Paris Is Always a Good Idea

Ms McKinlay has written an entertaining book. Chelsea is very successful with a cancer charity. She gathers donations from business and industry better than anyone. She is a no nonsense person who has no time for fun. When her widowed father tells her he is remarrying, Chelsea is much less than gracious about his news. In fact, she is absolutely disgusting. At this point in the story, I was not sure I would want to finish the book. She did not strike me as a heroine I could like for an entire book.Her sister points out that Chelsea has become a different person since their mother’s death. In point of fact, Chelsea does not see the fun in anything, nor does she recognize that falling in love with someone is not a crime. Laughing is a good thing. Caring for others is also a good thing. Overall, enjoying life should be a goal.At this point, Chelsea decides she will take a leave of absence from her job and relive a trip she took during her gap year after college. During that gap year, she met 3 men and each of them shared an intense love affair with Chelsea.There are three stops in the new trip -Ireland, Paris and Italy. At each of these stops, Chelsea with reconnect with a long ago love and see if she can become that carefree happy girl again.Just as in real life, things do not go as expected. She finds that although she has let life pass her by, the men in her life have not done that. Each of them have moved forward. And people are not always as we remember them.Chelsea did open herself up to new experiences. As the story progressed, I began to like her. Part of that like was because a fellow employee from the cancer charity arrives because of a possible ten million dollar donation. His name is Jason and Chelsea has a deep dislike for him. Jason is everything she is not and she has no respect for him. Yes, there is that woman who was difficult for me to like.That was the problem I had with this story. At times, Chelsea’s anger at the world came to the surface. The one time that she should have been really angry, she acted rather lukewarm. She did not understand that anyone would be angry on her behalf.I like Ms McKinlay’s books. She is a talented author. This story is very well written. There is a strong sense of sharing the travel to wonderful places that is absolutely perfect. I felt the fog in Ireland, and enjoyed the sunshine in Paris and Italy. There is humor and wonderful secondary characters who add to the story.But, it took me quite some time to really hope for the HEA for Chelsea. At times, I had hopes that Jason would trip over some nice girl and settle down with her.In the end, Chelsea and Jason did find happiness. And I believe that they will live happily ever after with 2.5 kids, a large furry dog and a picket fence. And if the world is fortunate, all the kids will be little Jasons.

Paris is Always a Good Idea is a delightful adventure across three countries in Europe! This novel was the perfect novel post COVID since it provided escapism which was needed for me personally since I usually travel at least once a year. The book stars Chelsea Martin who’s live stopped seven years ago after her mother died. Since then, she has become a workaholic as the lead fundraiser for the American Cancer Coalition. When her father tells Chelsea that he is going to marry this woman he met two weeks ago! Chelsea does not take it well and decides to relive her last summer before her mom got sick. During that summer Chelsea fell in love three times and she travels through Europe to find her happiness and love again. As she starts her adventure and visit the three summer loves she slowly finds out that things are not the same as she remembered. Luckily for her along the way she finds a new unexpected love. I loved Chesley’s self-discovery, I can totally relate to feeling like you’ve been stuck or haven’t moved on in life. This was a truly enjoyable read and I highly recommend this novel!

This skews more women's fiction than romance - but the romance is good and we get a pinch of heat at the end. I struggled getting through the book because I just I couldn't quite vibe with Chelsea, but I pushed through because I knew the parts of her that annoyed me were a result of her characters grief and that's real. Ultimately, I did enjoy the book (mostly because of the love interest) - the travel and plot were entertaining. But I can not deny that I did have a hard time with the reading process. I think it had a lot to do with the pacing (in addition to not vibing with the FMC). I didn't have this issue with the follow up book, so I do think that I will look forward to reading more from the author.3.5 out of 5 wine glasses.

it is a Christmas gift for a family member.

Mediocre idea.•I read this book a couple days ago and have been going back and forth about my feelings for it since then. It is probably a red flag when at the beginning of the book you find yourself agreeing with the heroine who is supposed to be in the wrong. But I think I would be worried too if my widower father decided to marry a woman who won a date with him at a charity auction two weeks ago, but apparently this means she doesn’t know how to love anymore. If this is true, my family may be in trouble.•In Paris Is Always a Good Idea, Chelsea’s quest to find out how to feel love again takes her on a whirlwind trip to Europe where she retraces a trip she took 7 years prior when she had flings with three different men. I really enjoyed the scenery of Ireland, France, and Italy and the chemistry between Chelsea and the man she ends up (no spoilers) with was great, but she still made some rash decisions that I had a hard time relating to. The love interest in the story was probably my favorite part, although both he and Chelsea used some vernacular that felt dated to me; do people still say “Snap!” and “As If!”?•Although the romance was satisfying, and the deeper themes of grief and how it changes us were done well, the ending at her father’s wedding still made me uncomfortable. I would love to chat about this read if anyone else has read it.•What is a book that had you struggling to decide if you really enjoyed it?•Clean rating: 🧼🧼1/2 for a sex scene at the end that feels a little stilted and unsatisfying....to the reader.•

Much more entertaining than I thought. I'm not a sappy or romantic novel type of reader. This was funny and I enjoyed the story. It was an easy read.. Made me want to hop a flight to Europe! Would definitely recommend.

This was an uplifting story! I really enjoy Jenn's writing style.

I really enjoyed this book in general, the odd couple of parts did make me cringe though. But other than a couple of those little parts, the last sentence being one of them, it’s worth a read if you’re a sucker for a good romance.

TBH, I felt a sudden gush of love and happiness through me while reading this adorable rom-com.This story is about Chelsea Martin. She is working for the American Cancer Coalition. When her father announces his second marriage, it is difficult for Chelsea to fathom the same, It’s been seven years since her mother passed due to cancer and she has been tirelessly working and is excellent at her job but she has closed herself and since then has had no real relationship. Something that her sister Annabelle whose been married twice and father who is a mathematician have told her. Prior to her mother’s death, she had been on a post- college adventure to Europe and had fallen in love with three very different guys. One was from Ireland, the other from France, and finally the last from Italy. Determined on finding herself back again, Chelsea decides to revisit Europe and find the guys she loved. What she never expected was her colleague and rival Jason Knightley crashing her trip!What happens next is hilarious, adorable, cute, romantic and definitely made me cry. (The happy ones)I loved Chelsea, she’s so much relatable, raw and genuine. As much as I loved Chelsea, I also loved Jason, he’s charming, witty and every girl’s dream.I can’t wait to dive into more of Jenn McKinlay novels.I rate it: 5/5

Well written & thoroughly enjoyable. Well rounded characters although the outcome is obvious right from the start.

I enjoyed the book it was an easy read, not like her other series books which have murders in them!

Nice book would read it again