This book started out strong but disappointed me toward the middle and end. It felt like there were too many characters and plotlines. By the end of the book, it seemed like I barely remembered where we started and how we got here.

📜The Paris Widow
✍️Kimberly Belle
📠Harlequin Trade Publishing/Park Row
📚Mystery/Thriller, Fiction
🗓️Pub date: June 11, 2024

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

✨Thank you @NetGalley and @parkrowbooks for providing me with an Advanced Reader Copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Also thank you to @kimberlysbelle (and I mean this in the best way possible) for always killing me with your words 🤩

✨Stella is thrust into a deadly attack as she finishes up her Paris vacation with her beloved husband, Adam, and a bomb explodes in the city. Lost and terrified, she tries to retrace her steps to find Adam amongst the wreckage and bodies.

✨Adam happens to already be on the Paris law enforcement’s radar as a high-end antiquities dealer, and is known to have done business with a long roster of criminals.

✨As the investigation unfolds and Stella stays in Paris to hopefully learn the truth, she has to wonder if Adam was the target of the bombing or just another unfortunate victim.

✨With looming threats, someone following her, and the dangers of lingering in Paris becoming more apparent, Stella must make a terrifying decision—run or stay.

✨I don’t even know where to begin with this book—I’m in total awe and will shout this book’s title from every rooftop. Kimberly Belle only gets better with every book she writes. The tension is breathless, pacing is perfection, and the twists left me on the edge of my seat! The Paris Widow is a 5 star winner! Amazing 👏🏻 job 👏🏻

✨QOTD: Have you been to Paris?

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I really enjoyed this one. It was very action packed and flowed nicely. I have read other books by this author which I liked, but I think this one is my favorite so far.

Imagine you're Stella. You're on a buying trip/vacation with your beloved husband about to fly home, a bomb goes off, suddenly your husband is missing and presumed dead. Then the police begin to question you about illegal activities they believe your husband was involved in. Who do you trust? Where do you turn? Read this one to find out Stella and Adam's story.

Kimberly Belle has absolutely done it again - she has another winner on her hands with THE PARIS WINDOW. She does a remarkable job of delivering suspenseful stories that feel fresh, never stale. With this one, I particularly enjoyed the Paris setting and the inclusion of art and antiques.

Stella is a fun and relatable character, and I enjoyed trying to figure out the puzzle of what Adam was up to.

The pacing is spot-on for this genre.

Kimberly Belle is at the top of her game.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC; all opinions in this review are my own.

Wow, what a book!! I can't stop thinking about Kimberly Belle's latest masterpiece, The Paris Widow. This fast-paced mystery/thriller hooks you immediately and takes you on an adrenaline-pumping ride. The plot is jam-packed with twists and turns that will keep your mind racing the entire way through. I rarely finish a book in one sitting anymore, but I literally could not put my Kindle down so I spent an entire day devouring this gem! The Paris Widow is 5 star novel and is most definitely one of my top favorite mystery/thrillers for 2024.

This author is one of my favorites and this book was spectacular! I was hooked from the first few pages. The story grabbed me and i had no idea the twists it would take!!!

Kimberly Belle has long since become one of my favorite authors, and The Paris Widow is not only an extremely suspenseful read, but is also very cinematic. I loved the story of a devoted wife trying to solve the puzzle of her husband’s disappearance, no matter how high are the stakes.

When Stella met Adam, she was a few weeks out of a breakup with a dangerous man. Adam was a welcome change - a steady, dependable man who was positively giddy over his antique business. When Adam disappears in a seemingly random explosion on their Paris vacation, Stella panics. As the French police investigate, it becomes clear Adam was on their radar as a black market dealer in the antique world, working with high profile and dangerous criminals. Stella can’t believe this is the same man she knew. But with him presumed dead, she must face the fact that whoever was after her husband may be after her next.

I have loved every book I have read by Kimberly Belle but this may be my favorite yet! The setting in Paris was magical and the element of art/history added an extra layer to the mystery Stella found herself at the center of. From the first few pages, I was drawn into this story, trying to figure out just what Adam was involved with, and what was going to happen to Stella. It was an intense game of cat-and-mouse for Stella as she tried to get to the truth without getting caught up by husband’s dealings.
The pacing was perfect, and I finished this book in two sittings - I simply couldn't put it down!

Thank you to Kimberly Belle, Netgalley and HTP/Park Row Books for the ARC! “The Paris Widow” releases June 11, 2024. This review will be shared to my instagram blog (@books_by_the_bottle) shortly :)

From Atlanta to Paris to other dazzling cities in Europe Kimberly Belle weaves another heart-pounding tale of love, intrigue, deceit that I could not stop reading.

Adam and Stella seem the idyllic couple on an amazing trip across Europe. But one day an explosion near a cafe in Paris sends Stella looking for answers and running to save her life.

This book has so many amazing twists and turns and I loved every minute of it!!! Kimberly Belle is one of my favorites and she absolutely does not disappoint with this book!!!

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin/Park Row Books for the honor to read and review this amazing book!!!

I'm a huge fan of Belle and this one kept me breathless all the way through! Stella and husband Adam are in Paris when an explosion rocks the city and Adam is missing. Is he dead or alive? And so begins a fascinating cat-and-mouse tale that spans years and takes us back to the beginning of their relationship. Stella knows Adam deals in expensive artifacts but she also comes to believe he is hiding something as there are too many unanswered questions about his disappearance and dodgy people seem to always know where she is. I loved every minute of it!
Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC!

Publication date: June 11th, 2024
Page count: 320
Genre: mystery thriller
Setting: Paris
POV: Stella, Adam
Features: Paris, antiquity black market

Stella and Adam have been together for 4 years and just spent 3 weeks traveling Europe. Adam disappears when they are briefly separated and there is an explosion in Paris. During the investigation Stella discovers that Adam is suspected to be a dealer of black market antiquities, and works with very dangerous people. What happened to Adam? Is Stella safe?

The book is engaging from the beginning, and the fast pace kept me hooked. Although I am not typically a fan of international cat- mouse chases, I could not put this one down! The story masterfully unfolded!

Thank you to author, publisher, NetGalley for advanced audio copy. This is an honest voluntary review.

Kimberly Belle has written another thriller that drew me right in&kept me turning the pages.So many twists and turns s o well written the twists and turns kept guessing til the last page. #Netgalley # harlequin

I had plans to do many things this weekend but instead I started The Paris Widow and all those plans went out the window. It was worth it.
Stella and Adam are taking their time touring Europe, while finding antiques for Adam’s business, when there is an explosion in Paris and Adam goes missing. A devastated Stella refuses to fly home until she knows whether he’s dead or alive. A compulsive and suspenseful page turner with so many twists and turns you can’t keep track, keeping you on the edge of your seat from start to finish. A definite winner.

A totally engaging fast fast-paced thrill ride of a read. Kimberly Belle never disappoints and this book is no exception. Stella and Adam are on vacation when her husband is killed in a bombing, or is he? A perfectly laid out game of cat and mouse kept me turning the pages as fast as I could. Highly recommend.

Wow! This book had me hooked from the first chapter! The storyline isn’t something I normally would pick up, but Kimberly Belle is an auto read author for me, so I had to read it, and I’m so glad I did!
There was suspense, and twists and turns as well as a little romance. I loved everything about this. Highly recommend!

Wow! This book had me from the start and I could not put it down. Meet Stella and Adam. Stella is a former flight attendant who is head over heels in love with Adam who deals in antiques. Having lived a much more adventurous life, Stella loves the life she has with Adam now. Little does she know, all of that is about to change. They are vacationing in Europe and the final leg of their trip is in Paris. Right as they are getting to leave, there is an explosion and Adam is marked as a missing person. As the investigation unfolds, Stella is learning things about Adam that are worrisome. She is being told he is a dealer in blood antiquities. She isn’t sure who she can trust and she is not sure who her husband is anymore. As the investigation intensifies, Stella feels like whoever is after Adam is going to come for her next. This is a fast-paced book that had me staying up late and finding time to read during the busy Christmas season. I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough. It is another excellent read by Kimberly Belle. #NetGalley #TheParisWidow

Kimberly Belle’s latest is a unique, action-packed, fast-paced thriller set in Paris. Stella is on vacation with her husband Adam when an explosion occurs and he is presumed dead. This sets off a very strange turn of events in which Stella must come to terms with her past as she questions everything she ever thought she knew about Adam.

This was a different style of writing for Belle and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The twisty plot kept me turning the pages. Belle’s writing does not disappoint. For fans of Heather Gudenkauf and Kimberly McCreight.

Suspenseful and romantic story about a married couple as they traipse their way through Europe on vacation. All is well until the visit to Paris when the pair gets separated after eating lunch at a quaint outdoor cafe. What follows next is one spouse searches for the other after an explosion near the cafe. While on the search, secrets about the missing spouse are revealed and leaves the other spouse wondering if the secrets are true.

Thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for the opportunity to read The Paris Widow by Kimberly Belle. What a twisty wild ride this is - not to be missed!

I’m not sure if the publishing company did it on purpose but the release to netgalley for this book was done with perfection.

No cover.

That’s how half of us judgy wenches pick our books!!!

BUT

If you love mysteries as much as I do, you know this made my eyes light up my and my insides squeal .

If they were going to tease the cover well then I wasn’t going to read the description and I was just going to blindly dive right in.

I had 5 other books I had prioritized for this month but knowing I had this one sitting on the shelf was killing me. I had to know what was inside.

Was it going to be a story about revenge? Murder? Betrayal? Lies? Deceit?

Who knew? I sure didn’t

The Paris Widow

Going into this blind was probably the best way to do it. You know when someone says “I had the wind knocked out of me” ? That’s what this book felt like. When you don’t know what you are even reading about, the build up and anticipation has you holding your breath so when the twists start coming in it’s as if someone is punching you in the gut and quite literally “knocking the wind out of you”. Every surprise came out of no where. I never knew what to expect so every chapter was read cautiously .

I read this book in just a few hours on a lazy Sunday. I know it’s early to be saying this but I have a feeling this book is going to be amongst my favorites this year.

I mean it’s Kimberly Belle, did you expect anything less?

5 stars

I dare you not to read this next part but if you would like to check out a teaser, please look below :

A dream vacation turns deadly when secrets from the past catch up to a married couple in Paris in this new edge-of-your-seat thriller from USA Today bestselling author, Kimberly Belle.

When Stella met Adam, she thought she had finally found a nice, normal guy—a welcome change from her previous boyfriend and her precarious jetsetter lifestyle with him. But her secure world comes crashing down when Adam goes missing after an explosion in the city square. Unable to reach him, she panics.

As the French police investigate, it’s revealed that Adam was on their radar as a dealer of rare and stolen antiquities with a long roster of criminal clients. Reeling from this news, Stella is determined not to leave Paris until she has the full story. Was Adam a random victim or the target of the explosion? And why is someone following her through the streets of Paris?

An irresistible, fast-paced read set in some of Europe’s most inviting locales, The Paris Widow explores how sinister secrets of the past stay with us—no matter how far we travel.