Alice, Nina and Jules have been friends for twenty years, after meeting during a debutantes' ball at the swanky Hôtel de Crillon in Paris. In the following years, they have taken annual trips to Paris to relive their youth, but it is getting harder to ignore the fact that the different directions their lives have taken means they have gradually grown apart.

This year, the weight of all the baggage that has built up over time leads to significant cracks in their relationships. Each of them is consumed by their own problems, but unable to share what troubles them, and the reunion is a disaster. Although they arrived together, they make solo journeys home, and the many misunderstandings that have arisen lead to them falling out of contact. What happened to their friendship?

We first meet Alice, Nina and Joules in 1999 when they bond over their desire to escape from a fancy debutante ball. The story then plays out over the years, cutting back and forth between significant episodes of their annual visits to Paris, and their disastrous reunion twenty years later. Kennedy slowly weaves together the many threads about how their visits to Paris have changed their ability to confess their true feelings to each other, and very cleverly uses this to show of how the cummulative 'after Paris' ripples break their friendship.

My goodness, there is a lot to unpack in this novel. What starts as an intriguing look at privilege via a youthful escapade behind the scenes of one of the events of the Parisian social calendar, burgeons into a story that delves deeply into how our pasts, and the twists and turns of modern life, affect the decisions we make.

Alice, Nina and Joules are from very different backgrounds, and in many ways their expectations and opportunities are poles apart. There is genuine warmth and tenderness between them, but as the years go by they find themselves telling lies and putting up barriers that really complicate how they relate to each other, and their partners and families. The excuses they make (especially to themselves) are based on good intentions, and are the kind of ones we have all made at some time or another. This makes these women and their dilemmas very relatable, and Kennedy shows real insight into the dynamics of close female friendships as the tale unfurls. I like how she paints these women in authentic shades of grey, balancing out their positive and negative emotions, and their strengths and vulnerabilities. There are times when you do not like them or what they are doing, dying to tell them to stop and think; and others when you feel such empathy for the situations they find themselves in that you want to enfold them in a hug. It makes them seem curiously real somehow.

I am not about to go into the veritable buffet of themes Kennedy touches on in the telling of this tale, as there is real enjoyment the way in which she employs them through such a character driven story. I particularly enjoyed how she explores motherhood, father-daughter relationships, and female addiction, but there is so much more to ponder on too - and she has some very thought-provoking things to say about neuro-diversity, especially in adults.

This has all the secrets, lies and drama you want from a compelling summer read, but it also takes you to some unexpectedly deep and poignant places. What a great combination!

#adprproduct Book Review ✨⠀
After Paris by Nicole Kennedy 📖⠀
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🌟A beautiful messy portrayal of female friendship.⠀
🌟I adored Alice, Jules & Nina my heart sank and soared with them all as their stories started unfolding.⠀
🌟I really loved the way it captured the complexity, fragility and insecurities of friendships. ⠀
🌟Paris was brought to life in these pages and you could almost imagine you were really there.⠀
🌟Give me all the feels the good, the bad, the ugly. I loved every moment of it! My only problem is it has induced a book hangover 😱 ...what can I possibly pick up next?! ⠀
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It deals with lots of big topics in a sensitive, relevant & thought-provoking way. I won't name them here but do check the trigger warnings.⠀
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💖 A big thanks to Head of Zeus & NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read and review it.

After Paris follows three unlikely friends that meet in Paris as young adults/debs, and remain forever friends. The book has all of the plot twists of life- abortion, infertility, indiscretions. It's interesting to see the characters' backstories and how it impacts their relationships with one another.

While I didn't hate this one, I also didn't love this one. And while I don' t regret reading it, it will not be one that I pick back up.

I think patrons will enjoy it, so we will definitely be purchasing for the collection. Thank you for the early read!

This tells the story of three women who have been best friends for 20 years, but cracks start to appear in their friendship and an ill-fated annual trip to Paris, a trip they do every year goes wrong leaving their friendship in tatters and claims being ghosted.

Alice, Nina and Jules have been firm friends for half their lives, they met in Paris and vowed to go back every year to have a good time, relive their youth and basically have a weekend without the worries of their regular life, a weekend to be young and carefree again. Only this year everything go wrong, and their friendship faces the ultimate test. Can a friendship survive After Paris?

I loved that this told the story through all three of the women’s points of view, it brings reclaims and depth to the story and allows the reader to get to know each of the women on their own terms. They each give an insight into events and their shared past, plus as the story progresses you start seeing that maybe all wasn’t as perfect as we first thought. They are three very real and relatable women who as their lives change and go in different directions at times have drifted apart, eys they are still friends, but are they really the best friends they thought or has life itself come between them?

I have just realised that I seem to be ending paragraphs with questions, but whilst reading you do have questions like this going through your mind. The way this brings to light aspects of women’s lives, situations in certain stages of our lives and how others and society (and friends) look at that something which befalls most of us at one time or another.

I have to admit, that I was unfamiliar with the term Ghosted/Ghosting and did have to do a bit of Google search. I think we have all been Ghosted at one time or another, right? And I do hate to admit it as I know how hurtful it is, that I may have been guilty of it when I was in my twenties. Alice, Nina and Jules all say the others have ghosted them, and yet they are all guilty, but why and what is the reason behind this sudden behaviour from friends. As we read, the truth is slowly revealed, it’s beautifully done and keeps you engaged.

I read the author’s previous book and I hate to say that I didn’t love that one, I enjoyed it but it didn’t hit the mark for me. Yet, this one is completely different, the story is so perfectly paced, and beautifully written. It’s honest and thought-provoking, relatable, it’s a multi-layered emotional ride full of secrets and some serious subjects which may be triggering for some, but a story which will keep you reading right to the very last page.

A definite must-read for those who love their contemporary women’s fiction which focuses primely on women’s relations and friendship. I have to admit that it wasn’t what I thought it was. I’m not sure what I was expecting, but it ended up being completely different, but in a very positive way and now I can’ wait to read more from the author.

In this authentic and contemporary exploration of female friendship, three women meet by chance and become friends. Their friendship endures, and each year they revisit Paris. Their last reunion starts well but ends badly. The story explores their friendship from the women's viewpoints, and the mystery behind their imploding friendship gradually emerges.

Believably flawed characters give this story an authentic vibe, and the discussion of current issues facing women is insightful. What makes this special is each woman's story and the intriguing layers of their friendship.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher.

Happy Pub Day to "After Paris" by Nicole Kennedy! This was a really fun book that I give 4 stars.

Jules, Alice, & Nina meet on a wild night out in Paris in 1999. They come from very different backgrounds but each of them is running away from their own issues in some way. They make a pact to come back to Paris every year. Some years, they make it happen, but slowly "real life" gets in the way. The novel follows their lives over three decades - will their friendships survive all the ups and downs?

I initially found it a little chaotic with every chapter being a different year (and not in order) as well as trying to keep track of everyone's lovers, partners, and kids. This was particularly true when some side characters were connected to more than one main character. Eventually I was able to figure it out! I also thought the first half of the book was a bit slow, as it was mostly stage-setting.

BUT I really enjoyed the second half - it picked up a lot of momentum and I just sat back and watched the fireworks! I love when a book surprises me and there were tons of unexpected twists and turns throughout! I also found the ending satisfying because the characters all all found resolution in some way.

Content warnings: infertility, IVF, bleeding during pregnancy, abortion, brief thoughts of su1cide, infidelity, gambling addiction, binge drinking, brief drug use, ableism, possible child abuse

Shareability: Readers who have ever vacationed in Paris, or wanted to! Themes of empathy, trust, betrayal, forgiveness, and growing up

Spice: n/a

Pairs well with: ham and cheese baguette and a can of Coke

3.5 stars

At first, I couldn’t really connect to the book, and it took me a while to get into. It follows a group of three friends throughout their friendship, from when they first meet to them drifting apart. However, once the plot picked up, I couldn’t put it down because I wanted to know what happened next. As the character’s secrets were being discovered by the reader, I wanted to see what would happen when it was revealed to the other women.

The chapters in the book alternated between past and present. Normally I’m a fan of this, however, I just felt like it didn’t work with this book. It was difficult to distinguish who was narrating or whether it was past or present.

The book discusses a lot of relevant subjects (i.e. addiction, pregnancy/infertility, neurodiversity), and each woman is relatable in some aspect of their experience/life views. However, I found that their friendship group as a whole wasn’t very relatable, and the chemistry between them just wasn’t there. I think the alternation between the time periods played a part in this. I think it would have been better executed in a linear timeline, as it would make it easier to distinguish and see their friendship grow and drift over time.

Overall, it was a decent book and was interesting to read. I think this would be a great book for a female book club to discuss friendship, women supporting women, and the other topics discussed in the book.

After Paris by Nicole Kennedy ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Jules, Alice and Nina became best friends after a chance encounter in Paris 20 years ago, despite their differences their friendship has stayed strong and we join them on one of their reunions in the city of love.

I went into this expecting it to be fairly lighthearted read so was pleasantly surprised to find that it goes a lot deeper than that with themes of infertility, addiction, infidelity and neurodiversity.

Would recommend this to anyone who enjoys a multi timeline and POV read about female friendships


The cover alone will have you packing your bags and booking yourself on the Eurostar, or at least sitting outside your favourite cafe with a croissant and cafe au lait!

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I really thought I was walking the streets of Paris when I was reading this book. It’s a story of females and their friendships in the modern era!

I really enjoyed this story focused on female friendships. I was invested in each character and the setting was an additional beloved character. Fun, light summer reading!

Set against the City of Lights, Paris, three women have a steadfast friendship. Or they did,,until one traumatic weekend was the dead reckoning for all,of,them. Each is facing her own set of challenges that involve children, jobs, and relationships. They also discover they haven’t been very honest with each other over the years.
After Paris is about having friends, but also knowing sometimes a break is necessary, just taking a break.
It was an interesting read.

Girl power, without the cheesiness - this book gives us the p.o.v of three women, following the stages of their lives and us getting to see how they cope, love, and help one another. This was a fun, emotional ride.

I loved the different pov of each woman in the story. I as relatable in the insecurities of friendships. I was able to look at my own friendships and see if they are true friendships or not. Friendships come and go and sometimes they just grow overtime the more you learn about each other. Thank you for my advanced copy!

A special thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this advance copy in exchange for my honest review. This one was unexpected but I really enjoyed it!

I’ll admit that I requested this one because the allure of three friends meeting in Paris - I love all things French and the culture, but aside from being the setting of some of the book, these characters were so endearing and raw, and honest at times. I loved how the author described each of their stories and how they came together, and wrote with such real emotion when conflict struck. I loved it.

I also should note that one character’s daughter is autistic, and being the mom of an autistic son, I thought it was really refreshing to honestly describe the struggles, as well as the celebrations of being a parent to an autistic child - I’ve felt them all. I felt like she was really trying to celebrate neuro diversity, and I appreciated that. I highly recommend if you’re a fan of contemporary fiction.

Thank you again to NetGalley and the publishers for this advance copy! Pub date is next week, July 26th!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and will definitely be looking out for more by this author. It's a story I can relate to, 3 friends for a long period of time trying to keep their friendship going amongst their personal hectic lives.

I loved the writing, the interactions between the three main characters and the scene setting, all just perfect.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for an early copy in return for an ho est review.

Just wow. This beautiful book crams so much into one story, It follows the lives of three women over the course of 20+ years from the age of their first meeting in Paris, a city they return to time again, at the age of 17. It covers some serious topics, and I would say the description and portrayal of autism and ADHD, whilst a secondary storyline, is probably one of the best I’ve ever read. A gorgeous study into the complexity of female friendships and how we perceive each other, this story gave me One Day kind of vibes, but without the “romance” and instead showing us the important of friendship.

We are all flawed. We are messy. And our relationships either strengthen or falter on how we deal with our own issues and histories.

A beautifully messy tale that bounces between three women who meet when they are teenagers and their lives leading up to and beyond their latest reunion in Paris.

I loved the deep hard issues that these women are faced with and how it is clear, like in real life, that they aren’t simple resolutions or decisions to be made.

However as raw as their stories were, I was disappointed in how contrived the ending became.

The writing was decent but choppy and confusing in parts. Solid 3.5 stars.

I was given a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was an excellent story. I loved getting the 'inside peak' of each character throughout the novel, and it was nice to see the characters grow and develop through the years with the flashbacks. I really enjoyed the friendship and various portrayals of strong female characters - each doing her own thing, yet finding a way to connect with each other and readers. I was surprised by each of the characters struggles and triumphs throughout, and my only complaint is that the story was 'too favorable' on adultery, which I found offensive.