Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for giving me a free eARC of this book to read in exchange for my review!

I heard so many good things about this author’s books and I was really excited to read this book! As someone that loved historical romances, this sounded like the perfect book for me. Sadly I had such a hard time getting into this story. I loved the premise of this story. But for some reason the pace of the story was too slow. This book just wasn’t for me. Even though I didn’t enjoy this story, I still want to try Diane’s other books.

I thought the blurb of this book sounded fantastic, however, I just couldn't get into it, so it's a DNF for me.

Hello,

Apologies for the late notice, but I have decided not to review this title.

While I am certain it's obvious by now, I wanted to also clear this off NetGalley, so it's not showing as open for either of us.

I look forward to continuing to work with you in 2023 and beyond.

Laura

Beautiful, emotional writing. Biller writes characters and especially setting in such a realistic and immersive way. Loved this.

Amelie St. James is a prima ballerina of the Paris Opera Ballet and has been dubbed the people's saint, but is just a shell of herself. When her first love comes back, she's caught off guard. Everything she's done to maintain calmness and security might go up in flames.

Dr. Benedict Moore Still thinks about Amelie, his first love. Being back in Paris, he still has feeling for her, even though they agree to a fake courtship. Of course, their feelings go stronger and really, they haven't forgotten one another.

This is decent - not my favorite of Ms. Biller's but not the worst. It didn't suck me in to the point where I had to ready but it was still sweet and the HEA was worth it.

I wanted to love this book. However, I really struggled with it. It was very hard for me to picture anything from the book from the characters to the scenery. Sometimes it was also hard to understand what was being said among characters as the writing style was unique and different from what I’m used to. It was a fantastic concept though with the second chance romance. It was beautifully painful and very intriguing at times. I liked the book, but it was hard for me to read at times.

Paris here i come. great read and enjoyed all that i had read. This was good from beginning to end. Yeah!!

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I admit that it did take me a while to get through because of some mental health issues I was going through, but that is entirely on me and not on the book. I loved Biller’s first book, THE WIDOW OF ROSE HOUSE, and I was anticipating this follow up greatly. I’m happy to say I was not disappointed. This book was about grief and trauma and building trust and vulnerability in the wake of both those things, and it was such a delight. It was, in a way, exactly what I needed. I related to both Amelie and Benedict in equal measure, and loved their friendship and their romantic relationship. I really appreciated that they were friends first, above all else.

The paranormal aspect of the book was mysterious and fun and compelling, but didn’t overshadow the developing relationship and character growth for Benedict and Amelie. Everything worked so well in this book, and I’m so grateful to Diana Biller for always writing such lovely, nuanced characters and stories.

The Moores were an absolute gem as always - they’re so warm and vibrant and kind and supportive. I really could read 10 more books about them and probably even more beyond that. They’re one of those families in books that you wish you could be a part of. It’s probably easy to be overwhelmed by them but they’re just so lovely that it’s just as easy to forgive them anything.

There were a few details that I did not really love about this book, the paranormal aspects being the biggest. I am not a believer and I found those aspects really brought me out of a beautiful and heartbreaking story. What I did love was the look into an era of Paris that I rarely read about and I thought was really well told. The romance was the best part of the book.

The Brightest Star in the Sky is a companion novel to the Widow of Rose House. While there are ghosts in this novel, it is not very dark. Instead, it is mostly a romance. The romance felt very natural and progressive. I liked the ending because it ended happily. Therefore, I recommend this for fans of Daughter of Paris, Ghost Dance, and Golden Earrings!

If you read THE WIDOW OF ROSE HOUSE, you won’t want to miss this one. And that was one of my favorite gothic historical romances that year, so as you can imagine I was anticipating this release. This is a second chance romance between Paris prima ballerina, Amelie St. James, and Dr. Benedict Moore. They met and spent a Summer together 12 years before when Amelie helped Benedict overcome the horrors of the American Civil War. Now she’s a famous star and haunted by ghosts. Benedict has come back to Paris and is still as captivated by her as he was back then. Plus, he has some experience dealing with ghosts.

THE BRIGHTEST STAR IN PARIS is definitely more of a personal journey story than a romance. Now don’t get me wrong, there’s a romance and Diana Biller still excels at writing sweet heroes and swoon worthy romances. But this story is definitely more subdued. The romance is a slow burn and with less steam than the previous book. That being said, I loved seeing these two characters reconnect and work through a lot of their past and present.

Both Benedict and Amelie have traumatic pasts. And in Amelie’s case, even though her actions and feelings made complete sense to me, at times I felt a bit frustrated. But in the end I was rooting for them both because they’re admirable and lovable characters. With so much strength and heart.

The ghosts are more of a subplot for this installment in the series but I thought it added an interesting layer to this story.

If you’re ready to fall for a family in historical romance, then you have to meet the Moore’s.

The Brightest Star in Paris by Diana Biller is a 2021 St. Martin’s Griffin publication.

This follow up to the "Widow of Rose House", is centered around Amelie St. James, prima ballerina of the Paris Opera Ballet. After the death of her mother, Amelie becomes the sole guardian of her younger sister.

For seven years she’s gone through the motions, forsaking love, finding herself under intense pressure to salvage the reputation of the Ballet, in the aftermath of the Paris siege, and to protect her sister. She’s in intense pain, living with a bad hip, hoping to make it just a couple of years more, until she has enough money saved up.

Back in New York, Dr. Benedict Moore has never forgotten Amelie- a woman who saved him after the war while he was trying to recover his health and was suffering from depression.

When a conference brings him back to Paris, he comes face to face with the celebrity ballerina he’s still in love with. Though it is obvious that Amelie feels the same way, she is haunted by a young dancer who died under mysterious circumstances, but is only the first of several ghosts that suddenly make their presence known...

I wish I could say this was a strong follow up to 'Rose House', but unfortunately, it didn’t have the same tension or atmosphere. The story is rather bleak and melancholy, to be honest. The ghost story didn’t have the same compelling command or sinister quality. The romance runs mostly in the background, though it does heat up a bit towards the end. There is a surprising revelation in the final chapters, too, and the ending is satisfying with a nice HEA.

Overall, this one didn’t quite measure up to 'Rose House', but it is still a good, poignant story, plus we get to touch base with a few familiar characters, which was a nice, too.

3 stars

An emotional, heartwarming and meaningful romance. I loved Diana's last book and this one was a true joy. I just loved it and devoured the pages. I can't wait to read more of her writing.

When I picked this up, I expected a historical romance with lots of ballet. I was quickly surprised by possible murder and literal ghosts. And there was so much more depth than I expected as we watched Ameile slowly deal with her trauma.

At first I wasn't sure about these unexpected (for me) twists, but as I kept reading I ended up enjoying this one far more than I expected. Seeing how helping each ghost move on also helped Ameile heal from her past was a beautiful transformation. I also greatly appreciated the flashbacks that allowed the reader to see how her trauma impacted her and how much she had changed as a result of her experiences.

Thanks to SMP Romance for the advanced copy.

Ballet and romance are two of my favorite things so this one was just lovely for me. I found it to be romantic and tender

Book received for free through NetGalley

I absolutely adored this book and had to keep reading to figure out what would happen next. Absolutely adore it! Would love to know more but love where it ended too.

This book was a delightful surprise to me and not at all what I was expecting! It is an interesting mix of historical fiction with a paranormal twist. It's an intricate tale of lost love, survival, and second chances. So many complex things all written into 1 story. The set up is well done and there are a lot of flashbacks to their first meeting/romance in Paris. I really loved the behind the scenes look into the realities of life in Paris, particularly the life of a dancer in that time.

An absolutely breathtaking romance -- no one does it quite like Diana Biller. I adored The Brightest Star in Paris, angst and all. This sweeping second chance romance is beautifully executed, from the way that historical Paris feels like it could spring to life from the pages of the book, to the way that Biller's writing deftly interweaves grief and angst with humor and palpable love -- whether romantic or familial -- between the characters. The supernatural plot is similarly perfectly woven into the story to compliment it, rather than to overwhelm it or detract from the other plot threads. From beginning to end, The Brightest Star in Paris is a beautiful, hopeful story of second chances.

While this book perfectly stands on its own, it is even more wonderful in the context of the overarching series. The Moore family is an enchanting group of eccentrics, in the best way. I simply can't get enough of them and eagerly await the follow-up about Maggie and Henry. I'm also crossing my fingers that we get a 4th book about Honorine, Amelie's sister. In summary: more Moores, please!

The Widow of Rose House hit a sweet spot for me between romance and truly spooky ghost stuff, but The Brightest Star in Paris unfortunately didn't capture my heart in the same way. The ghosts were more sad than scary and the story itself was a downer most of the time. This one wasn't for me but I'm sure it will find readers that connect to it.