Hidden in Paris Paperback – April 19, 2011

Such exquisite characters and detail..I hope there is a sequel to this ❤❤

A charming challenging tale about 3 very different women who battle their inner demons to form a sisterhood. Set in wonderful Paris, I loved this book!

I can't really pinpoint what I didn't like about Hidden In Paris. Because there's a lot of it. The books starts well enough, introducing us to Annie who lives in France and who's raising her three kids by herself after her husband died. Then we're introduced to Lola, who's unhappy with her life in California and her mentally mean husband. And finally we're introduced to Althea who's struggling with an eating disorder. Both Lola and Althea see Annie's ad and they decide a chance of scenery is exactly what they need and soon, Annie has a houseful of strangers. I liked that, I found it captivating and you'd think that will three women all with different problems then the novel would be fairly well-paced with each woman trying to fix their respective issues, but it's not. Not much really happens and that's where my issues with the book come in because I don't like books that ramble on for chapters with nothing much happening. I don't have the patient for books with no action. So I was at a loss and ended up skimming the last half of the book. (Again, not a good sign, but it got to the point where I just wanted it to end, sadly).I figured the characters would be interesting, but again, not really. I found Annie to be very peculiar. Her personality (to me) seemed to jump around a lot. She was very self-righteous toward Lola who had just upped and left her husband, but when she found out the real reason Lola left she was both cheery (for being proven right) but also supported Lola to Lucas. It confused me, quite frankly. In one scene, she was glowing as Lola talked to her husband and then a moment later she was comforting Lola telling her she'd done the right thing. It didn't make sense. Lola was a much calmer character, though a bit of a doormat. I liked Lola, despite her doormat tendencies. At the beginning Althea was my favourite character, but I rapidly lost interest in her because nothing happened. It was glaringly obvious that she had a problem with food and I was astounded Annie and Lola, two perceptive enough people, failed to recognise it when it was staring them in the face, it didn't hold water with me, and I was disappointed at how clueless they were. Even a blind person could have picked up on it, frankly. There was so much that could have been done for Althea's story but instead she flounders, becoming enraptured by tortured painter Jared.I found the writing to be a bit peculiar. I know it was set in France, and Corine Gantz herself is French, but I presume her book has been published by an American publisher so I can't understand why the book is riddled with so many errors and so many stupid-sounding sentences. I picked up numerous spelling errors and I was constantly re-arranging sentences to make them make sense to me. To correct them to the way they should have been written originally. (I'd love to give examples, but I truly can't be bothered to wade through and find some). I understand that sometimes authors do it to be authentic, but it's not really necessary. It drives my internal editor insane, it honestly does. Unfortunately Hidden In Paris wasn't a book I loved, and I was desperate for it to end, but not in a good way. It's a shame; I wanted to like it, I wanted to enjoy it, I wanted it to be a read I enjoyed, but it was just too slow for me and it's just one of those things. I liked the setting of Paris, I'm becoming more of a Paris fan with each novel I read it seems, but overall I wouldn't recommend the book, not unless you like novels that are slow-going. Not for me, sadly.

What a combination of stories, personalities and desires of a variety of people. It was well written as far as descriptions of what people were feeling. The book ended too quickly, the author had put a lot into her characters and could have made the story longer. I enjoyed the use of the French language and the descriptions of the meals, so Parisienne.

I loved this book. The characters were so believable, and I loved the setting in Paris. Very descriptive. I wish it hadn’t ended so abruptly. I guess I just wanted the book to go on longer!

Characters were interesting. The storylines developed nicely and resolved satisfactorily. As a reader who doesn't like graphic violence or disturbing imagery, this novel touched on important, realistic issues without causing me to want to put it down and not pick it up again. It was an easy novel to read without being stressful. I enjoyed it immensely.

The setting drew me to this book because I love all things Parisian, but the characters glued me to the story. I love stories with strong female characters and watching these three women develop into true strong women charmed me. Their assets and flaws equally told their stories clear to the end. The author beautifully described the friendships that grew as the story progressed and she made me believe how they all became friends . . . all needing each other for different reasons. Reading about them discovering that their partners can compliment their lives without controlling their lives was exciting and enlightening. I learned about this book on Facebook. I don’t know how I had missed it for so long. Thank you, Ms. Gantz, for a book I enjoyed to the very end! Looking forward to reading more of your books.

"Hidden in Paris" is an engaging, fast paced novel. After the death of her husband, Annie is threatened with bankruptcy and the risk of losing her three story, large, beloved home located in Passy, an upscale area of Paris. In an effort to save her home, this landlord-to-be places newspaper ads in the United States to entice potential tenants to "start over in Paris." The four tenants arrive, each with dysfunctional lives that are in need of healing. Annie's tenants include an ex-model with an abusive husband, a frail young bulimic woman, and a French artist. In addition, another French man adds challenges to Annie's life. In the end the greatest reward to Annie's efforts is the realization that she herself is saved in the process of helping others. Characters are well developed with plausible dialog. French culture is realistically portrayed and descriptions of life in Paris is factual. High recommendations for this engaging novel.

5 stars because i can find no fault with it The characters are believable and the descriptions of Paris take me back there.The story is so gripping to me because there no parts of it which caused me to think "Nah that would never have happened" There are no saints in here just real life flawed people Basic storyline is young widow with 3 boys left the States with her husband and set about being the perfect wife, cooking French food and lovingly restoring the worst house on one of the best streets in Paris Widowhood forces her to rethink her finances so she puts an ad in various newspapers in the states for tennants The ones she finds are inevitably runnind away from something and then there is her friend of a friend the almost starving artist in Paris who takes her final room That,s all i am giving away!

I just love Paris, whether it be visiting Paris or reading about Paris and after reading the reviews thought it would be a book that I would enjoy. A great light/easy read, I could envisage the characters, all different, each with a story to tell, sometimes funny sometimes traumatic but Annie was there, she would be the friend we would all love to have! I would definitely recommend and hope like other reviewers that we will hear more from the author.

I was attracted to this book at 3am one sleepless night browsing Amazon (desperate for a bit of light reading), because Paris was in the title and I liked the cover !!!However, I feel there's nothing here not to like really and I can imagine it as a "chic flick" maybe. Probably a book I'll give away and not want it back, but it's fine : a good light read for holiday time.

at first i didnt think i would finish this book i found it hard to get going but all of a sudden i was in.very well written getting all the characters togetherand connected was brilliant you know a good book when you feel and see the characters,as i have just finished they are all still with me ,id love to rent a room in that lovely welcoming house .

It doesn't take long to read, and it is a lovely light read with a brilliant plot and some interesting characters.My review is short, as I am not a writer, nor a great reviewer, and I wanted to say I enjoyed it very much.C'est toute!