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I was really looking forward to starting this book. The blurb hooked me in, so I was happy to be approved for an arc.

I liked the authors writing style; the story flowed well and characters well written. The story didn’t completely grab me, but it was an enjoyable read!

3.5 ⭐️

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for my advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review 📚

A delightful romantic drama/comedy that will please all lovers of the genre! The characters were fun and the storyline flowed seamlessly. Highly recommended!

I adored Uncoupling, It actually moved me to tears at the end and shouting out loud at the characters.. Such a fantastic debut, I felt as though I was in Paris,

Really enjoyed this. Lighthearted but with enough backstory to make the feelings of the main characters understandable. The setting is lovely with Leo bringing Hannah on a whirlwind tour of Paris before getting back in time for her train. Their connection is sweet but subtle and even though they have only known each other for less than a day, you believe in them.

Uncoupling is a about a couple that are travelling from Italy to Amsterdam to get to a wedding and getting accidentally split up. Hannah ends up stranded in Paris for the day and spends the day with Leo, who is also trying to get to Amsterdam. Whilst I found the book an enjoyable read, Hannah for most of the book was a really unlikeable character. Whilst I was pleased that Hannah eventually sorted her life out and reunited with Leo, the journey there felt somewhat frustrating. I’m glad I read the book but would probably not go out of my way to recommend this read.