This gem of a book was an exceptional read, as it had a great plot and well developed characters. I was rooting for Grace as crisis after crisis occurs in her life. It takes a gifted author to get the reader to root for a married man's mistress, but I found myself wishing Grace would get some happiness. Definitely recommend!

I found the beginning of this book fairly exciting. We meet Grace and her boyfriend David and there's hints of a not quite perfect relationship between the two. When David makes a heroic rescue in the subway station, things really take a turn for the relationship because what David values most is privacy and being a hero isn't very private. Question is, what does he have going on that makes him want to stay in the shadows? I got a sense from the beginning that Grace was a weak character and she continued to prove that point by basing her whole life around the whims and wants of David. It got very old very quickly for me. I found her to be annoying and I had a hard time rooting for her. The issues and solution were obvious and I just didn't feel her struggles. Her new friends were welcome additions to the story but not enough to make me pull for her. I also didn't enjoy the musical aspect of the storyline

After going through mine own recent heartbreak, Goodbye, Paris was the perfect medicine. It made me remember that I will be happy again one day! Just because life didn't work out exactly like I thought, doesn't mean that is a bad thing. I also enjoyed the unique perspective of the woman being aware that the man is cheating.

Goodbye, Paris is a heartbreakingly, beautiful tale about relationships, the resilience of love, and the acceptance of loss all set to the backdrop of romantic cities and the arts.

Grace, a former musician with a traumatic musical schooling experience, enjoys a quiet life repairing instruments in a small English town. After a chance meeting a man named David, Grace and David are mad for each other and enjoy a long-distance relationship. One casual day while waiting for the Paris Metro, David performs a heroic act that catapults him to social media hero status which then turns the spotlight on his life. This turn of events showcased to Grace that things are other than what they seem. Leaning on unlikely acquaintances who become close friends, Grace attempts to unravel the truth while also attempting to live her life the best she can.

I enjoyed reading Goodbye, Paris. It was very well-written with well-developed characters. It wasn’t a typical love story but instead lent itself more to love, joy and happiness being partaken in many different forms. I’d really like to see what Grace does next; crossing my fingers that there will be a book two.

I received an advanced review copy (ARC) of this book from the publisher through NetGalley for my honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

3.5 stars. I truly enjoyed the last third of the book. The setting description was wonderful - it made me want to visit Italy and eat all the food!

Goodbye, Paris is a bittersweet love story. I was debating between 3 or 4 stars, but the 4 starts won because of a very not typical ending.

Grace is a music instrument repair/building store owner. Twenty years prior to that she was a promising cellist, but an incident that has happened in college has ended Grace's cellist career once and for all.

Now, Grace is living a wonderful and happy life. Her business is blooming. She even hires a young student from a local private school, Nadya, to help her around the shop. Grace does not have many friends. But she has a wonderful lover, David, that lives/works in a different city.

One wonderful evening, in Paris, David saves a life of a young woman. An incident is caught on camera and overnight David becomes a worldwide hero... and unfortunately, that's not the last thing that becomes known to the public.

Goodbye, Paris is not your typical love story. And I really loved the ending. It was simply a perfect way to end the story. Bravo Anstey Harris! This is a super quick read. Perfect for a vacay or just relaxing reading night at home.

I struggled to get into this one. Or I should say, at first I was very intrigued, as the first chapter ends with a bit of a bombshell! But then things got a little predictable and I had trouble staying focused on the story. Part of this I completely blame on myself, as I am not very musically inclined and music is a central theme to this book. For me, I just struggled to get into the story, but I think if you enjoy music or are looking for an easy summer read, this could be a book for you!

Anstey Harris choose the “feel good novel format “ for Goodbye, Paris, her first novel. She fully embraces this genre. Every person involved in this story has problems or issues or woes. And in the feel good format, all are neatly resolved by novels end.
Grace Atherton has her life set. She repairs musical instruments in her shop, tends her home, and friends Nadia and Mr. Williams. Most importantly she waits patiently for the children of her married lover, David, to come of age so she and David can marry and live happily ever after. Life interferes with her plan.
Now crisis after crisis occurs. Drugs, pregnancy, damaged instruments, retaliation by David’s other mistress, and stage fright are some of the problems.
For me the weakness of the novel is that every issue is resolved. Not only resolved but resolved neatly, kindly and efficiently. It is too perfect. It is too neat.
The book was eminently readable especially the descriptions of lovingly restoring the damaged instruments.
If you suspend reality, you will love this book. But if reality creeps in, you will still enjoy it. I received an advance copy of this book from Netgalley. #netgalley #goodbyeparis

Goodbye, Paris is a light read for the most part. I enjoyed the descriptions of music throughout the book. I would recommend this book to anyone who loves music as the descriptioms are wonderful. The overall storyline was good and I found this book hard to put down.

I would like to thank Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a review copy in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion of it.

Well written and touched on some compelling and important topics. I’d probably connect with the character more if I was a musician so I’d highly recommend this book for anyone with a love of playing music.

I’m so up and down about this novel! In the end I think I give it a solid 3.5 as I enjoyed reading it. It was a lovely summer read, although a little predictable in places, a little over the top in others.

Grace owns a shop where she repairs and builds string instruments. She is also a cellist, but no one really knows this as she hasn’t played for anyone for many, many years. Grace has also been in a relationship with a married man, David, for a long time. David lives in Paris, Grace in Kent, and they see each other on a regular basis, usually in Paris. One day David jumps onto the tracks of the Métro to save a woman who has fallen, and everything changes. (No David doesn’t die).

What I loved were the lush descriptions of Paris and the beautiful descriptions of instruments and classical music. Anstey Harris evokes the beauty of playing music in an exquisite way, and I loved learning all about the absolute skill it takes to create, repair, and love a string instrument. These parts were beautiful. Paris is also my favorite place in the world, so the nostalgia in the descriptions was something I really related to.

What I didn’t love was how bloody selfish Grace is! She seems to walk around in a bubble, unable to actually see what is going on around her. The bubble does burst eventually, but even then she still has to navigate all her own feelings before those of her friends’. I didn’t dislike her though, she grew on me, and I understood a lot of what she was going through. I just feel like she is always being coddled. And honestly, all the drinking she does is really annoying. After a while you start wondering if the final revelation is going to be “I’m an alcoholic” as the author seems to feel the need to list every glass of wine that Grace has ever. It’s a bit strange because it stands out.

I love Grace’s friends, Nadia and Mr Williams. They are the stars of the show for me, friends everyone needs in their lives. They were definitely my favorite characters through and through!

So all in all an enjoyable story, well written, with some annoying parts, and a bit of a predictable finale. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the advance copy.

Wow, Grace, the main character in Goodbye, Paris is leading a complicated life. She had once been a prominent cellist, but something happened in college that has kept her from playing in public since. Grace leads a somewhat hidden life while she has a long-distance affair with a man named David who is married with children. She is tied to David and waiting for him to leave his marriage for her, but he openly refuses until his children are grown. And until that time, Grace waits.........

David gains unplanned public attention when he heroically saves a woman on the Metro. However, the fame comes at a cost: his privacy. Grace is left broken-hearted and is considering bowing out of the her cello-making competition into which she has put all of her energy.

Grace’s saviors come in the forms of two unlikely friends, an eighty-year-old man and a teenage girl. How will this quirky pair help Grace put the pieces of her shattered life back together?

Goodbye, Paris is a charming, comforting story of overcoming obstacles and pain through friendship and how a heart can mend itself with the bolstering of steadfast companions.

Thank you to Touchstone for the complimentary ARC. All opinions are my own.

I was a little worried going into ths book. I feared Grace would be whiney relying heavily on married Dave and that her pity party yearning for a life with a married man would make her and this story too unlikable. I did not like Grace but I did like the story still. I always have a hard time connecting to a story with cheating characters. These stories always paint a love story worldwinded in passion painting two people who mistook their soulmates and found them later when they were already married. Although some love to read about their true love findings, I have major issues and moral qualms with it. This story was no different because although I liked Grace, I couldn't help but think she had a) made a mistake with even getting involved with a married man and b) let it go on for way too long without an ultimatum that would at least push the cheater into doing the correct thing.
I also fell out of interest with the long paragraphs about music. I love music but O know nothing about reading, playing, and certainly not making classical instruments. Harris does a wonderful job painting a vivid picture of all of these happenings and I'm sure someone with a musical background would appreciate it to the nines. I myself found myself skimming these paragraphs a bit.
What is most important to the story is to watch how Grace picks up the pieces with the help of her unlikely friendship between a teenager, Nadia, and an old man, Mr. Williams. The trio helps Grace not only get through her current dilemma but her past demons and it's beautiful and great to be reminded that love, even in friendship terms, has no age.
Halfway through the book, I still didn't like Grace. She seemed childish and downright dumb in my eyes to think her life would be going any different. I also disliked her for her carelessness and her depressed/alcohol infused actions in which she didn't take anyone else into consideration.
I also felt the interesting parts between Grace and David ended abruptly. Although the theme of friendship with Nadia and Mr. Williams comes into play because of this abrupt change, I was still more interested in the drama unfolding than the solutions.
Overall it was a beautiful story of transformation and friendship.

"The only thing I can leave for the world, if I get it right, are my children."

It's funny how some novels just sort of sneak up on you. You think that maybe that a book isn't for you and then somewhere along the way you realize just how invested you have become. In some cases it even infiltrates your everyday life. Prepare yourself now to begin queuing up classical quartets.

For the majority of the novel I found myself annoyed by Grace. Her decisions and naivete frustrated me to no end. My dislike was such that I actually considered putting the book down, but refrained due to her unusual career. I'm relieved that the author does a really decent job of slowly exposing the reader to who Grace actually is and why. I didn't realize just how much I was rooting for her until the end.

Overall, it's a good read that shares a glimpse into a world I hadn't known much about prior. I think the recommendation for fans of Jojo Moyes is definitely on point.

My review has been posted to Goodreads.

Review has also been tweeted as usual.

Thank you! :c)

First, let me say that I have never read "Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine." That being said, I have nothing to compare the two novels.

Grace, a single woman living in the U.K. has been having a relationship with David, a married man with a wife and children, an ongoing relationship for 8 years. David, for his part had his secrets, no doubt. While in Paris together, he rescues a woman at the Paris Metro station. Unfortunately for Grace and David, his heroism becomes "front page" news, with pictures of the two of them leaving on an escalator. Fast on his feet, David makes haste and takes his family on a trip to Spain hoping to avoid his family from reading and seeing his face in the papers. Not quite fast enough, his face becomes front page news, not only in France but elsewhere.
Grace, has baggage of her own from an incident that happened earlier in life. Having met David at a party, they became attracted to one another and had an instant connection. Through his words and action he showed Grace that she was loved. But he had secrets of his own, and when all was revealed Grace was sent reeling. With the care of a few loving friends, they helped her pick up the pieces of her life.

The novel is so on-point considering what is so current in today's society The book was not only well written, but au courant, My thanks to NetGalley for this advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

I LEFT MY BROKEN HEART IN PARIS

I love the City of Light and fiction depicting complicated relationships. And I love even more when resolution comes for a strong deserving talented woman, such as GOODBYE, PARIS’ protagonist Grace.

A cellist who no longer publicly plays since a trauma at music school, she creates a quiet life restoring stringed instruments until she meets married David, who encourages her and dangles a carrot of marriage once his kids grow older. They have a glorious affair at first but when he makes a public courageous act, their relationship, no longer clandestine, ends disastrously. Grace falls apart, relinquishing what she cherished, including her dream of winning a global violin-making contest.

Fortunately, an elderly violinist friend and the clerk at her store gather round, helping Grace rebuild equilibrium and the courage to pursue the competition after all. 5/5 for lovely writing and rich characterizations, especially of Grace and her quirky clan ... people we come to adore. Plus, isn’t that cover fab?

Pub Date 07 Aug 2018

Thanks to Touchstone and NetGalley for the review copy. Opinions are fully mine.

#Goodbye, Paris #NetGalley

3 1/2 stars. Drawn to books with Paris in the title? Me too! Quote from back cover: “Sometimes you have to break your heart to make it whole.” — isn’t that the truth?

As the first pages unfold we see Grace living a borderline reclusive life with a heavy dependency on her married long time lover David. Playing the cello was once her entire life, until it wasn’t. Instead she owns a shop where she repairs and crafts string instruments.

What she thought she knew as truths in her life become lies. Through music and a few friends she will have to start anew.

Goodbye, Paris by Anstey Harris is on sale 8/7/18 from Touchstone (imprint of Simon & Schuster). Thank you to the author and publisher for this ARC.

This was pretty predictable, I read about half of it and just couldn't get to the finish line.. Its hard to stand out in the genre and this one didn't do it for me. Sorry to say. Theres nothing I enjoy more than finding a new writer

I started reading this book filled with trepidation - as will many married women, I think.

Grace, however, had that elusive "something" that made me want to see more for her than what she had. We learn early on what a talented woman she is and the more I read, the more I was drawn into the story and two additional characters.

People who enjoy books about the families we find will be drawn to this particular "family."