I’ll See You in Paris Book Review

I’ll See You in Paris: Book Review By Arlene.

Review:

I’ll See You In Paris is a perfect, interesting, and fun summertime read for on the beach, laying by the pool or sitting on your deck chair under the umbrella…wherever you choose to pick up that one good book that will entertain and possibly educate you along the way.

It is an historical fiction novel, about a real person, the mysterious Duchess of Marlborough who turns out to be quite the unusual, quacky woman to say the least but who also lived a very interesting life and did it her way!! She will keep you laughing or wondering if this could be real all throughout the book. I think, in the end, you will get her and possibly like and understand her…

This novel has a very interesting story line based on fact, chock full of various young and not so young characters who will take you into the English countryside and eventually into Paris.

Who does not love Paris??

The dual narratives are not hard to follow throughout the book and I found them to be actually helpful as I followed the story along throughout the book. I also found the short chapters to be a real help in reading this interesting book.

“The Blue Book” on the front cover of the novel is a the core of the novel story.

So here we go…….

As you begin reading, keep in mind this book is about a real person. Historical fiction is always a great lesson.

While packing for a trip with her mother to England a young woman stumbles upon a mysterious old book that seems to hold many answers to her mother’s life. Her mother is an attorney, going to England to settle some issues that are stopping the closing on a piece of property she has inherited and wants to sell.

Therein the story begins and transports the reader into discovering , as the back cover of the book states, the rich and storied real life of Gladys Spencer-Churchill the Duchess of Marlborough.

Nearly a century after Gladys’s heyday, a young woman’s quest to understand the legendary duchess takes her from a charming hamlet in the English countryside to a dilapidated mansion kept behind barbed wire and ultimately to Paris.

In the end, she not only solves the riddle of the Duchess, but also uncovers the missing pieces in her own life. The ending of the novel holds several surprises you would not see coming.

That being said, I enjoyed reading this novel. I felt Michelle Gable created an historical fiction story line that will keep the reader engaged throughout the book until the very last pages.

The surprising plot twists toward the end of the book were surprising and, in my opinion, not expected. I felt they added to the interesting plot and contributed to the understanding of the 3 women in the story and why they made the decisions that contributed to the ending.

There is a lot going on in this novel that will keep you turning the pages and feel it was well worth your time.

This novel is a study also in the always deep and emotional relationship of mother and daughter. I feel women most always feel like, I love my mother but who is she really? What was her young life like? What drove her to make the decisions she made in her life? Do we feel we want to be like her or are we, as daughters, driven by the mystery and decide we will live our lives differently and not follow our mother’s ways? Don’t we all as daughters feel at the end of our mother’s life we would all appreciate knowing who she really was and what did she feel in her life would teach us to possibly make decisions in our life that would help us be happy and feel her love for us as we live out our own lives?

Sometimes when you are reading a dual narrative novel with multiple characters it is hard to follow. “I’ll See You In Paris” , in my opinion, is not that kind of novel. It was an enjoyable read and will keep you wanting more. Not fluff!!

I feel that an author who can keep you turning the pages until the end of the book deserves our attention. Gable concluded the story until the very last pages leaving the reader looking forward to her next book.

I liked this book very much and feel Michelle Gable did a great job in educating us about this mysterious woman. She will seem a little crazy to you …maybe a lot crazy…but in the end you will never forget who she is.

I look forward to reading another Michelle Gable novel in the near future.

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Check out our book club discussion questions for I’ll See You In Paris!