5 July 2010

Book Review: I Heart Paris by Lindsey Kelk

Angela Clark is back again, and this time she's off to the city of love... Paris! Angela and her boyfriend Alex are quite happy trundling along in their relationship, but when Alex is told that his band has to go to Paris to promote themselves and their album, he wants Angela to come along too. She mentions it to her boss at TheLook.com where she blogs, and they quickly hook her up with a column in prestigious fashion magazine Belle to write a feature on Paris, and the trendiest parts.

Angela's somewhat worried, and it's not helped by the fact things seem to go wrong right from the off for her when she lands in Paris,  on a separate plane to Alex as well. As she struggles around the city with her guide sent to her by the French edition of Belle, Angela starts to find out more about Alex's past that she really didn't want to know, and even starts to doubt where she actually wants to be. Yes, she might "heart" Paris, but is Angela's own heart really where it wants to be?

This is our third outing with Angela Clark, the character who first popped up in last year's summer blockbuster read 'I Heart New York'. That book was a huge success, and Harper have been quick to put out the second, I Heart Hollywood, at the start of this year, swiftly followed by this summer's release, I Heart Paris. Strike while the iron's hot, hey?! I loved Kelk's first book, and while I enjoyed the second, it didn't quite live up to my hopes so I thought maybe this one would get the series back on track for me. The cover is gorgeous and certainly is a book I'd pick up off the shelves, and I fully expect this one will be a hit as readers will want to find out what's happening with Angela and Alex this time around!


What I like about reading a series is that you don't really have to start to get to know a new character because you've met them before and know them (so to speak) and I always find it helps me get into a book much quicker. With this book, I slipped straight back into the life of Angela in New York, and I was pleased to be back with these characters again! Angela was the same as ever, back to how she was in IHNY (I Heart New York) and I found this book much better to get into that IHH (I Heart Hollywood - I will abbreviate it from now on lol!). As usual, Kelk sets a small part of the beginning of the book in New York to set up the story for moving the book over to another place, and I really liked the starting few chapters.

The scenes in Paris were really well done, and I could definitely imagine the places in my mind as I was reading them. I wonder if Kelk actually went to Paris to research this book, because she describes lot of things very well, I couldn't tell you how accurate they are as I only went to Paris a few times when I was younger and can't remember much. I enjoyed how she describes the Parisian clubs, shops and of course the major attractions such as the Eiffel Tower and Arc de Triomphe which appear several times in the book. I loved the French character of Virginie, the girl who works for French Belle, she is a major Angela fan and this made for some quite funny scenes between the pair.

As well as Angela's struggles in Paris, we see a lot of more of hers and Alex's relationship which is good because this really took a back seat in IHH. I enjoyed how we saw a lot more of Alex because I think he is a great character, and it was nice to see a more personal side to the couple rather than just Angela's job which is really what IHH was based around. I have to say though I really missed Jenny, Angela's New York BFF, she is such a funny character that works so well with Angela, but hopefully we'll see more of her in future books. As ever with Angela, things don't go to plan during the trip and it's funny to see how Angela gets herself out of her problems, although you do wonder how much bad luck one woman can have after a while lol.

If you  have enjoyed the previous 2 books in the 'I Heart...' series, then you'll definitely enjoy this one. It's far better than its predecessor, and I think it was such an enjoyable read. I read it in a day because I couldn't put it down as I wanted to find out what was going to happen to Angela next, and what was going to happen with her and Alex by the end. It was lovely to read about things in Paris, however accurate they were, and I felt this book was a lot more grounded and believable that the last one, and therefore I did enjoy it a lot more. The gorgeous cover will make you want to pick it up off the shelves in the summer, and make sure you do because it's a great little read! I can't wait for Angela to be back again soon... hopefully in just another 6 months or so!


Rating: 5/5

9 comments:

  1. Ooh sounds good -I have not read any of these yet.

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  2. I have read the first two books and can't wait for the 3rd one. I wonder where the author will take angela next? Somewhere in the UK would be fun. scotland or ireland perhaps? or other parts of america?

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  3. Kat - apparently it's I Heart Vegas next although there is an I Heart London planned

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  4. Fantastic review, Chloe!

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  5. OMG. Fantastic. I hope that there will be loads more I heart books. Given the extreme things that happen to Angela, I can't imagine that the possibilities could end. Read all three books. My only complaint is that they don't last long enough. Can't wait for the next, where ever she travels next.

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  6. Read I heart New York on holiday last year and I heart Paris this year! Great escapism for poolside reading. I heart London should be great - hope Chloe is right - London my all time favourite city!

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  7. thank for the review, I really enjoyed this book just as much as the first two, cant wait to see where she takes Angela and Alex to next! Australia?? more USA?? fab!

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  8. thanks for the review. I enjoyed the two other I heart books. I really hope that there will be 3,4,5 or more books of Angela's Adventure. I'm really excited where the next story takes place. I think Rome would be a good place.. :)

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  9. Thanks for the review. I think that London and Milan would be interesting places for Angela's next travels.

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