Honeymoon in Paris by Jojo Moyes|| Review Friday

Before I begin, yes, I went back to Jojo Moyes. This novella was too cute to pass up. Honeymoon in Paris serves as a prequel to The Girl You Left Behind, and it is sugar,spice, and all things nice .

Title: Honeymoon in Paris

Author: Jojo Moyes

Genre:  Novella, historical-fiction, romance

This prequel does exactly what a good prequel should do; it sets up the back story of the characters presented in The Girl You Left Behind. We see the stories of two women, Sophie and Liv, united by the space they are in, and separated by a hundred years.

Set in the time preceding the first world war, Sophie is a provincial girl who is swept up in the glamour of Paris while still retaining her rustic charm. And it is exactly this quality that enamours her to the painter Edouard Lefevre. A whirlwind of a romance and a wedding later, they are blissfully enjoying their honeymoon phase.  A century later, in the contemporary age, we see Liv Halston and her husband David who have come to Paris for their honeymoon. We already see the parallels in the lives of these two women.


The twist in the tale happens when the women begin to doubt their relationship with their significant other, Sophie because of the entry of an ex-flame, and Liv because of her husband's excessive involvement in his work.

While Liv roams about in Paris all by herself, she comes across a painting of a seemingly irate wife, one that was painted by Edouard and featured Sophie. And it is this painting that causes both the women to rethink the state of their relationship.

A simple enough tale to predict the ending of, this novella's appeal lies in it's simplicity. The shifts between the past and the present are seamless and noteworthy.  The way reality is depicted to be 'real' and not always a bed of roses resonates through this work.

This is definitely one of those breezy, light reads but with enough substance to be remembered for more than just that. Honeymoon in Paris has definitely piqued my interest to read The Girl You Left Behind, though with the impending first world war as the setting, I am not sure if I should as angst is not my cup of tea. But perhaps, this one might be worth a shot.

Rating:5/5