“Meet Me in Paris” by Kristin Harmel is a change from her usual historical fiction novels. This story is more of a romance/rediscovering oneself novel, set in the beautiful city of Paris, France. There are quite a few different love stories that intertwine throughout the book. Each story has special qualities that touch the heart, and the characters were appealing. This novel is a great summer read – not too heavy, but still filled with emotion, love and hope.
23-year-old Piper Glover is experiencing Paris for the first time with her mother, Julia, who has cancer and wants to make special memories while it’s still possible. (Julia had spent time in Paris during her youth, and can’t wait to share the city with her daughter.) Other characters whose stories overlap with the pair are Jackson Quick – aging rock star; George and Lou – longtime war friends; Henry – an elderly songwriter and his granddaughter, Melanie; Celeste – an elderly dementia patient who was Henry’s true love; Kayla – Celeste’s nurse and Russ – the co-owner of a Parisian bar where many of the characters meet. Some of these characters discover love, some choose to leave bad situations and some of them find their true selves.
“Meet Me in Paris” was a nice, light romance novel to read. It did have a lot of characters, but after a few chapters, I had no trouble keeping track of the storylines. This book might be a little predictable, but I liked the different romances that made up the plot. Each was unique and the book was very uplifting and was a great escape to the love that was found in Paris.