Note to self: don’t sleep with your flatmate after a curry and three bottles of wine… especially if he’s secretly in love with you and wants you to meet his mum.
Cat Parsons is on the run. She doesn’t do relationships. After ten years of singlehood even the hint of the ‘L’ word is enough to get Cat packing her bags and booking herself onto a two-week holiday.
A European bus tour feels like a stroke of genius to dodge awkward conversations at home. But little does Cat realise that the first stop will be Paris, the city of love itself.
Joined by new friends, Cat has got two weeks, eight countries and a hell of a lot of wine ahead of her. As they discover hidden treasures and the camaraderie of life on the road, will Cat find a new way of looking at love? (Synopsis courtesy of Goodreads)
I think one of the best aspects to That Night in Paris is the hodgepodge group of characters that suddenly find themselves spending a two-week trip together, people who might not ordinarily seek out one another in the vein of friendship. It made the experience all the more interesting and fun for not only Cat, but for the reader, too. It is a whirlwind adventure, with quick stops and trips through some of the most pivotal sights in the world- and I felt like I was right there with Cat through all of it.
She’s not the only one who is on the run from something. It appears that nearly every character who is on this fly by the seat of their pants adventure has used it as a means of escape. That added a nice layer of depth, because it is something we can all identify with and while most of us won’t ever have the opportunity to tornado ourselves away to places like Paris, we can live vicariously through Cat and the group. While they are all so vastly different in personalities, in where they come from, and how they live their lives, they all have that commonality between them, making their bond all the more feasible.
Of course, it helps to have a love interest thrown into the mix for good measure. Cat finds herself catapulted back in time, not at all expected. I appreciated the backstory given, and I also appreciated the backstory given where a former long-term relationship is concerned, because it is what bleeds into why she “doesn’t do relationships”, and why it’s hard for her to trust in it, even when it’s someone she once considered to be of importance to her. It made me question what would happen for her and her love life in the not-so-distant future.
While I appreciated the information given in terms of Cat’s failed relationship, I felt it was hard to follow at times because of the back and forth of time frames, from past to present. It could feel jarring. But the beauty of the tour, the bonds of new-found friendships and the excitement of letting it all go and seeking out adventure far outweighed it, lending into an enjoyable experience for me.
Thanks to Rachel's Random Resources for the book in exchange for an honest review. Visit the other stops on the blog tour.
I’m a writer and traveler with a lengthy bucket list and cheeky sense of humour, and many of my travel adventures have found their way into my books. I’m also an avid reader, a film buff, a wine lover, and a coffee snob, though my writing is mostly fuelled by copious mugs of strong, milky tea (no sugar).
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