Thank you to Harlequin Trade and NetGalley for another great ARC! #netGalley #TheParisWidow

Adam and Stella have the great American marriage - soulmates in every way except they both have secrets from the past they are not sharing. While traipsing around Europe vacationing and a little of Adam’s business a bomb goes off right where Adam had gone to retrieve his sunglasses and Stella is left heartbroken and searching for answers as those secrets come back to haunt them. Think James Bond with a young married couple in the art/artifact collection world of the rich.

Enjoyable spy type thriller with lots of twists and surprises!

I’m a tried and true Kimberly Belle fan. However, this is missing a lot of the suspense from past favorites such as The Wife.

I felt this book was going nowhere and was stuck in place. Felt like the conflict was small was insignificant for so much damage. Also felt this book was more spy novel than thriller, which is usually not my favorite genre.

While it still was engaging, I found myself bored at times waiting for a resolution.

Stella and her husband Adam are enjoying lunch at an out of the way Paris cafe. Adam is an art dealer in antiquities and has gone to Paris to find pieces for his shop in the U.S. Adam realizes he left his sunglasses at the cafe. Rushed for time to check out of their hotel and get to the airport for their return flight, Adam tells Stella he will meet her at the hotel as he rushes off back to the cafe. There is a terrible explosion at the cafe. And therein brings the mystery and intrigue. What has happened to Adam? Stella is labeled the Paris widow by the press. The story unfolds thru Stella’s eyes and Adam’s. The police indicate that Adam is not who he seems. Stella begins her quest to find out what happened to Adam and the truth about Adam. Lots of plot twists and turns. I enjoyed this book and recommend it to those who enjoy a thrilling tale of suspense.

The Paris Widow
by Kimberely Belle
Pub Date: June 11, 2024
Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.
A dream vacation turns deadly when secrets from the past catch up to a married couple in Paris in this new edge-of-your-seat thriller from USA Today bestselling author, Kimberly Belle.
Belle relies too much on telling instead of showing Stella's character development. Although we learn about her past and the events that shaped her personality, we never see her in action. As a result, when her personality changes in the second half of the novel, it feels inauthentic and unconvincing. Similarly, her previous relationship lacked depth and believability, leaving me unconvinced.
There are some issues, especially in the telling aspect, and a few plot holes and plot devices that didn’t fully work, but it was fun to read and experience Paris and some other European cities. Also fascinating was the focus on the art black market


The Paris Widow explores how sinister secrets of the past stay with us—no matter how far we travel.

🎯 T H R I L L E R T H U R S D A Y 🎯 featuring “The Paris Widow” by Kimberley Belle!

BOOK REVIEW: 🖤🖤🖤🖤/5

Stella and Adam are travelling through Europe together for three weeks. Adam is a precious antiques dealer and has brought Stella along on his shopping trip to look for rare pieces for his shop back home.

But Adam is hiding something … and he starts to get uneasy when he thinks they are maybe being followed. Then on their last day, Adam forgets his sunglasses at the breakfast place and he runs back solo to grab them before they leave Paris. A shocking & massive explosion occurs in the city square near the restaurant and Adam is no where to be seen afterwards 💥!!!

Stella’s world comes crashing down as she desperately looks for her husband. Was Adam a victim of being at the wrong place at the wrong time?? Or was he actually the target?? The more shocking information Stella finds out about Adam, the more she begins to realize that she doesn’t know her husband at all.

WHAT exactly was Adam a part of?? And is Stella the next target??

This fast paced and atmospheric thriller is a wild ride full of secrets, betrayal, greed and a devious game of cat and mouse! Thank you kindly to @kimberlysbelle @parkrowbooks @harpercollinsca @netgalley for my advanced digital copy in exchange for my honest review! This book releases on June 11, 2024!

𝗔𝗿𝗰 𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄 - 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝗶𝘀 𝗪𝗶𝗱𝗼𝘄 𝗯𝘆 𝗞𝗶𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿𝗹𝘆 𝗕𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗲
I just want to give a special thanks to @netgalley, @harlequin trade publishing/ park row for my first ever digital advanced readers copy. 🥹
I’m in my thriller era currently and this kicked off my summer reading! It’s deff be a book I’d have for pool days!

𝙎𝙩𝙚𝙡𝙡𝙖 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝘼𝙙𝙖𝙢 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙨𝙖𝙫𝙚𝙙 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙖 𝙩𝙧𝙞𝙥 𝙖𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙙 𝙀𝙪𝙧𝙤𝙥𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙚𝙣𝙟𝙤𝙮𝙚𝙙 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮 𝙨𝙚𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙙 𝙤𝙛 𝙞𝙩 𝙩𝙤𝙜𝙚𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧. 𝘽𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙘𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝘾𝙖𝙥𝙧𝙞 𝙩𝙤 𝙋𝙖𝙧𝙞𝙨, 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮’𝙧𝙚 𝙛𝙞𝙣𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙮 𝙩𝙤 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙙 𝙝𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝘼𝙩𝙡𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙖. 𝙒𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙎𝙩𝙚𝙡𝙡𝙖 𝙞𝙨 𝙖 𝙘𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙧 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝘼𝙙𝙖𝙢 𝙤𝙬𝙣𝙨 𝙖 𝙨𝙢𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙗𝙪𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙨. 𝘼𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮’𝙧𝙚 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙗𝙖𝙘𝙠 𝙝𝙤𝙢𝙚, 𝙖𝙣 𝙚𝙭𝙥𝙡𝙤𝙨𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙩𝙖𝙠𝙚𝙨 𝙥𝙡𝙖𝙘𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝘼𝙙𝙖𝙢 𝙞𝙨 𝙣𝙤𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙗𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙙. 𝙃𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙗𝙧𝙤𝙠𝙚𝙣 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙨𝙘𝙖𝙧𝙚𝙙, 𝙎𝙩𝙚𝙡𝙡𝙖 𝙞𝙨 𝙗𝙚𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙦𝙪𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙚𝙙 𝙗𝙮 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙤𝙡𝙞𝙘𝙚 𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙝𝙪𝙨𝙗𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙚𝙭𝙥𝙡𝙤𝙨𝙞𝙤𝙣. 𝘿𝙞𝙙 𝘼𝙙𝙖𝙢 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙤 𝙙𝙤 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙚𝙭𝙥𝙡𝙤𝙨𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙤𝙧 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙝𝙚 𝙖𝙣 𝙞𝙣𝙣𝙤𝙘𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙗𝙮𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙧?

This is my first Kimberly Belle book and it won’t be my last! From the story setting, secrets between spouses, and mysterious characters, this thriller was everything and more.
Comes out on June 11! Perfect for summer 🤠

This one kept me on my toes. Just enough information I thought I knew what would happen next until I’d realize I had missed some clues along the way. Another great book I’ll be sure to recommend by Kimberly Belle!

I love the start of this book; newlyweds finding their way to a cafe in Paris and enjoying a delicious lunch. What a great way to introduce us to the two main characters and then brutally kill one off in an explosion. This tone doesn’t let up. The Paris setting, the international intrigue, the love story, mysterious encounters with strange characters, along with lots of secrets make for a fast paced fun read. The alternating points of view works, but I did feel it was a bit Stella heavy and maybe that’s intentional. I enjoyed the historical and cultural tidbits and the stolen antiquities created a scary undercurrent that gave me nightmares! The ending did disappoint me a bit - I felt it was too fast and tidy. Otherwise, great read. Thanks to Park Row Publishers, the author and NetGalley for the advance copy.

A mystery unfolds after Stella's husband Adam is caught in an explosion in Paris and is missing presumed dead. Stella and Adam were on a 3-week vacation, touring around different cities in Europe. Stella was once a flight attendant, and has different facts and trivia about the places they are staying. Adam's business revolves around architecture design and sources products from Europe. So, they both have history with Europe. And they also both have secrets in their past. Now those secrets have come back to haunt Adam since it appears that he was the target of the explosion. Stella is on a mission to uncover why Adam was targeted.

I thought that the descriptions of the European landscape were amazing. You could really picture yourself there - the streets, the buildings, the water. Kimberley Belle did a great job with the setting.

This was a great page-turner; a psychological thriller that really keeps you on your toes.

Another winner from the one and only Kimberly Belle! This was a unique thriller because in addition to the normal domestic suspense Belle writes, this one brings in a component of art history as well. It's evident that this was well reached by Belle and I couldn't put it down from start to finish.

Stella and Adam are vacationing in Europe and in France for the last few hours before they return to Atlanta. But when Adam goes back to the café for his sunglasses and Stella walks to the hotel, there is an explosion. At the café. Where Adam went to get his sunglasses.

Stella’s world is turned upside down as she frantically searches for Adam. As police investigate the bombing, they tell Stella that they’ve been tracking Adam as he is notorious for dealing in stolen antiquities. What??? Stella thought he dealt with legit historical architectural items, selling them to contractors who remodeling homes.

Stella is determined to find Adam. As Stella learns more about this secret life, she doesn’t know who she can trust.

Oh this was so good. Probably my new favorite by Kimberly Belle. I read it in one night and stayed up waaaay too late.

HIGH RECOMMEND. Fast paced. Twists that keep you guessing. And you can’t help but to love Stella

Thank you #NetGalley for the complimentary copy of #TheParisWidow in exchange for an honest review

This book is centered on a vacationing couple who are in Paris when a bomb goes off in the area the husband (Adam) was last seen, and the wife (Stella) is concerned he died in the blast. The POVs in the book shift between Stella and Adam recounting the past events around Europe, and Stella's present search for Adam in Paris. It has great pieces for a thriller: secrets, mistrust, illegal trade, vengeful criminals. The ending was just perfect. I found this book to be really captivating, and look forward to reading more by Kimberly Belle.

I would like to thank Harlequin Trade Publishing and Kimberly Belle for the ARC. Release date: June 11th.

Immediately after Stella returns to her Paris hotel, she is horrified to learn of a bombing at a nearby cafè; the very same spot that she and her husband just left, the very same spot Adam was returning to in order to retrieve his sunglasses. While desperate to obtain any information regarding the explosion or her husband's whereabouts, Stella is soon whisked aside by a local detective and informed that her husband may have been the intended target. This fast-paced thriller is sure to be a summertime hit. For fans of Adele Parks and Karen White.

The Paris Widow follows a newly married couple on the trip of a lifetime. When they’re enjoying their vacation in Paris, there’s an explosion and Adam, the husband, goes missing. His wife Stella is left in a foreign country trying to piece together what’s happened. I don’t want to give away spoilers but once I figured out where this was going I was very intrigued. This book wasn’t very long but some of the writing felt a bit clunky which is why I bumped down my rating. Usually thrillers of this length just seem to pass faster than this one did.

What kind of business was Adam in? How could his wife Stella not know?

Adam and Stella were taking a three-week European vacation that ended in Paris.

As they were ready to head back to the hotel, Adam said he forgot his sunglasses at the restaurant and heads there. Stella heads back to the hotel. A few minutes after he leaves Stella, an explosion rocks the entire area.

Was leaving his glasses an excuse to get back to the restaurant to do something more sinister than pick up the glasses or did someone spot him and caused the explosion which was for him?

Stella is stunned but unharmed, but where is Adam?

Will she be alone in a foreign country to deal with all of this on her own?

Is she in danger now?

But the main question is what has Adam been up to for all these years?

You will find out as Ms. Belle beautifully describes Europe and keeps your attention with the tension and unraveling of all that's going on.

Readers are never disappointed in a Kimberley Belle book, and the surprises will have you saying what??

Don't miss it. 5/5

Thank you to the publisher for a copy of the book. All opinions are my own.

Thank you to netgally for the advanced copy of this book. I really enjoyed it. Stella and Adam's story and how it unfolded. Neither were honest with each other and both had their reasons. I enjoyed Stella's narration and point of view throughout the story. There were a lot os twists that I didnt see coming, and I like that she called upon her ex boyfriend for help because he owed her for the time she spent in prison for him. This is a title I would definitely recommend!

Thank you to netgalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I was hooked on this book from the very first chapter. I love how the book opened up with what happened to Stella before she met Adam. There were a lot of twists and turns in this book that I didn't see coming. I enjoyed Stella and Adam's story and how it unfolded. I couldn't believe that Adam wound up being a bad guy. I really thought he was going to have died in the explosion. This is the 3rd book Ive read by Kimberly Belle and it has been my favorite yet!

Book Title: The Paris Widow
Author: Kimberly Belle
Publisher: Harlequin Trade Publishing ~Park Row
Genre: Espionage, Women’s Fiction
Pub Date: June 11, 2024
My Rating: 3.5 rounded up
Pages: 320


When Stella Knox meets Adam, an antique dealer she believes she has finally found the man of her dreams; she has made terrible choices and is not going to let that happen again.

Now Stella and Adam have been together for four year and decided to celebrate with a tagalong European vacation attached to Adam’s work trip. On their last day in Paris, while touring, Adam left his sunglasses at the café and insists on retuning to get them. He no soon leaves when Stella hears what she think is an earthquake (those of us living in California would think the same) however, it is an explosion. Now Adam is missing!
Later Stella is interviewed and given the name “The Paris Widow.

It appears Adam has been doing illegal activities Stella had no knowledge of and he made enemies that may have target him. Was the bombing a café necessary? The police believe Adam was the target of the bomb. Hmmm?
Stella has to find the truth, and is not leaving Paris until finds out the truth about Adam.
I did like the ending.

I also enjoyed reading Ms. Belle’s ’Author’s Note’.
She tells us that much of this story is rooted in truth. A Google search will connect you articles about the illicit trade of blood antiquities and archaeological artifacts not just France but virtually every country.
Here is one of the many links ~ as well as a Wikipedia description ~
https://scholarlycommons.law.case.edu/jil/vol49/iss1/8/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blood_antiquities
.
Want to thank NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing~ Park Row for this early eGalley.
Publishing Release Date scheduled for June 11, 2024.

I finished this book almost a week ago, and I am still thinking about it! For me, it was a balanced blend between clues you understood and clues you missed, suspense without going too far over the edge, and twists and turns that still provided a satisfying ending. It would make a perfect beach read for someone who wants something other than a rom-com.

The book does employ a dual POV structure, but the MMC’s chapters did not add much to the story for me. I would have enjoyed getting just the FMC’s POV the whole time and getting to know her deeper as a character.

I did appreciate getting to learn more about the art world and how wealthy families use art to maintain their wealth. I also thought the author did a good job of capturing how some people think they are “saving” these artifacts when they are stolen from their original culture. It’s a fine line to walk, and I thought the author did an excellent job with it.

All in all, an enjoyable read!

3.5 rounded up to 4 stars

This unique thriller takes place in Paris where Stella is on vacation with her husband Adam. An explosion occurs and Adam is presumed dead. From there, Stella questions everything about her husband who she realizes can't be trusted. The perspective of the art black market made for an intriguing storyline.

The narration in the book felt off; Adam's chapters were minimal and did not contribute much to the plot. In addition there were some plot holes, but I still enjoyed reading this book.

Thank you NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.