I wanted to love this one: the setting alone is worth the read, because who doesn't love Shakespeare & Co. and Paris. When you want a cutesy-rom-com, this is definitely the thing. The plot felt a little flat, and I just couldn't connect to the characters, but I so enjoyed the setting so it made this one still a fun read.

This is a cute title. It’s perfect for lovers of women's fiction. It is also a lovely way to explore or revisit the city of Paris.

I enjoyed this book so much that I am beating myself up for the fact that it took me so long to read it after I received it as an ARC. This book is just what I needed to read as the hot summer days slowly wound down to colder autumn days. I won’t lie, the horror stories that I have heard regarding Paris have made me never want to visit it. Yet, reading this book made me acknowledge that I am missing something about Paris, that there is so much more beneath the surface than the touristy traps that ultimately lead to a bad taste of Paris.

I really enjoyed Sarah‘s character. I found her to be relatable. She is outgoing, smart, a hopeless romantic, and so much more. All the characters that we met in Paris were so interesting, and I am hopeful that I will see more of them in the rest of the series. This book also made me insanely hungry and I didn’t enjoy being so hungry at 10 o’clock at night!

I had two tiny issues with the book, but I enjoyed this book so much that it didn’t damage my opinion of it. The first issue I can’t get into because it would mean spoilers for the ending. The second one, I’ll have to be vague about. I was confused on how two people came to be lovers at the end of the book when I personally felt like there was no interaction between the two characters until the very ending. I felt that perhaps the author thought she was going to take the book in one direction, and then decided to change the direction completely. While I enjoyed the way the direction went, I still feel a bit blindsided.

Overall, I enjoyed this book’s central message of trying to find yourself and always having an open mind about the people you meet because not everyone is as they appear.

this book had me daydreaming about paris. it started off and had me thinking it was going to be another cliched book and i thought i knew what to expect, but i ended up being pleasantly surprised. it was a charming read.

Where I found it: Still digging through the Netgalley archives!

Why I picked it up: To be perfectly honest, I am not entirely sure. My best guess would be because it features a bookshop and Paris. Both things that make me happy. 

What’s It All About? Sarah runs a small, quiet bookstore in a small, quiet town where everyone knows everything about everyone else. Sophie runs an old bookstore that is a Paris bucket list place. After Sophie has her heart broken, she suggests to Sarah that they swap stores and lives. Sophie travels to Sarah's hometown where she can curl up and lick her wounds, with dependable people to pull her back to herself. Sarah moves to Paris and takes of Sophie's bookstore, complete with a staff, sales goals (which she never seems to meet), and so many unspoken rules that Sarah can't help but make mistakes. She barely has time to explore the city she has dreamed about. But maybe that's ok, because her boyfriend can't seem to get the time to visit her in the City of Love. Will Sarah be able to turn the store around, find the time to find herself, and find a way to be okay with Ridge's long absences? 

My thoughts: This book was cute and fun, a great winter cozy romance to snuggle up with while it's cold outside. I loved the characters, particularly Sarah and the people at the Paris bookshop (which, to be fair, are the characters that the book focused on). I was not a big fan of Sophie, as her behavior towards Sarah often depended on how well the shop was doing. Sophie offered no support to the woman who was doing her a favor and who was supposed to be her friend. It was also interesting that two of the three regular employees felt they needed to lie to Sophie to get her job. (My intense dislike of Sarah is not anything against the book; I believe that good books have believably unlikable characters too). Sarah's adventures in Paris offers a wonderful look at what Paris can be when one gets off the tour buses and really explores the niches of the city. Filled with hidden gems and eccentric shop keepers to whom one must be introduced, Ms. Raisin pulls the curtain back on the real Paris as experienced by locals.  I loved the variety of her Paris friends and the different places that they were able to show her. And I couldn't help but cheer for Sarah every time she stood up for herself, whether in love or in business. My only critique was that the end wraps up a little quickly with a too perfect bow. However, I also understand the appeal of this type of ending to readers who often pick romance novels. (I.e. While it isn't my favorite ending style, it is absolutely valid and I wouldn't rate it lower because of its HEA.) In fact, there are two more books in this series of loosely connected stories, and I fully intend on reading them as well. Highlight for spoiler:

But really, did Ridge have to be SO damn unbelievingly "perfect" (if you like that muscled, perfect body, perfect hair, and overly romantic type) on the page? Oh, and look who got his investors locked in as soon as his girlfriend hinted that she wouldn't wait around forever. No, I was not a big fan of Ridge, and in all honesty, all Sarah seemed to talk about was his physical prowess, so I am not convinced that she really loves him either. I don't think this is their happily ever after, I think it's probably still the beginning of their story. We did not get to see that he actually says no to the next call for a job. 

Genre: Romance
Themes: Love, trust, friendship, self-journey
Recommended For:  cozy romance readers, anyone looking for fun books that take place in France.

This review will post at https://tichwi.ninja/book-review-40-the-little-bookshop-on-the-seine/ on 2.23.23

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Little Bookshop on the Seine by Rebecca Raisin
Sarah Smith lives in a small town and runs a bookshop. When an opportunity to switch places with Sophie another bookshop owner in Paris she can’t pass it up.
While trying her best to keep up with a very busy place compared to hers, she has to deal with staff walking all over her, not showing up when they should and now money is missing. Will she grow the backbone she needs to run this much busier store?
The most charming part of this story is the setting. Reading all the places in Paris she goes was stunning.
Thanks to Harlequin and NetGalley for the ARC of this book

This is a gorgeous book with a very lovely storyline and a bit of romance and a nice ending. I love the world building in the story and how well the setting is described by the author, she really transports you there and makes you feel like you are with the characters. I love the cover art of this book, I think it goes so well with the other wall story and really pulls you in and make sure want to read it.

A cute story with a lot of love! This was super sweet and I really enjoyed the characters! Thank you netgalley for my free review copy.

At this time, as I am guessing is obvious by the publication date that was literally years ago, I have decided not to review this title.

Technically, I made this decision a while ago, but was not as prompt with sending feedback as I should have been. My apologies for the delay, as well as clogging up your inbox with this very late review response.

As always, while incredibly late, I thank you for the opportunity to read and review one of your titles.

Laura

Small town bookstore owner trades places with a bookstore owner from Paris for a six month exchange program. The lives of both women expand and grow as a result. Sweet story that did not take the turn I originally expected.

I loved that this was a book about a bookshop swap. Such a cute and cozy concept! I also enjoyed the fact that it was set in Paris. Overall, this was a quick and cute read.

Sarah is a small town girl who owns a book shop that she loves. Business is a little slow, but she doesn't mind because she has what she needs. Sarah has a friend, Sophie, that owns a book shop in Paris and they share a unique bond over their shared love of books. Sophie suggests a book shop exchange, where they will work in each other's shops for three months, and Sarah agrees. She is expecting a magical experience in Paris, where she has always wanted to go, and Sophie is looking forward to a slower pace of life in a small town. Things don't go as smoothly as Sarah expects, which adds a lot to the story. I like how Sarah has to become more self-reliant and trust her instincts, and how she ends up discovering a lot about herself. I didn't realize that there was an earlier book with Sarah in it, so I am looking forward to reading the that book to learn more about her.

I received a complimentary copy of this ebook from the publisher through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

What reader wouldn't love this title? It has all the things and I loved it. I will definitely share this among my school library peers.

I've tried to read this book many times but I can't ever get into it. I have no connection with the main character or honestly really cared about what was going on. I DNF'd about 30% through.

Raisin's books are just lovely. This is the only in the series (The Little Paris Collection) I was missing and I deeply enjoyed it. It was a book with a charming story and characters.
I love stories set in Paris and stories that talk about books, so this was pretty much a perfect combination.

This was a really cute story about a woman named Sarah who decides to swap bookstores with her friend Sophie so she moves from Connecticut to Paris to live out a fantasy. Except it's not as bright and shiny as she may have thought.

I really loved that this book was an exploration and discovery of self-worth and determination. Sarah enters a world where she has no one, her employees aren't reliable or even care about her, her boyfriend isn't joining her, and she's overwhelmed by Paris and its people. So her arc is about becoming herself, owning her space, being the person she didn't think she could be.

I wanted more of the romance, I may have had the wrong impression going in and I thought that the romance would have a bigger focus than it did. It was cute and sweet, but I wanted more.

"The Little Bookshop on the Seine" is one of those books that makes you smile, or at least it did for me. It has love, friendship, and books. What a simply lovely read.

Sarah Smith literally got the offer of a lifetime from her friend Sophie. Sophie needs out of Paris for a while. Who is Sarah to refuse? With her globetrotting boyfriend still somewhere else around the globe, she jumped on it.

Off to Paris she goes with this dream of being surrounded by the amazing history and sites of the City of Lights….

Expect it’s the opposite of what she expects.

When she discovers how Sophie truly runs her shop, she isn’t sure how she is going to make it through the next few hours let alone months. As the weeks pass, she discovers that each of the staff have their own story, she just needs to know how to find it.

While she is fighting to establish herself in charge of the bookshop, she isn’t entirely sure where her love life is going. It is like her and Ridge have started a professional phone tag game with how often they seem to miss each other. She misses him dearly.

When she makes a surprising discovery, Sarah starts to realize that all of her new coworkers are just like she is. Each of them are trying to find their own happily ever afters in this little bookshop on the seine.

As a fan of unexpected Happily-Ever-Afters, I definitely recommend that you give this one a chance. I think it will be something that surprises you.

I know I certainly was.

DNF: I've tried three times now to get into this book but I'm giving up at 29%. I just don't feel any type of connection to any of the characters nor can I make myself care about anything they're experiencing. At the very least, I need more depth to the main character, Sarah Smith. I think the premise had promise, but I was completely underwhelmed and life it too short to keep working so hard at reading.

This enchanting little book hooks any reader who has dreamt of escaping ordinary, hum-drum life and living somewhere romantic,like Paris. The Paris bookshop owner, Sophie, has her own reasons for needing to leave for a while, and convinces her literary friend to switch bookshops with her for 6 months. It is difficult to be a new person in a city that functions so differently than a small town, and even though beautiful and romantic, Paris brings its own set of challenges.