4 stars.

When I saw that Victoria Walters' upcoming book was available as an ARC, I grabbed it right away. I've read her books before and really liked them. So I gathered my Kindle, a handful of chocolates, and settled into my armchair to read

A betrayed writer, Tessa, travels to Paris to be by herself, but due to confusion, she bumps into her ex-boyfriend's best friend, Ethan, at an Airbnb.

They end up spending time together in Paris, and Tessa's heart, which has been betrayed by love, is slowly starting to heal. She meets new people, eats wonderful food, and enjoys life. She also gets to know Ethan, who is not dark, tall, and handsome. Instead, Ethan is something better - kind, thoughtful, and sweet. Could someone so different be what Tessa really needs?

I really enjoyed the first half of the book. But in the second half, Tessa's irrational actions annoyed me so much! I wanted to jump to the part where she acted rationally again. (And I hated Joe. He was an insufferable cheating, manipulative, lying asshole.)

Although this wasn't my biggest favorite, I enjoyed the book and will continue to read Victoria Walters' books.

WHAT TO EXPECT:

Pov: heroine, 1st person
Heat: open doors
Pacing: slowburn
Communication: mostly healthy communication, but a bit of miscommunication too
Ending: HEA

Main characters:
* He's a chef, she's an author
* Ex's best friend
* Strangers to friends to lovers

What?
* Forbidden love
* Forced proximity
* Found family
* One bed

Where?
* Paris

Drama?
* Difficult past
* A bit of a love triangle

Other vibes:
* Book about books

Thank you to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for this ARC.

Tessa is a romance author who has writer's block after being cheated on by her ex Joe. They were due to go to Paris on a short vacation in February so now she is going on her own, after a bit of pushing and shoving from best friend Carly.

However, the apartment with a gorgeous view onto the Eiffel Tower is not empty - Joe's best friend Ethan has been given the use by him without Joe thinking of informing Tessa. As the whole of Paris seems to be booked out solid, the two of them try to share the impossibly pretty but bijou one-bed property. Ethan is doing a cookery course and showing Tessa around Paris, who slowly starts getting inspired to write again.

I was really enjoying the book, I liked the characters, the scenery and the story, they were watching Ratatouille together and it was cute and then, two thirds in, Tessa does something so ludicrously stupid that the book went from 4 to 3 stars right there and then. My most hated trope came into play - miscommunication and misunderstandings. It's like drama has to be artificially created just in case there isn't enough plot.

I don't mind a romantic story being predictable but I've had enough of grown-up characters who have no self-confidence and don't think they're good enough for anyone. It's ridiculous. Also, Joe is a coercive controller and gaslighter and needs to be called out for that.

I'm sure a lot of readers will love this and also enjoy the spice, but it wasn't for me in the end, which is a shame because it started so well. However, I did like the cover which captured the setting well.

After Tessa finds out her boyfriend Joe is cheating on her, she's reluctant to take the Paris vacation they booked. Especially since as a romance writer, she's been struggling with writer's block. But when she arrives in Paris to find his friend Ethan is sharing their apartment, she has to decide whether to trust in love again.

I really enjoyed that this book was very specifically British, with characters who not an American caricature of Brits (even if Ethan does love cricket!). I also really enjoyed the balance of Tessa's two best friends - Carly, the childhood best friend who is half of a devoted couple and settled, and Juliette, the French free spirit. I enjoyed that both characters were really there for Tessa in different, complementary ways. I also felt like Carly really gave us a glimpse into Tessa as a supportive friend, which was important when we didn't have a lot of information about who she was and what made her tick - except that she was from the North of England.

I do wish this book had explicitly named Joe's behaviours towards Tessa as emotional abuse. Controlling someone, telling them what to wear and how to behave is abusive, and I hope other people reading the book know that there are resources and supports for these behaviours - and that they can find their own happy endings.

3.75/5 rounded up

This was so cute!

Sometimes when you break up with your turd boyfriend that you planned a Paris vacation with you just need to go on that vacation alone (except sometimes said turd boyfriend's best friend shows up and you need to share that little Paris vacation with him while you try to find the motivation to write your book while also falling in love)...ya know...

Nobody pay attention to absolute lack of grammar in that sentence, I did that for the vibes. THE VIBES.

This was super cute and such a breeze, although there were some side characters that I really did not care about at all (especially Carly, sorry to Carly).

And I did think it was quite funny that the main characters were watching Emily in Paris together whilst in Paris. That was a very fun little touch.

Victoria Walters, I now want to read more from you.

Thanks to NetGalley for the e-ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review! My Goodreads review is up and my TikTok (Zoe_Lipman) review will be up at the end of the month with my monthly reading wrap-up.