Everyone on board for a whistle stop coach tour of Europe in this escapist contemporary romance!

Well, I'd never considered doing a coach tour before and I have to say I don't think I'll do one any time soon after reading this! The accommodations on route left much to be desired but definitely added to the interactions of the characters and drama of the story. Cat Parsons has always said she'd never go on a holiday like this but it seems like the perfect getaway after she discovered her flatmate is secretly in love with her. The eclectic mix of folk on the tour, their interactions, attitudes and actions are key to the story as new friendships and supporters develop. The first stop is in Paris and it is here that she accidentally encounters someone she reluctantly broke contact with more than a decade ago. As the journey takes them to some iconic places around Europe, will Cat learn to let love have a chance instead of shying away?

The characters on the coach each have their own backstory which impacts on their behaviours and interactions. This is a story of romantic places, hurried visits, new friendships and long standing romance rekindled.

I requested and was gifted a copy of this book via NetGalley and this is my honest review after choosing to take the journey with Cat and visit the fabulous cities and sights with her and her coach buddies. I actually read it in March 2020, just after Italy had imposed the travel restrictions for Coronavirus, when this sort of tour would not have been possible - let's hope it all clears up soon and good luck to anyone on such a coach tour in future!

That Night in Paris is about a Catherine, a 30-something-year old who is running away from a one-night stand gone wrong. So, she hops on a bus tour of Europe and meets some new, interesting, and familiar faces. Honestly, I love the premise of this book and now want to do a bus tour of Europe lol. I surprisingly learned a lot about European landmarks I never knew about and now need to see.

There were many things to love about this plot, these characters, and this book. Catherine is not always likable but for me that made her even more relatable and real. The secondary characters were also brilliant and so well picked out in their characteristics, that helped move the plot along. Jean-Luc was my saving grace for this book, because to be honest I did not love everything about That Night in Paris, but I did love Jean-Luc. He was the perfect French book boyfriend and made the book worthwhile for sure. The scenery of this book was incredible and maybe on of my favorites that I’ve read this year. A bus tour around Europe lands you in a lot of interesting places and could be overwhelming to some writers. But I felt like this was written brilliantly in the vast scenery that she placed this book in. I felt like I was on the tour with them, through Paris and Rome and even the lesser known places.

So, now the part I did not love, the dialogue. This book felt incredibly juvenile at times in the way the characters spoke and in the way Cat thought. She did not speak or act like any 35-year-old woman I’ve ever met, even the ones who did not have their life together like Cat. She was childish and her humor was that of a 15-year-old. It was not just her though, it was also the other characters as well. At times it felt more like I was reading a YA novel with immature characters than a Romance novel for adult women about adult women.

I would love to give this book 5 stars, because there were many things, I loved about it. But dialogue is important, and this dialogue is truly lacking in ways I can not look past. I will give this author’s other books a try, because I am intrigued by these fictional adventures her characters go on.

If you want a whistle stop tour around part of Europe then this is certainly the book for you. For me it has re-affirmed something I have always suspected I would not enjoy doing a coach tour for myself, if I'm going to fit in multiple cities in one trip, give me a cruise ship to travel by, but not a coach!

However reading about someone else's coach trip starting in Paris, taking in the South of France, Florence, Rome, Switzerland and more over a short space of time is really entertaining.

Especially given Cat had always sworn she would never take this sort of holiday, but books it last minute while fleeing from a love-struck flatmate.

It doesn't take too long for Cat to make some wonderful new friends on this trip and with that we have her bus posse, 4 women all on the trip for different reasons and we get to know them all really well, as what else are you going to do on a coach of hours at end, than talk to people!

The accommodations again would have put me off the trip and Cat didn't seem that impressed with them either, but past that we get wonderful descriptions of each place they visit. There is the echoes of past loves, a blast from the past that becomes rather key,

Let's just say there is a gorgeous Frenchman that really affects Cat's "lady bits" (the author's words not mine, and was a phrase used rather a lot), but the chemistry between them is amazing even if Cat is trying to delude herself.

Some of the cities we get more from than others, but I'd say we get a decent feel for each place, especially the ones where Cat and her bus bestie Lou decided to fit in as much as humanly possibly in a tiny amount of time.

I really enjoyed this story, and love Sandy Barker's way of writing about different places. I'm already keen to see what the author will write next.

Thank you to One More Chapter and Netgalley for this copy which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily.

Loved this book.
Catherine, after sleeping with her flatmate(Alex), to get away from him and the fact that he’s thinking too much into it, books a Venturseek tour, around Europe. On the tour she meets three ladies who fast become her besties and a lad, they all have stories to share of why they’re on the tour.
Whilst on this tour she thinks back to her old boyfriend and what went wrong but also, the boy she slept with texts her and she has to let him down
In Paris whilst out sightseeing and with her besties she bumps into her old friend(Jean-Luc) one she knew when they were kids.
Along the way on the tour,, visiting the other countries she begins to want to see Jean-Luc. When they get to Amsterdam she realises that she has to see him and get to Paris. Her friends help her and manage to sort out her travel to get to Paris.
Goodbyes follow and finally she gets to Paris. Will it be a happy reunion? I was hooked. Definitely recommend it.

Who doesn't love a good romance? This book really surprised me. I find this author's writing style to be clear and easy to read.

That Night in Paris is a fun romance that follows our main character Catherine as she decides last minute to take a bus tour around Europe after sleeping with her flat mate. On the tour she meets 3 other woman who also booked last minute; Louise who is getting a divorce, Jaelee who realized she was in love with her best friend who just got married and Danielle whose best friend did not invite her to her wedding. While at their first stop on Paris, Catherine gets reunited with her best friend from childhood Jean-Luc. What follows is Catherine building friendships with these 3 other women and reconnecting with Jean-Luc all while traveling around Europe.

What I love about this story is that it’s not just your typical romance, it is also a story about the relationships you make in life. Catherine’s friendship with these other women is great to see, none of them tried to put the other’s down, they were all there for each other when needed. This story also felt like a love letter Europe. While the author was describing the places they visit I could visualize myself there and remember my own experiences, to visiting Sainte-Chapelle and getting baguette sandwiches to eat while in Paris. I also enjoyed seeing the growth of the character as she comes to terms with how she is living her life and being resistant to romantic relationships.

I only had a few problems with this books and it was mainly I think formatting issues with my ebook. There was no real break in dialogue and sometimes it was hard to figure out who was speaking. I also am not a huge fan of second chance romances but I enjoyed this one in that it didn’t focus on them in the past just small glimpses.

If you are looking for a great romance with more to it then I highly recommend this one. This book comes out on April 15th. I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I'm sorry but this was an incredibly painful read.
I liked the premise - it sounded a bit silly, but lighthearted and fun and I was glad to have the opportunity to read something easy going. Unfortunately, the story and its characters were just such a tough slog.
A few points:
- There were too many characters. As a reader, we're trying to get to know Cat, so we don't need to give as much airtime to Jae and whatever the other shopping woman's name was. I can completely appreciate them being there for comic relief but they didn't add much to the story, especially right at the beginning. Same goes for the young American guy (Craig?) - why was he even there? You don't need to cram in so many characters just to fill out the book. If your protagonist is engaging enough, you don't need a whole cast behind her.

- I do not care that Cat is "originally Australian". This added nothing to the story, but it did break the flow of it every time she said something like "I sound British but I'm originally Australian!" or "We Australians give nicknames!". If this is super important to the author, introduce it earlier on, like when Cat is talking about her relationship with her sister, or give some background to how she got from Aus to the UK. It's completely irrelevant mid conversation with a secondary character, and to be honest, this just read as though the author herself is "originally Australian" and was dying to get it into the book.

- Extremely slow progression. This story genuinely does have some potential, but it was so difficult to engage with Cat and care about her that the story just dragged. The imagery of the Louvre or the little sidestreet restaurants etc is beautiful, but it's just filler if we don't have a well rounded, realistic character to explore it with.

Unfortunately, this book read as though the author wrote it for herself alone, which is fine, but if you want it to be appealing to a wider audience, it needs to be made accessible and interesting to that audience.

I'm a little torn on this book, to be honest. The story itself is cute and creative. It took me a little while to really get into it, but I did. There may have been a few too many pieces to the plot? It felt like there was a lot that was glossed over and some that felt superfluous. It's not the most sophisticated writing and there are definitely some changes I would have made in editing, including a little too much internal monologue from the main character in stream of consciousness. However, I did feel the characters and the relationships they developed were very real and relatable. I enjoyed the descriptions of the various places they visited. If you are looking for an easy read that leaves you feeling warm and happy, this may be a good one to pick up. 2.5 stars.

I loved practically everything about this book and I was hooked from about five minutes in!! I laughed and I cried so many times while reading I lost count.

Cat made a huge mistake by sleeping with her flat mate and then he declared his love for her and started making puppy dog eyes at her over breakfast. So she booked herself on a two week coach tour seeing the sights in Europe. On the coach she meets a number of other people travelling on their own (each with their own reasons for doing so) - this group fast become close friends with the lovely Lou becoming Cat’s ‘bus bestie’.

The first stop is Paris and here, quite by chance, Cat bumps into her old pen-friend and previously best childhood friend Jean-Luc. However, Jean-Luc has transformed into a heartthrob who plays havoc with Cat’s emotions (and raging hormones!). I could go on and on about the book but I don’t want to ruin it for you.

The descriptions of each of the cities, the scenery, landmarks and the tastes and smells (good and bad ha!) really make the book come to life and have left me wanting to get out and visit them all!

A five star read and I can’t wait to read more from Sandy Barker.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced read copy of this book in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

If I'm being entirely honest, this book would be a DNR for me, but I try to read books that I've agreed to review for NetGalley. This was a tough one to get through though. The premise of the book is pretty straightforward, a young woman goes on an organized tour through Europe, makes friends with some fellow tourists and an unexpected meet up with a guy from her past serves as the major plot point. Unfortunately, the execution is not the best. The book has a lot of stumbling blocks like lots of secondary characters who never really develop. For example, one of the characters is very mean to the other women, and there are hints that something may be going on with her, yet nothing ever comes of it. The main character is oddly hostile to the tour director for reasons that never really develop until the last few pages.

To be fair, the book also just has some of my pet peeves that instantly make me dislike a book. The character tells readers that they can Google a fact at one point, which pulls readers out of the story (who is the narrator talking to? Herself? Does she know she has an audience?). I'd also be very content to never see the words "lady bits" ever appear in a book ever again.

Thanks NetGalley for the ARC of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Very cute romance novel! would recommend! I was intially a little bored by the beginning, but thank you Jean-Luc - he and Cat are really good together. The main characters seem believable while the supporting characters fell flat

I enjoyed the story. Cat is so quirky. I love her thoughts.
Also Jean Luc - a swoon worthy man worthy of being the best best book boyfriend. He’s pretty perfect. The leaning his forehead against hers. The surprising her.
This book makes me have holiday envy. It made me want to go to Paris and Italy.

After absolutely loving the first instalment to this series, I was thrilled to hear Sandy was continuing it this time round with the lovely Cat, a school teacher who is in desperate need of a change, starting with a European tour including a stop in London, Paris, Florence, Rome, admiring all of the stunning sights each location had to offer.

I had so much fun following Cat and her new friends on their journey around Europe - it showed you the reality of taking tours such as this one and how you can easily make life-long friendships within them. I loved the romantic side to this book as well, it was a great love story and had me completely captivated.

I would highly recommend this book, as it is a gorgeous read for any time of the year and will definitely have you thinking about your next holiday!

this is such a great looking book and after her last book set on the Stunning isle of Santorini, i had to pick up the next instalment....
Cat parsons is a school teacher and doesnt know what to do or where to go but at the last minute, she books a europen tour starting in London and travelling to Paris, Florence, Rome, all the usual sights. This is a book you can fully believe happens because i have done a simialr UK one with foreign friends and we are still in touch so the new friendships she finds herself with, are there forever...
The story begins on a coach meeting all the newbie tour clinets and they make good friendships.. Cat is single, bored and Whilst in Paris finds herself bumping into an old school friend jean luc who she was good friends with when she was at school and literally falls at his feet, they make plans to meet each other in a few days in Italy....the build is up is very funny and so travel orientated as she tours eight countries in tewo weeks with her new friends and old.
You have to read the book to find out
what happens next.
It is captivating and a brilliant read especially in these winter months of rain.
thank you to netgalley for my chance to read this for a honest review.

That Night in Paris tells the story of a woman in her mid-thirties who is experiencing some turmoil in her life and decides to go on a budget, whirlwind, tour of Europe.

I have been loving romance genres lately, as well as anything that has a strong sense of place, but this did not deliver for me. It felt like a mix of convenient plot points with some real potential for life-long friendships, but unfortunately, even those were one-dimensional. Regardless of my own opinions here, If you love Europe and romance novels, I would urge you to give this a try, because it has some potential, it just wasn’t my cup of tea. Perhaps it will be for someone else.

Thank you to Netgalley and One More Chapter for a chance to read this complimentary advanced reader’s copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

This was my first book by this author and simply brilliant I will be reading more by this author. Was brilliant and full of new friendships and seeing old friends with some love and plenty of travel with plenty to drink and eat and was lovely to travel around the different countries and you filet you were with them.
Cat has been out of love for years and one night she drinks a lit and ends up sleeping with her flat mate and he's fallen for her but she hasn't so she packs her bags and goes on the run. She books a two week holiday on a coach tour and can't wait to visit different countries. She first of all goes to Paris which is the country of love and she meets up with an old friend and will her idea of romance change. She makes wonderful new friends and enjoys travelling through so many different countries and has plenty of food and wine with it. Will she finish the tour or will she head back to Paris to find an old friend again.
Perfect read.

DNF @ 61%.

Who doesn’t love a trip to Paris, the sights, the atmosphere, the romance and with such a pretty cover and the mention of laugh-out-loud humour, I was up for seeing what That Night in Paris held in store.

“You know how you see a place in photos or in movies and you’ve wanted to go there for so long you can’t remember a time when you didn’t, and then you go and it’s way more...well, just more than you could ever have imagined?”

The theory behind this was one I should love, basically an 18-30’s Shearings™ trip across Europe, with friendships made and shenanigans had. However in practice that wasn’t the case, reading more travel guide than romance novel, providing none of the suggested laughs and centralising around a woman who I simply couldn’t warm to and who I found immature and annoying.

“Meh, I’m okay. I haven’t let loose like that in a long time...”

Sadly nowhere close to the success I was hoping for and with lacking descriptions holding a distinct tell rather than show feel, the author failed to transport me to the places visited—something I want and need from a destination romance. And whilst Jean-Luc was a saving grace in bringing the better moments to the story, even he wasn’t enough to keep me reading.

Feel the Summer in this delicious contemporary romance. Enjoyable and romantic, it features great European locations and a wonderful cast of new friends and friendships along the way.

[Thanks Netgalley for the ebook. This review is my honest opinion but just another opinion, you should read this book and judge it by yourself]
A sweet and light travel guide with a little bit of romance and a lot of friendship.
I had a lovely time reading That Night in Paris but to me this book is a travel guide and not a romance/chick lit novel. The premise is great but I think the writer waste too much time in the tourist part and too little in the romance area (even the frienship is more important!). Not that I mind it, I love a bunch of girl friends, but the love story is so sweet that I felt disappointed when I couldn't see it well developed.
The characters are great but I found them too simple. I know they all have a great and complex story behind but we tiptoe over almost every one of them. But I must say I really loved Jean Luc and he made my day everytime we could see (well, imagine XD) his lovely face.
Overall, it's a well-writen, light and sweet story with too little love and too much sightseeing.

Chicklit is nor my usual go-to genre but I was in a mood and it paid off. This was a truly enjoyable story that left me dreaming of traveling through Europe and craving food.

I will say that for a chick-lit, I was expecting the romance to be more on the nose? But the romance took a more predominant spotlight until the second part of the book. For the first half we see Cat befriending her bus buddies and running from landmark to landmark in Europe, eating and drinking wine until they fall on their beds. I will admit that this was my favorite part of the book, everything is described in such a beautiful way that it made me want to say "fuck it" and book a flight and tour through Europe.

The friendship displayed between the bus buddies was something that I treasured, everyone was very supportive regarding everyone's circumstances. All the characters were relatable and amazingly written, my only concern is how can Jean-Luc be so perfect? Like, c'mon this man has got to have a flaw!

Now while the romance kicks in until the second half, it really caught my attention. During the moments where Cat and Jean-Luc are together I was sure to forget the bus buddies even existed; Cat would mention Lou and I would snap out of it like Huh, there are other characters in this book. Overall, I really liked the relationship between the two of them and I want a Jean-Luc for myself, please.