Ah, Paris! This is a book for book lovers, for sure. I slugged through the first third that was rife with flowery description of shops and landmarks and neighborhoods and architecture... wanting for some more dialogue and action. And then Rebecca Raisin served it up beautifully. Love stories upon love stories; friendships and tenuous-co-worked-relationships-turned-friendships; Parisian markets and antique shops; walks with friends and lovers; and more happily-ever-afters than the bookshop owner Sarah Smith could have wished for.

I was looking forward to a light and happy love story that revolved around book. I gave this book a chance, but all of the characters just fell flat so I did not finish it.

I received an electronic ARC from Harlequin through NetGalley.
This is a sweet story about a small bookshop owner who takes a large risk and trades places with her friend in Paris. The culture shock and transition is rocky but smooths out as romance readers expect. Though the way is round about, everyone gets their happy ending.
I was frustrated by the main couple not sharing with each other. If either of them had been honest about their feelings, they could have had the conversation much earlier in the story and still maintained the plot. Sarah was a flat character to carry so much of the novel. She had tremendous potential for growth but stagnated too long. The supportive cast was amusing but rather one dimensional as well. There were a few "big" reveals but none were a surprise.
It's a sweet read that I stopped and started for a couple weeks as other books drew my interest away.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

Honestly, this book wasnt for me at all. It was very slow and the characters just weren't interesting to me.

With that said I know some people who this book wod absolutely be geared toward and I will definitely be recommending it to them!

Thanks to Net Galley for the ARC of this book. I love the writing in this book. Charming story.
This story will appeal to those who like sweet romance and women’s fiction/Chick-lit style novels.

I read this book because the title and synopsis sounded good. I was not disappointed. It is a wonderful holiday read! I would highly recommend this book!

Sarah Smith is a small bookshop owner in her hometown in a tiny New England town. She loves her job, her friends and her boyfriend- whom she has a long-distance relationship with because of his job as a reporter. Life is good but its boring and she is feeling an itch. When another bookstore friend in Paris suggests the two swap lives for 6 months, she takes the leap.
But her dreams of running a bookstore in Paris are not played out so easily. She struggles with the employees, friendships, communication with her boyfriend and figuring out where she really belongs.

I like the premise of this book a lot - and while I enjoyed the story as a whole there were several things that irritated me such as how weak Sarah was when it came to the employees at the bookstore and this flakey boyfriend. For a long story, there was just so much internal happiness that makes her a bit unlikeable and annoying. This character has been given a chance of a lifetime and she just wallows way too long. I don't mind reading about an evolution of a character but this just took forever for her to get there and even by the end I wasn't impressed with how she developed. I think i just tend to like stronger leading women characters.
I did not expect the book to end as it did- in fact I was a bit surprised and a little confused. It went in a direction I did not see coming but in hindsight from how the book played out it makes sense, Overall, if you enjoy the bookstore/Paris connection, this is a cute read!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

A quick romantic story set in a lovely bookshop in Paris.
I thought the first part of the book alittle slow. It gradually gets better and ends on a happy note. Thanks to Harlequin for the early copy

**Review will be published on my blog closer to publication for a blog tour**

**3.5 STARS**

Thank you to HQN and NetGalley for giving me a chance to read this eARC and for Harlequin for inviting me to be part of the blog tour.

This book is made to be a Hallmark Christmas movie, it has a bookshop, a little romance, and Paris! A bookshop in Paris during the holidays is a treat and a dream.

Sarah Smith is an introvert, with a gorgeous reporter boyfriend who is chasing the next big story and a small bookshop in Connecticut that she owns. When an opportunity to take over her friend’s bookshop in Paris comes along, Sarah jumps at the chance, because she’s wishing for a little adventure. She gets all that and more when she arrives in Paris, but will this long distance romance with her boyfriend survive all the changes they are going through?

What I Liked:
*PARIS. I loved the setting of Paris! I visited only once and for barely three days but seeing Paris through the eyes of Sarah Smith brought me back. It’s such a magical place and I love everything that was featured in the story from the bookshop, Notre Dame, the restaurants and secret places.

*I enjoyed the characters in Sarah meets in Paris like Oceane, Luiz, and TJ. Beatrice eventually grew on me at the end, but her relationship with Oceane, Luiz and TJ was pretty great. I’m glad she found her niche and didn’t give up on Paris when times got rough but it’s because of her new friends.

*Sarah is coming into her own in this book. Her boyfriend is away from her, she’s running a bookshop in a foreign country, she’s usually timid and quiet, but she had to come out of her shell and I was proud of her by the end!

*It gave me the giddy feelings of the holidays and it didn’t come from the romance story. It came from the story of Sarah finding and making a little family in Paris. She overcame a lot in Paris and got the adventure she was looking for. 🥰

Things That Made Me Go Hmm:

~It’s a romance novel and though I felt the love on Sarah’s side of her relationship with Ridge, I was distrustful of him. In the end, they have their happily ever after, but most of the book was about them being apart and Sarah finding her way on her own. Sarah’s love story with Paris was more interesting to me than her romance with Ridge. 🤷🏻‍♀️
~There were some passages in the book, more so in the end that threw me off, like they were just thrown into the story and didn’t flow well with the book! Some paragraphs didn’t transition well and I don’t know if that’s just an error because this IS an arc, o it’s not a corrected copy. But it made me pause and reread paragraphs to try and make sense of what was happening. It felt a bit rushed.

~I was getting frustrated with Sarah letting people run her over in the french bookshop but I’m glad things worked out in the end and she earned their respect and even friendship.

Final Thoughts:

The Little Bookshop on the Seine was more about Sarah Smith falling with Paris and herself. She was already in love with her boyfriend Ridge but trying to manage a long distance relationship did have many challenges. Despite some of the issues I found with the story with the story not flowing in some parts, it still left me feeling happy and full of holiday joy. If you like Christmas, books and Paris, this is a great book to curl up with this winter.

A lovely read. I fell into the story. The couple, Sarah and Ridge (yes, Ridge, is his name, lol), are working through their long distance relationship. Sarah has some maturing to do. Ridge has to decide his priorities. This is a sweet Christmas story, with many fun characters and a lovely ending. A cup of eggnog and a warm throw, makes this a great holiday relaxing read.

Sarah Smith is the proprietor of a bookstore in her small New England town, where she has lived all her life. Her long-distance relationship with her roving journalist boyfriend is probably the most rebellious and exciting thing she has ever done, until now. When a fellow bookstore owner and friend suggests that they swap stores for six months, Sarah leaps at the chance. Six months in Paris, in a well-known bookshop, what could be better? Ridge, her boyfriend, has even promised to come visit for two whole weeks. But from the moment Sarah arrives, nothing is as expected. The store employees are mostly hostile to her proposed changes, she is so busy with the store that she doesn't get to experience Paris, and she can't seem to get Ridge on the phone for more than a few moments.

I had a lot of difficulty finishing this book. Sarah bothered me as a character for the first three quarters of the novel. I am almost always open to an introverted, book-loving protagonist, but I like my protagonists to have a little more spark and life in them. Sarah is simply too naive and accepting of the world around her. I know that her personal growth in confidence and assertiveness is key to the premise of the story (and I don’t think that’s a spoiler), but I was sick of her very early on. The writing style is a bit meandering, and occasionally felt like it stalled out in its love song to Paris and to books, rather than advancing the plot.

Final verdict: It’s a cute little story, if you have more patience than I do when it comes to characters that don’t have much of a spine. Personally, I prefer female leads in romance novels with a bit more energy and snark.

This book was received from the Author, and Publisher, in exchange for an honest review. Opinions and thoughts expressed in this review are completely my own

The Little Bookshop on the Seine" is a delightful book, that was I was totally immersed in.
A captivating, wonderful written book perfect for curling up with a cozy blanket on a cold winters night.

A lighthearted read about a young woman who, for six months, exchanges working in her own bookshop in Ashford in Connecticut for the ‘Once Upon a Time’ bookshop situated near the River Seine in Paris. She finds that she has taken on more than she bargained for. The authors ability to create a compelling storyline, that grabbed my attention, and held it all the way through.
Heartwarming and memorable characters adds to this enjoyable storyline.
Be prepared to get lost in the whimsical and ageless beauty of Paris as author Rebecca Raisin beautifully captures the hearts and haunts of one of the worlds most magical cities.

#TheLittleBookshopOnTheSeine

Such a fun read! I loved the Paris setting, and I love a book surrounding books and book lovers! I love reading books like this around this time of year, and I think the timing mixed with my need for something light and smart made this story extra enjoyable for me. Thanks so much to the publisher for allowing me to read an eARC copy. I definitely recommend this book especially as a holiday read., and for fans of Elin Hilderbrand or Jenny Colgan.

Not a thinking person's romance . . . did they really say that Ridge was "uber driven" and it had nothing to do with car service? And if this guy was spending weeks in Russia, where was his visa? You can't just decide to go to Russia and stay there . . .
Why are azaleas blooming in December in Paris?
Too many questions poking holes in a Hallmark movie plot.
Anyone who loves Shakespeare and Company . . .

I received this book complimentary from NetGalley but the opinions are my own.
Oh how I want this to be nonfiction. I want to visit Once Upon a Time and go to Anouk’s shop. I want to trawl the streets of Paris for months and months. I didn’t truly like Ridge much, and certainly didn’t like him for Sarah but I loved the ending and the peace. I loved reading about Christmas in Paris and the beauty and charm it holds. Oh to have such a life. What a dream.

What a sweet story! Sarah owns a used bookshop in a small New England town, Sophie owns a bookshop on the Seine in Paris. When both seem to be having romance troubles, they decide to swap places for a few months. Chaos (and romance) ensues.

There's nothing earth-shattering here, just a nice story with a few twists and turns to keep the reader turning pages. Not too sappy, not too tragic, not too over the top HEA (happily ever after), just right for a summer beach or a wet, cold winter night. Sometimes the narrative bogs down a bit with so much descriptive text of Paris, but the "tour guide'" aspect doesn't overwelm the story, so that's OK. Recommended for fans of light romance and (of course) Paris.

You had me at "The Holiday," which is one of my favorite movies of all time! I thoroughly enjoyed this feel-good novel!

It was very hard for me to get into this book and, consequently, I didn't finish. I feel like readers probably should have read the author's Gingerbread Cafe series. The book jumps right in to this world without introducing these people very well. It seems like you're in a book two or three of a series and can feel lost at times.

I LOVE Rebecca Raisin's work! If you're in the mood for a sweet love story set in a charming corner of Europe, look no further than this book, as well as anything else she writes.

I truly adored reading this book by Rebecca Raising. I was worried it would be too cheesy or romance-y but it was charming and made me want to immediately book a flight to Paris. However, the ending did make me incredibly angry and want to throw the book (but I was reading on a kindle). I do not regret reading it because I so enjoyed the time although the main character did prove to be a bit of a doormat.