Four Stars and a half ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭒

I really enjoyed The Brightest Star in Paris by Diana Biller. It’s not a heavy historical fiction novel, but it’s light and has a nice heartwarming story. Yes, it does go into some of the horrible conditions of that time in Paris, but the sad details of life are sprinkled in throughout the story so it doesn’t all bombard you at one time. The story also has a sweet paranormal twist that lightened up the story but wasn’t unbelievable.

Amelie St. James is a sweet, virtuous prima ballerina in the Paris Opera Ballet and is called the Saint by the Paris press because of her impeccable high standards of personal behavior. Amelie has only two years left to continue the charade of being the perfect ballerina both on and off the stage until she can safely retire and her younger sister can finish her schooling.

I thought The Brightest Star in Paris was very well written with all the historical facts
Dr. Benedict Moore is an American doctor who is visiting Paris for a convention to study brain issues. He wants to recruit scientists for his new Brain Institute he’s starting up in Washington D. C. and to possibly meet up with his first crush, Amelie.

When they meet up in the Paris Opera Ballet house, the attraction is still there, but there is still the impossibility of a relationship because he lives and works in America, and her life is in Paris as a ballerina and she must finish raising her younger sister.
that I love in historical fiction books, plus a light paranormal twist with the ghosts visiting Amelie and a nice sweet, but intense romance. I was pulled into the mystery right away as I wondered how these two would ever get together and overcome the obstacles, and I wondered about the ghosts and why they were haunting Amelie. I enjoyed the authors’ description of Paris both in 1878 and in the earlier timeline of 1866 when Amelie and Ben first met.
I highly recommend this book to lovers of historical fiction who do not mind a light paranormal story. I received a complimentary copy of this book. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I am not usually one to read books about ghosts but the synopsis and the cover of this one really grabbed me and I enjoyed it so much I went out and purchased the first book with these characters!

“The Brightest Star in Paris” by Diana Biller follows Amelie St. James a young woman who lives her life as “St. Amie” a virtuous prima ballerina at the Paris Opera House after the Siege of Paris. But when her past comes back to haunt her both literally and metaphorically, she must make some difficult decisions.

It took me a few chapters to get into this one, but once I did I couldn’t stop reading it. I don’t usually enjoy ghost stories but the ghosts added an interesting perspective. And while I understood the main character’s fears and her reasons for doing the things she did, I couldn’t help but be frustrated with her some of the time. But the playful banter of the characters and the hilarious family that came to stay had me hooked. I can’t wait to dive into the other book!

I loved this book! It gave me Persuasion vibes set in 1800s Paris. A total joy of a novel. The setting and characters are supremely moody and romantic!

Paris has never been more magical, or more mysterious. Especially when Amelie finds herself staring at a ghost before her ballet performance.

Biller has created a mesmerizing and thrilling ghost story, intertwined with a love story. Amelie is running from the ghosts of her past, trying to protect her little sister. Ultimately, she is facing down real ghosts and trying to maintain her pristine ballerina image.

But one ghost isn’t dead at all. Her old flame, Ben, has arrived in Paris. Their love was ill fated from the start years earlier. But both of them still harbor feelings that are best left unexplored, until a kiss unleashes them and Amelie is swept away.

Amelie is a genuine character, flawed and completely relatable. She is protective and caring, but also aloof. She is curious and independent. She tries to do the right thing. I adored her character and her journey through grief and loss, but also her struggle to admit and fully accept her own truths.

This book was a welcome escape during a very difficult time in my life that kept me from reading for a while. Picking it up and feeling like I was whisked away to Paris was exactly what I needed.

The Brightest Star in Paris is a second chance romance set in 1878 Paris. Amelie is a prima ballerina, and Benedict is a doctor focusing on brain science. He credits her with saving his life twelve years prior, so he is quick to help her when she faces trouble because a ghost has murdered a man.

I very much enjoyed the setting of the Paris Opera House and the description of the ballet. The dual timelines were great, and I also liked the way the book played on the fake dating trope.

However, when the synopsis mentioned ghosts of the past, I hadn't expected this would be an actual ghost story. The other thing I would have liked to know before reading is that it's connected to her previous novel, The Widow of Rose House. The heroes of the two books are brothers, and this story gives spoilers for the previous one.

I recommend this book if you are a fan of ghost stories and gothic romance, as is it very well written.

Thank you to the author for including content warnings about trauma at the start of the book. Thank you to St. Martin's Griffin for the advanced review copy. These opinions are my own.

I vowed to read more historical romance this year, and I've been failing...terribly. But I'm back on my game thanks to The Brightest Star in Paris. This book was pure joy and delight, and it reignited my desire to read more books just like it.

I guess I should start by saying if you're a stickler for reading order, you should know this book is set in the same world as The Widow of Rose House and some characters do overlap. I had no idea these books were connected, so I didn't read The Widow of Rose House first. I never felt lost or confused reading The Brightest Star in Paris, but it does spoil TWORH a bit, so if reading order is super important to you, you may get the most enjoyment starting there.

The Brightest Star in Paris takes place in 1878, a few years after the Siege of Paris. While the impoverished are still struggling with the aftermath of war, the wealthy and fashionable are back to enjoying an opulent lifestyle filled with fine dining and nights at the ballet. Much of the book takes places at the Palais Garnier, a beautiful opera house and one of the most popular structures in all of Paris.

Amelie St. James is the prima ballerina of the Paris Opera Ballet, begrudgingly. While she loves to dance, she hates the person she's pretending to be. Once a poor girl from the rough side of town, she now lives in a gorgeous apartment and mingles with the same men who turned her mother into a societal outcast before her untimely death. The only time Amelie can recall being truly happy was 12 years prior, when a handsome American named Ben took her by surprise. So, when Ben returns to Paris and they discover their connection is just as strong as it once was, they must decide if they can make it work this time around or if they should finally part ways for good.

There are so many things I loved about this book. The magical Paris setting. The sweet, second chance romance. The timely observation of class struggle. The painful realization that men still abuse their power over 100 years later. But what I loved the most was the deep sense of family and connectedness I felt while spending time with Ben's family, the Moores. Loving and caring, silly and wild, they are one of the most lovely fictional families I've ever met, and it was such a pleasure getting to know them.

4-4.5🌟

Holy smokes where do I begin?! I absolutely loved this book. I usually do not read ghost stories, paranormal activity is not my thing but this book was magnetic, it was a perfect mix of the physical and invisible world. The character growth of Amelie is fantastic and Ben is the perfect secondary character for this story. Diana Biller has a magical way with words that flow and paint a story that brings emotions out of you in the best ways. I cried, laughed, felt sad and happy, and finally lived vicariously through the characters of the book. It is a very clean story with a hint of romance. It also explores the effect of trauma, pain, grudges, and the liberating powers of letting go.

For fans of La Belle Époque, ballet and magical realism, The Brightest Star in Paris transports you back in time to discover the secrets of Amelie, the star of the Paris Opera Ballet. The story does a good job of telling the political and social history of this time in Paris as well as painting a picture of Montmartre. The story wasn't what I expected but I didn't mind the elements of magical realism that the story had though I do feel the ghost storyline lost a bit of steam in the last third of the book. I did miss seeing more of the relationship between Amelie and Benedict as it evolved and developed-- they spent 12 years apart and it would have been nice to explore how they had changed as people in a less rushed way.

Many thanks to St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for the ARC.

"𝑻𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒉 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒇𝒂𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝑷𝒂𝒓𝒊𝒔, 𝒊𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒂𝒍𝒔𝒐 𝒂 𝒔𝒚𝒎𝒃𝒐𝒍 𝒐𝒇 𝒐𝒑𝒖𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒊𝒏- 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒄𝒉 𝒂𝒔 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒂𝒔𝒑𝒊𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒔𝒐𝒑𝒉𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘𝒔, 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒓𝒖𝒄𝒊𝒂𝒍 𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒓𝒆𝒅𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒂 𝒈𝒐𝒐𝒅 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆."

And with those words, we are introduced to the Palais Garnier and 1870s Paris.
I was drawn in by the dreamy cover and the prospect of a fun historical romance, when the book took a hard left turn into Ghost- Whisperer- meets Phantom- of- the -Opera territory & to my shock, I was still very much here for it. The author weaves a unique and engaging story and immerses you in the vivid setting of Paris right after the Franco- Prussian War, which I had never even heard about before. This story is in the same universe as her The Widow of Rose House, and the delightfully eccentric Moore family make a cameo.
I would have liked Moore of them (I couldn't help it. I'm sorry), but this was only barely a romance, and that frustrated me a bit. I would've thrown myself at Benedict. Really, it was moore (Last time I swear!) about Amelia's journey to overcome grief and trauma, and her struggle to be happy. I mean, relatable right?

Thank you to the publisher (St Martin's Griffin), the author, and NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
4/5 stars

Out 10/12/21

Upon beginning this book, I had trouble getting "into it." However, once I did get in it, I was hooked. Now, for some people, this would be difficult as it deals with a seedy side of Paris in the late 1800s. There was a life lived by many, in order to get by and live a decent life, that would be upsetting to some readers.

This book centered around a ballet dancer, Amelie (or St. Amie) who was a principal dancer in the Paris Opera Ballet. The ballet was perfect entertainment in those days and the dancers were stars. St. Amie was worshipped by many because they all thought she lived a pious life yet they had no idea of her past...and that of her mother's..and what she had done to be successful.

Having a mother who basically made her life and money as a career mistress made quie a mark on Amelie. She saw what it had done to her mother and how it caused her death. Upon her mother's death, Amelie was left to raise her young sister, Honorine, and she danced through pain in order to give Honorine a better life, one of education and good people.

As mentioned, the novel goes into some of the seedier details of life in Paris. Not unexpected, many wealthy men had mistresses on the side who were often ballerinas. These men often supported the ballet and used the women as their personal playthings. This was not uncommon and seemed to be rather expected. It was as if the people in charge of the ballet expected their ladies to do "favors" for those supporting them financially.

The story does flash back to a time twelve years earlier when Amelie met (and fell in love with) a young man visiting Paris after a traumatic time following service in the war in America. Without saying it, this novel does touch on PTSD and those problems experienced by soldiers through the years. When they meet again, their past is fondly remembered but they struggle with their feelings which have lasted twelve long years.

Ben comes from a family of highly intelligent men and women with his immediate family being inventors and doctors, Ben, himself, is studying the human brain in an effort to understand all the intricacies of it.

The author states at the opening of the book, "This is a story about love and healing, but it is also a story about trauma." And it is. The reader sees love and how people may fight against it and even when realizing there is love, they will leave it and try to ut it aside. We see how love can heal and how it can hurt but that it can be the ultimate cure for what ails you.

I did receive this book as an Advanced Reader Copy through NetGalleyBooks and St. Martin's.
#NetGalleyBooks #St.Martin's

3.5 stars.

Okay, I tucked into this book thinking it was going to be a heartfelt tale of star-crossed, cross-Atlantic lovers who were getting a second shot at love.

The description of this book gave me no indication that "haunting from the past" was going to be actual G H O S T S. Cue me flipping back to the synopsis and wondering what the heck I missed.

Despite a totally different vibe than what I was expecting, I enjoyed this book. It was heartfelt, honest, and raw in all the right places, and depicted a beautiful love story between Amelie + Ben that spanned years, traumas, careers, and more. The paranormal activity would have probably been better received if I was expecting it, the commentary about telling people's stories honestly and authentically was a touching addition to the plot.

First, if you haven’t read The Widow of Rose House, go read it. I think you can enjoy this book without having read it, but it’s amazing so read it first. The Brightest Star in Paris is the second book about a Moore family member. There is a novella, The Christmas Spark, about the parents that I recommend as well. I just love the Moore family. Whenever they are on the page I just become giddy. These Moore men might just be my kryptonite. The hero, Ben, is no exception. Maybe it is the INTJ of me that is so attracted to them. The heroine was the ballet star of Paris. I loved the complexity of her. Her little sister was a scene stiller. There are some books that just remind you why reading is the best. The Brightest Star in Paris is one of them. PS this is a scaredy-cat approved book.


I voluntarily read an early copy.

This was a magical love story.

It’s 1878 and Amelie St. James is prima ballerina at the Paris Opera Ballet. Nicknamed St. Amie because the public, her adoring fans view her as a pious and darling ballerina. Amelie wasn’t always viewed this way; she felt she had to put on this front in order to create a stable life for her and her sister after experiencing hardships.

Dr. Benedict Moore, Amelie’s first love, has returned to Paris from America and is on a mission to present at a conference and recruit some new colleagues. But it’s all mostly just so he can see Amelie again.

The two meet under strained circumstances. And this is where murder and ghosts enter and start to thicken the plot.

The synopsis mentions ghosts of Amelie’s past, but I didn’t think they meant actual ghosts. Even though I wasn’t expecting them, I thought they added an entertaining element to this story. They were the perfect amount of funny and snarky, but also their stories were heartbreaking.

This was a bit darker than I thought it would be. Some of themes are grief, pain, and loss.

I think I’ll be in the minority with this one. I didn’t enjoy it as much as I was hoping. It dragged on and could be edited down a smidge. At one point the ghost element kind of dropped off and was picked up again later in the book.

I think other readers will love this, it’s just not for me. There are a lot of other positive reviews, so maybe you’ll want to check those out.

Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for the arc in exchange for my honest opinions.

This book was amazing! The characters throughout the book changed a little and I love to see how the grow and learn. The connection between the two characters was really great. I recommend this book 9/10. I love how Amelie and Benedict had a second chance to get to know each other better and soon fall in love again. The scenery was explained well and I love how the author put in the details I could imagine what everything look like. Overall 9/10 it was a little longer than expected

From the first paragraph, I knew this book would be a good one. I immersed myself into the book from the first chapter and I cannot say enough good things about this book! Honestly amazing! The writing is incredible and the plot is just one to die for. I am absolutely obsessed with this book. My favorite part would have to be the character development throughout the book. Character development is something I look forward to and this book did not disappoint.

Paris, ballet, historical romance, second-chance love, and mix in some ghosts...I was hooked.

The Brightest Star in Paris follows Amelie, prima ballerina of the Paris Opera House and her lost love, Benedict. The descriptions of the Paris setting was absolutely well done by the author. The plot was very interesting and added a different appeal to this historical fiction. The relationship and character development between both Amelie and Benedict was well done, especially with their trauma from the war. I did find it was more historical fiction than romance.

The Brightest Star in Paris is a wonderful, emotional, historical fiction with some paranormal aspects. Perfect for fans of historical romance and fiction.

Thanks to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the advance copy to review in exchange for my honest opinion,

This was a bit different from what I was expecting. I expected more of a ghost story than what it was.
It did keep my attention from the first page. During the middle it rambled around and around. There is some romance but also heartache.
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the early copy

I wasn't expecting the paranormal ghost stuff that was in this book. I interpreted the "ghost from her past" very differently than the actual plot of this book. If I knew this was the case, I probably wouldn't have requested this book. I was hoping just for a sweet romance that is set in the past of Paris.

An eminently readable, moving, and unique novel.

I thoroughly enjoyed The Widow of Rose House, Biller's first novel, which was genre-bending but still a romance novel. The Brightest Star in Paris is a continuation of the world built in her first novel, set in 1878 a few years after the events of Widow (with flashbacks in time), but also shifts the series in a new direction.

The Brightest Star in Paris goes deeper in exploring the historical political and social upheaval in Paris post-Siege of Paris and its impact on the MCs. It also goes deeper in exploring the supernatural elements that were also present in the first book. I don't read a lot of "historical fiction" but this was definitely a new-to-me historical setting and Biller's attention to how the larger political events impacted citizens of lower economic classes was refreshing and seemed well researched. The historical details created meaningful context to the story and emotional world-building well.

This is definitely Amelie's story. Her love interest Benedict Moore is the brother of the male MC from Widow, and we are treated to more appearances by the Moore's, who are delightfully loving and quirky. Benedict is exactly what Amelie needs, but the focus on Amelie's emotional journey, her grief, and the trauma that has shaped her is the driving force of the story, not the romance between Amelie and Benedict.

I'm spending a lot of time talking about these genre elements because I would make a case that this book is not going to satisfy die-hard romance readers in the same way Widow did, however it's cathartic and emotionally satisfying in different ways. I believe readers will enjoy this book if they come in without genre expectations: historical or women's fiction readers may be surprised at the supernatural elements, for example.

I'm approaching this book as a critical reader, not a "book critic" - this book made me FEEL. Amelie's struggle to allow herself to be happy deeply resonated with me. While the story obviously takes place in a very different world, somehow I felt the themes echoed present day issues such as living through COVID and the scrabbling for security in an uncertain world for people not born into wealth.

I highly recommend this book. I assume we'll be exploring the stories of other Moore siblings in future books and I look forward to seeing how Diana Biller expands this world.

(I'd encourage readers to view the CW on Diana Biller's site, especially if they are sensitive to topics around loss of family.)

Thank you NetGalley for sending this arc for an honest review!

This book was absolutely breathtaking. A hint of fresh air. The time, the setting, the place, the romance… all of withered with a tad of French. This is one of those books where I wish I could read it for the first time again. I was simply sold by the cover when I saw the Eiffel Tower. I knew paris romance was just incomparable like no other. And boy was I right. It was a nostalgia moment that raised my serotonin that I just simply cannot put this book down.