Taylor oversees a seemingly happy couple on their honeymoon in Paris, but all is not what it seems when it comes to Cassie and Olivier.

This was a fast paced thriller that kept me wondering what was going to happen next. I enjoyed the multiple POVs and premise. Unfortunately, the reveals felt clunky and the story was pretty far fetched. If you’re not a fan of ambiguous endings, you’ll want to skip this one.

Thank you to Sourcebooks Landmark for providing a free ARC for review via NetGalley.

Paris isn’t always a good idea! Cassie meets Olivier when she shows up for her father’s funeral. After a whirlwind relationship, they marry and fly to Paris for their honeymoon. But they aren’t alone, someone has followed them, and she is watching their every move. But Cassie and Olivier are not the happiest of couples, they both have an agenda. And their follower? She has an agenda too.

This is a slow burn, very predictable and has an entire cast of unlikable characters. The ending was a huge letdown for me. Some people enjoy an ambiguous wrap up so don’t let that stop you. If you’re looking for a thriller where you won’t be bogged down with a lot of details and want to take a delicious and vicarious trip to Paris then grab this one for an easy afternoon escape!

Thank you Netgalley, Sourcebooks Landmark, and the author for this eARC in exchange for my honest review. This book is available for purchase now.

The French Honeymoon
by Anne-Sophie Jouhanneau
Pub Date: Apr 15 2025

The French Honeymoon is a slow build and at times a little confusing but I hung in until the end and I'm glad I did. The story was set in Paris, there was lots of drama, the characters were actually unlikeable but worked well with the book! It's a quick read and most definitely a an unputdownable thriller.

Synopsis: The Paris Apartment meets A Simple Favor in an unputdownable thriller about a honeymoon gone horribly wrong. Sometimes, Paris is a terrible idea. This is not how she imagined it, any of it.

Thank you #SourcebooksLandmark #NetGalley and #TheFrenchHoneymoon for providing me an E-ARC of this book.

Thanks to #NetGalley and #SourcebooksLandmark for the book #TheFrenchHoneymoon by #AnneSophieJouhanneau. This book is about love, deception and revenge all wrapped up with a huge plot twist. Taylor had always felt like she is on the outside looking in. When she goes to Paris for a trip she becomes enamored with a couple Cassie and Olivier who is on their honeymoon. This life is the one that Taylor has always wanted. As she besides more involved with them she doesn’t realize the danger that lurks for all of them. Will they all make it back from Paris?

Taylor Quinn arrives at her honeymoon suite in the City of Love, entirely alone and without a suitcase, though she possesses a significant amount of stolen cash. Upon spotting newlyweds Cassie and Olivier basking in their bliss, she finds herself unable to look away. Cassie shares their idyllic journey in real-time on social media, making it easy for Taylor to track their every move. Her obsession intensifies as she watches their seemingly perfect life unfold. This is the life she always wanted, the marriage she envisioned, and the honeymoon of her dreams. However, the fantasy shatters when Taylor overhears a fierce argument between Cassie and Olivier, which uncovers that they are not the enamored couple they appear to be. Yet, Cassie and Olivier have their motives, and Taylor fails to recognize the peril of getting involved until it’s far too late. Now, no one will leave Paris unscathed.

The French Honeymoon caught my eye immediately with its striking cover and the tagline, “Sometimes, Paris is a terrible idea."

For those seeking a fast-paced thriller with morally ambiguous characters set against an engaging international backdrop, I highly recommend The French Honeymoon.

The story unfolds from the perspectives of three unlikable protagonists, which suits this psychological thriller perfectly. It features clever yet straightforward plot twists, and I appreciated how they were revealed alongside the characters' motivations. The book concludes with an open ending, which feels fitting for the story. I have my own thoughts on the conclusion, but I value that the author left room for various interpretations.

I think a honeymoon in Paris sounds great, right? Well….maybe not so much for Taylor Quinn…or Cassie and Olivier, another couple at the hotel. Taylor had arrived, and was a bit of a mess and she soon discovers not everything is as it seems with the neighboring couple.

This book is a quick read with some twists and secrets to uncover. We have these fairly unlikeable characters doing questionable things and it really drives the drama and tension. It definitely touches on themes of image (and not everything on social media tells the true story!) and complicated relationships.

This isn’t a book that wraps every loose end…if you like open endings I think this is the book for you!! Definitely read author’s note at the end!

✨What To Expect:
🖤Psychological Thriller
🇫🇷Paris Setting
🥐Suspense
⁉️Secrets & Lies
🐁Cat & Mouse
🍷Multiple POV

I haven't ever read anything from this author but I really enjoyed this book. It had a great atmosphere. I liked the setting and the whole vibe of the book was good. The twists were good and not super easy to figure out.

I loved the setting, the con aspect, and especially the cast of unreliable, unlikable characters that made this such a fun, twisty ride. Taylor’s obsession, Cassie’s curated perfection, and Olivier’s secrets all swirl together into a tangled mess of lies, manipulation, and shifting power dynamics that kept me hooked from start to finish. The twists were great—just when I thought I had it figured out, another layer unraveled. I really enjoyed the ending and how everything came together with just the right amount of edge and chaos.

Thank you NetGalley & Sourcebooks Landmark for the e-arc in exchange for my honest review.

Really unlikable characters and an open/ambiguous ending killed this one for me. A fun mindless thriller that warns against updating where you are traveling on social media (because of course that’s a bad idea)

2.5 rounded up
While reading this, I felt like we had many moving parts, but at the same time, nothing was happening, at least through the first half, maybe a bit more. We have Taylor, who arrives in Paris alone and with no belongings. The way she's acting is totally suspicious, and I wanted to keep reading to see what was going to happen next. Then things slow down pretty quickly.
Then we meet Cassie and Oliver, who are both completely unlikeable, and become even more so once we get back in time and see how they met and the moments leading up to the honeymoon. We get this slow-burn mystery with a lot of build-up, to this twist, which I thought was a good one, to a bit of a rushed ending.
I think this story had a lot of potential, but didn't quite work for me.

The French Honeymoon by Anne-Sophie Jouhanneau

Thank you to Sourcebooks Landmark, @bookmarked, and @netgalley for providing me with a gifted ebook copy of The French Honeymoon. All opinions expressed are my own.

The Paris Apartment meets A Simple Favor in an unputdownable thriller about a honeymoon gone horribly wrong.

Sometimes, Paris is a terrible idea.

“The French Honeymoon” kicks off with Taylor arriving in Paris for what should have been her honeymoon—only she’s alone, broke, and carrying a suspicious stash of stolen cash. She finds herself fixated on the seemingly perfect couple next door, Cassie and Olivier, whose fairytale trip plays out all over social media. But when Taylor realizes their picture-perfect romance is anything but, she gets pulled into a web of secrets, lies, and shady motives—and no one’s walking away clean.

This is a quick, drama-filled thriller with all kinds of messy. The Paris setting adds flair, and the story leans heavily on character dynamics and mind games. Everyone has something to hide, and watching it all unravel kept me locked in.

While I liked the pacing and the twists, the ambiguous ending didn’t land for me—I prefer a more solid conclusion. Still, if you're into quick reads with chaos, questionable characters, and a juicy backdrop, it’s worth a spot on your TBR.

This novel follows three perspectives: Cassie, a woman on her seemingly perfect honeymoon with her husband; Olivier, the husband of Cassie (whose chapters take place in the past, throughout their short relationship); and Taylor, a mysterious woman who is escaping something. The characters' stories get entangled throughout the novel as secrets unravel and their realities are displayed.

The novel was engaging and fast-paced, making for an easy read, but it wasn't enjoyable. The mystery was developed well, but the characters were all unpleasant and worsened as the story continued. When I finished reading, I wanted to worst for the characters and felt confused about what I had read. The ending was also underwhelming.

This mystery can be enjoyable for people who like mysteries that lean more psychologically or center around a series of unlikeable characters.

The French Honeymoon was a great suggestion on the publisher’s part. As a debut novel from a French author, I am both charmed and intrigued. I wanted so much for this one to be a five stars.

At a glance the premise and tropes in this book seem to fit the bill. I was fully invested and engaged in first half until I realized how dialogue heavy and character-driven this thriller was becoming and then my attention started to wane thereafter. The setting and themes are a solid 5/5. The characters, although detestable, were well-developed but their petty drama and internal whining became excessive to the point of dull repetition. Had to speed through some parts, I was parched and desperate for some action.

Regrettably, another star was knocked off because open-to-interpretation/loose endings is a personal book peeve of mine unless it’s executed flawlessly, which is rare. Imagine a slow-burning psych thriller riled with tension but then it abruptly flatlines because the culprit is ambiguous. The frustration is the silent killer here. I may need therapy after this.

Giving this author another go. The potential is still there even if I’m not a fan of slow-burn and ambiguous endings.

This was a great book. I loved the vibes and the way the story unfolded. Everyone’s storylines were interesting and I loved the narration. The twists were crazy and the audio narration was good too.

I went into The French Honeymoon completely blind, and I’m just gonna say it, I had mixed feelings. I really resonated with the immigrant experience, especially since the MMC is navigating that identity, and that part hit close to home for me.

But as much as I appreciated the deeper themes the author was exploring, the first half of the book started to feel repetitive. It focused a lot on showing just how unlikable the main character was, and after a while, it felt like the same point was being made over and over. Like I get it, Cassie is a bitch but I don’t have to read for over half of the book. I actually found myself skipping some parts just to get to where the story picked up.

The twist with Reese being the sister of the FMC was interesting, and I liked the intention behind it but it didn’t land as strongly as it could have. The suspense and buildup toward the end felt a little rushed or underwhelming, especially after such a long setup.

That said, I do appreciate the unique concept and the emotional threads running through the story. It just needed a bit more refinement in how the twists and pacing were delivered.

Thank you to landmarkes for my gifted copy of this book! It was so twisty and gripping! Right away there are alternating POVs and the reader is in the dark on how they are all connected! But it worked for me! I was immersed in the story and had to get to the bottom of how the stories and characters were connected! I enjoyed the format of the dual timeline and POV between the three characters. It flowed well and kept me guessing till the end! I loved the setting of NYC and then Paris. It was so descriptive, it made me feel like I was there experiencing the culture and food and drink of Paris! This is a fun read for thriller lovers!

The French Honeymoon was twisty and intriguing, I was sucked in from the first page and found myself more invested as I kept reading. The story was told from alternate POV's and timepoints, that laid the groundwork for the mystery and nefarious intentions of the characters. Even though I have made my own assumptions about the ending, I definitely enjoyed the way that I thought it turned out.

Thank you to @netgalley and @bookmarked for this advanced copy!

A thriller with unlikable characters, an amazing setting, a twisty storyline with multiple POVs, I thoroughly enjoyed Jouhanneau’s The French Honeymoon. The glitz and glamour of Paris is the perfect backdrop for a story immersed in the idea that looks aren’t always what they seem. Each of these characters has secrets and you’ll find yourself wondering who you can trust. I sped through this one because I wanted to know what the heck was happening! I couldn’t put it down!

Thank you to netgalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for the free earc. My opinions are being left voluntarily. I appreciate when publicists reach out and offer a book they think I'll like. The narration could use some work the fake French accent was frustrating. The story felt like it dragged a bit and wish it wad a bit more fast paced.

3.5/5☆

Thank you NetGalley, Sourcebooks and the author for the arc!

I liked it! I was 100% invested right from the start! It moved with a bingeable fast pace that kept me glued to the story until the last page … and I’m still sitting with my brain in a jumbled mess over that ending! Whoa. I’m in such a state over it, I don’t even have an opinion about it. What the what?

The touristy Paris setting, the very messy & toxic characters and the twisty plot just melt together perfectly to make this thriller a wild and addictive ride!