It is Jean-Luc, seventeen years younger than her, and the son of Philippe's best friend who becomes her answer and she embarks on a sensuous and compulsive affair with him.

More than anything, we feel for Alexandra – her marriage has lost its sparkle and passion and whilst that doesn’t justify her actions we can see why this may have influenced her decision to cheat on her husband. Overall, Paris Mon Amour wasn’t for me but that is not to say that it isn’t well written. It is, I just couldn’t identify with Alexandra. Whilst I felt sympathy for her I didn’t empathise with he and for me, that fact kept me at a distance rather than feeling completely immersed in the novel. I think the only problem I had with this book was the unrealistic nature of some aspects, a married forty-something woman was betraying her husband in the worst way possible, amidst feelings of certainty that he was doing very much the same thing to her. I understand that these feelings did materialise as a cause for concern as she had seen his texts. I suppose I'd rather that she spoke to him about her justified paranoia. It wasn't the wisest decision to run into another man's arms. I know it didn't quite happen that way, but it did seem awfully convenient. In very much the same way, I felt that she wasn't thinking. Initially, she seemed to be an intelligently, mature woman so I expected her to use her head instead she allowed her libido to take over. I felt for her husband, even if he was cheating, he was a kind man that I felt that her reasons for cheating could only have been that he was cheating. But in spite of her mistakes and foolish judgment, from the start of the book to the end- she had definitely come a long way. Sometimes you come across a book that you start to read and realise that it's nothing like you had expected it to be. This book was a breath of fresh air really as it went beyond the usual women's fiction path and took us more on an emotional, very grown-up journey of an adulterous affair and the rippling effect it has on all those involved.

I was initially drawn to this by the cover and when I then read the blurb, it sounded an intriguing read that raised a lot of questions. What was the accident in Alexandra’s past? What caused Philippe to have an affair and more specifically what was it about Jean-Luc that induced such powerful attraction. Well now I know the answers, and with regards to Alexandra’s affair, I didn’t feel the lure of the all encompassing passion that I expected. I felt that rather than Alexandra and Jean-Luc being drawn into an all consuming passion they were actually escaping their own damaged pasts. Would Alexandra have been so susceptible if she hadn’t discovered that her husband was having an affair of his own, would Jean-Luc have been so attracted if Alexandra wasn’t so wrong on so many levels. For me, I feel the answer was no and I just didn’t feel the ‘passion’ which I will admit influenced my view of the affair The central storyline of infidelity was really well told. Alexandra’s extra-marital affair sizzled with passion and I think Costello accurately described what an affair would be like – the drama and the secrecy. It is what I imagine that situation to feel like. Costello managed to present this affair whilst maintaining the likeability of her protagonist.

Despite that little niggle I honestly couldn’t recommend this book enough. It is a very honest look at infidelity and how it’s effects on all the parties involved. This is a magnificent story.Disclosure: I was sent a review copy of ‘Paris Mon Amour‘ by Isabel Costello, but the opinions in this post are my own and unbiased. With every increasingly passionate liaison, Alexandra is pulled deeper into a situation that threatens everyone she holds dear. Today, I spent most of my day reading. This hardly ever happens these days; let's just say combination of My Little Pony, Bubble Guppies, and the the Paw Patrol contributed largely.

Paris Mon Amour is a story of love, lies and deceit. We meet Alexandra, a British American living in Paris who is married to Philippe. When Alexandra's mum tells her she knows Phillippe is having an affair, Alexandra embarks on an affair of her own with Jean-Luc. Jean-Luc is a sexy 23 year old and just happens to be the is son of Philippe’s best friend. Revenge is sweet or is it?. Alexandra is a 40 year old woman who has suffered tragedies in her past which continue to impact her present. When her visiting mother suggests her husband Phillippe is having an affair, it is a niggling thought which begins to preoccupy her. Bowled over by the appearance of Jean-Luc, a troubled and beautiful young man, Alexandra is soon embroiled in her own passionate affair. When we meet Alexandra she is at the end of her story and begins to recount to us how she came to be at this point. What starts with the discovery of her husband Philippe having an affair, turns into a story of love and redemption, as she herself embarks on an extramarital relationship, whilst dealing with uncertain and evolving family dynamics.A French maxim I adopted without question was that a woman needs to preserve a sense of mystery. But it’s a short hop from mystery to secrets and an even shorter one from there to betrayal. Though I would have preferred a greater exploration of Jean-Luc's troubles, Alexandra's journey though, is one of discovery, of self-understanding and realisation of what she is capable of. I imagine the thrill of an illicit affair is pretty good escapism for many of us right now. Overall, a convincing and enjoyable read. I enjoyed the way in which the author immerses the reader into the story and makes the developing situation seem very realistic without being too emotional or demonstrative. Time and place is created very well and France, and perhaps more importantly, Paris, really comes alive in the reader's imagination. There is much to take in and parts of it get emotional but the ending when it comes is entirely appropriate and well thought out. It was my love of Paris that made me request Paris Mon Amour. As a self-confessed Francophile, I love France – Paris, in particular – and therefore make the rather foolish assumption that I will love anything to do with France. That isn’t always the case. Just when I was about to write this post, I found out about Christina Grimmie, a 22-year old singer who I happened to listen to, and was amazed with her beautiful edgy voice. She was killed yesterday by a guy few years her senior. Why? We won't fond out since he shot himself shortly afterwards. That incredibly sad story shades yet another light onto the book I wholeheartedly recommend reading.

I must admit that after reading some of the titles on the Baileys Prize shortlist, I was feeling pretty depressed. Seriously, these are some grim stories. Being that I am off to Paris for a weekend in a couple of weeks the setting of this novel appealed to me to get me in the mood. I don’t mind admitting that the ending of Paris Mon Amour did take me by surprise. I’ll even confess to shedding a tear or two along the way. I don’t often cry at books, but this is a very emotional book, and I loved Isabel Costello’s sensuous style of writing. I really hope that there will be a second novel from her before too long! Paris Mon Amour is beautifully written. It is effortless in absorbing you onto the streets of Paris and into the Parisian lifestyle. I think even if you haven’t been to the city before, you will feel as if you have been transported there through the detailed descriptions, not just of the city itself but of the emotions that being there evokes in the writer. Valérie Pécresse, President of the Paris Region, said: "The Paris Region, the world's leading tourist destination with more than 50 million tourists in 2019, has been hit hard in this sector which represents 500,000 jobs. The Paris Region has been the victim of a triple punishment: strict confinements, a deficit of French tourists during the summer and business tourism reduced to zero. The Region has therefore mobilised a great deal of support for professionals in the sector by mobilising numerous aids (rebound loan, resilience fund, rental aid, digital cheque).We welcome the initiative of the Galeries Lafayette group to contribute to the revival of tourist activity in the capital, which is essential if we do not want a second summer without tourists. You can count on our support and our concrete support, as with the cancellation of the Covid debt for some 2,000 VSEs and SMEs in the tourism sector. Alexandra is headed to a therapist she has never met at the beginning of the book. As the book unfolds, Ms Costello periodically reminds us that Alexandra is relating her experience to the therapist. She tells it with an urgency and desperation that pulls us into her life immediately. She is an exPat married to a frenchman, Philippe; her American mother lives in California and visits when necessary; her British father left the family when Alexandra was 10 years old and moved to Brazil. The Why is a trauma that has changed each member of the family and is only told in full towards the end of the book. Beautifully told through the boulevards and arrondissements of the City of Light, Paris Mon Amour is a sensual novel about inescapable desire and devastating betrayals. It is the story of one woman and two men, and what happens when there is no way out. Alexandra is an English woman, living in Paris with her husband Philippe. They have a busy, fairly glamorous life and when Alexandra's waspish Mother slyly implies that Philippe is having an affair, Alexandra reacts in an unusual way.