The Red Notebook by Antoine Laurain is a delightfully written novel.
With its beautiful prose, this short book is set in the romantic city of Paris, adding to its allure.
The characters are likeable and well built, making it easy to become invested in the story.
This charming book is a perfect blend of romance and warmth, making it a lovely read.
Overall, I found it to be a heartwarming and romantic read.
Thank You to Negalley and Pushkin Press for the opportunity to read and review this book.

🦄The Red Notebook

👑5 Stars!! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

❤️So enchanting!! Hallmark needs to make this a movie! Paris and a sweet mystery all for me! A book seller finds a handbag with a mysterious red notebook in it in other contents! In the red notebook are the musings and the writings of someone mysterious. Daily thoughts and more! He tries to get to know this mysterious lady through her red notebook and what takes place is the most delightful mystery! As sweet as a Parisian dessert! A feel-good book that you'll be carrying with you in your own handbag! I want this book in hardback! (Being an author myself and writing a book in the form of a journal I truly enjoyed the musings of the female character!) Well written and well deserved recognition to this author! 💋

Bravo! 🍿

Laure is mugged on her way home and her beautiful handbag is ripped from her. She falls back and hurts her head, Because her keys were in the bag she goes to a hotel across the road from her home for the night and is discovered in a coma the following day.
In the morning Laurent finds her handbag, minus it's purse and ID and decides to try and locate the owner. With aide of his teenage daughter he eventually tracks her apartment down, but then finds out that she is a coma. That's when a case of mistaken identity could detail everything.
A beautiful story.

“How was it so easy to disappear from someone else’s life? Perhaps it was with the same ease that you enter it.”

If boring was a book~

A man finds a handbag and, since he has nothing better to do with his life, he decides to track down the owner and return it.

Naturally, he also rifles through the handbag (as you do), finds her diary, and starts reading it. The more he reads, the more intrigued he becomes by this mystery woman.

Sounds like it could be great. (A little creepy, sure—but still intriguing.)

But no. It was so boring. I was rushing to finish it. Thankfully it’s short—any longer and I might not have made it.

It did have a few redeeming moments, like his interactions with his teenage daughter, Chloe. She’s an absolute menace—and I mean that in the most loving way.

Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC. All thoughts are my own.

The Red Notebook by Antoine Laurain and translated into English by Jane Aitken and Emily Boyce is a short, but charming book which begins the day the bookseller Laurent finds what seems to be a stolen handbag—a fashionable bag with clues to who the owner might be, but of course, without a wallet, ID, and phone. He becomes somewhat obsessed with finding the owner, even though it makes him look like a deranged stalker. Studying her notebook, her possessions, he eventually finds out who she is. And in the meanwhile, he falls in love with her. Is this fate?

Many thanks to Net Galley and Pushkin Press for an ARC of this sweet story. My opinions are my own.

This was an incredibly short work, perhaps more a novella than novel. A woman is mugged outside her building, losing her bag and sustaining injuries when she tries to fight off the mugger. The bag is found later by a bookseller who attempts to find her based on the items in the bag. It's a nice story of two strangers connecting due to circumstances. I like the story, but I did find the ending was rushed through in a way the rest of the book wasn't. I assume this was on purpose, but it doesn't quite fit the rest. I found the characterisation was quite good here, despite it being such a short book. Overall, I give it 3.5 stars.

This is the second time I've read this, but I would like to thank Pushkin Press and Netgalley for giving a free advanced reader copy. My feedback is voluntary.

This was the most charming and uplifting little story of two lovely characters in Paris and the twists of fate that connect them. Keep a box of tissues handy for this one…

Laure is a widow who works as a gilder and jots down all her musings in a small red notebook: things she likes, things she fears, dreams about her cat Belphégor. Laurent is a finance guy turned bookseller, divorced with a slightly outrageous teen daughter.

When Laure is mugged at 2am, her bag with the notebook and everything essential is stolen and she receives a blow to the head that results in a hospital stay. Laurent finds her abandoned bag with identifying items missing, only the clues of the notebook, a dry-cleaning ticket, a signed book, and various other items precious to the owner. The thoughts in the notebook intrigue him so much, he becomes a little obsessed and sets out to find the woman who wrote them.

I loved this story so much; everything in it worked for me and I will now recommend it to anyone who will listen. The setting and details were wonderful, the passages from the notebook would have made me a little obsessed with the owner as well. If you need a story to warm your heart, this is the one.

Thank you to Putnam for the gifted book!

Thank you to the author, Pushkin Press and NetGalley, for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a quick read that I zipped through - the atmosphere and the characters were well-drawn and while it's not a great literary work, it is a charming love story, once I got over the latently creepy stalkery vibe it gave off for me at first.

It’s super charming, with a fun mix of rom-com vibes and a little literary mystery thrown in.

I seriously loved the atmosphere. Paris practically feels like a character of its own. The writing is straightforward but still classy, and there’s this soft, romantic vibe throughout.

If I had to find something to complain about, the plot has a bit of that insta-love feeling (almost creepy at times). But honestly, I didn’t really care. Sometimes, you just want an easy, feel-good story to enjoy.

This was a fun book, very quick. I really enjoyed it! A good story of a man searching for a woman based only on the items in her purse.

Another magical book! I loved spotting the literary references woven throughout. Such a charming book I have recommended to so many others!

Laurent Letellier is a bookseller in Paris when he finds a beautiful abandoned mauve handbag on the street. With nothing in the bag to identify its owner, he hopes to identify the owner by searching through the personal items left in the bag. In particular, he is drawn to a red notebook within the handbag which leaves him with a sense of who the owner might be. Laurent is soon drawn into an adventure as he becomes more intent on finding the owner who he believes might be someone special he would love to know.

A beautiful, whimsical story now translated and published in English, which leaves you feeling warm and reminds us all that sometimes good things happen to good people. A poignant and touching story with wonderful characters set in an incredibly romantic city and with beautiful bookish references - what more could a reader ask for? I highly recommend this book which left me feeling incredibly touched by it. What a marvelous read!

Thank you to NetGalley and Pushkin Press for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Beautiful book! I really enjoyed the way this book was written, to me it is such a unique style! I'd love a continuation of these characters...hint hint.

A heartwarming, enjoyable read. It was relatable to go with Laurent on the journey of building a vision of someone in your mind, spending so much time thinking about them and what their life is like without really knowing. It's a unique concept I haven't read before in easy, romantical fiction. I do feel strongly some elements were lost in translation. Like the interactions with Laurent and his daughter at lunch - the dialogue was clunky and odd. Not natural. I assume this is due to translation. And the interactions with Laurent and his girlfriend... same thing. But overall, good book for a simple read.

What a delightful little book! This didn't appear on my radar when it was published originally, and I am glad I didn't miss it this time. Although the book is short, the character development is excellent, and the Paris setting is very well done.

I was in the mood for something uplifting and heartwarming, and The Red Notebook delivered exactly that. The pacing is gentle, but the narrative doesn’t drag. It moves along with small but meaningful turns that keep you engaged, largely because the characters are so likable and the Parisian setting so inviting. There’s a subtle rhythm to the storytelling—switching perspectives and sprinkling in little surprises—that keeps the plot from becoming predictable or slow, even when you sense where it’s going. Overall, it’s a beautifully told, feel-good story that left me smiling. Highly recommended for anyone looking for a cozy, intelligent read.

A story that feels like a motion picture. This book evokes nostalgia and hope in equal measures. Short but impactful, simple but profound. With a subtle layer of humour that's so missing in many books. It makes the reader believe in love and destiny without trying too hard. It is also a testament to how paying attention to small details is crucial to know someone. A quick and satisfying read.

DNF at 20 pages.
I wanted to read a short quick novella before March ends. but no.
Laure is in a coma, Laurent A MARRIED FATHER is going through her bag, to find out about her identity, rummaging through her things, checking the texts she sent to people? What patriarchal male fantasy is this? Her being a coma is a classic female helplessness. And why TF can't he hand it over to the police? Nonsensical logic. Don't piss me off.

Sometimes we know someone before even meeting them, sometimes we love someone before even knowing them. This book is a play on fate and how the universe has already created our destiny

This is a slight book, very much in the modern French tradition. It's a romance and, actually, quite a romantic book. It shows the ways that we fall in love in our mind, create visions of people off of whatever evidence we have. As far as the plot, it has a strong helping of While You Were Sleeping (which is fine; I liked that movie). I don't think this is a great literary novel, but I would recommend this book for anyone who is interested in a French romance novel with captivating imagery and compelling characters (a gilder! a bookshop owner!). It's also good for people who want to read something about second loves, as not too many books feature leads who have both already lost someone whether through divorce or death.