One Paris Summer by Denise Grover Swank Review

I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This is also spoiler free!

One Paris Summer

Written by Denise Grover Swank

Genre: Young Adult/Contemporary/Romance

Publisher: Blink

Release Date: June 7, 2016

Pages: 272

Source: NetGalley

Places to Get this Book: COMING SOON

Recommended Age: 13 and up!

Summary:

Most teens dream of visiting the City of Lights, but it feels more like a nightmare for Sophie Brooks. She and her brother are sent to Paris to spend the summer with their father, who left home a year ago without any explanation. As if his sudden abandonment weren't betrayal enough, he's about to remarry, and they’re expected to play nice with his soon-to-be wife and stepdaughter. The stepdaughter, Camille, agrees to show them around the city, but she makes it clear that she will do everything in her power to make Sophie miserable.

Sophie could deal with all the pain and humiliation if only she could practice piano. Her dream is to become a pianist, and she was supposed to spend the summer preparing for a scholarship competition. Even though her father moved to Paris to pursue his own dream, he clearly doesn't support hers. His promise to provide her with a piano goes unfulfilled.

Still, no one is immune to Paris’s charm. After a few encounters with a gorgeous French boy, Sophie finds herself warming to the city, particularly when she discovers that he can help her practice piano. There’s just one hitch—he’s a friend of Camille’s, and Camille hates Sophie. While the summer Sophie dreaded promises to become best summer of her life, one person could ruin it all.

Review:

I went for this book mainly because I thought I should be reading more contemporary books and I didn’t go in with high expectations.  

I like how the book starts and how the main character isn’t happy with having to spend summer in Paris which was ironic since most people would be thrilled.  

PLOT

The plot was creative. The main character: Sophie, didn’t want to go to Paris to spend time with her father and soon-to-be wife. Her stepsister is totally rude and disrespectful towards her. She is also forced to be a ‘tourist’ with her stepsister as a guide. Can you imagine?  

SOPHIE

We first meet Sophie when she is on a plane flying to Paris with her brother. She is mad at her dad for leaving her a while back and mad at him for wanting her and her brother at his wedding. I liked how she is not a glamoured up person and how she has feelings and thinks like a normal person. For example, she can’t figure out directions which is totally relatable. She doesn’t pick up French like she’s been speaking it all her life, because no one can do that. And she has faults just like everyone else. I also love her growth throughout the book.

MATHIEU

Mathieu is Sophie’s love interest who seems to not get along with Sophie at all when he meets her. Part of the reason is he has a past with her stepsister and she is kind of influencing his decisions. I really didn’t like how it seems like he couldn’t think or feel for himself. But I loved how much he seemed to care for Sophie. He even taught her french and let her play his piano. Aww <3

ERIC

Eric is Sophie’s brother. He seems to not really care about her at the beginning which bothered me a little but brothers and sisters often don’t always get along so it should have been normal. I loved how he was so protective and kind towards her later in the book which showed how much he grew.

DANE

Ugh. I can’t begin to express how much I hate this character. Sophie used to have a crush on him but seriously, I can’t see why. He’s so rude and treats her as more of a possession than anything else. I just wanted to kick him sometimes.

CAMILLE

Camille is Sophie’s stepsister. As I mentioned before, she is totally rude towards Sophie but she was jealous of her and annoyed that she was staying in her home so I don’t blame her. But I still didn’t like her that much.

I also really liked Sophie’s new stepmother. She was so kind and sweet and I’m glad Sophie warmed up to her pretty quickly.

ROMANCE

The romance in this book wasn’t too insta-lovey which made me so happy. I like the types of romances where it is slow-burning and I have to crave it so much before it actually happens. Sophie and Mathieu were so adorable and I loved them a lot.

Final Thoughts:

This book didn’t make it to 5 Crowns because of some things that had me cringing but otherwise it gets a pretty high rating. I recommend this book if you want a cute, short read that should leave you satisfied.

Quotes from the Book:

Coming Soon!

My Rating: 4 out of 5 Crowns