Wow, just wow. Despite some wonky formatting issues that made it a bit of a struggle to get through this, I could not put it down. I was hooked right from the prologue and the story grabbed me by the throat and did not let me go. I love a cat-and-mouse thriller and this one really made it impossible to put down and I ended up staying up all night just to read this. Another aspect I loved was how atmospheric the writing was – it really set me right into the middle of the plot and kept me on the edge of my seat.

I'll be highly recommending this one upon its release and will also be purchasing a copy for myself so I can enjoy re-reading it without the formatting issues on my kindle!

Stella and Adam, very much in love, are on vacation in Europe. When separated by an explosion in Paris and police start asking Stella lots of questions, she wonders if she really knew her husband. Could he be involved in what the police are telling her his business really entailed? Stella refuses to leave Paris until she has answers as to what happened to her husband. This thriller will have you wondering and guessing right along with Stella. Kimberly Belle has another suspenseful novel you will not want to put down!

This is one I was excited to dive into. I’ve read a few Kimberly Belle books, and they were all excellent, so I had high hopes with this one. The synopsis looked promising, and while it was an interesting story, I thought it lacked some punch. There were no twists and turns like other books by this author. I was looking for the WOW moment to happen, but even the ending wasn’t spectacular. I still binged read it in a weekend, and I will read her future work. I did skim through some of the art antiquity stuff, but with well-developed characters and an atmospheric setting, it sure will keep readers with a passion for mystery and art on the edge of their seats from beginning to end.



Thank you to Harlequin Trade Publishing for my digital ARC. As always, my reviews are my own and unbiased opinions.

Wow. “The Paris Widow” by Kimberly Belle was full of twists and turns. Stella and Adam are on a 3 week European vacay when he disappears during a bombing in Paris.
Stella believes he is still alive and searches endlessly for him, meanwhile attracting many nefarious characters that put her in danger. Overall, this was an extremely quick and entertaining read.

I was fortunate to receive early access to The Paris Widow through NetGalley and it certainly did not disappoint. Stella and Adam are a young married couple on the international trip of a lifetime. They have saved tirelessly in order to travel to amazing destinations in France, Spain, Malta, and several more. I was immediately taken in with Belle’s descriptions of Paris and the other locations that are featured in the book. The action really ramps up when Stella and Adam are ready to leave Paris and head back to the United States, but after briefly separating on the return to the hotel, Adam is caught in a horrific explosion at the place where he and his wife last lunched. Stella is frantic with worry, as she tries to figure out what has happened to Adam. Although, things become much more complicated after Stella is contacted by French authorities and alerted that her husband may be involved in antiquities theft. I thoroughly enjoyed The Paris Widow and look forward to Kimberly Belle’s next novel!

First of all A Big Thank You to Net Galley for allowing me to review this book in its early format.

A fantastic read! Kimberly Belle does not disappoint in this fast paced story that takes place in France and primarily Paris. Stella and Adam are winding up their holiday in Europe with a stay in Paris. Adam an antiquities dealer, is cherishing these last few days in Paris before heading home to the United States. A last minute lunch before heading back to their hotel, to head to the airport is further derailed by Adam as almost arriving at their hotel, Adam realizes he left his sunglasses at the bistro. Urging Stella to hurry on, he quickly returns to the bistro to rejoin her at the hotel.
The story begins here, as an explosion occurs as Stella is but several minutes away from her husband en route to their hotel. Adam does not answer his phone as Stella slowly begins to realize he might have been caught in the destruction. Enter Police, FBI, Govt Representatives….no one is quite as honest or reliable as they seem.
I could not put this book down. I followed Stella’s journey as she questions and tries to stake out the truth about her beloved husband Adam and where is he…and hopefully still alive.

Well that was a bit of a crazy ride! I really liked the way this one began and the twists and turns were, if not entirely unpredictable, very entertaining. It felt a little far-fetched as the revelations piled on, and the deus ex machina in the form of a Turkish billionaire felt a little too convenient, but still this was an engaging and quick read that highlighted a massive iinternational problem in blood antiquities, and make for an interesting read on the whole.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for this ARC!!

I am by no means a history buff, but the descriptions of antiques and the history linked to them in this novel was beautiful. I felt the book overall was a slow burn, but such a good story line and an amazing ending.

I really enjoyed this cat and mouse chase across Paris. Not a lot of twists and turns but fast paced and kept me engaged!

Thank you to Kimberly Belle, Net Galley, and Park Row Books for this arc copy of The Paris Widow, which will be out June 11,2024!

Stella and Adam are on a three week European vacation. Even though they’ve been married for four years, they act like newlyweds and are enjoying all the beautiful places Europe has to offer. Descriptions of the places are breathtaking. As someone who has a fear of flying and would love to travel, I really enjoyed traveling through their eyes. So many beautiful places, albeit some were scary, but loved how the author portrayed their trips.

Stella, a former flight attendant with some secrets of her own, knows her way around the cities in France pretty well. Adam, her husband who deals in art sales, is there to look for some beautiful and rare pieces. When there is an attack on the city, her husband seems to disappear, and is classified as missing. As she tailspins, she refuses to leave the city. Now, I know I don’t know what I would do if I was in this horrific position, but I would never be as wild as I felt she was. I felt like I was yelling at her through the book, like I would if this was a movie!

She finds herself entangled in so many webs and lies. As the heat picks up, she continues to put herself out there and refuses to go home, even when the Embassy tells her some horrible news. I felt anxiety for her, I felt anxious watching her make decision my scared little self would never make.

The novel is told in an alternating point of view, with more of a focus of Stella. Adam has his own chapters as well, but not as many. I loved how their story unfolded and I really tried to figure out the whole story but didn’t piece together every little thing. Some of the aspects of the twists I could guess or anticipate , but it didn’t take away from the story or the writing, which I really enjoyed!

First novel by this author, but won’t be my last!
⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ 💫

I really enjoyed The Paris Widow. All the twists and turns and the mysteries and trying to solve who did what.
The characters were really nicely developed while not being overwhelming with details.
I'd definitely recommend this book to my book buddies :)

This is one of the best books I’ve read in a long time! I really couldn’t put it down from the moment I started reading it! There are so many twists, turns and exciting parts to this book! I would definitely recommend it if you love suspense and a little bit of romance.

Wow!! Kimberly Belle way to keep me at the end of my seat. It is one of those books that you seriously can’t put down. You can’t wait to find out how it ends but then you don’t want it to end. It takes Place in Paris where a couple goes on a dream vacation. To say this vacation is full of unexpected events is an understatement. There is an explosion whe the husband goes missin. The plot thickens when he is presumed dead. Oh and there is so much more to this story. Did he die or not?? You don’t want to miss this one. Thank you NetGalley for read and review this 5+⭐️book.

This book had me guessing at every turn of the page. I loved the historical aspects of the story as well. I learned things I didn’t know about France before. Overall wonderful read.

An intriguing and fast paced thriller from author Kimberly Belle.

The story centers on married couple Stella and Adam on vacation in Paris. After a leisurely lunch, they start to head back to their hotel so they can pack up quickly and head home to Atlanta. As they’re heading back, Adam realizes he forgot his sunglasses at the cafe. He suggests to Stella that she go on and head back to the hotel on her own and he’ll catch up to her to save on time. Only minutes later is there an unexpected explosion in the direction of the cafe Stella had just left. This is where the story really takes off and Stella finds that Adam is missing and that he was the possible target for the bomb. Not just that, but Stella could be the next intended target if she can’t figure out who is after her and why.

I loved the flow/pacing of this story and how the author took us on a Parisian experience. I was even surprised to find some romance in this storyline that typically isn’t there in majority of suspense/thrillers. I appreciated that immensely!

Thank you to Net Galley, Park Row Publishers, and the author, Kimberly Belle for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Kimberly Belle's The Paris Widow is a fast-paced novel full of intrigue and suspense. During a whirlwind European vacation, Stella's husband Adam goes missing after the couple is caught up in an explosion in Paris. Stella quickly sets off on a mission to find the truth, unknowingly putting herself in danger and learning unexpected and shocking secrets about her husband's world. A great beach/vacation read for summer 2024!

What an incredible story, Kimberly Belle weaved! A European vacation goes horribly wrong for a husband and wife, and Stella finds herself in hot water. I loved the storytelling, and it literally had my heart pounding out of my chest! Loved it!!

Big thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

3.5 stars rounded up to 4

First and foremost, I’m loving the fact that so many thrillers are including neon green on the cover. I don’t know why, but that’s such a vibe to me. To be honest, the cover was the main reason why I wanted to pick this book up.

This story follows married couple Stella and Adam. Madly in love and on vacation in Europe, the story opens up with them on their last day in Paris. Everything seems perfect…that is, until an explosion rocks the city square and Adam goes missing in the aftermath. Stella understandably panics and is desperate to find Adam, dead or alive. In the aftermath of the rubble, Stella learns that Adam’s disappearance may not be exactly what it originally seemed. Was Adam a random victim of wrong place at the wrong time or was he the intended target? Stella is determined to do whatever it takes to uncover the truth…all while trying to stay alive in the process.

To be honest, my feels are a little mixed overall on this one.

Things I loved:
-The international setting was incredibly atmospheric and engaging. It included a lot of references to local architecture, food, and culture. As someone who wants to travel but has been virtually nowhere, it was fun to vicariously live through the characters.
-I liked that you never knew who to trust or to believe. No matter how much we’ve gotten to know a character, I found myself constantly questioning their motives and intentions.
-The writing style/pacing was compulsively bingeable. I ended up reading 60% in one sitting because I wanted to know how things ended.
-There was an eclectic cast of side characters that added a lot to the story.

Things I didn’t love:
-I probably only have myself to blame for this, but I wasn’t expecting this to read so much like a heist thriller. It heavily deals with the dealing of blood artifacts on the black market, which I just didn’t really care that much about. But again, that completely comes down to personal preference. I think it’s worth mentioning though, because I don’t feel like you really get that from the summary.
-Stella was a little naïve to me and lacked any survival instincts. I won’t spoil anything, but there were a couple moments were I just wanted to shake some sense into her.
-The ending resolved way too quickly and conveniently for my liking. Especially paired with the slow burn intrigue we got up until like 80% or so, the ending felt a little abrupt and anticlimactic.

Overall, I had a really good time with this and would be curious to pick up more books from Kimberly Belle in the future (ideally domestic thrillers).

Huge CW for on page depiction of a bombing (paired with references to previous mass casualty events that have taken place in France).

Kimberly Belle has become one of my favorite authors over the past few years. I find her thrillers to be consistently entertaining, regardless of the storyline, so I was excited to get an early copy of her latest, “The Paris Widow.”

This novel flips back-and-forth between present day and the days leading up to the explosion. It also has chapters from the viewpoints of Stella and Adam. I found some of Stella’s actions slightly unbelievable, but enjoyed the overall storyline. I also liked how the author wrapped up the book.

Overall, I recommend this book. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for my ARC.

I love Kimberly Belle’s books and the Paris Widow is no exception. Mystery and intrigue are mixed in with romance and enough confusing messages to make the reader wonder which characters are actually telling the truth. This book is set in Europe; mostly in France. The reader feels he/she is actually there because of the descriptions of the setting mixed in with the action of the characters.. The story keeps the reader guessing and wanting to keep reading for answers. Thank you, Net Galley and Park Row for the chance to read and review this ARC. I really enjoyed this book.