Moonlight Over Paris: A Novel

A year ago I had no idea who Jennifer Robson was. Now I am an avid fan! Moonlight over Paris is written a beautifully as all her other novels. I recently purchased her latest which is set in Italy, and it is a gripping read. With a Jennifer Robson novel, you are captivated, captured, and enraptured through her word pictures and emotions into new worlds where you learn about historical events and places, as well as live vicariously through the eyes of her heroes and heroines.

I found myself feeling a bit flat on this title. It’s an entertaining story and the characters are sympathetic to a degree. Yet, I found myself bored more than once and glad when the final page had been turned. This is one of those titles that are fun while you read it but that you quickly forget as the next book looms on the horizon. The author takes her time when setting her story. 1920’s France with its hopping night life scene, artsy angst, and creative juices definitely breathes in this book. A world trying to rejuvenate after a devastating war comes across in spades. The author’s research and time in getting her details right is evident. The characters, including the leads Helena and Howard, are very human and three-dimensional. They all have their quirks and foibles, avoiding stereotypes which are refreshing. I liked how Helena was strong enough of a personality to stand up to her parents when departing from their planned journey for her life. She wants to pursue her art and so does. Yet, I found her to be without fire. Beyond standing up for her choice of life, I found her to be pretty apathetic. Her constant bemoaning on how here art skills aren’t that great or how her teacher isn’t paying attention to her go tiring quickly. Unfortunately, Howard didn’t save this part of the story either. He’s great when he gets page time, but that isn’t that often. It seems like for half the story, he isn’t even there at all. While the main focus of the book is really Helena’s growth as a person and an artist, a book that touts itself as a “romance” certainly lacked a bit in that department with its hero absent many times. Overall, this book was OK but ultimately forgettable. I enjoyed the story and characters during the tale, but I had no problem going onto the next book afterwards. The writer has written more engrossing works than this; don’t start with this tale if you haven’t read her before. But still, an pleasurable read and diversion from hectic daily life.

December 1923. Lady Helena Montagu-Douglas-Parr is near death in her London home. Doctors have told her parents to start planning for the worse. I believe that her illness was scarlet fever, but that didn’t come out until about halfway through the story. Robson would have readers believe that her broken engagement has caused her illness. She feels the shame and shun or her relatives, friends, and strangers. Her five-year engagement to Edward is over. The Great War changed him, but it wasn’t her who broke off the relationship; it was Edward. Now Helena is 28, and her prospects are few. A letter arrives from her bohemian, free-spirited Aunt Agnes in Paris. She invites Helena to come and visit her. Helena quickly agrees, despite her parents’ concerns. Helena has always been drawn to art and enrolls in an art school under the tutelage of Maitre Czerny. She drops her title and simply becomes Helena Parr. Although Robson is an excellent writer and researcher, the story becomes predictable. She does her best at art but is never noticed by Czerny. She becomes fast friends with three of her classmates and, together, they rent a studio. She meets a handsome American, Sam Howard, to whom she is attracted. They hit it off and are smitten with each other, yet… There are a lot of wonderful details in the work. I enjoyed watching Helena become an artist and gain self-confidence that he broken engagement destroyed. Although it’s predictable, Moonlight Over Paris has strong characters and character development. Since I didn’t expect anything different, I really enjoyed this read.

Robson has written some great novels, unfortunately this is not one.....sorry

For those who enjoyed Downton Abbey, purchase this immeadiatly. A great novel & it will be read again. This author has written 9 other novels based on different subjects. Try those also.