Hello, Sunshines, I hope you are all safe and well? I have the massive pleasure to be today’s stop of this fabulous blog tour for one of the most romantic and magical books I have ever read; Someday In Paris by Olivia Lara. Not only will I be sharing my babbled review for you all to plough through, but I also have an exclusive excerpt which I hope will make you love this book as much I do. So grab that cuppa and biscuits (you will need them) and enjoy!

Someday In Paris by Olivia Lara

Genre: Historical/Women’s Fiction

Publisher: Aria

Format: Ebook

‘An epic, sweeping romance … Timeless yet completely original’ Holly Miller.

Finding the one is only the beginning…

1954. Zara is fifteen the first time she meets Leon. During a power cut in a small French museum, the two spend one short hour in the dark talking about their love for art, Monet and Paris. Neither knows what the other looks like. Both know their lives will never be the same.

1963. In Paris, Leon no longer believes he will ever find the girl he lost that night. After dreaming about him for years, Zara thinks she has already found him. When they meet at an exhibition, they don’t recognise each other – yet the way they feel is so familiar…

Over the course of twenty years, Zara and Leon are destined to fall in love again and again. But will they ever find a way to be together?

‘It’s about dreams and taking chances. Missed opportunities and mistakes. Loss and sacrifice. But above all, it is about love. The kind of love that survives time, distance… even death. The kind of love I wish for you.’

A magical new love story about star-crossed lovers, perfect for hopeless romantics and fans of One Day and The Notebook.

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What people are saying about; Someday in Paris

‘I absolutely adored this book and stayed up late at night to finish it!! I couldn’t put it down. This was a truly epic love story’ Goodreads reviewer

‘Magical, all-encompassing and timeless; an unforgettable romance’ NetGalley reviewer

‘Without question 5.0 Exquisite Stars!! There are not enough magical adjectives to describe the beauty of this story!! Someday in Paris moved me beyond words and to quite a few tears’ Goodreads reviewer

‘Some books leave you a print in your heart which make them difficult to forget … Emotive, sweet and unforgettable … The most beautiful book I’ve read in a while!’ NetGalley reviewer

‘This is a book for hopeless romantics, for those who dare to dream, and for those who believe in true love everlasting … I could not put it down’ Goodreads reviewer

‘This book left me speechless. I haven’t read such an amazing story in a long time’ Goodreads reviewer

‘I absolutely loved this book … The story kept me hanging on and reading late into the night’ Goodreads reviewer

Exclusive Excerpt

‘So, you like Monet?’

‘I don’t know anything about Monet.’

‘Why do you have the book then? Do you like art?’

‘I like Bartholdi and Viollet-le-Duc if that counts.’

‘Never heard of them,’ the boy said in a low, timid voice.

‘I’m not surprised. They’re not as famous as painters are, for instance.’

‘Yes, I love painters. Well, I mean I love paintings. Mostly by Monet. I like Cezanne too. Degas, sometimes. Pissarro. Manet less. Renoir is okay too. And Toulouse-Lautrec—’

He spoke so fast. She stopped him. ‘Can I have it back now?’

‘What?’

‘The book.’

‘Oh, sorry, of course.’

Zara stretched out her arms just a bit and felt the edges of the book. He let go of it.

‘Thank you,’ she said. ‘You’re not from around here, are you? Your accent—’

‘I’m from New York. But I go to school in Switzerland.’

Apart from Paris, New York was her favorite city in the whole world even if, just like Paris, she had never seen it. She knew everything about it. New York was every artist’s dream. The skyscrapers, the fantastic architecture, the bridges, the statues, the parks. She had read many books about the city and even more about the statue.

‘You’re lucky. I’ve always wanted to visit New York. Maybe one day. I’m fascinated with Liberty Enlightening the World,’ she said in one breath.

‘Enlightening what?’ he asked tentatively.

‘The statue. The Statue of Liberty. That’s what it was initially called. Did you know the mastermind behind it lived here, in Colmar? The old town is filled with his sculptures and fountains. They’re magnificent.’

‘No, I didn’t know that,’ he said.

‘Yes, Colmar is not just a pretty small town on the Alsatian wine route. But let’s keep it between us because if word gets out, this place will be swarming with tourists.’

He chuckled, and her heart fluttered. She tried imagining what the face of a boy with such beautiful laughter looked like. She wondered if you could like someone without seeing them, without knowing anything about them. There was something about him. Something that made her feel things she’d never felt before.

‘Too late. I’m a tourist, so your secret is out. Tell me about this man who built the statue.’

‘He didn’t build it; he designed it. You know who built it? Gustave Eiffel, the same man who made the Eiffel Tower in Paris. Don’t feel bad, not a lot of people know this.’

‘But you do,’ he said. ‘Hey, you never answered my question.’

‘What question?’

‘The painting. Is it here?’

‘I’m afraid not,’ she said. ‘In Paris, perhaps. Like I said, I am not that good with—’

‘Paintings,’ he said and chuckled. ‘Apparently neither am I.’ He sounded disappointed. ‘Well, at least I tried.’

‘Did you come all the way from Switzerland for this? What’s so special about it?’ Maybe there was something about Impression, Sunrise that would explain her dream.

‘It belongs to my family.’

‘Really? Then how come you don’t know where it is?’

‘It’s complicated.’

‘My mother says that everything worthwhile is at least a little bit complicated. Besides, I’m in no rush. Tell me,’ she said, sitting on the floor next to him.

She forgot about the watchdog, about getting caught. It didn’t seem to matter anymore.

‘Alright then. Claude Monet made four identical Impression, Sunrise paintings. One he signed, the other three he kept secret and gave to his closest friends – among them, my great-grandfather. Years later, during World War II, the painting was stolen from our family’s house in Newport.’

‘And someone told you it might be in Colmar?’ asked Zara.

‘Not exactly. No. I just – I felt I had to come here. Not sure why. I saw the signs pointing to the museum, and here I am.’

‘I’m sorry you didn’t find what you were looking for,’ she said.

‘I…’ Silence.

‘Yes?’

*This excerpt was used with permission from the publisher as apart of this blog tour post.

Review

I cannot express just how breathtakingly beautiful this is!!

If I was one of those reviewers who rated books then this wouldn’t be a mere five stars, this would easily be a ten-star book. Honestly, there aren’t enough words to fully describe just how beautiful this is; it’s incredibly moving, magical, unforgettable, enchanting, full of everlasting love.

“…nothing is more important than love. In all shapes and forms, at all ages and no matter what the ending. Love is the destination, the journey. Love is the reason.“

Is that one of the most beautiful quotes, or what?

Believe me, this perfect book is full of positive and powerful ‘it’s all about love’ moment that I could weep…something I did more than once while reading this, it does turn you into a human watering can at times.

Easily one of the most romantic books I have read, it settles itself into your heart and refuses to leave, this is a book that will be talked about, read and loved for many, many years to come. If you love ‘The Notebook’ then this is the book you absolutely need to read, it feels like I have been apart of something very special by being apart of this blog tour and having the opportunity to review this exquisite book, it leaves its mark on every reader who dares to open the first page.

I do realise that I am waffling and this review will probably make no sense at all, but my thoughts are so scrambled, I want to say so much about this, yet my brain won’t connect with my fingers on the keyboard and they are just typing nonsensical waffle.

Honestly, I best actually say something about the story instead of fulling this review with lots of heartfelt gushing.

The story opens to an old lady who has ‘dreams’ telling her granddaughter a very special story, as she tells the story we are whisked back in time where we meet Zara and Leon; two teenagers share a love of art and who after spending a power cut they are torn apart by circumstances and over the course of twenty years they become entwined in what I think is one of the greatest new love stories on the time; one of which is full of missed chances, hope, loss, sadness, laughter, joy and of course love.

I absolutely adored every aspect of this book, I loved the beautifully poignant plot which swept me away, the characters are perfect the love that swirls around Zara and Leon is magical, they are instantly likeable and you know from the moment of meeting them that they will take you on a memorable journey. The setting of Paris the most romantic city in the world and the intricately entwined love of art is the perfect backdrop to this epic love story and it makes you dream of Paris, I do have a real soft spot for Paris as it is; even though I have never stepped foot there I have this pull towards this beautiful and historic city which made reading this book even more special.

This book is like a rare gift to every romantic heart who craves a true, unquestionable love story, Olivia Lara I want to hug you, bow down to you and thank you for bringing such a joyously beautiful and memorable story to the world.

I am astounded that this is Olivia’s debut book, this is amazing! I can see a hugely successful writing career spanning out into the future for her and I cannot wait to see what comes next.

It’s a timeless classic! – there isn’t any more I can say, it really is a beautiful, heartbreaking love story that will forever stay lodged inside my romantic heart.

I have to say a huge thank you to the Aria team for allowing me to be apart of this blog tour and to Olivia just for writing this spell-binding book.

About the Author

Olivia’s love for words started as a child when she spent all her summer vacations watching her grandfather, who worked for the biggest publishing house in Romania, edit hundreds of books. She is a former investigative journalist for a newspaper and a television network in Romania, now a Marketing Director in Silicon Valley – in between she lived in Paris where her love for the Alsace region was born.

Follow Olivia

Twitter: @olilara_writes / Facebook: @olivialaraauthor