Loved reading this book. Amazing story and the characters lend to the charm of this book. I would highly recommend this book. You would not be disappointed.

I did not like this. I found it super slow and immensely boring. Not the book for me. I hate it when I have to give a book a bad rating.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for my digital copy in exchange for an honest review...I had read a few other books by this author and liked them and since I will read anything having to do with Paris, I decided to give this one a shot. I wish I could say that I liked it more than I did...it wasn't a bad book by any means but it just never connected to me in any way...I loved the Paris parts but everything else was just off for me...and for whatever reason, this one seemed to be even more religious than the others I had read...which is not a bad thing at all. I just did not connect with this one...you can't win them all.

I had not read a Kingsbury book before, but I found her style refreshing. She is inspirational in a religious sense, but also it follows the theme of the story so it isn't preachy--just matter of fact. The story was good, and all the different ways that loose ends are tied up are brilliant. My one concern is the biggest threat of the book is neutralized almost as an afterthought, which I kept thinking, "Is that it? Is that really the end of it?" It is worth the read and I am now curious about this family of characters, about whom she has apparently written in the past. I did enjoy the book and would actually probably read it again.

FORGIVING PARIS by Karen Kingsbury has found a forever home on my shelf!! I loved every minute of her life changing fiction story. Visiting her beautifully chiseled characters once again was like coming home after years away. I cried with these characters, I loved with these characters, and I become a part of their families once again. If you have never read a Karen Kingsbury novel, you must! It will stay with you forever!

While this isn't my favorite of Kingsbury's books, it was an engaging book with a redemptive ending. Some of the scenes were very intense (like the heroine scene at the beginning of the book), but I understand it's necessary to highlight the gravity of some of these situations.

Thank you for allowing me to read and review this book!

I did not know this was a faith-based story. It just wasn’t what i was expecting. I do think the author is a skilled writer.

Karen Kingsbury has done it again! I'm a huge fan of all her books. This one is no exception. It can be read as a stand alone, but trust me, you will be hooked and want to read the whole series! I feel like I know the characters on a personal level as if we met in real life! This is a must read!

Another favorite Karen Kingsbury. Her books completely tug at my heartstrings and this one was no different. Please read this one!!

⭐️⭐️
I haven’t read a Karen Kingsbury book for years. She writes a lot of series, so when I saw this one could be read as a ‘stand alone’ I thought I’d give it a chance.

The story centers around Ashley Baxter and a choice she made in Paris many years ago. She is now married, has a son, & returns to Paris to host an art show. When she is there she runs into people from her past and her story unfolds.

Kingsbury writes in the Christian fiction genre and there are many (many) references to God, angels, etc. Truthfully the book was way too long. The story could have been told in about 50 less pages. It seemed to go on and on; I found myself skipping pages because nothing was happening.

If you’re a fan of her books you might like this one but I definitely did not. Boring plot line and way too lengthy. Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC.

In Forgiving Paris, we get more of the backstory of what happened to Ashley Baxter Blake during the time she spent in Paris. Ashley has always been one of my favorite characters in The Baxter Family series, and her story is full of heartache, hope and redemption. I love the theme of God working all things for His good and weaving together Ashley's story with new characters. While there are a few things that seemed a bit far fetched in this novel, I still enjoyed it and would rate it probably a 3.5 rounded to 4 stars. Karen Kingsbury does well with filling you in so you won't be completely lost if reading this as a stand alone, but I would recommend reading it with the rest of the series.
Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for this e-ARC. All opinions are completely my own.

# Karen Kingsbury is what I always think of as writing a comfort novel. # Forgiving Paris is so enjoyable and a page turner. Just perfect for vacation!💜🐾🐾
Thank you for the advance copy

I have been reading Karen Kingsbury novels for years and she never disappoints! Loves this backstory novel on Ashley Baxter, I'd definitely recommend it!

Another good read by Karen Kingsbury. This book is part of her Baxter family series which spans multiple books over the years. I’ve only read the previous book, “Truly, Madly, Deeply” before this. This is a story about Ashley Baxter who gets to showcase her artwork at a gallery in Paris and having to face what had happened to her during her time there when she was younger. The other main character is a Frenchwoman named Alice whom we meet at the beginning of the story. We also get many different perspectives from a lot of characters. This book shows that God is with you and loves you no matter the choices you make in your life. Let God lead your life. I liked the healthy depiction of Godly marriages, families and relationships here.

There’s also a suspense of the book that involves Ashley. Although, I felt that part ends anticlimactic. You just have to read to find out what happens. I enjoyed the descriptions of Paris. I’ve visited there before and it’s such a beautiful city.


Even though it’s part of a long series, this book can be read as a stand-alone. It can be confusing at first with the many characters but Karen does a good job explaining who’s who in this book.

I didn't realize that this was going to be a deeply Christian religious story. I've read Christian stories before and liked them because they are usually clean and aren't overly focused on scripture.

This one was completely focused on scripture. Huge turn off for me. Additionally, the story starts off referencing the daughter's addiction to Heroine. Also a subject matter that I don't like and prefer not to read about.

Beyond that, the story itself was heavy on the inner monologues and musing of life.

I was bored, offended and grossed out with this read. I am completely the wrong audience.

But the cover is beautiful!

So many good components to this book. I haven’t read KK in a long while. And it was definitely a pleasant surprise how much I enjoyed this book. I don’t typically enjoy Christian fiction when it directly has Christian discussions (aka comes across too preachy, even for me). Which this one, I have to say, bordered on. Nothing against it for readers who appreciate that. It was just a little much for me. I loved the relationships in this book though. Although at first it was a little hard for me to keep track of the who’s who since I haven’t read a Baxter family book before. Alice and Ashley’s names were just so close and I kept getting their POV’s confused. What I enjoyed most was the twists I didn’t entirely see and how the characters all came together in the end. What I liked the least was the “Angel” part. I’m sorry. That just feels like an overdone cliche Christian cop out in fiction books. O-ver-done.
But the story itself was good.

Forgiving Paris is a book written to expand upon Ashley's time in Paris when she became pregnant with her son Cole. It was good to understand a little more about what happened during that time in her life, how things started with the affair, and some of the people she came into contact with.

Kingsbury did a really good job exploring the depth of Ashley's shame and guilt over what had happened so long ago. I liked how the art show in Paris in present day was used as a way to heal the wounds from her past. I also loved Alice's story of redemption and how Ashley saved her life. I also liked how Mia and Ashley's lives were intertwined.

I loved the descriptions of Paris and the various places they visited, including how the Eiffel Tower came to be.

There were some issues with the book. I thought that things ended a bit too abruptly with Albert. The author touched briefly on how Albert was removed from the picture, but it felt like there was going to be a big storyline around Albert getting to Ashley with how he was stalking her. I also thought that the introduction of angels into the story was a bit awkward and weird.

But overall, this is a really good story and a book that I would recommend.

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for providing this book in exchange for an honest review.

I love Karen Kingsbury’s books and her descriptive writing! If you could close your close eyes as she described Paris you would be right there with her, that is how perfect it is! Oh the smells of the food but then it can’t all be happy or can it? Please get this book and read it, you will love it too!

This was a phenomenal and powerful book. Reading it took me on an emotional journey and I couldn’t put it down. I did not realize that it was part of a series but I believe it could be read as a stand alone.
Many thanks to Atria Books and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

A moment caught in the past reveals a love so tender and unexpected that it has overshadowed a life well spent on theother side of the pond. A young woman makes a decision that has stayed at the back her mind all these years. An anniversary present to a city of dreams and desires and a youth of discovery offers Ashley a chance to visit the past. The question remains should she? Anytime you go back you invite the present to disrupt your life. Ashley knows returning to Paris will stir up memories of a life before she really knew who she was, but now she wonders if she is ready to face the decisions of yesterday.