I was so excited to read this book! I read The Last Encore by Élodie Colliard and I really liked it, so I was so excited to see that this book was about Avery's brother, Miles! This is an interconnected standalone so you don’t need to read the first book in order to understand what happens in this book! 😊

Some of my highlight of this book:
❤️ The tropes in this book are top tier! It was friends to lovers, workplace romance (and SHE’S the boss 🤭), he falls first… All these tropes were so well done!

🇫🇷 Miles is one of my top book boyfriends now... He was literally the perfect guy! He was so sweet, he cooks and bakes, and he’s absolutely and completely in love with Riley and I loved it so much! I also love his relationship with his sister and the love they have for one another.

❤️ I love strong FMC, and wow, Riley was the ultimate definition of girl boss! I absolutely loved her and how strong she was despite everything she’s been through. I love how she got through her divorce and how she handled her annoying ex. I loved how she was the boss and her attitude.

🇫🇷 I was transported to Paris while reading, and I loved it! It made me want to go book a place ticket and go experience that city of love for myself! I love all the odes to Paris that were included in this book!

❤️ Miles and Riley’s relationship was so fun to read! Their friends to lovers and coworker dynamic really added to the tension and pinning between one another, and I was LIVING for it! 🤭 They were so well matched and I loved how they were both Alphas, and I also loved their banter, silly nicknames and their deep feelings and love for one another.

🇫🇷 The playlist for this book was amazing and really helped bring the book together .


If you want a sweet friends to lovers story filled with so much pinning, strolling along France, wine talk, and strong female and male characters, this book is for you!

Thank you so much Élodie Coloiar and NetGalley for an Arc of this book! Out September 25th!

4.5⭐️

I read about 65% of this book and found I had to myself to keep reading and that is not a good sign. Here were my thoughts: I love friends to lovers and workplace romances so much! I liked both Miles and Riley to be decent characters. I love dual point of view in romances but I didn't enjoy the amount of flip flopping the in early chapters. I also felt as though Miles idolized Riley more than loving her as a person. I love pining and he falls first, but it didn't feel as though he saw her an equal partner which weirded me out a bit. Like even in her saying they shouldn't have kissed he framed it as him being a terrible person. with no control like she didn't kiss him back... The ex-husband plot line felt so heavy handed. Im what world would she not have her abusive ex-husband blocked? And the whole infertility issue added on top of their relationship drama going on? It may seem like it would be interesting but I found myself bored and rolling my eyes.

This was my first romance in a long time <3 and it was the best little ride :’) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

It’s a friends to lovers/workplace romance story! Miles had been eyeing Riley for years. Riley just got out of a rocky marriage.

AND THEN THEY START TO WORK CLOSELY TOGETHER ;) at home and IN PARIS. We love forced proximity! I felt like I was watching a movie with two stubborn characters who wouldn’t make a move 😂 I especially LOVED how competitive they were. With just about everything lol. Kind of like…who’s going to give in first?

But this story has more than romance. Both of these characters have gone through a lot. There’s trauma and hurt from the past. Each of them GOING THRU IT. So I’m happy there were conversations (and arguments) about it. Nothing was too glossed over in my opinion.

It’s a super cute read and I’m so grateful to the author for sending me an arc on NetGalley! 🩷

I recommend this book if you like wholesome love, romantic cities, baking desserts, and a lil spice 🌶️🌶️🥵

A few more honorable mentions:

The Friends references were amazing!
I had many jaw dropping moments 👀
The chapter titles are song titles!!

Quotes I loved:

“She’s magnetic, and I’m stuck in her orbit.”
“Call me sir one more time and see what happens…”
“You’re such a Monica Gellar”

TW:
Domestic abuse, infertility

I truly didn’t think it was possible to love Elodie’s second book more than her first but Riley and Miles story takes the cake. I love a he falls first, grumpy sunshine, friends to lovers slow burn romance. The fact that Miles always had a crush on Riley, even when she was married he was respectful and never crossed a line. Once Riley ended her abusive relationship she became a badass independent woman and their relationship slowly blossomed from a friendship to a love they couldn’t deny. Overcoming many obstacles these two came out on top.
A special topic in this story was infertility. As many of you know this topic is near and dear to my heart and the way the author wrote about this was spot on. The heartbreak and loneliness it causes. But to see it from a males perspective it was very enlightening and eye opening. Thank you for taking such care in writing about a sensitive topic.
I cannot say enough good things about this book! Run, don’t walk to preorder it now!

From Paris, in Love guides readers through the ‘he falls first,’ co-workers to lovers romance of Miles and Riley. Book 2 in the “It’s Always Been You” series, FPIL is Elodie Colliard’s best yet! We are big fans of The Last Encore (book 1) and ever since meeting Miles (older brother to the FMC in book 1) we couldn’t wait to hear if he gets the girl!

Miles is a rugby playing, PR firm professional, starting up a new firm with the girl of his dreams- Riley. Riley has left an abusive marriage and is determined to ‘need no man’ but can’t help but find herself drawn to Miles magnetism.

Without too many spoilers, here’s some things I loved about this book:
- Miles is in therapy, ‘doing the work’ to grow and work through trauma from an earlier life event. He discusses this growth with those he is comfortable around and it is normalized- love seeing this!
- Miles has a best friend (Tyler) who he confides in and actually TALKS to- I loved seeing this side of Miles and the representation of healthy, supportive friendships. This is often done with FMCs, but not as often with MMCs. Bravo, Elodie!!
- Both characters are human- flawed, but working on it. They respected each others space. They respected boundaries. It was comfortable to watch their relationship progress- never cringey!

All of those elements had me invested in the story, but if you follow @those.book.besties, you know we also love some steamy/spicy scenes- and this book DELIVERED!!! It was the perfect balance.

You can absolutely read either The Last Encore or From Paris, in Love as standalones, and we highly recommend you check them out!

This was such a sweet follow up to The Last Encore! I know how hard Elodie worked on it and how much time she put into it and it is such a great result!! Miles and Riley were such a good friends to lovers, with a bunch of forced proximity, TONS of mutual pining because they’re convinced their relationship could never go anywhere. They both had been through so much, and their individual journey’s were written so well! I loved watching everything unfold!

I loved the two of them together. They were fun, and such good friends! Their tension was off the charts and their chemistry was SO GOOD. Miles fell so hard the second he met Riley, and even though it’s been complicated since, he never totally gave up hope! Even though he was SURE it would never work??

I loved how vulnerable Miles was about his infertility, we don’t often get a guys perspective on infertility. And I thought it was written well, and his struggles with his ex were raw and real. And I loved that even though he was still sad about his decisions, he was sticking with it and not willing to get hurt over it again. Everything with Riley and her ex was also written so well. I loved watching her take back her life, become her own person again.

I did not love how they communicated. They just weren’t very good at it? Every time they had a misunderstanding one of them would end up yelling and stomping away. Riley overreacted many times, her words, and while I thought her thoughts were valid, she never really gave her and Miles a real chance to talk. And every time she would sort of compare him to her ex he got so upset. Which again, is so frustrating and a valid response. But I feel like they could have just communicated better, been more open and vulnerable all of the time or something.

But I did love them together! I did think they were such a good match!! Once they realized life isn’t going to be perfect, but they wanted to do it together anyway?? It was so sweet!

Thank you so much to Elodie Colliard, Netgalley, and Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op in exchange for an honest review!!

SOOO MUCH PINING!! AHHH I LOVED THIS! I could feel the tension coming off the pages! Elodie Colliard created such lovable characters and I cannot wait to read more from this author!

With strong characters that uplift each other, From Paris, in Love by Elodie Colliard tells a story about a woman who strives for business success after divorcing her abusive ex-husband and a man who's always had a crush on her. It touches on male infertility, abuse and building a business.

Summary: Miles Clark has had a crush on Riley Fletcher for the longest time. When she finally divorces her emotionally abusive husband and starts a business with Miles, they get closer than ever. When they travel to Paris for work, things start getting spicy.

Tropes/Genres:
• friends to lovers
• workplace romance
• travel (Paris)
• forced proximity
• talks about male infertility
• contemporary romance
• bookstagrammer author!
• set in Toronto, Canada and Paris, France

Review: This author's writing has certainly improved since Book 1. The writing style flows better. The 1st-person POV truly fits the author's writing style better than 3rd! I thought that Miles and Riley made a wholesome pair. Of course, they had their bad moments, but at least they overcame them. At least the author explained it well. It kind of upset me how Riley kept trying to do everything herself, but then it got explained well. So that's great!

I think Miles's struggle with his infertility is well written. I do understand his fears and insecurity regarding that, especially when he thought that Riley might want children and he couldn't give her that. I feel that the author touches on the topic of male infertility delicately and portrays it in a realistic manner. Although he displays some traits of “toxic masculinity”, as the author described him to have, he’s such a green flag.

Riley is also such a strong character. She made the decision to get out of her abusive environment on her own and was determined to succeed in order to prove that she was more than what her ex-husband told her she was. That’s admirable. Although it hurts when she compares Miles to her terrible ex-husband when things don't go her way even though Miles has been nothing but considerate towards her, I kind of understand. She's scared. I can accept that.

The two of them make such a strong couple. They both have their insecurities, but they make each other feel better about themselves. You just know that they will have a happy, healthy and wholesome relationship.

It's also nice to see Avery and Josh from Book 1 in this book! Seeing the main characters from a related book makes the fictional world built by the author more real. That's the charm of interconnected stand-alone books. Riley's sister Charlee is also an interesting character, and it would be nice to see more of her in Book 3!

My only issue with this book is some inaccuracies in the book, such as when Riley assumed that corsets made it difficult for women to breathe. "I understand, but this isn't the eighteenth century. Women should be allowed to breathe," she said in Chapter 25. That is simply not true! And while the writing has improved, it's still not good enough to warrant 5 stars, in my opinion. Somehow, I feel like there's way too much thought and dialogue. The pacing of the story is fine, though!

I recommend this book to readers who love friends to lovers and workplace romance and like it when the man falls first. The book touches on male infertility and emotional domestic abuse (including public humiliation), so please read with care.

Thank you, NetGalley, for the read.

4 stars

❛ She’s magnetic, and I’m stuck in her orbit. ❜


the book explored sensitive topics that were closely connected to the protagonists' pasts. throughout the storyline, they attempted to tame and eventually exorcize their demons.

”I want to kiss her so deeply she forgets her worries and gives me her tomorrows.”


the way the main male character mourned the truth that he would never have biological children was truly refreshing to me. alongside with his efforts to cope with infertility and how it altered his future that he always vividly envisioned featuring kids. i loved how Miles was a perfectly balanced character. despite being a merciless shark at his firm, he tempered his hectic life with quality time baking. although being a ruthless rugby player, he acted like a cinnamon roll with his coworker who he had been enamored with for years.

"one day" […] “You’ll realize that you can have it all, and that nothing, and no one, can dim your bright light.”


Riley was a strong female lead. i adored the fact that she was the one who initiated the idea to build her new company from scratch, partnering with Miles. in that single detail, the plot line demonstrated that her past, toxic and abusive marriage didn't tarnish her ambitious spirit. she stood up for herself and in a certain way against her ex-boss, who was accessorily her ex-husband.

”I’ve loved you even when you didn’t love yourself. I love you. Always have and always will.”


the romance was portrayed as a captivating slow burn. in every descriptive scene, their chemistry was palpable. I appreciated how the work place romance was well depicted through business-related dialogues and sittings. i also adored how the 'friends to lovers' arc was masterfully handled, we observed how the gradual transition from their tight complicity and camaraderie morphed into the what-ifs and variables of their pseudo-relationship and finally bloomed into a beautiful relationship. the main male character was head over heels in love with a completely oblivious fmc, from the start, and it wasn’t drawn in a bothersome manner.


p.s.: i knew i was going to love every bit of it the minute Cyril Lignac was mentioned 🤭 and how paris wasn’t viewed with rose-colored glasses

many thanks to NetGalley and the author, publisher for providing an arc in exchange of an honest review.

🧡 REVIEW 🧡 From Paris, In Love - Elodie Colliard | ⭐️⭐️⭐️| 🌶🌶


What initially captivated me about this book was, of course, the stunning cover illustrated by @lenikauffman ! She's one of my favourite illustrators (she also did the Icebreaker cover!)


I thought the story overall had a lot of potential. Without giving any spoilers, there were moments that were heart felt and even made me shed a tear. I thought that the main characters were generally likable, but their love story didnt consume me. Riley & Miles have been long time friends and coworkers, and it's revealed in the beginning that Miles has had a crush on Riley for a long time. However, I don't think we, as the audience, saw enough of the past to get an idea of their friendship. Maybe more flashback scenes could have been beneficial. I felt that there was too much telling the audience, rather than showing us.


This was definitely a slow burn, just over 400 pages, I thought it was a bit too long. There was too much back and forth with the uncertainty of the relationship. The book finally picked up at the 50% mark, but the main conflict happened too close to the end of the book that the conclusion seemed rushed. There was also a point in the book where it seemed to go in the direction of a sport romance. I think there's just too many overall themes and scenes adding to the length of the book.


There is mention of serious subject matter such as domestic abuse, and big life/career changes. I did like that part of the setting was in Toronto! I loved hearing the different landmarks and areas of the city mentioned.


Overall I did enjoy parts of this book. There was a lot of potential with this story, and while it was just ok for me, I can see why others would love it.


Thank you Netgalley, Victory Editing, and Elodie Colliard for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

From Paris in love is a sweet friends/ colleagues to lovers romance. This was a quick and entertaining read, with lots of things to love.

I loved that included serious and heavy issues that both characters needed to overcome, I loved to see how they both loved their family and valued family bonds, to see Miles and Tyler’s friendship and how Miles was open to his best friend about everything in his life, and obviously, I liked to see Miles and Ry’s relationship flourish.

I especially loved Miles:
<i> “You don’t need me. You want me. And I want you. Just as you are. Wholesome, strong, beautiful, and stubborn… I just want to be by your side, holding your hand while you conquer the world. Just because I want to.”</i>

Read it if you like:
- Strong FMC recovering from an abusive relationship, and fighting for herself.
- Sweet and sexy MMC, with flowers tattoos, who empowers her, bakes, and is willing to give her the world. He is very in touch with his emotions and also recovering from a different sort of heartbreak.
- Good tension between the characters
- Spice and praise
- He falls first

I adored this book until some inaccuracies, misconceptions and stereotypes started:
- we do have air conditioning in Europe, you may not find it all houses, but definitely in all hotels, most Airbnb’s and all public infrastructure. This affects mainly the residents households.
- All cars will have air conditioning! France is one of the largest players in the automotive industry, and if you are in France and not in a French car, the odds are that you’ll be on a German, Italian, or Spanish car. Guess what? These manufacturers do put air conditioning on their cars. Additionally, there are strict regulations regarding carbon emissions and old cars cannot circulate in the cities. In general, you cannot drive cars from before the late 90’s in the cities, and you may need to have stickers confirming your emission levels are ok. Thus, it will be virtually impossible to enter a taxi with no air conditioning, and manual levers for the windows.
- The kissing! It’s true we kiss in Europe, but no taxi driver will ever ever kiss you! Much less if you are a man! This is just nonsense, especially after covid.
- Medicine… language might be a barrier, although not in all European countries, but it doesn’t matter if you know or not the brands pharmacies have in stock. Pharmacies sell the drugs with the International Nonproprietary Names (INN) which identifies pharmaceutical substances or active pharmaceutical ingredients. If you know what you use in Canada and USA, you are able to easily buy it here. In doubt, you can always use internet (we do have it here! Impressive right?)

This was particularly annoying because it was written just after the characters complain how annoying it is, as Canadians, to be confused and treated as Americans.

I think the romance was quite good! I only wish the Paris bit was more accurately represented (you can tackle all my previous points with a quick google search). I’m not French, and I wasn’t this annoyed since the <b><i>Love Actually</i></b> and the ridiculous scene with Colin Firth in <i>“Portugal”</i>.

I still recommend this book for romance readers.

<i>I would like to thanks Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op, Elodie Colliard and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.</i>

Umm, I technically started this book yesterday, I am not sure the last time I read a book this fast.
When I tell you this is the perfect slow burn… I mean it!
The spice is spicing and I’m such a fan of the MMC 🔥

This was my first book from Elodie Colliard and I was not disappointed! It’s not published until September 25th but if you like a strong female character, slow burn, close proximity, wine, and Paris you need to pick this one up!

Side note: Reading about a curvy female main character was also so refreshing! The details were ✨immaculate✨

Thank you, NetGalley and Victory Editing for allowing me to review this book early!

This was such a great read! The romance, the writing, the character, the setting; everything was just a hit for me. Paris was one of the first international cities that I travelled to so it will always hold a special place in my heart and this author did such an amazing job of capturing its energy and ambiance. It really was the perfect location for this cute, yet heartfelt romance.
I so appreciated that this book was written in dual POV. I feel like I can always see the chemistry and connection between the characters so much better when I can read from both of their perspectives. Miles and Riley had such a great relationship and I loved seeing how they grew to know and understand one another.
This book felt just like a vacation in Paris would. It was sexy, sweet and so memorable. I really enjoyed it!
Thank you to NetGalley and Elodie Colliard for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

*I received a free ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

If you're looking for a sweet, fun, spicy read then this book is for you! I really enjoyed this, it was a really quick read for me. It was super sweet and fluffy, with a good amount of spice thrown in for *variety*.

If you like these tropes, you will absolutely like this book:
- friends to lovers
- coworkers/workplace romance
- he falls first
- slow burn (but not too slow!)

It also handles heavier topics like male infertility and domestic abuse with care and compassion. For readers who may find these topics triggering, read with care.

3.5

This was a really cute and sweet friends to lovers, though it does follow some hard topics.

I didn’t really click as much as I did with the first book, and I don’t know if it’s because Riley annoyed me a lot of the time as she was like no this can’t go anywhere, to “why isn’t he getting the hint” then comparing miles to her her ex. Like I can understand she has truama but it just wasn’t really that fair and miles was just trying to be respected as well. I did love her towards the end when she grew that backbone and showed what she is made of!

I did love miles though, he was sweet, considerate and a great main character.

I also loved the Taylor swift references!

I guess I just wasn’t a a fan of the time jump at the beginning. You didn’t get to see their relationship grow and I’m glad it focused on the romance side rather than the business side but it just felt rambled a lot of the time!

The spice was just 🥵 and the character development was the biggest part of the book!

Thank you to netgalley and to the author for allowing me to read this arc in exchange of my honest review

This was a sweet, cute and tres spicy friends to lovers romance !! Though it wasn’t without its heavier moments this was such a cute read!! I loved Miles and Riley’s story !!

As this was my first Elodie Colliard book I may just have to go back and pick up the first one!!

This novel is a follow-up to Colliard's The Last Encore, which touched on Avery and Josh's story. Now we get to read about Miles, Avery's brother, and his coworker, Riley, whom he has pined after for years. You don't have to have read book 1 to read this book, but you'll enjoy it more if you do.

While I didn't like this one quite as much as her first novel, I still think it's an enjoyable read, especially if you like dual POV, more slow-burn stories, baking and/or wine, sports, and everything French.

I feel like the beginning structure of the novel is what threw me off a bit. We get 4 chapters to set the scene (Miles quitting his job after Riley leaves the company and then them setting up a new company together). These 4 chapters take place over one year (Summer-Fall-Winter-Spring) before the main story gets going in the following summer. I'm not sure that these time jumps really worked for me in terms of selling the connection between the characters (who we knew a little bit about from book 1), but I understand why they were important to set up the backstory. That being said, things flow much better once you get through those initial chapters!

Both characters are dealing with their own demons (an emotionally abusive ex-husband for Riley, I won't spoil what Miles is struggling with) and don't want to jeopardize their new business partnership. There's plenty of sexual tension between them but Colliard has us wait impatiently till later in the book to give us the steamy scenes, which are worth it. :D

Lastly, she made a Spotify playlist to go along with this book (and her first novel), so definitely check that out: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3QCBLJSAQowrX6CDR6SWnR?si=5cb2f1d55c07444f

Thank you to Elodie Colliard and Victory Editing NetGalley Co-Op for approving this e-arc request!

Thank you Netgalley for providing an ARC!

I Loved this! Had a lot of my favorite tropes (grumpy/sunshine, he falls first) and I enjoyed both of their POVs. Overall a very fast and fun read, and look at that cover!!!

One thing that bothered me though was that they were in Paris for half of the book but they didn't really go out into the city and do anything, so it felt like a missed opportunity. Honestly, their going to Paris could have been excluded from the story and it wouldn't have made a difference. It also time skipped a lot so almost the entire Paris trip was skipped over it, and the two times they did go into the city to do something, it was very quick and rushed. This all sort of confused me because the entire summary (and book title) implies that we will get to experience them exploring Paris together but we don't.

Other than that thought this was good!

This was my first Elodie Colliard book and it was a solid one. I liked the complex characters and seeing them fall in love.

I really liked both Miles and Riley. Riley was such a strong woman; even after everything she went through, she fought for what she wanted and worked hard to achieve it and the fact that she found happiness with a man like Miles by her side while doing all that was heartwarming. And Miles was such a sweet, caring guy; the way he was always Riley’s biggest supporter and gave her space to think and make her own decisions was amazing. And his cute little dog and obsession with baking only made him better!

Getting some insight into Riley’s abusive relationship was really interesting and I loved seeing her grow more confident and fighting to "fix" what her ex-husband broke. Similarly, Miles’ own struggles with his infertility were really interesting and it was refreshing that it was the MMC that was infertile, rather than the FMC, which seems to be the norm (at least in the books I’ve read). However, I wish this had been explored a bit more; I understand that by the time the story starts, Miles had somewhat come to terms with his diagnosis and there are some conversations about it, but considering he said that he’d wanted to be a father, I think some more discussion on the topic (even if not with Riley) would have been very enriching.

My main issue with this book, however, and the main reason why I can’t give it more than 4 stars is the fact that I didn’t really connect with the characters and therefore wasn’t as invested as I would have liked. Having said that, I will keep an eye out for Elodie’s next book and will make sure to check it out.

★ 4/5 Stars ★

A big thank you to Elodie Colliard and Netgalley for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 stars rounded up. This is a lot more than a cute rom-com about two friends and co-workers who have been pining after each other for a long time but can't confess their feelings for multiple reasons. Both Miles and Riley are complex characters with issues - particularly around past relationships - they're still coming to terms with, and their journey towards each other is not without its complications. The Parisian backdrop is well done, the serious topics are handled sensitively... yet for some reason I didn't connect with these characters as much as I did with Josh and Avery in the previous book. That's my personal opinion, and nevertheless, this is still a heartwarming read.