Friends can become your family as they truly support you to become the best versions of yourself. Jules, Alice and Nina may have met simply due to coincidence but they grew to be sisters in all sense and purpose. What saddened me as a reader that when they needed each other and had a whole different side of themselves that caused serious emotional and in Jules case financially as well, they simply didn't feel they had each other and was effectively "ghosted". What's App remained silent. I was so happy that each spoke their truth and regained their friendship. Like Paul said, they raised their arms to the sky and celebrated life. It is love that matters.

This book was a fun treat! I loved it! It was a good reset after I read a heavier book. It kept me flipping pages well past my bedtime!!

Overall it was a good book to read, but ...
- the book synopsis says "A grown-up, thought-provoking and gripping novel set in Paris about motherhood, friendship, secrets, and the face we present to the world." so I was expecting more from the relationship between the girls; you will probably relate to at least one of them because they are very different and have different backgrounds, but the relationship could have been explored more in depth
- in my opinion the switch between past and present didn't seem to be well made; I think that if there were two parts, past and present separately, the storyline would have been clearer, specially for those who take a bit to read books.
Having said that, there were certainly good points about the book:
-the fact that the women are so different allows for the reader to relate to at least one of them;
-the setting is perfect, Paris seems to always be a good idea;
-it is a beautiful romance centered on the love and pain of a friendship and although it felt like it could be better explored, it was a beautiful read.

Loved the idea of this book and its focus on female friendships but I just kept waiting for something big to happen…and it never did. The book was a very slow burn, to the point where I almost gave up on it a few time.

This for me was a unique tale about friendship.

Three women who have essentially watched each other grown and evolve over the years suddenly find themselves you at a cross roads of sorts.

I loved that it was told from three points of view. It was interesting to see each characters thoughts on certain events, just how they differed from one another. These narrations made it more realistic as it is true in real life, we all perceive things in a variety of ways.

There were times throughout where I didn't feel as though I really liked any of them. Although they'd all experienced sadness and trauma, they also came across as quite selfish at times. This wasn't something that I disliked though, it was refreshing. We all love to hate certain characters don't we.

Kennedy has really worked hard to show the complexities of humans as a whole. Even better, these complications were shown over various time periods. Showing us that no matter how old we get, life really doesn't get simpler.

Not everything is black and white and some secrets and lies seem necessary at times (we've all hidden things for what we think is the greater good haven't we).

There are many subjects covered in this novel. From abortion and miscarriage to adultery and addiction. I was impressed as none of the above were simply glossed over. Each issue was treated as important and the reasons behind them also came across as honest and justified.

Over all, After Paris is filled with great emotions.

I admired its honesty.

I enjoyed <i>After Paris</i> a lot more than I expected to. The major plot points aren't that different from a lot of the female friendship-centered books on the market right now, but I really like how Nicole Kennedy explores the breakdown of those friendships that tend to happen when people hit their 30s. The characters each have to work through their flaws and struggles while becoming more aware that everyone in their lives is going through something.

Thank you, NetGalley, for the ARC of this book.

This book touched on so many important concepts: female friendships, neurodiversity, substance abuse, addictions, and fidelity. The book’s characters seem totally normal—our friends and struggles. But it still transported me by taking me to Paris, walking along the Seine, eating croissants. I loved it.

This is definitely one to read about friendships and how they can test you. Loved all the twists and turns and also the unexpected!

Alice, Jules, and Nina meet, in rather dramatic fashion, at a debutante ball in Paris, and become fast friends. Over the decades they support each other through the adventures of adulthood--education and careers, romantic entanglements and marriage, pregnancy and child-rearing--and meet regularly for weekends in Paris. Until one weekend, when all three women are "off" and they cannot seem to connect as they once did. Alice is worried about having left her children, especially her autistic daughter, with her husband, and about her nascent career in interior design. Nina seems to have it all together, with her expanding empire of patisseries, but she is hiding the secret of a new pregnancy and is not sure how she feels about it. But, the one thing she knows is that she cannot tell Jules, who is deep in a world of IVF attempts and miscarriages. After two days, in which they fail to truly engage with one another, two of them leave the apartment suddenly and separately, in the early morning, leaving the third sitting alone at brunch and wondering what has happened. Their lack of connection and poor communication leads to months and months of no contact, as their worlds are thrown into upheaval. In these months "after Paris" they wonder about their friends and their friendship.. As I raced through this lively and engaging book, I wondered when they would actually talk to each other and get beyond these obstacles. This is a thoughtful story of female friendship, for better or worse. Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to review this ARC!

Everyone should read this book, it really shows the boundaries of friendship between people, was glued to it from the first page, loved it ..

Three women take the same Eurostar to Paris for a girls' trip, but take separate trains back. What happened that weekend? A thought-provoking and gripping novel about trying to hold on to friendships when you start to grow apart. A story that takes a dark turn, has several surprises and kept me on my toes right up to the final page!

With believable, relatable characters, this book is a unique and engrossing exploration of female friendships and the way they grow and change over time.

First off I would like to thank NetGalley and Head of Zeus for providing me with this ARC. I have always wanted to visit Paris and this book made me want to visit more. The premise of the book is that 3 best friends take the same Eurostar to Paris for a girls' weekend, but take separate trains back. Now the reader is left with the challenge of what exactly happened that weekend. Well I won’t give that away lol. But I will tell you what I loved about the book. The storyline was hilarious and heartfelt. The characters could be felt off the pages. They seem so real but at the same you could see their defects. I also loved that each of the friends had their own problems that they were dealing with, which brought a new aspect to the book. I’m glad each character didn’t have the same problem. My only concern about the book was that it was hard to tell if it was in the past or the present. But despite that concern I still recommend this book!

I really enjoyed this novel - I liked how it uniquely explored the lives of 3 women, and their growth, regrets and heartbreak they experienced together and individually.
Often with books about women’s separate lives and united friendship, authors utilize the same problems or issues for someone to face, however this one was the opposite. I loved the unique story lines that kennedy explored for each character, with aspects such as neurodiverenge, addiction and fear of failure being investigated in such an honest and vulnerable way for the three main characters.

Loved this book, and it definitely made me want to visit paris more :) highly recommend!!

Thank you to netgalley and the author for the arc of this novel.

Thoroughly enjoyed this novel, a well-written look at the complexities of female friendships in modern times. The characters are developed beautifully and the pace of the story is very well developed throughout the book. It will make you want to book a trip to Paris immediately!

Thanks so much to NetGalley, the publisher - Head of Zeus, and the author - Nicole Kennedy, for allowing me early access to this ebook. I’m extremely grateful!

I’ve been in a contemporary romance binge reading ever since 2022 started, but now I was wanting to move to romance not focus on the romantic part, if that makes sense. The synopsis said “After Paris” followed three friends after their friendship drift apart and I thought it would give me the romance not focused on the romantic part I was looking for.

The book brings us a lot of relevant subjects, and they unfold in a nice manner, not revealed right away, which makes us interested in continuing reading. I felt women in generally will be able to relate to, at least, one of the friends’ experience or views on life, as they are so different from each other. I felt there is some character growth as well, as we get to see the friends as teens and then as adults.

However, there were some things that made it difficult, for me, to connect to the book. For starters, the pacing was kinda off. I usually like these books were we get alternated chapters between present and past, but, in here, I felt it didn’t work well, as there were no particularities that made it easy to distinguish between past and present. When I put down the book, and then picked it up again, I took sometime to remember if I was in the present or in the past.

I felt the girls friendship was not very well explored. I really like seeing their lives evolved as individual characters, but, as a group, I didn’t find the chemistry I was expecting. Maybe it would have worked better with a linear timeline, from past to present, allowing us to see their friendship growth. I spend the first half surprised by their lack of communication and the second half not surprised at all by the fact that they drift apart.

Still, I considered it an interesting read as it represents a lot of women’s problems in current days. It has an important message regarding women supporting women, which gave it a very good ending.

This review will also be available at my Goodreads profile (https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/65805218-catarina-cat-literary-world) and, in a few days, at my instagram profile - @cat.literary.world

After Paris is a heartfelt tribute to friendship and a lovely read!

Alice, Jules, and Nina meet in a bathroom in a fancy hotel in Paris as teenagers and their lives change forever as they become close friends and navigate love, work, life. The story spans 20 years and there are plenty of laughs, heartaches, and surprises along the way. I recommend it to readers of women’s fiction and Francophiles. Enjoy!

Thank you to NetGalley and Head of Zeus for the opportunity to read this ARC.

I enjoyed this book more than I expected to. I don't generally read chick lit, but I found Alice, Jules and Nina compelling. I especially liked Alice. They meet at the Crillon in Paris by chance and become fast friends, texting all the time and reuniting in Paris every year. But then after their most recent long weekend in Paris, they drift apart. This book jumps back in forth to different years in Paris until about halfway through when we find out what happened in Paris. Then the rest of the book addresses the aftermath and the misunderstandings between all three.

I really, really enjoyed this book! It was such a compelling and relatable story! I’ll be looking forward to adding a physical copy to my collection soon!

This ARC was provided to me via Kindle, Head of Zeus and by #NetGalley. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

Likable characters, well crafted story. Confronting friendships, insecurity and life how we embrace it individually at different stages. ,