3.5 stars rounded to 4

I enjoyed The Widow of Rose House and was looking forward to reading The Brightest Star in Paris. It has a lot of elements that I love: Parisian setting, ballet, second chance romance, and ghosts. I had a good time reading this book. I loved Amelie and Ben as a couple. The only thing, I wanted more steam and swoon because I prefer steamy romances.

I enjoyed revisiting the characters from The Widow of Rose House (when I picked up The Brightest Star in Paris, I didn't realize the two books were connected). It was fun seeing the eccentric Moore family together and laugh at their antics. I would recommend The Brightest Star in Paris for those who enjoy ghost stories and second chance romance.

The Moore family continues to be one of the most lovable in romance novel history! Gosh, I could read a dozen more books about them. Amelie’s story was heavy and deeply sad at times, but I love the way Biller’s writing balances those tougher subjects with hope and love in a way that leaves the reader feeling taken care of. I greatly enjoyed Amelie and Benedict’s hard-earned HEA!

This is the best historical romcom i have ever read!!!!!!! Granted I haven't read many historical romcoms but this one was great!!!!!!! So adorably delicious to read. Truly a pleasure. I highly recommend this book

Thank you to NetGalley and SMP for the ARC in exchange for an honest review

CW: death of loved one (past), grief, PTSD, descriptions of war, poverty, blackmail/sexual pressure, gore, and life changing injury,

I would recommend if you're looking for (SPOILERS)

-m/f historical romance
-second chance romance
-elements of single parent
-a few ghosts
-amazing secondary characters
-a few experiments and explosions
-angry sex

This book was so beautifully written. I experienced every emotion, sadness, anger, happiness, laughter. It discusses so many topics and at its heart is a beautiful love story and filled with so much love for family. I adored Amelie so protective, fierce, doing whatever she needed to. She was the hero of her own story in so many ways .

Sweet, sweet, soft Ben. There always to support Amelie, and pushed her just enough. He was so soft, so sweet, so just gone on her. The pining that this man did. I adored the scenes with his family so much. Two people who separated to discover themselves and then fit into the others lives in the best ways.

I wish I could be more coherent but I just enjoyed this book. Escapism, romance, and a story that moves through grief and missing people.

Steam: 3

The Brightest Star in Paris by Diana Biller is a beautiful story of love, ballet, and Paris. Amelie St. James is a star turned fraudulent dancer, and after a run in with her estranged first love, Dr. Benedict Moore, becomes haunted once again by the secrets of her past. Full of stunning Parisian scenes, a growing haunted love, and the magic of falling in love, The Brightest Star in Paris is a romance you will not soon forget.

Will she let the ghosts of her past keep them apart …

When I read the author’s first book two years ago, I have been instantly bewitched by her narrative talent and awesome imaginative.
But as months passed, I wondered if a new book would be coming up any time soon, yet nothing, but each author has its own writing pace, so I put the author’s name in a memory to check on regularly.

I did not know this new book would be part of a no name series when I opened it, but the characters are related to those from The Widow of Rose House.
Everything is this story was crafted as if the book has been craft with me in mind, it mixes a healer, ballet, Paris and paranormal.
While I had been surprised by the otherworldly twist of The Widow of Rose House, so today I was much more prepared and ready to enjoy it.
And oh my!
I did not expect the paranormal part to occurred so early in the story. From the moment the ghost appears, I was glued to the page, sucked into the tale’s flow of these Star-crossed lovers.
The narrative is interspersed with flashbacks from key moments of their past, enlightening the awkwardness of their rekindled friendship.

Ben is a survivor, and while a part of him still bears the guilt of being alive when so many died, he has oriented his life to help others.
And he owes his return to the world of the living to a young woman who shook him out of his comfort box, gifting him with his second chance at life. But it was more than a decade ago, and while he left Paris with a missing piece of his heart, she was like his lucky star his Amelie.
Amelie is broke, her inner self damaged by her past losses, her soul in so many pieces only love and trust in herself might help glueing herself back together. But it is to be a long painful journey to piece her bruised parts, one scrap at a time, only she is willing to let go of her anger and pain.
She let her sorrows drown her, forgetting to live because of her grief, allowing herself to be buried from the inside until the only shards of herself left are those which sparkle in the public eyes but she is no more the girl who laughed and loved without restraint.
Oh I was angry with her for shaping herself into such a martyr figure, the victim of her own past. Shutting everyone out, wallowing in her own guilt.
But the sad events of her life molded her.
And while she reproaches Ben for leaving her, she is in some way the one who left him before he even went back to the USA, she did put a timeline to their friendship, then she banished him before he could even offer her his heart.

Their main problem is they look at life differently, he wants to protect but she does not want protection, she is scared to be left, so she allows no one inside.

During this tale of lost love and healing, the author takes us in the newly constructed Haussmann Paris, it was like like walking into the city of my youth, with a zest of unknown as the old Paris mingled with the freshly constructed streets, a world torn down to pave the way for a new one. Like a metaphor of Ben and Amelie’s life, if she is willing to let the past rest.
5 stars

And now I am going to read the related novella about Ben’s parents I discovered while reading this book.

𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺 𝗹𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹 onscreen lovemaking scene

I have been granted an advance copy by the publisher St Martin’s Griffin. Here is my true and unbiased opinion.

Amelie helped nineteen-year-old Benedict survive his emotional scars from the Civil war in America when they met by Amelie peeking down at him from a tree above his head while visiting Paris. She bossed him around demanding he perform duties for her such as rowing her around a lake. He started to open up the shell he'd closed himself in. Twelve years later, they meet again accidentally and this time Benedict decides he'll help Amelie any way he can if she'll see and talk to him. He knows she survived the Franco-Prussian war and doesn't know what horrors she dealt with during those years.

Amelie, the prima ballerina at the Paris Opera Ballet, has worked to support her sister since their mother died, sacrificing her dreams to make sure her much younger sister has the best chance to thrive. In addition, the people of Paris have named her St. Amie adding pressure to be perfect, and then she suddenly starts seeing ghosts. Plus, there's murder, luckily, this is when Ben shows up.

Ben's family shows up later in the book and can I just say they are the BEST FAMILY EVER WRITTEN!! I LOVED the parts with them. Well, I loved the whole thing.

This was a lovely magical book about two selfless people who deserve a happily ever after, but will they get it? There is a great deal of heart-ache, tension, and despair in this book and make sure to read the trigger warnings because of the many difficult issues the characters deal with in this book. I found myself tearing up in several sections (some sad, some happy). Yes, there is a happy ending but you will be wringing your hands waiting for it.

I loved the first book, The Widow of Rose House, too. Thank you again to NetGalley for sending another wonderful book my way for an impartial review.

The Brightest Star in Paris is a wonderful story about first love and a prima ballerina.

The descriptions are wonderfully detailed of Paris recovering from the Franco-Prussian War. The characters have great depth which make you hope and care.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily posting a review. All opinions are my own.

The Brightest Star in Paris is another winner from Diana Biller. It’s definitely a bit of a slow burn in that it really takes its time to build up, delving into the characters’ history together through flashbacks and showing their relationship against the complex politics of Paris during the latter half of the nineteenth century, but that only adds to the beauty of the romance.

Ben, is younger brother to the hero of the Biller’s prior book, The Widow of Rose House, and while that book is equally brilliant, you won’t miss out on much by starting with this one, except the very obvious (by romance-genre standards) spoiler of who the couple of that book are.

I really loved the relationship between Amelie and Ben, especially the juxtaposition between the “then” and “now.” Before, he was the one who needed help as a result of the traumas of war, and she helped him find his way back into the world. And now, years later, he has grown up, and she has lost her spirit herself due to the impact of the war.

I love Diana Biller is able to immerse you in a time period and location, really sweeping you away. This book, like her first, balances that with a subtle paranormal thread that works well within the context of the story, and unlike other books with more overt paranormal elements, will still work for readers who prefer their historicals relatively more grounded in reality.

I loved this, and if you enjoyed Biller’s prior book, you’ll probably also like this one. But if you like slow-building, sweet, emotional historical romance that packs and punch but simultaneously isn’t too dark, I recommend giving this one a try.

The unique setting and interesting plot were two things I enjoyed about Diana Biller’s debut novel, and that holds true with this second in series story. This time the middle Moore sibling, Ben, is in Paris for a medical conference, where he reunites with Amie, the current Prima Ballerina. They had met and shared a fleeting summer love 12 years before.

Ben re-enters Amie’s life at a time when she really needs a friend she can trust. She has the care of her younger sister and needs her ballerina career to last a couple more years, but a lingering and worsening hip injury is making that goal less and less likely. On top of that, she has begun to see ghosts. Ghosts were part of the first novel as well, so a series theme, apparently. Ben, having been exposed in the previous story, is understanding and takes no convincing on the ghost story.

Amie is known as St. Amie throughout Paris due to her pristine image. How she became known as St. was interesting, I thought, and dealt with tumultuous times in Paris in the 1860s/70s. It was not an easy time for her, but she is a resilient heroine and came out on top. Ben was a medic in the US Civil War, and met Amie for the first time after the war when he was depressed. His interest in medicine is with studying the brain particular, to help war survivors overcome/understand their mental ailments. Both were good, interesting characters, that I enjoyed reading about.

The part that didn’t fully work for me is the romance. There was clear caring and a strong friendship, but it seemed to be lacking some spark/passion. It was fun getting to see the inventor, eccentric Moore family again. Overall, this was a good read that I would recommend.

<I>Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a chance to read and review this book. Views are my own.

My thanks to St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for this ARC. Opinions are my own. I was so excited to get this from Netgalley. I loved Diana Biller's first book and the cover of this book is so pretty!

I was charmed by this lovely story from the first chapter. It's a sequel following the Moore family from The Widow of Rose House, but can be read as a standalone. Benedict returns to Paris after leaving behind the woman he loves 12 years prior. Amelie has become a prima ballerina, and him a doctor.

Everything in this story is great. The characters, the story arc. There's no misunderstanding or manufactured conflict.. just two honest, flawed people trying to find their way together.

The ghosts were more friendly than the first book, but at times were missing for stretches in the book (much like the first book). I had no prior knowledge of French history, and while this is not an historical text, it talks about the human consequences of war and conflict in a way I found poignant and universal.

It does sit heavy with me that these books are all white/hetero stories, and that the Moore's are war profiteers. And how do you write TWO novels about Americans during Reconstruction and never mention Black people or even have one Black character? One of the MCs was in the Union Army, and yet in the discussion of his traumatic service, no mention of Black people or slavery.

Despite these lingering thoughts, I hope there are other installments planned for the Moore's (more Moore's!). The familial relationships and bickering was equal parts manic and charming.

#NetGalley
#TheBrightestStarInParis

Really read as women's fiction and not as a romance. I wanted more after the brilliance of Widow of Rose House. Maybe I shouldn't have read them so close together.

Well researched, beautiful prose - not a romance though.

I am just completely in love with Diana Biller’s writing! So beautiful and has me sucked into whatever time period and location her story takes place.

Our main characters of Amelie and Benedict were endearing and had me invested in them as people and also a possible couple from page one. Benedict was just so charming I don’t know how anyone could not fall in love with him but I did appreciate how he wasn’t just all good times. He was a real person dealing with issues such as his PTSD after war and how passionate he was for his job. Amelie was one tough woman. She had so much tragedy in her past and as I found out about each piece it made her that much more of an impressive person for all she has achieved.
This book dealt with some heavy subject matter, but I felt like the author handled it well and balanced it with lighter funny moments.
The side characters just make this book that much better, from the ghostly women, to Amelie’s little sister and then of course the Moore family. I wanted to know more about them all and looked forward to seeing them on the page.

The paranormal and ghost aspect was a running plot throughout, but I felt like it was the perfect level of spooky without taking too much away from the romance.
The romance was a slow burn and it felt like it just kept building until Amelie and Ben just had to get it together! It did feel a little bit like a low sizzle and then bam, romance all at once! But considering how long they knew each other it did make sense for their romance to happen fast once they were on board.

Loved this one and am so hoping for more from the Moore family!!

There were so many things to love in this book. First, it's the continuation of the Moore family adventures, this time featuring Benedict Moore, another swoony, dreamy hero, who wants nothing more than to smooth the way for his lady love, Amelie St. James, a prima ballerina in Paris, who he met, fell in love with, then was pushed away by, one memorable summer 12 years ago when they were both just coming into adulthood. The setting, in late 1800's Paris was lovingly evoked and realized. Diana Biller has a real knack for bringing her settings to life in a way that I rarely see in romance, where the setting is often just a pale backdrop. Not only did she make me feel like I was there, she packed in quite a French history lesson in just a few paragraphs scattered throughout the book. As a ballet lover and former dancer, I was also thrilled to have a ballerina heroine, especially one as strong and determined as Amelie. The romance between Ben and Amelie was touching and beautiful and their connection to each other was almost tangible.

I think the one element that wasn't as well integrated into the story was the paranormal aspect of the story. This started out strong, with Amelie suddenly, seemingly out of the blue, gaining the ability to see and interact with ghosts. At first, this was a major plot driver and I was completely sucked into it, however, about halfway through, it seemed like this aspect was just dropped. Ben and Amelie's romance took center stage, which wasn't a bad thing, but it was a bit jarring to have the major storyline up until that point disappear. Near the end of the book there was a resolution of that storyline, but it seemed almost tacked on to resolve the plot.

Overall, I really liked the book, but I think the paranormal aspects were better expressed in the author's previous novel. I'm going to guess that the third book will focus on Ben and Sam's sister, Maggie, but I'm also going to put in a plug for a book set 10 or 15 years in the future and featuring Amelie's adorable younger sister, Honorine. Whatever the next book is, I have no doubt that I will read it.

✨Amelie St. James is the Prima ballerina at the Paris Opera Ballet. Now she is considered the people's saint but she grew up poor and her new identity feels like a mask. When her first and only love from 12 years ago shows up at the opera house one night, they both must decide if they will take their second chance at love.

✨This is such a sweet second chance romance, Ben is pretty much a modern day gentleman transplanted in 1870's Paris. A forward thinking doctor from a large, close-knit family of famous American scientists, he is charming and you will fall helplessly in love with him. When Amelie suddenly is haunted by ghosts she seeks out his help and they start pretending to court to cover up their investigation.

✨The Brightest Star In Paris captures the aftermath of one of the deadliest periods in the city's history, the Siege of Paris. The city itself is literally rebuilding on top of the dead, wiping out remnants of Old Paris in favor of what we probably all recognize as New Paris.

✨For a lot of people this change is welcome, but mostly it serves to highlight the growing class disparity. Most troubling, it's an easy way for the city as a whole to ignore the grief and trauma from the war.

✨I don't think its an understatement to say that this book should be on everyone's TBR list for this fall. This book brought Paris to life and reinvigorated my love for reading.

✨Thank you so much to @netgally and @stmartinspress for the gifted arc in exchange for an honest review. The Brightest Star In Paris comes out on October 12th!

Wow! Never, ever would I have believed I would’ve enjoyed this book as much as I did. . Loved it and had trouble putting this one down!!!

Included as a top pick in bimonthly October New Releases post, which highlights and promotes upcoming releases of the month (link attached)

This book is wild. I continuously predicted what would happen next and was always wrong. Also, I’m suing for emotional damages as soon as tears stop streaming down my face (who gave Diana Biller the right to write that last scene in Paris? WHO!?). RTC closer to release date (only in October, I’m sorry to say 😭😫).

List of content warnings on author’s website: https://www.dianabiller.com/content-warnings-with-spoilers

Brightest Star in Paris is a really good book for this time of year. It's a little bit cozy, a little bit mysterious, and a little bit ghosty. I enjoyed the second chance romance between Ben and Amelie. I liked the full cast of characters and the setting around the ballet. However, this moves at a much slower pace than I prefer. It's very soft (even with the ghost story) and their lives and love and the mystery surrounding her are very gradual to unfold. While I enjoyed both of Biller's books, I don't think they will be shout from the rooftop reads for me.

This lands closer to 3.5 for me.

This was truly a magical second chance romance. This book wasn’t at all what I expected, but it was a cute read. It was filled with all the things I love: romance, ballet, Paris, and a second chance at love. The twist to the book, there’s ghosts!

I did enjoy the romance between Amelie and Benedict. They had such an intense love and I loved watching it grow the second time around. They were such great characters and I enjoyed reading about them. Overall, I didn’t enjoy this book as much as I hoped I would. To me, it felt like it just dragged on for too long. It is a little bit of a darker story. There is grief, pain, and loss in this book. I know others loved this book, so I do recommend giving it a chance!

Thank you Netgalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I have been looking forward to the next book by Biller and was so excited to be reunited with the Moore family. This lovely second chance historical romance set in the world of the Paris ballet exceeded all of my expectations. Amelie and Ben's story is sweeter and a bit darker than the first book in the series but the love and longing they feel for each other as they are reunited kept my heart in my throat as I read. The Parisian setting was icing on the cake, although Biller does not romanticize Paris during that time period. My only really issue is. the handling of the ghosts. It is so uneven. At times the ghosts are focused are and at times they are almost seem forgotten about. The summation of their storyline seemed thrown together at the last minute so while there were moments that were effective, I honestly thinks the ghosts could have been cut out completely without the plot suffering. Amelie and Ben have enough going on to keep you captivated.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.