Book review of That Night in Paris by Sandy Barker

That Night in Paris by Sandy Barker

That Night in Paris by Sandy Barker

Note to self: don’t sleep with your flatmate after a curry and three bottles of wine… especially if he’s secretly in love with you and wants you to meet his mum.

Cat Parsons is on the run. She doesn’t do relationships. After ten years of singlehood even the hint of the ‘L’ word is enough to get Cat packing her bags and booking herself onto a two-week holiday.

A European bus tour feels like a stroke of genius to dodge awkward conversations at home. But little does Cat realise that the first stop will be Paris, the city of love itself. 

Joined by new friends, Cat has got two weeks, eight countries and a hell of a lot of wine ahead of her. As they discover hidden treasures and the camaraderie of life on the road, will Cat find a new way of looking at love? 

Discover the beauty of Europe’s most romantic cities in this uplifting and laugh-out-loud novel for fans of Samantha Parks, Alex Brown and Mandy Baggot

 

That Night in Paris by Sandy Barker

My review

This book is a riot of fun as Cat teams up with three strangers, Lou, Dani and Jaelee, who soon become new friends as they take Europe by storm on a whirlwind coach trip. 

They are all running away from something and as they share their emotional disasters with each other, they form bonds that will last longer than the two-week holiday and together they each bring something to support the others.

The first stop is Paris and with Lou and Cat ticking off everything on their wish list, Cat can’t help being reminded of the end of her relationship with Scott, in Paris, ten years earlier. With her heart broken, she committed to staying single and has no plans to change. Paris, the city of love, throws up a big surprise just hours before their early morning coach departure and from then on in, things get a lot more exciting. With long hours of coach travel and late nights with wine, the girls have time to learn about each other, and as everyone offers their own opinions and perspectives; they learn a lot about themselves too. Cat especially, as she finds herself facing an unexpected dilemma that would leave her totally lost without the support of her new friends.

The world is a funny place at the moment, with most of us currently confined to staying at home. Reading has become one of the only ways to travel and this book couldn’t have been more perfect. We are treated to a European culture overload in France and Italy, tasty meals in bistros and family restaurants, wine tours, city breaks, views and vistas in Switzerland, and so much more, all served with an energy and enthusiasm it would be hard to find if we were actually following their manic itinerary.

Coach tours might not be for everyone, but this book will give you a great glimpse into the good and the bad of life on the road, you might just be tempted to give one a try. There is friendship, counselling, well-meant meddling and lots of surprises as the characters come alive, evolve and end up feeling like friends. You’ll laugh, you’ll love, and you will forget the madness of the world around you.

That Night in Paris is available in kindle and paperback editions and links to Amazon can be found below.

Sandy Barker, author That Night in Paris

Sandy Barker

Sandy Barker is an Australian writer, traveller and hopeful romantic with a lengthy bucket list and a cheeky sense of humour.

Many of Sandy’s travel adventures have found homes in her writing, including her debut novel, a contemporary romance set in Greece, which was inspired by her true-life love story.

Follow her on Twitter 

 

That Night in Paris blog tour