The Paris Effect

By: K. S. R. Burns

Narrated by: Ann Marie Lee

When Amy loses her best friend, Kat, to cancer, she knows their dream of a secret trip to Paris will never come true. Yet Kat's words haunt her, urging her to embark on the Paris trip alone and shed the dissatisfaction of her life in Phoenix.

Little by little, Amy, grappling with a failing marriage and struggling with painful childhood memories, lets herself be swayed. Guided by Kat's bold voice, Amy sneaks off to Paris while her husband is away on a business trip. Once there, however, she finds that her problems have come right along with her.

Through her adventures, laced with luscious descriptions of food and Paris, Amy learns that often in life, love, and friendship, nothing is exactly as it seems. Will Amy choose the life she's discovered in Paris or decide to revive the one she left behind?

©2016 K. S. R. Burns (P)2017 Tantor

Not a strong female character

The lead character is the whiniest, most incapable, codependent and loathsome. I wanted to shake her and smack some sense into her. Way too self indulgent for an almost 30 year old educated woman.

Paris

A good story about a young woman trying to find herself. Interesting characters. Her escape to Paris reveals to her that her marriage is a failure.

wimpy girl

the narrator was very wimpy and wishy washy and annoying. the plot was weird with strange twists that didn't work

Narration of the book made it less identifiable.

I didn’t love the story but I’m a sucker for empowerment and learning about oneself which I thought Amy did. It was the narrator. I kept having to remind myself that the main character was young and in current times. The narrator’s voice was too old sounding for Amy. It was very distracting and made Amy’s weakness even more annoying.

Really unusual

When we think of Paris, we think of romance, beauty, and wonderful surprises.

This book is like that only upside down. An impulsive trip to Paris shows how the fantasy of Paris is just that. There are stolen purses, unsavory characters lurking around the tourist jaunts. There are odd expats. There is an unfeeling husband. So many surprises the main character’s life is changed forever.

The book is real.