Monday, August 31, 2026

Book Review: "Meet Me in Paris" by Kristin Harmel

C’est magnifique!! I had a feeling when I picked up this book that it would leave me all kinds of emotional, but wow! This was sappy and beautiful and moving and just excellent.

“It’s in our nature as human beings to search for logical explanations for everything, but sometimes, all we need to do is find space in the quiet to listen to what our hearts are telling us.”

Julia has returned to Paris after nearly 30 years, bringing her daughter, Piper. Julia is dying, and wants this trip to be full of memories her daughter can cherish. Piper meets a handsome waiter and Julia surprises herself by falling for an American man, but how can she tell him she’s dying?

Jackson, a singer, had the biggest song of the 1990s. He’s in Paris to kick off a tour he hopes will revive his career, but he’s not counting on love, too. Ninety-nine-year-old Henry wrote Jackson’s big hit, inspired by his love for a French woman during WWII. He thought she died during the war, but he was wrong—so he’s returned to Paris to see if, despite her dementia, she remembers him at all.

Lou and George became friends as soldiers in Vietnam, and are in Paris for a tour for veterans. But there are secrets both have kept from one another. Shelby is on a trip with her two best friends, supposedly celebrating her divorce. However, celebrating is the last thing she wants to do, and when she meets Russ, a bar owner, she finally starts to see the woman she knows she is.

These stories, as well as a few others, unwind over several days. Kristin Harmel said she was inspired by Love Actually, so that was more than enough incentive for me! I was fully engaged in all of the stories, and just wish Lou and George’s story got as much page time. But this was such an amazing book.

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