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Paris, my beautiful city, there’s just something about you that warms my heart. I don’t have to be doing anything but sitting in the Tuileries and yet I feel the pull of this place. Clearly, so do so many others, given how many have flocked there to write and paint and how many books are centered around the city. Here are my absolute favourites you must read before your next trip to get you even more ready and in the mood for Paris. Like you need the help.
Paris Hangover
I read this book before my last two trips to Paris and a dozen times in between. It’s casual and witty and tells the story of someone who was brave enough to move from New York to Paris before everyone and their Influencer dog were doing so. A love story within a love story within a love story, we are pulled into the life of someone who adores Paris, finding her love for painting and her dream man.
Buy it from Amazon and start reading here.
Blame it on Paris
This book can either make you fall in love with Paris or hate it. Although some of the complaints are a little over the top and scream American (something she makes fun of herself), Laura’s tongue-in-cheek writing is entertaining and gives you a glimpse into the world of what it’s really like to live in France. Except, maybe not so terrible and cold as she’s describing. Anything would be cold if you came from Georgia.
Buy it from Amazon and start reading here.
The Secret ways of Perfume
I didn’t think I would like this book when I started reading it, but it turned out to be a great read. Elena, an Italian from a long line of perfumery discovers Paris and her history. A tale that isn’t just about the beautiful city, but everything that can happen in it, hidden behind those tall ornate doors.
Buy it from Amazon and start reading ![""]("//ir-ca.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=luxuriously00-20&l=am2&o=15&a=1101989769")
Madamoiselle Chanel
Coco Chanel wasn’t Coco Chanel until she sang and danced in a bar first. The story of how Gabriel Chanel became Coco Chanel, one of the most powerful fashion designers in the world is heart-warming and inspiring. It all started with a song and a hat.
Buy it from Amazon and start reading ![""]("//ir-ca.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=luxuriously00-20&l=am2&o=15&a=B00L7X6YV8")
The Paris Secret
One of my favourites and a delightful read. Flora is an Art Agent, assessing an old art collection that holds more than just the appeal of painters long gone. An intense history of the paintings reveal more than she wanted to know and leads her deeper into the family’s past.
Buy it from Amazon and start reading ![""]("//ir-ca.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=luxuriously00-20&l=am2&o=15&a=1447280296")
The Paris Wife
While there is always talk of Hemingway and his writing and his ridiculous antics, there is rarely any talk of his wife. The one who came to Paris with him and changed their whole lives. It’s a bittersweet tale of Hadley, Hemingway’s wife, in a time where it wasn’t so easy to be independent and even harder to let love go.
Buy it from Amazon and start reading here.
Becoming Marie Antoinette (triology)
I absolutely loved these books. While this isn’t exactly Paris based, the tales of becoming Marie Antoinette are both heart-warming and harrowing. You watch as she leaves her family as a girl for a new country, a new world, a whole new life. You see her grow into a teenager, her role as Queen, and follow along with her downfall and the atrocities that happened as the monarch began to fall.
Buy it from Amazon and start reading here.
