Review: The Paris Wedding

Title: The Paris Wedding

Author: Charlotte Nash

Publisher: 27 June 2017 by Hachette Australia

Pages: 368 pages

How I Read It: ARC book

Genre: womens fiction, contemporary, romance

My Rating: 5 cups

Synopsis:

Ten years ago, Rachael West chose not to move to Sydney with high-school sweetheart Matthew. Instead she stayed on the family wheat farm, caring for her seriously ill mother and letting go of her dreams. Now, Matthew is marrying someone else. And Rachael is invited to the wedding, a lavish affair in Paris, courtesy of the flamboyant family of Matthew's fiancée - a once-in-a-lifetime celebration at someone else's expense in Europe's most romantic city.

She is utterly unprepared for what the week brings. Friendships will be upended, secrets will be revealed - and on the eve of the wedding, Rachael is faced with an impossible dilemma: should she give up on the promise of love, or destroy another woman's life for a chance at happiness?

If you enjoy reading Rachael Treasure and Rachael Johns, you'll fall in love with this deliciously poignant story about family and friends, and love lost and found.

My Thoughts

‘Maybe this trip was that way forward, its hope winking like Venus in the sky: tiny and distant, but enough to guide her through the darkness.’

What a lovely read this book was! What I liked most about it, was how well written it was, flowing along really quickly, with lots of story lines to keep you engaged and not just primarily all about the romance.

‘The movie of Matthew’s life had kept playing long after Rachel had been written out of the script.’

Rachael’s storyline alone is interesting enough; feeling left behind as she cares for her ailing mother while everybody else’s life goes on. Nash genuinely captures that emotion, and it’s not just about finding a partner, but fulfilling lost dreams. Add to that the stories of Matthew and his change of heart, or Rachael’s sister and her family struggling on the land, even Rachael’s best friend and her marriage issues, and it becomes clear how Nash demonstrates a real depth to this story.

‘Two days ago she’d woken up in the place she’d spent her whole life, with wide open spaces rolling away to the horizon. Here, every inch was spoken for, hundreds of years of occupation resulting in the city as it existed in this moment.’

The contrast in detail from the Australian Outback to the streets of Paris is wonderful. On the one hand you have struggling farmers and life in a small rural community compared to the dashing elegance of the Parisian metropolis, with all the glitz and glamour it has to offer. The descriptions of visiting famous landmarks are vivid and you feel as if you are there. What I most appreciated, however, was the poetic resonance that portrayed Paris in such a special way:

‘Under a sky of steel clouds, the city held the river in stone hands stitching across it with arches and bridges.’

Two more points to note. One, if you are at all interested in sewing and design of clothes, there is the added bonus of Rachael (and her mother) being a talented seamstress and outfits are discussed, designed and brought to life. Also, I was suitably impressed with the ending, not to give anything away, but suffice to say it was not your expected stock standard outcome for books of this genre. Well done Charlotte Nash. I am delighted to add another Aussie author on my crusade of rural romance discoveries, I highly recommend this book.

‘All those years ago, the break up with Matthew had felt like being abandoned on the side of the highway, watching the tail-lights of the future disappearing over the horizon.’

I received a free copy of this in a Goodreads giveaway.

This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher and provided through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The quoted material may have changed in the final release