I didn't connect with the writing style for this one right off the bat, unfortunately, and had to put it aside. I'm not sure if it was a mood thing or the author's style itself. I've tried Rebecca Raisin's books before and haven't connected either so perhaps that's the problem.

A bookshop swap? Paris? A long-term relationship in trouble? What isn’t to like about this story set up? I couldn’t resist and excitedly took this one up to tell the story of a small town American gal headed to the City of Light where she face so many challenges and delights, but hopefully come into her own.
Review

The Little Bookshop on the Seine is book one in the Little Paris Collection, but I also want to make a note that its also the follow up story of The Bookshop on the Corner where the heroine’s story begins which was book one of The Bookshop series and book #2.5 in the Gingerbread Cafe series. I had no trouble jumping in here, but I sensed this story started earlier and investigation showed I was right.

So, Sarah Smith is feeling down about a raise in rent to her bookshop with no rising sales to cover it and her boyfriend, Ridge’s freelance journalism job taking him all over the globe and never home to her. She feels her life is a bit stale so is ripe for the opportunity when Parisian bookseller buddy, Sophie, proposes a bookshop swap for sixth month so Sophie can get away from a cheating ex. At first, Sarah resists, but then goes for it.

The City of Lights is bright and wonderful and she is eager to explore, but her romantic image gets a hard check when she encounters trouble running Sophie’s bookshop which is so different from her own, trouble with the employees who aren’t keen on change and a stranger in charge, and even theft. Sarah is unsure of herself and the situation and also unsure of what is happening- or rather not happening- between her and Ridge. Can she get her feet under her in time to save the shop and her relationship?

This was a gently paced, heartwarming story and I was charmed in many ways by the author’s descriptions of Paris locales even those off the beaten path, the Parisian culture, Sarah making friends and settling in, and seeing her figure out what was missing from her life. I was well pleased that attention was paid to setting and getting Paris through Sarah’s eager, romantic eyes.

Getting to know Sarah and her home situation was one of the things that made me realize that there was a previous story because it felt like a lot was understood like you get in consecutive series’ books. There was enough development so that I was able to get to know Sarah and come to like her and her friends. I will admit that Sarah could be something of a ditherer at times, but I also think it was realistic and understandable. Who goes to a foreign country for the first time and attempts a new job without needing some adjustment time? I ended up rooting her on as she entered the Christmas season and brought her small town girl flavoring to her sophisticated chic corner of Paris.

The romance was there because Sarah’s mind was on it, but also something out of sight, too, because they weren’t together throughout the book. For a while, I wasn’t vested in Ridge like I might have been if I’d read the previous book so only cared for Sarah’s sake, but I got to know him and started to root for him and Sarah to figure out how to balance work and a life together- to see what everyday love looks like and not just love through rose-tinted glasses. They had a very spicy relationship and got into the sexy talk when catching up by phone. I was preparing to bop Ridge for a suspicion I got that would really hurt Sarah, but in the end it was a near thing and I happily saw the reveal coming when it came to Ridge’s reticence.

All in all, this was charming and I enjoyed Paris and bookshop setting, the holidays, Sarah growing as a confident, capable woman, and of course, the romance. I think this will be for chick lit and contemporary romance fans.

My thanks to Harlequin for the chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you so Netgalley for my copy of this book. All opinions are my own. I was so excited to receive a copy of this book. What could be better than a book about a bookstore, Paris, and Christmas- especially at Christmas time? When Sarah Smith, a bookshop owner is offered a chance to do a bookshop exchange with her Parisian friend, she jumps at the chance. Her book shop has been struggling, her boyfriend is consistently away on assignment and she feels stagnant. She hopes Paris will be just what she needs. I wish the relationship between Sarah and her boyfriend was more believable. I feel like I came in without a background of why these two are together for reasons other than their chemistry. This book was a cute and easy read.

I was truly looking forward to sinking into this book. It has bookshops, Paris, delicious descriptions of food, and romance. I’ve always thought that there was something a bit magical about bookshops, second-hand in particular, and it is clear that Rebecca Raisin feels the same way. The author’s descriptions of Paris were absolutely stunning and I was left with an enchanted, romantic view of the City of Love. The Little Bookshop on the Seine really relies on the fish-out-of-water vibes with this heroine as soon as she gets to Paris and to the bookshop Once Upon a Time. The harried pace really conveyed the unsettled state that Sarah was in while also keeping this reader engaged despite the parts of the story I didn’t care for.

The critiques I have for this read ultimately come down to my preferences for characters as a reader. I didn’t particularly care for any of the characters, main or side, with the exception of Oceane. Sarah was a complete doormat for a solid ¾ of the story and I found that incredibly frustrating. While I am all for allowing room for character growth, this growth arc didn’t feel compelling. I wanted to pull her out of the book and shake her a number of times, particularly when it came to her relationship with Ridge. I can’t go on without spoilers, but I will say that the ending was not what I had hoped for. It felt clunky and hasty with all of the story arcs looped into one giant bow.

Ultimately townsfolk, what it comes down to is this reader was just not the intended target for this book. Rebecca Raisin truly has an enchanting way with descriptions that completely transport the reader but, unfortunately, I didn’t connect with her characters. If you are a fan of gorgeous, descriptive prose and a more forgiving female lead than I am willing to abide by, then this book is for you.

*I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

**Reviews posted to Goodreads and Bookbub
**Full review will be posted on blog after tour date since it is a 3 star.
**Short reviews will be posted to retailers after release

A book about a bookshop swap! What could be better!?

This made me think of the movie The Holiday - but the bookstore edition - it was a fun sweet, quick read, and ideal for lovers of a romance chock full of happily ever afters and everything you could wish for in a bookstore setting.

When Sarah is offered to swap bookstores with another shop owner in Paris who wishes to get away for a bit, the typical shy and unadventurous Sarah accepts without a second thought - completely out of character for her. Her boyfriend Ridge travels so much and experiences so much adventure - she thinks "why not?" and plans to leave immediately since he's always on the road and she's got nothing to lose.

However when she arrives - her excitement is dulled by a theft, a struggling store, uncooperative employees and she struggles to get in touch with Ridge who is supposed to come meet her and finally take some time from his work. Initially, Sarah finds herself wondering why she signed up for this, especially around the holidays, and wonders if she can last the full 6 months. But what follows is a charming story with a quirky and lovely cast of characters who all shine in their own way.

The story has several tangents that flow seamlessly and creatively throughout - and all the side stories had me curious and intrigued. I do think this might have been better if Sarah was single - I had HUGE issues with Ridge, her constantly letting him get away with things - and in the end how things turned out with them. But I definitely enjoyed the story and know that many will love the ending and relish in how it all turns out!

A cute romance with fun characters, and a lovely story that made me smile.

🗼For lovers of the romance of Parisian life, a real🍰 treat!😊

4.5🌟stars
🍰🍷😍 This story oozes with the scents, savor and spirit of Parisian life. Experiencing it all with first-time visitor Sarah Smith, the heroine of the story, made it feel more immediate and the wonder of finding new treasures just around the corner shone through. Sarah's personal journey and long-distance romance were central to the tale, but I loved the added drama of her colleagues at the Once Upon a Time bookshop, and particularly regular visitor Luiz and the mystery love letters he and Sarah uncover. For me, the ending was lovely and unexpected, a Christmas miracle of sorts.😊

The story bogged down a bit at times with depressing setbacks, and I felt that fellow bookshop owner Sophie was not really a very sympathetic character in her transatlantic grumbling about the balance sheet. But, based on the high quality of the writing and the warmth author Rebecca Raisin imbued in her plot, characters and scene descriptions, this book was a joy to savor like the scrumptious French pastries Sarah can't resist and Rebecca Raisin is an author whose work I will gladly read again.👍

One sad footnote: the destruction of iconic Notre Dame occurred after this story was written. The cathedral's mentions were bittersweet.

Thanks to publishers HQN and NetGalley for providing a complimentary advance copy of the book; this is my voluntary and honest review.

I tried a few times to read this, but ended up abandoning it at 20%. I just have a hard time believing that anyone (especially an avid bookworm, who has presumably read a lot about other cultures and places) could be so flummoxed by the Parisian train system, and lose her luggage in such a stupid way. I wanted to love it, because I usually love books set in bookstores, but not this time.

A cute romance set in the city of love. Though, I felt this book was more about Sarah’s growth as a person than it was about her love life. I was rooting for her more than her relationship.

My apologies to the author, but I didn't like this book at all.

I thought the premise would be fun and whimsical. Instead, I found it implausible and ridiculous. These two women who barely know one another decide to take over one another's bookshops. They don't draw up even a basic contract. They only touch on the barest of details before they exchange lives. They leave everything about their businesses to the essential stranger to figure out, expecting that stranger to run the other's store, do the bookkeeping and payroll, make a profit that will still belong to the actual owner, and manage everything in a foreign country.

Further adding to the implausibility is the fact that Sarah is not the least bit assertive. In fact, she's a self-proclaimed introvert who doesn't do well with confrontation or change, and she's definitely not a leader. And, yet, she jumps at the chance to take over a thriving bookstore, with multiple employees, in a country she's never visited, and she doesn't even speak French.

All that was a huge stretch for me. Add in the fact that every single employee in the bookshop is obnoxious and unlikable, and I just couldn't force myself to continue. I gave up at about the 40% mark on my Kindle.

I was really hoping to love this book. Paris during the Christmas season, bookstores, and a main character who is a total book nerd. I thought with all these wonderful subjects, I would be in love with this book, but unfortunately I wasn't. too contrived and predictable.

A bookshop swap? In Paris? Well, as the owner of her very special bookshop, Sarah Smith gets a frantic call from her Parisian friend Sophie, who also owns a bookshop.

In short, due to heartbreak, Sophie needs to get away and offers a trade. Will Sarah take her up on such an odd offer? She certainly does and before she knows it, Sarah is setting foot on foreign ground, in more ways than one.

For starters, her love affair with books is about to become a real-life love affair when she worries about the love of her life, Ridge, now that she is in Paris. Before she can even think of finding true love and romance of her own, however, Sarah must contend with the lazy and ineffectual lifestyle of the workers in the Paris bookshop. This includes trying to keep the books knowing she must answer to Sophie.

So, Sarah and Ridge play phone tag, with Sarah missing Ridge more and more every day, all while she runs into a bit of a mystery. How long Sarah will remain in Paris is unclear, and she misses those special friends she made at home, as well as her family..

The Little Bookshop on the Siene is the first book in the Little Paris Collection, previously published in 2015, with The Little Antique Shop Under the Eiffel Tower and The Little Perfume Shop Off the Champs-Élysée wrapping up this trilogy by Rebecca Raisin.

Many thanks to Harlequin and to NetGalley for this ARC for review. This is my honest opinion.

I was really hoping to love this book. Paris during the Christmas season, bookstores, and a main character who is a total book nerd and unapologetic romance reader. What wouldn't be to like?

Unfortunately, the answer (for me) was: most everything. Sarah is a bookstore owner who loves books and imagines they lead secret lives when the lights go out at night. One sentence like that is whimsical, when the theme got repeated over and over throughout the book I glazed over the paragraphs because it got too annoying. Sarah is a doormat for most of the book, letting her friend Sophie rush her into deciding to swap stores for 6 months. Ok, Sophie needs a break and needs to get over a breakup, but rushing the decision into "right now" and then being mad when Sarah doesn't instantly fit into Sophie's far more chaotic world was ridiculous and I was mad at Sophie for the book. Everything gets blamed on Sarah from trouble with obnoxious employees to falling sales to thefts. Anything Sarah brings up as a problem or a new idea is terrible because "she just doesn't understand. She's not French". Sarah's relationship with boyfriend Ridge was also a puzzler and didn't do it for me. He isn't present for most of the book- off on assignments as a reporter- to the point where even Sarah starts to wonder if he's cheating on her. We have to take their amazing relationship on Sarah's word, and even then most of it seems based on good chemistry. Sarah seems to have forgotten the most important lesson in romance: communication is how to deal with problems. She wants her life to be like the books she reads, but isn't overly ready to step up and do her part. A side story with a writer who befriends Sarah is nice, but an additional side story involving mysterious letters gets thrown on top of that almost as an afterthought. At the end you see why, but I didn't think it was necessary.

There are some good aspects. There are some nice scenes of exploring Paris as a local, not a tourist. There are moments when you're proud of Sarah for standing up for herself. Moments of friendship. And the ending is delightful. It just seems like all the troubles we spent most of the book harping on suddenly got fixed without the satisfaction of seeing how it happened, or why, like the author suddenly realized she was nearing the end of the book and had to wrap things up. Secondary characters were flat. Tightening up the writing and cutting some of the repetition would have helped the book, but overall this was one I slogged through more than enjoyed.

I received an ARC of this book for NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

The second in a series where I accidentally read it first! Although I didn't love book one as much, I would completely suggest starting there before moving on to this book.

Sarah Smith is back and her bookshop in Connecticut is doing just ok. When a friend from Paris wants to do a bookshop swap, Sarah is ready to make a temporary change and try something new - even with a little fear! When she arrives in Paris things go a little wonky and the bookstore staff are not welcoming, so she has quite a few things to overcome to make Paris a great experience.

I loved this part of Sarah's story. This one felt like such a fuller story than the first book in the series and I enjoyed really getting to know Sarah in this one. I appreciated the ups and downs of her relationship with Ridge and all the quirks and things with the staff in the store in Paris.

I would completely recommend this book to any book lover as no one can complain about a book that takes place in a sweet little bookstore in Paris.

THE LITTLE BOOKSHOP ON THE SEINE is a story of finding oneself in Paris. Sarah Smith is comfortable with her small bookstore in a small American town. She has her friends across the street and can read and talk books all day. When her friend Sophie, who owns a prestigious bookstore in Paris, asks to swap places after her boyfriend left her for another woman, Sarah agrees, not quite expecting the challenges that await her.

In Paris, nothing is quite as expected, but Sarah manages to find her own way with new friends and experiences that help her to also find herself. At the same time, she is managing her long-distance boyfriend, who seems to have less and less time for her. Sarah must also decide what she wants to do with that, while also figuring out who is stealing from the bookshop and how to increase profits.

This was a lovely book to read, but I did wish there was a budding romance to read about (the relationship was previously established), and I did not get into it so much, as we don't really have the background (though this is included in an extra story at the end). However, if you don't go into this expecting a romance, the story has a lot of strength in finding your voice and confidence, tackling challenges, and experiencing new things.

Overall, this was a great read with some interesting themes, and I would definitely read more from this author. Please note that I received an ARC from the publisher. All opinions are my own.

I was disappointed with this book. I found I didn’t like the way that it was written there were some spelling errors. I always love a good romance but this one was just sad. I thought that it was going to be a good read before Christmas time but I was mistaken. I’m just glad that I got this book HQN Books and I didn’t have to spend actual money on it. Because I would have been disappointed if I had.

Sarah Smith lives a small but quaint life surrounded by books. Never one to go against the grain, when the option to switch bookshops with her outgoing Parisian friend, Sophie, unexpectedly comes up Sarah jumps at the chance. Spending a few months in the romantic literary city is sure to be an experience of a lifetime, but Sarah soon finds out it's not at all it's cracked up to be.

Sarah was hoping the Once Upon a Time bookshop would be her chance to break out of her shell and really come alive, but she feels more out of place than ever. From rude coworkers to ruder customers, Sarah has to fight for even the smallest bit of respect. It doesn't help that her travelling reporter boyfriends calls have gotten ever fewer and far between. As the sales in Sophie's shop keep plummeting under Sarah's management, while hers are thriving under Sophie's, Sarah can't help but think she made a terrible mistake. Slowly, as she starts to carve out a life and friends in Paris, and with Christmas fast approaching, Sarah is determined to get the shop, and herself, back together and make her happily ever after come true.

I really wanted to love this, but I ended up just thinking it was okay. I loved the idea of this gorgeous Parisian bookshop, but most of the staff there were just so rude and arrogant that I didn't like most of them. I liked Sarah and really enjoyed watching her blossom into this independent woman, and I liked her dynamic between TJ and Oceane, but everyone else I could take or leave. The writing wasn't my favorite either; I felt it came off a bit unrealistic and pretentious at times. Sarah and Ridge's romance was alright, but didn't give me all the feels I was hoping for. Although I didn't end up loving this, I still would recommend it if you're looking for a quick holiday read.

Let me begin this review by saying that I will read anything about Paris and anything about a book store. My two favorite things, so to find them both in one book, made this a must read for me!

The book begins by introducing us to the main character, Sarah Smith. She is putting up the closed sign on her bookstore and lamenting because business is slow. She gets a phone call from her boyfriend, Ridge, a reporter. He is off on international stories all the time and they rarely spend time together.

Later that day, after spending some lovely restorative time with her friends, she receives an email from Sophie, a friend in Paris. Sophie, who also owns a bookshop, needs to get out of Paris for awhile and offers up the suggestion that they switch bookshops. Sarah reluctantly says yes, in a mix of excitement and dread.

With that, Sarah heads to Paris. The bookshop is run completely different and a whole lot busier than her own bookshop. She rarely has time for see Paris and some of the staff seem to resent her.

I loved all the parts of the story about Paris and the French, though I didn’t really learn anything new - they dress nice, they can be rude and the bread is awesome.

The other characters of the story - Sarah’s friends in her hometown and the new people in Paris are actually more interesting than Sarah or Ridge. Their love story is a constant battle between finding time for each other and is it worth it.

All in all, it was a sweet read. If you like books and Paris (and who doesn’t) there is plenty here to like.

I received an arc of the book.

This is a cheesy, romantic and predictable story but I did this book was ok. Not really something I would read again but I did like it and I do recommend this one for those who are into hallmark movie like books.



I am giving this 3 out of 5 stars.

If you are a book lover and avid reader, then this is a story for you! "The Little Bookshop on the Seine" explores the culture shock experienced by Sarah, an American book shop owner from a small town, as she "trades places" with Sophie, another book store owner whose shop is in Paris. I was a little taken aback about the "hot" nature of Sarah's relationship with Ridge, with all the bedroom references and implications. That resolved itself later in the book. I also wished at times that Sarah was less wishy washy and stood up for herself more often. However, I liked the descriptions of characters and settings.

The descriptions of Paris were detailed and made it come alive for the reader, and the book was a quick read. I recommend this book to readers who like a romance, with the added interest of books and a life in Paris.

I received this book from the publisher and from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The opinions expressed here are entirely my own.

The Little Bookshop on the Seine is the sequel to The Little Bookshop on the Corner, Rebecca Raisin is the queen of the fun, flirty romances that have strong plots and loveable characters. She's the author of the popular Gingerbread Cafe series and the Cedarwood Lodge series. Little Bookshop on the Seine picks up where Little Bookshop on the Corner left off. Sarah Smith's bookshop is going through a slump. Her new love, Ridge, is constantly called away to cover breaking news stories - exciting for him, but she's definitely in a rut. Enter Sophie, her elegant Parisian friend. Sophie just ended a torrid romance and is in need of a change herself. The two friends come up with a plan to trade bookshops for a few months. Sarah has dreamed of going to Paris and takes full advantage of the exchange, meeting Sophie's friends, coming up with new ideas for the store and rethinking her relationship with Ridge. Any fan of Rebecca Raisin will adore this book. this is my first book of hers and I loved it - I had no trouble figuring out what was going on so enjoy it if you love romances, Paris, or just a fun story. I'm really excited to read the prequel and the rest of her books!