Saturday, September 17, 2016

#REVIEW "Letters from Paris, a novel" by Juliet Blackwell #NEW #Release 9-6-16!


DESCRIPTION:


From the New York Times bestselling author of The Paris Key comes the story of a mysterious work of art and the woman inspired to uncover its history in the City of Light.


After surviving the accident that took her mother’s life, Claire Broussard worked hard to escape her small Louisiana hometown. But these days she feels something lacking. Abruptly leaving her lucrative job in Chicago, Claire returns home to care for her ailing grandmother. There, she unearths a beautiful sculpture that her great-grandfather sent home from Paris after World War II.


At her grandmother’s urging, Claire travels to Paris to track down the centuries old mask-making atelier where the sculpture, known only as “L’inconnue”—or the Unknown Woman—was created. With the help of a passionate sculptor, Claire discovers a cache of letters that offer insight into the life of the Belle Epoque woman immortalized in the work of art.


As Claire uncovers the unknown woman’s tragic fate, she begins to discover secrets—and a new love—of her own.


Letters from Paris was an exceptional book. It made you want to be in Paris. It made you want to see all the things Claire saw there


MY TAKE:
3.5 Stars
This book is written by Juliet Blackwell, and many of you may remember her other books she wrote about Paris, the City of Lights, called The Paris Key, which I happen to have for review as well! Here is what 'this' book is about:
While in Paris during WWII, the City of Lights, Claire’s grandfather finds this beautiful sculpture of “L’inconnue”, the Unknown Woman, also known as a death mask. Claire’s curiosity gets the best of her, and she finds herself traveling back to Paris, especially with the encouragement of her own Grandmother, to learn all she can about this sculpture. Claire wants to know more, learn more, find out as much as she can about the so-called ‘death mask’, almost to obsession.
This got my own curiosity up, wondering just what could this ‘death mask’ look like? I looked it up, but I have never seen anything like it, nor have I heard anything like this. This is definitely a first for myself, and may be for a lot of you who are interested in reading this book. It is VERY interesting!!
While in Paris, Claire learns a LOT about this sculpture, so much more than she ever could have had she not gone there for herself and in person. It was a trip that was very successful and a trip Claire is so happy her grandmother was so encouraging of her to go on.
One of the really neat things about this book is we get to be with Claire when she finds things about the sculpture, meets people who knows about this it, and we get to celebrate with her as she finds what she has been seeking.
There is almost an eerie element to what Claire finds along the way, such as how much her life is a little similar to the woman in the death mask. It was when Claire was handed a pile of letters in which she is highly encouraged to read and learn about this woman in the death mask that we are so happy for her. We have a mystery/love story here all wrapped into one as we learn about in these letters as they are read, one by one.
Claire loves what she learns about this woman, but also learns a lot about life, family, and the most important things about it all. Most importantly, Claire learns it’s the simple things about life that are the most important, and to treasure them the most.
There is much more to this story than what I could possibly cover, so my BEST recommendation is to just read this one! A little caution, this does tend to be a very sad story at times, so be prepared for that aspect of it, but also know that eventually Claire will learn even more from these letters and maybe there is a little more light shining through at the end of the pile of letters. Be prepared to feel a huge assortment of feelings as Claire is on her journey learning more and more about the woman in the death mask.
I did enjoy this book. It was a little different to be so obsessed by a woman who posed for a death mask, I do have to admit! I have never heard of this practice until this book. Be prepared for a twist as this book nears the end! That is all I will say but to enjoy this if you decide to pick it up and read it!
I did receive this book for FREE from the Publisher, Berkley/Penguin Random House LLC and NetGalley, in exchange that I read then write a review about this book/what I read. "Free" means I was provided with ZERO MONIES to do so, but to just enjoy the sheer pleasure of reading this book and then writing an honest review about what I thought about this book, regardless if my opinion is positive or negative. I am disclosing this information in accordance with the law set here: http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html
The Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255, 16 CFR 255, Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising Federal Acquisition Regulation.

The Paris Key by Juliet Blackwell (her first book)

ebook: $11.99
print:   $  8.92

Letters from Paris by Juliet Blackwell - **this book!

ebook: $11.99
print:   $ 8.82


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