The Brightest Star in Paris: A Novel

Although the story started out a somewhat slow, I have to say I loved this book every bit as I did th first one in this series!

After reading the debut, I was very curious to the next book. Unlike the previous one this one was more emotional and less funny and fluffy, causing it for me to take a bit longer to finish it. All in all a beautiful, and very original book.

Ohhhh do I love the way Diana Biller writes ghost stories and love stories and just people in general. Her characters are so, SO good, so warm and true and richly developed and I love them so much (especially including every one of the various ghosts who visit Amelie, the heroine of this novel).This is a book about grief and about recovering from trauma and learning how to find hope again - so even though I'd preordered it (in two different formats, because I've loved everything she writes THAT much!), I hesitated about getting started. I thought maybe I should wait until I was no longer dealing with a physical recovery of my own.But I did read the opening just to see what it was like...and that was it. I was sucked in completely! I stayed up far too late to devour it all tonight, and I don't regret it one bit. Amelie and Benedict have both been through so much in their past, but watching both of them, in different ways, start to unclench and find joy again was AMAZING. I adore the entire Moore family so much (and look forward with great interest to Maggie's book whenever it arrives), and Amelie's little sister is wonderful, too. This book is just so warm and rich and overflowing with compassion, and there's so much lovely humor and lightness of touch in the midst of the harder issues. I love this bit between Amelie and Benedict, early on after they've met again for the first time in twelve years:"Your offer. Of...help.""I will always help you," he said plainly.This did not seem to please her. "I want to negotiate.""Alright," he said. "I'll give you anything you want.""Ben. Benedict, I mean.""You can keep calling me Ben.""Benedict. That's not how a negotiation works.""No?"She frowned at him. He smiled back. He couldn't help it - he was slowly realizing she'd come to see *him* and a slow tide of joy was rolling through his body."I can't accept your help for nothing," she said. "I need to give you something in return.""I like sandwiches," he said.She huffed at him. It was a familiar huff. It meant he wasn't doing what she thought he ought to, that he wasn't seeing reason - he was being pig-headed. He'd loved that sound.He still loved it.***The issues that Amelie and Ben have both been through (his time as a doctor in the US civil war; hers in Paris during the Franco-Prussian war and the Bloody Week afterwards) are real and hard and complex - but the romance between them is just lovely. And I adored the ghosts!Basically, just: this book is wonderful. Read it! (I have no idea why, btw, the rather bland cover copy and the cover image make absolutely no mention of the many ghosts involved in this book. Ghosts - both literal and metaphorical - are the main propellors of the whole plot! They're hardly irrelevant! But - in other words, please ignore the cover copy and understand that it's a fabulous ghost story AND a fabulous romance, full of really wonderful characters. Some of them also occur in a different book, The Widow of Rose House, which I also loved, but you can happily read them in either order. And the novella prequel about the Moore parents is lovely too!) I will buy everything Diana Biller wants to write, in multiple formats, forever. :)

Not being familiar with the author, (Diana Biller) I chose this book because it is set in Paris and is about ballet. I was delighted to discover that it is so much more. It is the story of Amelie and Benedict and their 12-year journey. I really, really enjoyed this book and highly recommend.

Lovely story with wonderful characters. I adore the Moore family and look forward to reading their stories in the future!