Maggie Finds Her Muse by Dee Ernst is an amusing book about a real life writer. Maggie has missed two deadlines and is on her last chance to finish the third book in her extremely successful trilogy. Her agent, Lee, gives her an opportunity to be his guest in his Paris apartment. Maggie in her desperation agrees to try this change in scenery as her life in New Jersey is anything but inspirational.

Maggie meets up with two separate matchmakers who think they know best. One is her daughter, Nicole, who seems to think reuniting with her ex-husband will bring her happiness. The other one is the Paris housekeeper, Solange, who is convinced her son Max is perfect for Maggie. This book is amusing and quite insightful to get some of the back story of a successful author. The backdrop of Paris will have you drooling over the descriptions of the out of this world food, mesmerizing architecture, and historic museums. You will feel like you have visited due to the crystal clear descriptions.

The heroine Maggie is quite flawed and her excellent character development helps you fell better about your own failings. Maggie has a slight problem with honesty and the troubles she gets into because of this habit are amusing and at the same time worrisome. She also given her profession puts honesty on the back burner in search of her muse.

I would be remiss if I did not mention the funny chapter headings. They preview the upcoming escapades and are clever. I think having an older heroine who is not willing to settle for the status quo is long overdue. Witnessing that she has the courage to go after what she truly wants inspired me.

The true heart of Maggie is pure, we are given insight into her quirky personality and fall in love with her flaws and all! Poignant scenes are shared between Larissa and her daughter Nicole as they struggle with the challenges that having Asperger’s Syndrome and a strong desire for boundaries from Nicole. Other quirky characters are also introduced who help lend to the excellent storytelling. The last scene of the book will have you thrilled that in all of her imperfection Maggie has found her own happily ever after.

I was provided a free advance reader copy from St. Martin’s Griffinin exchange for my honest review on Net Galley. The opinions shared in this review are my own.

I requested this arc as I thought it would be a cute, fun read. It’s not that it wasn’t cute or fun…I just ended up not really liking anything about it?

I really didn’t enjoy the way Max and Maggie interacted. I think the author was trying to write Max as upper crust and fancy, but I felt like it came off a condescending and sexist. Maggie’s personality and celebrity seemed over the top and in-genuine. I had a hard time believing so many people would recognize her in another country. I felt like the ending was rushed and didn’t match anywhere close to the pacing in the first half of the book and left me wondering how this fairytale ending really happened. I don’t like rating books so low, but this one was not for me. Overall, two stars.

While Maggie Finds A Muse was difficult for me to get into, once I was into it, well, it was lovely! Paris, how romantic! All the talk of food, woman after my own heart. Once I connected with Maggie, I really loved her voice. She was determined, strong and courageous. She loved fiercely and wouldn’t have it any other way. Her relationship with her daughter was beautifully honest, and I loved her friendship with Solange. How the relationship between Maggie and Max was built up, only for Maggie to realise that she had found her muse, was so sweet. This book has left me with all the warm, fuzzy feelings. Oh and I also really want to go to Paris!

Maggie Finds Her Muse by Dee Ernst is my first read by this author and I thoroughly enjoyed it! The storyline was pretty simple but it had the right mix of humor, drama, and emotion to keep me going till the end.

I liked how each character had their own unique quirks and was flawed like a normal person. It made some of the scenarios seem more realistic and not just something one would read in a fictional book. Yes, the whole flying off the Paris to get out of writer's block and having an unlimited budget is something we all dream about but the way the characters were weaved into this story was very appealing

I liked Dee Ernst's writing style and would definitely try more of her works...

Thank you #NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this entertaining read. I found a new author to add to my list!

Readometer rating - 4*/5

Maggie Bliss suffers from writer's block and travels to Paris with her agent to find her Muse. Maggie is a middle-aged and newly single. She’s hoping by traveling abroad, she will be able to start her third book in her series. While she is there, she’s meet up with her daughter, who has Asperger’s syndrome and is thriving in France, and wouldn’t you guess, her ex-husband Alan shows up, who is also newly single. Maggie soon finds she is living in one of her books as her ex-husband is trying to rejuvenate an old flame, and she’s intrigued by a handsome Frenchman named Max.

Will Maggie be able to complete her novel and meet her deadline? Will she find love again with her ex-husband? Or will this new Frenchman steal her heart?

This story kept my attention as a writer myself. I was able to relate to the situation of suffering from writer's block. The struggles and pressures of working with editors and meeting/missing deadlines. I felt the characters were real, and over was an easy read.

4 of 5 stars
publication date April 20, 2021

Thank you to NetGalley for the advance review copy

4.25

Maggie has a book to finish! She's having some major writer's block though. After discovering that her boyfriend doesn't find her as important as she thought she was, she ends things and ends up tagging along on a trip to Paris with her agent Lee and his partner. This also gives her the opportunity to see her daughter, who is in Paris as well. I found myself really liking Maggie (despite our 20 year age difference). Maggie was relatable and I liked how most of the characters were written.

The story of Paris was exactly what the doctor ordered during this no travel time. I loved reading of Paris and all the things Maggie gets to try and do while there.

Maggie's muse(s) were both beautiful in their own way and I found myself smiling throughout the novel! Thank you Netgalley for this read for an honest review!

Coming from an author myself, I could really relate to this story. It was very well written and the scenery was described perfectly. It actually felt like I was there in Paris with Maggie. It has made me want to go write in Paris! The romance was amazing. This was such a great fun read! Highly recommend!

I really enjoyed Maggie as a character; however, I wasn't sold on Max or Alan, and that made the love story part of this romance difficult for me to understand. The author did a great job describing food and the scenery but I wasn't sold on the story.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was a fun read about a writer who has writer's block and takes a trip to Paris. I got really invested into the main character, although she was a little too emotional. I wished that she would have gone a different direction about finding her muse. The story could have been better by Maggie finding her muse through her autistic daughter, rather than a trip to Paris. Despite these circumstances, I thought the book was great chick-lit and I enjoyed the author's writing style.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this tale about a blocked writer's adventures unlocking her creativity, her love life, and her future during a trip to Paris. It was pure escapist fun, and I will wholeheartedly recommend it to customers at the store where I work.

A fun and entertaining story about a romance writer who suffers writer’s block just when she’s on a deadline to produce the final book in a wildly popular series. Willing to try anything to jumpstart her imagination, she accepts a friend’s offer to hang out in his suave Parisian flat. Not the most original storyline, but reading about a writer in Paris, for me, never gets old. A great way to escape the realities of a pandemic lockdown.

A writer with a deadline, Paris at any time of the year and a dreamy Frenchman - what's not to love? For anyone who has ever written anything, even the occasional email, writers block is no joke. For best-selling author Maggie Bliss, writers block could be the end of her career.

In Dee Ernsts' laugh-out loud new book, Maggie Finds Her Muse, 40-something Maggie is at the end of her literary rope. With a difficult soon-to-be ex-boyfriend, a bestseller to write (never mind that she hasn't even started it) and no muse in sight, Maggie finds herself chasing after inspiration in Paris. What follows is an entertaining romp through the realities of the writing process, the beauty of Paris and the promise of romance. A perfect book for the beach or even a rainy day in Paris, Maggie Finds Her Muse is worthy of your bookshelf.

This is a quick and fun read - perfect to forget the world for a weekend! Maggie is a refreshing writer in her 40s who is relatable and likable. Who hasn't suffered from writer's block before? Not all of us can flee to Paris where we encounter an ex-husband and a new love interest in the form of a French gentleman.
I must admit I'm a sucker for heroines in their late 40s and early 50s. They're so underrepresented! This was a big pull for me. There's so much life in this book. It's short and despite that, I felt like some scenes could have been a bit shorter and tighter. That's why I'm giving the novel four stars.
While not a huge fan of love triangles, it worked here because it's not really one. I enjoyed how it played out in the end.
To sum up, the characters are likable and it's an entertaining, warm read that left me with fuzzy feelings.

This book was a slow burn to start as Dee Ernst went through describing Paris, her characters and the food she was eating. I really enjoyed the relationship she had with her ex husband and I liked most of the characters except her agent Lee. I felt like he was not as well developed and was just a grumpy voice complaining every so often. They obviously had a good relationship to invite her to Paris, but based on their interaction you would not think they really knew each other that well. I really liked that she included Maggie's daughter that has Aspergers and I really liked Solange and would love to have her living at my house. This romance is barely open door, and ended as fast as it started, which is not how I imagined a Paris lover ;) however, I do like closed door romances and feel much can be left to the imagination so this is not a dislike, just an observation. I enjoyed the second half of the book, where the story picks up the pace more. What I did not particularly like about the book: I think Maggie fell in love a little too fast for someone who was barely around the man-the relationship was not well developed where you would think love is possible. The second thing I did not love is all the description about food. Food is something that is really hard to taste through description and I mostly just skimmed those parts. I think Maggie was represented older than her 48years of age. If I did not know her age in the beginning I would think the author was describing a 58+ year old woman. For example, a 48 year old has no problems using her smart phone to find her way around Paris, as a 48 year old uses her phone for everything and is not so helpless with technology at this age yet. And last, I really disliked the dog. I think this book would be much better without the dog as it did not really add to the plot in any way. I loved most of the characters, I loved the setting. This book is not as predictable as other romance novels which is nice. This is a quick, easy read and I think many will enjoy it.

I’ll be honest - I was a few chapters in and unsure how I felt about this book and wondered if I would finish it. I wasn’t ready to give up, so I continued reading and I am SO glad I did. I ended up finishing the book in a sitting (well, a drive, as we were traveling)

I really enjoyed having an older main character. While most stories focus on young love this was a pleasant change for me. Maggie was witty and charming and so fun to follow as she learned how to fit in while in Paris. I loved seeing her grow in confidence and as a person while figuring out just what she needed.

All of the characters were so well written and I don’t think I could pick a favorite...but if I had to I’d say Nicole. And Martin. And Solange and her meddling. Ok, ok, they’re all perfection.

The “love triangle” if you want to call it that kept me on my toes and I really wasn’t sure which way Maggie was going to go. I was #TeamMax from the get go - but you’ll have to read it yourself to see how things play out for Miss Maggie Bliss.

Maggie Bliss has a book problem - she needs to finish the 3rd book of her blockbuster romance series, but she has a serious case of writer's block. To top it all off, her partner refuses to sympathize, claiming that his work is more important than hers. After dumping him, she takes an impromptu trip to Paris, hoping to find her inspiration in the city of lights. If she plays her cards right, she may find a little romance for herself.

I really needed a happy, light read, and this was a perfect choice! I'd definitely recommend as an escape from all the craziness in the world right now.

What I liked:
-Maggie was a great protagonist, relatable, sarcastic, and funny. I loved her voice.
-Paris. Who doesn't love Paris? Such a beautiful setting for a book, and in this time of quarantine, it was nice to take a "trip" to such a beautiful city.
-A wonderful supporting cast of characters. We get to meet Maggie's friends, her French host, her ex-husband and daughter, and the mysterious Frenchman Max, and each character added a lot to the story and made me laugh!

Thank you to St. Martin's Press for providing an ARC on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Maggie Finds Her Muse follows struggling author Maggie as she escapes to Paris in an attempt to finish her book. This was a super cute read and I adored Maggie as a character so much that I read this book in one sitting. I especially loved seeing the mother-daughter relationship and it was certainly refreshing to read from the perspective of an older heroine in a romance book. Although the love interest as a character on his own wasn't my favourite I thought that the couple complimented one another well. I definitely recommend to anyone looking for an adorable slow-burn romance.

What a fun book. I enjoyed the story and the trip back to Paris. It made me wish I was there, walking the streets and going to a Cafe. Fun read.

Anything can happen in Paris. It's the city of love. It's where you go to find romance. So a book that takes you there has to be open to fantasy, glamour, excitement, wonderful food and beautiful people. This novel has it all.

Forty eight year-old Maggie needs inspiration to write her final trilogy. She feels stuck. Her relationship has just ended and she is on a six-week deadline to complete her romance novel. Her editor gives her an offer she can't refuse: to go Paris to find a muse. She will immediately pack her bags and go with him and his lover. She doesn't have to look far once she arrives. The housekeeper's son in the home where they're staying just happens to be about the same age, very handsome and successful. Her daughter is also in the area with the man she loves.. But there's more: Maggie's x-husband is now single, available and staying nearby on a short getaway.

Which direction will Maggie take? For me it was an easy guess. Nevertheless, I enjoyed the book. It was written well. It's simple and who doesn't like a good love story?

My thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for this advanced copy.

I'm pretty sure all of us at one time or another have dreamed about packing our bags and heading to Paris or another city that we love and have dreamed about. Well, that's exactly what Maggie does. She has writer's block and decides she needs a change. So many books focus on a fresh out of college, find yourself, coming of age stories. I love that this is the story of a middle age woman who has found success and is now struggling. She does what many of us have dreamed of and packs her bags and heads to Paris where she finds friends, amazing food, adventure, and love