About the Book
In this witty and heartfelt debut love story for fans of Josie Silver’s One Day in December, a woman stranded in Paris for the day discovers that the wrong road can sometimes lead us in the right direction.
When Hannah and her boyfriend, Simon, set out to Amsterdam, they’re confident that they’ll make it to his sister’s wedding in time. However, unbeknownst to them, their train is scheduled to divide in the middle of the night. And when it does, half of it continues the route to Amsterdam. And the other half—the one with Hannah in it—heads three hundred miles away, to Paris.
Left without her belongings or hope of reuniting with Simon, Hannah has no choice but to spend the day in Paris before the next train out. Worse than being stranded in a foreign city alone? Being stuck with Léo, the handsome but infuriating Frenchman who blames Hannah for his own unwanted delay. The series of mishaps that sends them traipsing through the City of Light is only further proof that Hannah’s day has gone from bad to worse. But as she takes in the glorious sights of the city—and spends more time with Léo—Hannah discovers that the unexpected detour might actually be leading her to the life she was always meant to live . . .
My Review
What a charming novel! This is Lorraine Brown’s debut and if you are looking to escape to Paris, pick this one up. I enjoyed so many elements of this story. The separation of Hannah and her boyfriend Simon seemed a little out there but in a good way, the meet-cute between Hannah and Leo had a great push-pull dynamic, and getting a guided and beautifully descripted tour of Paris was fantastic. One aspect I really enjoyed was Hannah’s personal growth by the end of the novel. I hate giving away spoilers, but sometimes in rom coms it seems the end goal is to have two characters fall in love happily with one another and that’s it. I really appreciated the modern and fresh take Hannah gives readers that being with someone is not the end game, and it’s about doing things for yourself and taking care of you first. I thought there was a wonderful message in this novel and if you want to go for an adventure, be sure to add this to your spring reading list.
5 stars
