I received a free copy of Love Letters from Montemarte in exchange for an honest review. What a neat story. It was very emotional, and the letters kept me engaged throughout. I couldn't wait to find out who was taking the letters, and placing into the hidden compartment of Helene's grave. This was definitely a unique plot, and what made it even better is the backdrop of Montemarte which is one of my favorite locations in Paris.

Great read. One I would definitely recommend to friends and family.

LOVE LETTERS FROM MONTMARTRE was a well-paced story that, for me, missed the mark with poor execution. While initially I grieved along with the main character, Julien, he quickly went from grieving to being a little too over the top as he writes his letters to his dead wife.

I felt that Julien and the story were meant to be funny but it never reached that place for me. It felt more sad than anything.

I did enjoy many of the other characters. Julien has a wonderful best friend who frequently brought Julien back from the edge. Julien's family was also very likable as they dealed with his Uncle Paul who suffers from dementia. There was a wonderful depth to that side story that was perfectly done.

The setting of Paris was done well. The imagery and aromas jumped off the page and brought me back to my days in Paris.

Overall, LOVE LETTERS FROM MONTMARTRE is an okay read but told with love for Paris and Montmartre.

I love the idea of love letters, When I was first dating my husband and we were living 1300 miles apart we sent each other a letter every single week. I think it was one of the most romantic periods of our relationship. This story hit me in the gut because The main character made a promise to his dying wife to write her 33 letters when she dies each one signifying one year of her life. Basically she tells him that he will be better for it. He doesnt believe her but he does it anyway. This book showcases one way to deal with grief. Letter writing can be very helpful.

I didn't expect to enjoy this book as much as I did. While it wasn't a perfect read I liked seeing the growth of Julien Azoulay through his grief. The letters were so well written, they were probably my favorite part of the entire book.

Thank you for a copy in exchange for an honest review.

In fact, this wasn’t the first time I read Love Letters from Montmartre. I have listend to the german edition as an audio book in 2018. Normally I hardly ever read the book a second time. When I saw this version on Netgalley, I couldn’t help but download it. Reading it for the first time it was very emotional for me. Two years later, it was no different. I went through all the emotions again. For a long time I have been thinking about how to put my thoughts and feelings about this book into words. As I write this review, tears are pricking my eyes.

For the writer Julien Azoulay, a world falls apart when his beloved wife Hélène dies of cancer at the age of thirty-three. He withdraws, wallows in self-pity and considers himself the unhappiest person in the world. Only for the sake of his four-year-old son Arthur, Julien gets up every morning and fulfils his fatherly duties. A writer’s block also prevents him from keeping his promise to Hélène, whose last wish was to receive a posthumous letter from Julien for every year of her short life.

From then on, the young widower’s centre of life is located in a small, very old cemetery in Montmartre in the north of Paris, where he once met the love of his life and only a few years later had to bury her. Both the efforts of his caring mother Clémence and the attempts of his best friend Alexandre to get him out of his lethargy fail. When Julien finally writes the letters ge places them in a secret compartment in Hélène’s gravestone in the Montmartre cemetery. One day the letters disappeared. Instead, Julien finds strange symbolic answers, a stone heart for example, or cinema tickets, a bouquet of flowers… From now on, Julien is faced with a mystery. No one knows about this hiding place and the promise he made to his wife … Will Julien decide for life and love?

With The Love Letters of Montmatre, Nicolas Barreau has once again proven what an outstanding storyteller he is and not without reason one of my favorite authors. With sensitive words and a fluid, pictorial writing style, he captivates the reader with the first sentences and guides him gently and cautiously through the plot which impressed me deeply. Anyone who has ever had to mourn the loss of a loved one will immediately identify with Julien. The heartrending grief, the worry about the little son, the constant hopelessness are so well described that not only Julien suffers terribly, but the reader as well. I have suffered with him, because this pain is not unknown to me either.

Only little by little does Barreau masterfully allow glimpses of light to enter his protagonist’s life, slowly changing the lives of Julien and Arthur, relieving the pain of grief and bringing hope back into their hearts. Bittersweetly he lets father and son wander through the city of love, at whose heels the reader clings to experience and absorb the French laissez-faire. The visits to the cemetery and the quotations from Heine’s works make the reading both romantic and sad, and touch the reader’s heart as much as the letters addressed to Hélène. These letters left me speechless, because they were so full of love, and yet so infinitely sad and endlessly encouraging at the same time.

Barreau always conveys a message with his stories, this time it is about hope and looking ahead. No one can tell a love story as sad and romantic at the same time as Barreau. I was captivated by the story from the first page and that didn’t change until the end. The Love letters of Montmatre is simply incredible! The book has an almost magical effect in its intensity, in that it shows us life in all its fullness, I can’t say it better: this book breaks the reader’s heart and puts it together all over again.

3.5 Stars. This was a heartbreaking, but sweet read and set in one of my most favorite cities in the world. I really enjoyed the story overall, but the format just read a bit stunted to me for some reason. The imagery was beautiful though and the ending left me feeling hopeful. Thank you to Netgalley and Skyhorse Publishing for the ARC.

Julien Azouly is a famous romance novelist, becomes a widower when his wife dies at thirty-three leaving him to raise their young son alone. Before her passing, she challenges him to write her a letter for each year of her life.

Little did Julien know that this plan would lead him to live and love again. It's a very realistic, bittersweet story. It reminds me of P.S. I Love You. It's certainly a book filled with a rollercoaster of emotions.

This was probably one of the book I looked forward to reading,. Having been to Paris and having fond memories of it, I thoroughly enjoyed. Julien who now widow promised his wife he write a letter each year. This is probably one of the most relaxing books I read. I enjoy the slow pace, the happiness, the loneliness, the heartbreak and grieving expressed.

“Come, my love, be mine again. Like once in May."

A sweet, serene story of finding love again after loss. Although there wasn't anything ground-breaking about this book, and indeed at times it was rather predictable and saccharine, it was an enjoyable read - truly it is a love story to Paris, and the setting is beautifully described. The characters feel real, their emotions believable, but this just lacked a little bite for me.

Julien Azoulay is just scraping by. Not so long ago, life could not have been better: Julien penned an award winning novel, he and he red haired angel Helene were happily raising their baby Arthur, life was good. Then Helene got sick, very sick. On her death bed, Helene makes one last bequest of her soul mate; that after she passes, he promises to write her 33 letters, one for each year of her life. When Julien asks her why she would want him to do this, she will be dead, what good could it possibly do? She disagrees and makes him promise to do it. When the book begins, six months have passed and Julien has yet to write one letter .... His publisher is after him to see some work on his next novel .... His mother AND his best friend Alexandre are coaxing him to rejoin the world of the living ... and his son is the only one who keeps him going. When Julien finally starts writing the letters, life starts to change ...

"He is unprepared for what will happen, just as unprepared as anyone can be for the arrival of happiness and love, and yet, both of them are there."

Nicolas Barreau"s, #lovelettersfrommontmartre, takes the reader to destinations in #Montmartre (some of which),even, the locals have not yet visited. It is the first novel by Barreau for me and after reading it I want to read all of his previous novels. Cosmo says - "Once more, Nicolas Barreau is writing about love, soft and magical." If you are looking to spend some quality time wandering the streets of Paris (and Montmartre in particular), buried in a love story, then this book is for you!

Thank you #netgalley for this e-ARCof #lovelettersfrommontmartre, in return for my honest review. 5stars! In bookstores May 5th, 2020.

Brief synopsis from the book cover:

Julien Azouly, the famous French writer of beautiful romance novels, has stopped believing in love. When his beloved wife, Hélène, dies at the age of thirty-three, leaving him alone to raise their young son, Arthur, he is so devastated that he loses faith in the happier side of life—and along with that his ability to write.

But Hélène was clever. Before her death, she made her husband promise to write her thirty-three letters, one for each year of her life. Six months after the funeral, Julien finds himself standing in the most famous cemetery in Paris, the painful first letter in his hand. Little does he know that something strange—and wonderful—is about to happen.

My rating:

Plot: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Writing: 4 out of 5 stars
Character development: 4 out of 5 stars
Overall: 4 out of 5 stars

Recommended for readers of:

General fiction
Women’s fiction

Review:
The story is a bit sad at times. It’s not all sadness though. It also a bitter sweet side to it a feeling full of hope and promise for the future. The book is nicely written, the characters are well developed and feel realistic as they show real emotions, such as love, pain, sadness and grieve. The plot is sound and the main theme is how do you cope with the loss of your partner, the process of grieve, moving on and in time new love.

Overall a nicely written story with characters who are true to life. Sad at times but with a positive message.

Review copy provided by NetGalley at no cost to me
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The moment I read the premise of this novel I knew I had to get my hands on this story and I am ever thankful that I received an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

This is a love story within a love story. Julien has lost the love of his life, his wife Hélène, and in his devastation has lost his passion for all of the things he used to love - including writing. If not for his precious son, he'd be lost to the world entirely. Except his wife didn't want that to happen. Hélène made Julien promise to write her thirty-three letters after her death. He doesn't understand why she wants him to do this, but a promise is a promise and so he begins writing to her and thus begins the start of a new chapter in his life. One he never saw coming, but one I enjoyed being along for.

Julien was exactly what you'd expect; heartbroken and hopeless. But he was also clearly a loving man to the woman he lost and remained a loving father to his little boy. He recognized how lost he was and wanted to get himself out of that dark place if anything for his son, but his struggle to connect with the real world again was realistic. As someone who has dealt with the loss of loved ones, I know this isn't something you just pick back up from. So seeing him go through these very real emotions, witnessing him cling to the memory of his wife while simultaneously meeting new people and becoming part of something inexplainable. I was transported to France through this novel and enjoyed rooting for Julien. It was hard not to want the best for him. I would recommend this to any friend - especially one with a romantic and hopeful heart!

A slow start to this book, but more than worth persevering.
A sad story of loss and grief, with little spots of light shining through the dark. A very satisfying happy ending. I really recommend this book.
Thank you to netgalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.
#netgalley #lovelettersfrommontmartre

3.5 stars
Very enjoyable reading experience! This tells the story of Julien and his process to honor his wife's dying wish - 33 letters, one for each year she was alive.

I liked that this explored the grieving process from the husband's perspective. And the "mystery" about the letters really drove me in the second half of the novel. I also think that this had a strong sense of place - I felt like I was wandering down the streets of Paris alongside Julien.

** Copy of ebook received through NetGalley in exchange for honest review.

Somewhat of a romantic comedy about an author who writes romantic comedies. But not really a comedy at all. Overall, I felt it was trite and did not offer enough depth to really grab me. A quick and easy read though.

Reading this book reminded me of the film PS: I love you.
It's such a heartwarming read of a man who fulfills his wife's last dying wish and in so doing- you grieve, love, laugh, wonder and in a way live through his letters.
Thanks Netgalley for the eARC.

This my first Nicolas Barreau book…and I didn’t think I was going to like it…the first quarter of the book is heartbreaking….so I just read it in small chunks so I didn’t get caught up in the sadness. I’m really glad I kept reading...even though this book started as a harrowing tale….it soon turns into a story of resilience as you wade through the messy, complicated life of Julien Azouly. Some mystery mixed with romance I love the way Barreau describes Paris and his poetry references. I’ll definitely be reading more from this author…this book was beautifully written.

Love Letters From Montmartre 3.5 I was looking forward to reading this book, the story sounds great and super romantic, the blurb made me feel like this was going to be a roller coaster of emotion but I felt like something was missing.

The characters were amazing, the story had a lot of potentials but still, I feel like somehow, somewhere, something got lost. I'm not really sure if it was during the translation of the book but still, I needed more depth. The storyline was there but there was something missing, I wanted to cry and feel the hurt the characters were going through but I never felt it. this is the only reason I'm giving this book 3.5 stars.

Other than that, the writing was good, the characters were also great, I really love Arthur, his sensibility and happiness brought so much to the story and also even to his own dad sadness. I love how something so sad was brought in a way that made us see death in a different way, with more compassion and love.

This is the story of Julien, a father who didn't find happiness anymore after a tragic event in his life, that changed him and his son forever, now life and circumstances, even close friends are trying to make Julien smile again but only time and a beautiful soul who has a lot of magic in her will finally make Julien sees the light all over again.

Julien and Sophie's story was perfect, funny, lighthearted, it felt so hopeful, it was the perfect dose for Julien's heartache something that made him smile and feel alive all over again, it was perfect, it was magical and with a lot of special moments that will bring so much to these two wonderful characters.

Good story, Great characters, poems, and storylines, I really encourage you to give this book a chance and come out with your own conclusions.

I'm looking forward to reading more Nicolas Barreau Books!

3+ stars. I consider a three rating a good, enjoyable read. Maybe not life changing or especially edifying, but the kind of read one wants for pleasure.

This was a pleasurable read, with lovely descriptions of Paris, observations of the human spirit, and light romance. Perhaps a bit too heavy for a vacation/beach read, but then again....

This book was hard to put down. I devoured it in two sittings. The story was so captivating it made you not want it to end. I love it!

Nicolas Barreau has given us a charming, warm love story with his Love Letters from Montmartre. It's a story that readers will love and remember.