Published: 9th February 2017
Source: Netgalley
Genre: Romance, Contemporary, Short Stories
My Rating:
From the #1 "New York Times" bestselling author of "Me Before You" and "After You," a sensational collection featuring the title novella and eight other stories. Quintessential Jojo Moyes, "Paris for One and Other Stories" is an irresistibly romantic collection filled with humor and heart.
Nell is twenty-six and has never been to Paris. She's never even been on a romantic weekend away to anywhere before. Everyone knows travelling abroad isn't really her thing. But when Nell's boyfriend fails to show up for their romantic mini-vacation, she has the opportunity to prove everyone including herself wrong. Alone and in Paris, Nell uncovers 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 vintage Moyes as are the other stories that round out the collection."
Paris for One
Between the Tweets
Love in the Afternoon
A Bird in the Hand
Crocodile Shoes
Holdups
Last Year's Coat
Thirteen Days with John C.
The Christmas List
This is a book I knew little about. I simply requested on Netgalley after seeing the name of Jojo Moyes because she is an author I want to read more of. I saw they were short stories and thought that would be a great way to get a feel for some more of her writing as I simply knew her for writing Me Before You. I’m glad I requested it as I can see Jojo Moyes is an author I should explore a bit more. She writes books about people and I want to see what she would do with a different story. I will be watching out for her at my local library.
I will begin with the fact that this book is mainly made up of short stories which appeared in magazines so the majority are quite short and thus rather unsatisfying. They have the potential to develop into a lot more but they themselves are simply snippets of characters and situations which I found interesting but they didn’t satisfy my appetite for a good story. I kept waiting for more and they ended instead. There were only two stories which truly stayed in my mind and they were the longest ones. It goes to show Jojo Moyes’s writing skills are evident when she had a little bit more room to develop characters and story. When she’s writing small pieces you get a taste without ever feeling invested. Basically, I’ll only really be talking about Paris for One and Honeymoon in Paris. They were both stories I loved and they both made me want to go to Paris.
Paris for One was amazing. It was sort of like a version of Just One Day for grown ups. I think it’s the falling in love with a stranger in Paris that gave me the vibe. And the limited number of days together influencing somebody to change the way the act. Those things definitely gave me a strong urge to reread the Just One Day books a whole lot. Anyway, the story itself was fantastic, I could relate to Nell’s nervousness and unwillingness to try new things which makes her exploration of Paris all the cooler. And when she starts hanging out with a heartbroken Frenchman she gets over her anger at having a suckass boyfriend and learns to live her life for herself. It was sweet and awesome and will make you want to go to Paris. Like… a lot.
Then there was Honeymoon in Paris which was also great. I don’t want to say that the Paris setting worked for me in the two stories and made me love them but it did. I think I liked it because it wasn’t just the story of one couple and their honeymoon but two linked through time via one painting. It was just great seeing the relationship between these two couples and the way in which they push each other through their misunderstandings and the reasons for them falling in love marrying. It was truly awesome and a really good story and was smart seeing the connection.
So, if you feel like reading an interesting collection of short stories, sure go ahead, but to be honest, there are only two stories which will truly hooked you (at least that’s the case for me). I can’t recommend it to you but I won’t discourage you either. I enjoyed it and considering last time I checked it was £6.49 on Amazon I would recommend giving it a go but be aware you may only love two of the stories… but they are two really good short stories.
What are your thoughts on short story collections? And what is your favourite Jojo Moyes book?
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