Book Review #29: Paris for One and Other Stories by Jojo Moyes

Hello Dear Reader!

I never thought I would ever come to a point where I’d be able to provide book reviews almost every week rather than every other week, but here I am, and I am here with yet another collection of stories for you! While this isn’t purely a collection of short stories like last week’s book review on Maya Walker’s debut novella, if you’re someone who’s into real-world romances, then Paris for One and Other Stories by Jojo Moyes is for you!

But before I get into that, here is the back-cover summary (from Amazon):

Nell is twenty-six and has never been to Paris. She's never even been on a romantic weekend away—to anywhere—before. Traveling abroad isn't really her thing. But when Nell's boyfriend fails to show up for their mini-vacation, she has the opportunity to prove everyone—including herself—wrong.  Alone in Paris, Nell finds a version of herself she never knew existed: independent and intrepid. Could this turn out to be the most adventurous weekend of her life?

Funny, charming, and irresistible, "Paris for One" is quintessential Jojo Moyes—as are the other stories that round out the collection.

That’s the end of this synopsis. Now, let’s get into the review!

The main story of this book, Paris for One is a super charming read that surrounds main female protagonist Nell and main male protagonist Fabien, who happens to be a writer, so that gave him major brownie points in my book. In a single word, Nell is kinda plain, and it hurts to say that because I saw a lot of myself in her. She hates taking risks, spontaneity scares her, and any spontaneous urges are killed by her. She loves weighing out the pros and the cons of a decision before making one, and her mind leans more towards pessimistic. On the other side of things, Fabien got dumped, and he’s still getting over his heartbreak when he’s introduced. And, you can only imagine what happens when he runs into Nell.

Paris for One is definitely one of those more subtly clichéd romances, but it’s done really well! Two people meet and fall in love with each other in Paris! While it sounds basic, the drama and character development that’s woven into it is super refreshing and pretty adorable. Nell’s also got one of the most supportive group of girl friends I’ve ever seen in real life and in a book. Not to mention both the characters’ personalities mesh with each other pretty well, and both come out as changed people by the end of the story.

Also, there’s a lack of a sauna in this book. The steam is only mentioned, and I highly appreciate that.

The stories following Paris for One are all very different from each other despite also falling under the category of romance in one way or another. They feature scandals, an affair, a married couple having a bit of a falling out, a woman whose in-laws basically hate her, and a mother and wife who does her best to stay strong throughout tough financial times. While the premises of these short stories are all very different and don’t really sound cohesive, they bring their own perspective to the genre of romance, and it just provides refreshing read after refreshing read. It instills the thought of, “What’s next?” and made it really easy for me personally to keep reading. I had trouble putting the book down at times, and that hasn’t happened in a while.   

There really isn’t anything I can personally criticize about this book, so I think it really all comes down to what your preference is in terms of romance stories. Some were more romantic than others, and some were definitely quirkier than others. So, if you don’t like a bit of variety and like a bit more cohesion in your usual story collections, this might not be for you, but I still highly recommend it, because the main story that is featured at the very beginning of this book is amazing!

So, Paris for One and other Stories rating:

10/10 and highly recommend! I’m definitely going to keep an eye out for any Jojo Moyes books in the future, because reading these romances, especially Paris for One has really made me appreciate the romance genre a lot more. If you like a collection of romance stories that keep you guessing, look no further, because this book is for you! looking forward to that sequel. Overall, I really enjoyed this book, especially the characters.

That’s all for this book review, dear reader! I hope you enjoyed, and thanks for reading!