I have chosen not to read and review this tile. While the blurb drew me to the story, I was not engaged with the characters or the way the story was written.

I appreciate the opportunity to review this early title and am looking forward to the next title through your company.

Thanks,
Laura

So here's a couple of things I like in life: books. Paris. Food. Pastries. Romance novels. And somehow - I don't know how, but somehow? Julie Caplin has managed to combine all of those into one book. Let it suffice to say - The Little Paris Patisserie? Did not disappoint!

The Story
In a cosy corner of Paris, a delicious little patisserie is just waiting to be discovered. And romance might just be on the menu…

As the youngest of four, Nina Hadley has always had her big brothers telling her what to do. So, when she’s given the chance to move to Paris and help run a patisserie course, she can’t say au revoir quick enough!

There’s just one problem: high-flying chef Sebastian Finlay is the owner of the patisserie. He’s also her brother Nick’s best friend – and the man she has secretly been in love with since forever.

Amongst the mouth-wateringly delicious eclairs and delicate macaroons, Nina’s culinary creations aren’t the only tempting thing she’s working with…

The Opinion
Earlier this summer, I got to read Julie Caplin's The Little Brooklyn Bakery. At that point, I was thoroughly impressed with how well she managed to write the romance. I found myself almost painfully excited for the two main characters, but, you know... I figured it was a one-off.

Wrong.

Julie Caplin has, with The Little Paris Patisserie, quickly made her way into the list of my favourite romance authors. I love Paris, and reading Caplin's descriptions of the entire city? It made me feel as if I were back there. It also made me want to jump on a train and go straight back there. There's not many authors that really manage to capture the essence of a city, and I do feel like that's what Caplin's done here.

But of course... Paris is just the backdrop. An utterly beautiful backdrop, yes. But still: just the scenery against which you get to follow a painfully recognizable story of unrequited love, grumpy bosses and discovering what you actually want to do in life. And all of that is just the first couple of chapters!

The Rating: 4.25/5
This book was so incredibly enjoyable, that I have to give it the ultimate compliment (in my books) you can give an author: you messed up my sleep. Honestly, I was just going to read a couple of chapters and then, suddenly... It was half past two? At night? And I'd finished the entire thing? I mean, I don't know exactly what happened, but obviously: Julie Caplin did something really right. And I cannot recommend The Little Paris Patisserie enough. Honestly, go read it. You can thank me later. (And you can find it on Goodreads!)

-Saar

This was a delightful read. The characters were fine, nothing amazing. The real star of this book is Paris and the pastries. All the descriptions that the author put into the walks around Paris were glorious to read. Her way of describing food will make you hungry for your own. This is a fun, fast read (took me one day).

Amazing book. Loved it from beginning to end.
Well written which kept me captivated throughout.
I will definitely be reading other books by this author

Expected Paris to be more of a character in this book. I felt the location was an after thought and it could've been anywhere. Disappointed. I liked the book but it had so much potential to be great.

This is a light read and had a lot of good qualities. How their community is built and the love of everyone progresses really makes this a warm book. The romance is truly secondary and kinda a side bar. The story itself is in the friendships and finding oneself. I wish I liked the romance part but I didn't.

If you're a fan of the Great British Bake Off, this little confection of a book is for you! Perfect!

Many thanks to Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for my ARC. All opinions are my own.

This is a great little standalone within a series. I have not read the others in the series but I can imagine they would be well received as this one was.

I have a secret love for all things Paris (even though I have never been there) and this book made my heart skip a beat and sigh as it gave me all the feels.

I will for sure make the time to visit the previous books in the series.

I have really liked all the books in this series. This was no exception but I didn’t find it as un-put-down-able as the others.

I really enjoyed this tale. Nina takes the chance to escape her loving but overbearing family to be assistant to top chef Sebastian in Paris. They have a history but do they have a future? Fantastic descriptive writing, especially of yummy cakes! A distinct beginning, middle and end to the tale which overall is fun and light heated. Can’t wait for the next instalment!

not my cup of tea. right off the bat the characters seemed very one-dimensional, and this didn't provide as much angst as i'd hoped. it was a lot of chick lit inner monologue rather than actual character development.

A sweet book, pardon the pun. I found it entertaining and interesting, and I especially liked our heroine. One thing that took away a star was the lack of appreciation that the characters were guests in France ; I felt that the anglophones had unreasonable expectations.

Julie Caplin has done it again! A beautiful setting with characters you can fall in love with. This books should come with a warning though... 'buy chocolate eclairs as you will crave them whilst reading this book. Another brilliant book which I will be recommending to everyone.

This is a first for me by this author.
I wasn't aware that this was the 3rd story of a series when I requested it on Netgalley... but now I know... I'll be adding the rest to my never-ending TBR pile.

As the youngest of four, Nina Hadley has always had her big brothers telling her what to do. So, when she’s at a loose end, due to the restaurant where she worked being closed for a while for renovations, and she's given the chance to move to Paris to help run a patisserie course, she can’t say au revoir quick enough!

There’s just one problem: high-flying chef Sebastian Finlay is the owner of the patisserie. He’s also her brother Nick’s best friend – the man tried to kiss at 15 years old and she has secretly been in love with since forever.

She wants to avoid him and he'd rather not have her help, but with him being on crutches due to breaking his leg... he has no choice as the course is due to start.

Nina thinks it'll be an opportunity to learn Sebastian's pastry techniques as she'd love to become a pastry chef just like him and hopes that working alongside him will help her learn some of the skills and techniques for which he's famous.
She falls in love with the patisserie and along with a Marcel and a few members of the pastry class they bring the patisserie back to it's former glory as one of the most famous patisseries in Paris. Along with Nina's éclairs that Marcel has been selling in the patisserie, the crowds begin to flock with people lining up outside the patisserie early in the morning so they can buy one before they sell out for the day.

In the meantime, Sebastian and Nina's relationship is growing into a friendship, and just maybe something more than just friendship.

Sebastian gets wind of what is happening and is fuming as it's not his plan for the patisserie... he plans to shut the patisserie after the pastry course is done and turn it into a Bistro as patisserie's are outdated, and he angrily shuts it and schedules the construction team to come in and begin renovating it to the bistro.

Is all lost? Will there be a happy ending for the patisserie, Nina and Sebastian?

I'm certainly looking forward to the next book in the series.

Thank-You Netgalley for my ARC.

A small disclaimer before I begin my review: Before you start this book, do a bit of research and find out if there are any French bakeries in your area, or at least, a grocery store bakery that makes and sells eclairs and macarons. Because after reading this book, you will crave them!

I had to give this book 5 stars! It is well written, especially the descriptions of Paris, which makes you feel like you are walking its streets along with the book's heroines. And the food descriptions--well, as stated above, you will be craving eclairs and macarons at the end of the book!

Nina was at loose ends, since the restaurant where she worked would be closed for a while due to renovations. Her brother's best friend Sebastian, a well-known, world class patisserie chef, needs someone to help him organize a beginning pastry class he's giving in Paris. He recently broke his leg and is hobbling around in crutches.

Problem is, that Nina has had a longtime crush on Sebastian, which ended disastrously when she tried to kiss him at 15 years old. She's mortified and wants to avoid Sebastian at all costs. And Sebastian isn't eager to have Nina's help either. But he's in a difficult place, with the class starting soon, so he agrees. Nina agrees because she would secretly love to become a pastry chef like Sebastian, and hopes that working alongside him will help her learn some of the skills and techniques for which he's famous.

The class is held in a patisserie that Sebastian recently purchased, and plans to close as soon as the course is over. He feels the patisserie is so outdated and ugly that it isn't worth keeping, and plans to turn the building into a bistro instead.

Nina sometimes sneaks into the patisserie's kitchen when it isn't being used to practice the techniques she's learning while helping with the class. She especially works on creating a perfect eclair, and experiments with fillings. Marcel, who runs the patisserie, tries one of the eclairs and is so impressed that he begins to start selling them in the patisserie (up to this point, he was forced to have pastries shipped in, much to his frustration.)

Unbeknowst to Sebastian, Nina's eclairs are becoming more and more popular, and people begin lining up outside the patisserie early in the morning so they can buy one before they sell out for the day.

At the same time, she's made friends with some of the other people in the pastry class, and they, along with Marcel, are committed to renovating the patisserie and bringing it back to its old glory as one of the most famous patisseries in Paris. They restore a mural, clean up and re-hang a crystal chandelier gathering dust in the attic, and bring out some of the beautiful china that was used by the previous owners of the patisserie. Crowds begin to flock to the patisserie.

In the meantime, Sebastian and Nina's relationship is growing into a friendship, and then something more than a friendship.

However, Sebastian is unaware of what is happening in the patisserie (his crutches prevented him from climbing the stairs to enter the shop.) He doesn't know that it is again becoming a popular local venue for Parisians and tourists. When he finds out, he angrily closes the patisserie and schedules the construction team to come in and begin renovating it to the bistro.

Is all lost? Will there be a happy ending for the patisserie, Nina and Sebastian? I don't want to spoil it, so you will just have to pick up the book and read it!

This is definitely on my "all time favorites" pile, and I know I'll be checking out author Julie Caplin's other books!

I absolutely adored this book and everything about it. Yes it was a little predictable but show me a romance that isn’t. What it did have was lots of charm and oodles of cake!!! I adored all of the characters, even grouchy Sebastian once he had mellowed a bit. I also loved all of the Paris references and it definitely made me want to visit and sample the atmosphere soon which will please my daughter who thinks she should have been born a Parisian.

Anyway I digress! The book - what do you want to know. Nina, our wonderful main character, is sick of being mollycoddled by her family, they can’t leave her be and imagine the worst if she hasn’t contacted them for more than an hour or so. When her brother’s best friend, Sebastian (who she had an unrequited crush on back in the day) breaks his leg and needs someone to step in and take a pastry course in Paris - Nina jumps at the chance even though it’s clear she is the last person on Earth Sebastian wants helping.

And so Nina temporarily relocates to Paris where she meets Marcel who currently runs the Patisserie which Sebastian owns and where the course will be run. She also meets Marguerite, Maddie, Bill, Peter and Jane who are enrolled on the course and become her firm friends and allies. During the course of her stay, Nina releases her passion for baking and has a wonderful time. The only fly in the ointment is Sebastian and her embarrassment at his rejection of her over ten years ago.

A truly wonderful book made all the better by the references to places of interest in Paris.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced read copy of the book in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

This is a quick sweet read. I loved the storyline and location, there is a good amount of descriptive detail to make you want to go to Paris and indulge in lots of pastries and see the sights! Author Julie Caplin gives just enough background information so that you understand the characters and plot without going overboard. If you want to step outside your everyday life this book will do the job!

A gorgeous charming and heart warming adventure set in a Parisian patisserie. You’ll love Nina and her assembled crew of supporting characters, as well as Alex and Sebastian. If you love baking as much as I do you’ll get carried away with the patisserie syllabus, and I spent the short amount of time it took me to plough through the book starving! Excited to hear that Alex’s adventure continues - can’t wait to read the next instalment.

So far in this series of books we have been to Copenhagen, crossed the Atlantic to Brooklyn and now we are a mere train journey away to Paris.

Nina feels stifled by her family, the youngest with three very protective brothers, means she can hardly sneeze without any of them suddenly thinking she is coming down with pneumonia and telling how she should be looking after herself.

Coasting through life so far, knowing she can rely on going home when the going gets tough - Nina decides this time that she needs to move away if she ever has a chance of breaking out from under their control.

Nina ends up in Paris.

To  help to run a patisserie course.

With Sebastian - her brother's friend and the man Nina has had a secret crush on for as long as she can remember.

What possibly could go wrong?

Whilst the author brings to life the patisserie course, the mouth-watering eclairs she described nearly had me getting up in the middle of the night to make choux pastry. The relationship between Nina and Sebastian seemed to take a long time to blossom and I found a great part of the book very pedestrian as whilst it was clear Nina was trying to find her feet away from her family, it took a long time. The secondary characters were more interesting for most of the book and the interesting way they went about preserving and recreating the patisserie was far more interesting for me than the romance between Nina and Sebastian.

This was a pleasant read but perhaps not as satisfying as a chocolate eclair may have been!

This is the third book in the series of Romantic Escapes by Julie that I have read and delighted by the fact that they are all fantastic, including this one.
Nina wants to get away and live her life away from the protective fold of her family, including her overprotective Brothers. When the opportunity comes to go to Paris to help her Brothers best friend run a cookery course she wants to jump at the chance but there’s one problem. Nina used to have a huge crush on Sebastian which wasn’t reciprocated and she doesn’t want it to be awkward between them after years avoiding him. Nina however decides this is a chance too good to miss and while helping to run the course she meets some new people and makes new friends.
The patisserie of the title is owned by Sebastian but came as part of the deal for the restaurants and he has plans to turn it into a bistro. Nina’s friends have other ideas however and give the place a spruce up while Nina begins to make cakes which end up being sold in the Patisserie.
Can Nina change Sebastian’s mind about keeping the patisserie and will her feelings for him ever be reciprocated?
I devoured this book as easily as I could imagine devouring the strawberry and cream éclairs and the chocolate caramel supreme.
Once again Julie’s writing is so descriptive I could imagine walking the Paris streets and seeing the Notre Dame and the Eiffel Tower.
I adored the characters in this book and each of them brought something to the story so I didn’t feel that any of them were in it just for the sake of it.
Another fabulous page turner from Julie and I eagerly anticipate reading book 4 in the series.