PARIS IN LOVE – Eloisa James
A Memoir
Random House (Trade Paperback)
ISBN: 978-0-8129-8190-2
April 2013
Nonfiction

Eloisa James, a bestselling author of romance novels, is also a Shakespeare scholar and educator who took a year's sabbatical and moved to Paris with her family, her Italian born husband, an educator also; a son, fifteen, and a daughter, eleven. In this slim volume, Ms. James shares her experiences in— and love of—this fascinating city. Readers will get to know Ms. James and her family and friends. It isn't often one gets such an intimate look into the life of a favorite author.

The remembrances are told mainly in brief vignettes, sometimes around central themes such as food (it's France, after all), shopping (Paris!), Christmas, and her mother-in-law's overweight Chihuahua. And how interesting it is to have American children in an Italian school in France! Readers will find Ms. James's insights and comments charming and witty, poignant and affecting…also informative. (If you or someone you know is planning a trip to Paris, you'll find valuable suggestions in the back of the book as well as a taste of what to expect.)

I highly recommend PARIS IN LOVE. It's a book you can sit and read section after section or pick up to enjoy when you have only a few moments. Either way, it will take you away from your everyday life and let you spend imagined time as a Parisian.

Jane Bowers