Maggie is a newly single forty-eight year old writer/part-time professor. The final book in the trilogy she is known for is due soon and she hasn't written one chapter. Maggie has been in a writing slump and she can't figure out a way to get out of it. When her agent invites her to go to Paris with him and his partner for an opportunity to change her setting, she decides to go. Maggie goes to Paris hoping to find a muse to help her out of the slump. Paris brings many things she didn't expect, including a naked stranger in the flat she is staying in and a renewed connection with her ex-husband. The weeks Maggie spends in Paris gives her perspective and reinvigorates her and she is able to finish her book.

I loved that Maggie is a romantic with an imagination. As a voracious romance reader, I felt like her character spoke my language - thinking of her everyday life in terms of romance books. I liked that Maggie embraced her experiences in Paris, going with the flow and saying yes to all the new experiences. Her time in Paris was fun and whimsical but she also walked away with a few more complications in her life than she expected. The love triangle in this book had me intrigued. I wanted so badly to flip to the end to see who she would end up with!

Maggie's daughter, Nicole, is a character with ASD and I loved the neurodiverse representation. As I was reading this book, I was sending wishes to the universe that she would get her own book!

I thought the look at the writing and publication process in this book was really interesting. I didn't realize that books have to be written over a year in advance to be published by publishing company. It's always interesting for me to learn more about an industry that I am such a huge fan of.

This is a sweet and delightful romance with a perfect HEA and I highly recommend it!

Steam level: 🔥🔥½

Maggie Finds Her Muse was such a fun and cute read! This book transported me to Paris, where Maggie goes to try and help her find her creative muse to finish writing her last book in her series. She finds herself in a writers block and needs some serious help in finding her voice and the words she needs to finish her stories and give her characters the ending they deserve. Once in Paris on a trip of a lifetime, she is able to visit with her daughter and meet her new boyfriend, and reconnect with her ex-husband, something she never thought she would do again. Along with reconnecting with her family, she meets a handsome man who is willing to show her the beauty of Paris. As she spends time with her friends and family, she soon finds the words to her book spilling out onto the pages. With her writing back on track, who was Maggie's muse? Was it her daughter and reconnecting the family ties? Was it reconnecting with her ex-husband and spending some one on one time with him? Or was it the handsome new man she meets in Paris? Maggie finds herself navigating family relationships, new romantic relationships and balancing her work, which was written in such a wonderful way. I really enjoyed this book and it took me back to the streets of Paris, adding some adventure into an isolated world right now!

This book was fantastic. As an author of romance, I loved that the main character was a romance author! I also appreciated that the main character was in her late forties and depicted as sexy, spunky, attractive, and mature without being matronly. I liked that the author chose a fifty-something man as the hero and that he was also depicted as sexy, charming, intelligent, kind and fit! Seriously, as a woman in her forties, I'm often afraid to read books about couples my age because I'm afraid they will paint us as "old" or washed out. Middle aged heroes can be as hot as twenty-something ones and I'm here for it. This low-stakes romance ticked all the boxes for me: hilarious banter, appealing and relatable characters, fantastic and nicely described setting (Paris!), and satisfying ending.

4 stars

Well hello, Dee Ernst!

I had never heard of this author, but this cover just kept calling to me on NetGalley, and I was really excited to see if the Women's Fiction/Romance cover vibes were going to pay off. They do!

Maggie is a romance author who is in desperate need of inspo (the titular muse), and she travels to Paris hoping that the city will either be the muse or lead her to a human version of this spirit. It turns out that Maggie has options: amazing food, a flatulent French bulldog, Max (attractive French individual who also happens to be cohabitating with her), Solange (Max's mom and the caretaker of the flat), Lee (her agent), Alan (her ex-husband who is conveniently ALSO in Paris for the first time), and Nicole (her daughter, who is a winning ancillary character). I'd pick the food, but...

This is NOT a complicated romance, but it is a fun read. You'll be hungry the whole time, you'll have a fantastic soundtrack playing in your head (because maybe a character named Solange only makes you think of a different Solange, too), and you'll envision glorious scenery all over France. I'll add that there is always something refreshing about a heroine who is not 22 and really just trying to get that ring before it's all over for her at 25 (?!). Maggie - at 48 and with her past literally and figuratively following her around the world - is a more relatable and likeable romantic heroine than many of her counterparts for obvious reasons.

There's a scene with a condom that I found troubling; it's literally two lines of dialogue, but it felt ill conceived and (clearly) distracting, and I will admit that I was thrilled to be reading Ernst's book - and not Maggie's - when I started to catch glimpses of the latter's work. No.

This is a quick read, an enjoyable romance, and the start of my budding appreciation for this author. Recommended.

I’ve read quite a few heavy books lately, so when I read the description for Maggie Finds Her Muse, I knew I’d be in for a little lighthearted fun. I got all of that and more from this sweet story that’s part rom-com, part self-discovery. If you’re like me and have been missing being able to travel during the pandemic, grab a bottle of wine and get ready to be transported to the beautiful country of France!

Maggie Bliss is 48 years old and a successful author, who finds herself at a crossroads in her life. Newly single and with the deadline looming for the last installment of her romance trilogy, she has a terrible case of writer’s block, and decides Paris will be the perfect place to cure it. After all, Paris is the most romantic city in the world, so writing a romance novel should come naturally, especially after she meets a man named Max, the son of the housekeeper where she’s staying. But with the deadline getting closer and her publisher threatening to push back the book’s release, Maggie must look inside herself to find the inspiration she needs.

Despite having never been to Paris, I felt like I was right there with Maggie, exploring the City of Light. The descriptions of the sights, sounds and, most importantly, the food took me on a journey and made me hungry for crusty bread and rich desserts! The conversational tone is wonderfully charming and makes you feel like Maggie is one of your girlfriends. I loved reading about an older main character in this genre. Romantic relationships in romance books tend to be between people in their 20s and 30s, and it’s important to show that there’s no age limit on finding love and happiness.

As an avid reader, I loved getting into the mind of a writer and seeing the process it takes to write a book. One of my favorite scenes involved Maggie and several of her friends acting out the big action scene from the novel she’s writing in the middle of Luxembourg Gardens to make sure it worked. I just loved that! It is something I never would have thought of going into writing, but after reading about it, I can absolutely see its necessity.

This was a fun and sweet read that was the perfect reprieve from everyday life. A refreshing change of pace for me, I imagine this book will be all over the place come summer!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the copy to review. Maggie Finds Her Muse will be released on April 20, 2021.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and Dee Ernst for a copy of this book via NetGalley.

Maggie Finds Her Muse

Maggie Bliss is a well-loved romance novelist who can't write her third novel in her trilogy series. She has received extensions and her agent warns her that if she doesn't meet her deadline, the momentum of publication dates and movie options will decline. Her agent suggests she accompany them to Paris where she can stay in their flat. Maggie takes the opportunity to go and visit her daughter who is living in France while hoping she is inspired to write. By chance, Maggie's ex-husband Alan is also in France to visit their daughter.

When Maggie arrives in Paris, she meets Max, who encourages her to get a makeover before seeing Alan again. Is it Maggie's transformation that inspires her to start writing? Is it the food, museums, gardens, or revisiting her first love? Will she and Alan re-kindle their comfortable relationship or will she fall for Max?

This book will be available 4.20.21.

I loved this book. The heroine is an author of romance novels, who goes to France for inspiration. The writing is light and breezy, the heroine believable, and the other characters are all interesting. I highly recommend.
I also liked the parts where she describes the author’s writing process, like looking behind the curtain at the tricks.

This was a nice trip to Paris through the eyes of Maggie. It was so interesting to read about a couple in her situation, which is something that is not portrayed often enough in this genre. I personally really enjoyed the cast of characters we got and the setting. I did not particularly enjoy the ending but had a great time getting there!

This is a very cute read! I love the Paris setting and reading about Maggie finding love again and finding her muse.

Maggie Finds Her Muse by Dee Ernst was a fun, lighthearted meta-inspired romance read! It was super readable, so if you’re a romance fan or loved Emily In Paris on Netflix, this is probably a great choice for you!

Synopsis: Maggie Bliss needs to write her next romance book. And that’s not the only thing that’s stuck — her love life is also in a rut. So when she’s offered a trip to Paris, she jumps on the chance! What better place to be inspired by romance? And maybe the city won’t be the only thing that helps her along — maybe there’s a Frenchman who can help inspire her as well.

I love an “older” romance! There’s something so infinitely comforting about a woman finding love as she nears 50 — and not even for the first time but maybe for the last. It’s also inspiring to see a woman at the top of her career, with continued goals and ambitions, and she’s finding new things to love about herself everyday. Maggie is totally an enviable character, despite her flaws. Also, the sex scenes are sparse and pretty cloaked in darkness so it’s not too hot to handle, if that’s a concern for you!

Now, there are a few moments that happened, in my opinion, too quickly and could’ve used more fleshing out. Maggie often seems to fly from emotional highs to lows very quickly and that sometimes presented a bit of whiplash as far as the story’s progression was concerned. The story could’ve probably used about 25 more pages or so to fully disentangle the odd love triangle it tries to set up and totally convince me of this “falling hard, falling fast” angle.

However, overall, I enjoyed reading it and it very much made me want to visit Paris again, which is all I really ask from a book.

Thank you to Dee Ernst, NetGalley, and for sharing this with me in exchange for my honest review.

WOW! If I told you the amount of time it took for me to finish this book, you wouldn’t believe it... (*Less than 6 hours*) Must be my new record 🤪 But I just loved this book! It was so easy to fall right in love with the characters.

Majority of the story took place in Paris. Although I hate Paris personally (unpopular opinion), it worked perfectly for this story. The locations and foods made me miss traveling so so so so much. *Bonus point: the main character is actually from New Jersey like me!

I just couldn’t get enough of this book and if you’re looking to read romance (Especially in the city of love), this book is for you.

Maggie Finds Her Muse by Dee Ernst was an engaging story that kept me coming back for more. I was transported to Paris where I felt like I saw the sites, ate the delicious food, and drank the wine. I felt Maggie’s struggles and rooted for her in the end. A great book!

Maggie is about to launch her 2nd of 3 romance novels. While she has had 2 deadline delays, she just cannot start her third. Her rough draft is due in a mere 3 months and she has nothing. When her dear friend Lee and his partner offer to take her to Paris for an extended stay for quiet and change of pace- ‘Maggie jumps at the chance.
Nic, Maggie’s daughter, lives nearby and it will give her a chance to see her. What she doesn’t expect is seeing her ex-husband, Alan, after 3 years in Paris. And he looks fabulous. When the housekeepers son, Max, shows up unexpectedly in the loft- Maggie is caught between two lovely men to hold her attention.
But does either of them give her the spark she’s been waiting for? Or are they just a muse for he romance?

Disclaimer: I recieved this book in exchange for an honest review.

Maggie Bliss is a romance author who is struggling with writer's block. She wants to find inspiration for her book. She travels to Paris with her agent, Lee, to Paris. I was intrigued by the premise The descriptions of the food was my favorite part, but I wasn't a fan of Maggie. I loved reading about Max and Lee.

Thanks to NetGalley for this eARC!

Maggie has a hard case of writer's block and doesn't know how to fix it. With the help of her Agent she ends up on a Paris getaway to hopefully help her find some inspiration.


This was such a cute book that read really well! I did not want to put this down as I kept wanting to know what was going to happen to Maggie next.

An adorable journey throuhg Paris. As a fellow writer I understood the character's struggle to finish a book. And the romance left me guessing as to who would win Maggie's heart! A delightful read.

Thanks to NetGalley for this eARC!

This book was perfect for a nice winter snowy day off to read. It talks about Maggie our MC who is a writer and having a hard time writing and finding her “muse” she’s at her wits end and her agent Lee is basically telling her to get it together and at a last ditch effort to attempt to not prolong her extension another time, has her come to Paris with him and his partner Martin in hopes to spark some creativity and find her muse in where better else but the capital of love!
And then comes along the ex husband, the daughter, the daughters boyfriend, the housekeeper, Max the housekeepers son, and of course the dog. Maggie has two close girlfriends she keeps in touch with during her time and it is a really great read and makes me want to travel to Paris if not for anything but the food! I love reading books set in places I have never been and always wanted to go.
But it leads you to wonder....did Maggie ever find her Muse?! You gotta read it to find out! 😉

Thanks to NetGalley for this early read about Maggie, a mature divorced woman who is trying to find a muse for her next romance novel. She travels to Paris and there, finds herself by living her best life! I loved the interactions with her daughter, who is also living in Paris and Maggie's ex-husband and a new beau vie for her affections. It's fun to follow the love and, really life, of this woman who discovers that while she's older, she's not done living. As a mature woman myself, I really appreciate when an author writes about living and enjoying life, even when you're no longer in your 20s and 30s. It was a beautifully descriptive book and while I found the chemistry between the characters lacking (mostly the romantic aspect), I did find that the chemistry between Maggie and Paris to be wonderful. It made me want to go and enjoy the beauty of the city, just as Maggie did!

Maggie is newly single and excited to head to Paris to finally take the ability to finish her manuscript! She can't think of a better place to be inspired and get this story written. As she is making such a head way in her writing she is thrown off by her ex husband showing up for vacation as well as finding a random man in her bathtub. She does not know how she will ever finish within her timeline.

The book is DELIGHTFUL and FUN and all things you want in a luxurious summer read(even though I'm reading it in the middle of a snowy winter) I was fully drawn into Maggie's world and it was so refreshing to read a romance book not centred around a 20 something protagonist, and the book is as expansive to allow for different worlds an older person would have gathered over the course of their lives and it really helps give the book a balance it otherwise wouldn't have had!

It's a whimsical, OTT world and it's delightful. The lead pair I'd have loved to see more of, more tension between as well. Oh well..

Thank you NetGalley for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review.