Recent Reads

The last two books I read happened to have a lot in common. For starters both were based in France. The first, in Paris and the second in Cannes and Monaco. They also had fictional main characters whose lives were intertwined by real historical figures. Hemingway, Proust, Grace Kelly.. the list goes on. And I loved both of them.

The Paris Hours by Alex George

Synopsis - Paris between the wars teems with artists, writers, and musicians, a glittering crucible of genius. But amidst the dazzling creativity of the city’s most famous citizens, four regular people are each searching for something they’ve lost.Camille was the maid of Marcel Proust, and she has a secret: when she was asked to burn her employer’s notebooks, she saved one for herself. Now she is desperate to find it before her betrayal is revealed. Souren, an Armenian refugee, performs puppet shows for children that are nothing like the fairy tales they expect. Lovesick artist Guillaume is down on his luck and running from a debt he cannot repay—but when Gertrude Stein walks into his studio, he wonders if this is the day everything could change. And Jean-Paul is a journalist who tells other people’s stories, because his own is too painful to tell. When the quartet’s paths finally cross in an unforgettable climax, each discovers if they will find what they are looking for.
Told over the course of a single day in 1927, The Paris Hours takes four ordinary people whose stories, told together, are as extraordinary as the glorious city they inhabit.

Thoughts - I immensely enjoyed this book. It reminded me a bit of a book I read a few years ago called Hunting and Gathering also set in Paris. The book takes place in one day, none of the characters really interact with one another, it was very six degrees of separation. Famous icons filled this book.. many I had to Google.. Each character on their own journey.. with no promise of a happy ending. I'd highly recommend it.

Meet Me in Monaco by Hazel Gaynor and Heather Webb

Synopsis - Set in the 1950s against the backdrop of Grace Kelly’s whirlwind romance and glamorous wedding to Prince Rainier of Monaco. Movie stars and paparazzi flock to Cannes for the glamorous film festival, but Grace Kelly, the biggest star of all, wants only to escape from the flash-bulbs. When struggling perfumer Sophie Duval shelters Miss Kelly in her boutique, fending off a persistent British press photographer, James Henderson, a bond is forged between the two women and sets in motion a chain of events that stretches across thirty years of friendship, love, and tragedy.
James Henderson cannot forget his brief encounter with Sophie Duval. Despite his guilt at being away from his daughter, he takes an assignment to cover the wedding of the century, sailing with Grace Kelly’s wedding party on the SS Constitution from New York. In Monaco, as wedding fever soars and passions and tempers escalate, James and Sophie—like Princess Grace—must ultimately decide what they are prepared to give up for love.

Thoughts -  This was a lot lighter than The Paris Hours.. a great vacation/beach read. I had heard of Grace Kelley but didn't really know much about her until I read the book and went down the wikipedia worm hole. But while the story revolves around Ms. Kelly and her marriage the main characters are Sophie the perfumer trying to make it on her own and James the paparazzi looking for something less soul crushing to do. I felt invested in them, rooting for them to succeed. I'd highly recommend this one as well.. 

       

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