Unfortunately, The French Honeymoon did not live up to my expectations. While the premise of a honeymoon set in France promised romance, adventure, and intrigue, the execution left much to be desired.

One of the biggest challenges for me was the lack of character development. The protagonists felt incredibly one-dimensional, making it difficult to connect with them or care about their journey. The lack of depth in their personalities made their motivations unclear, and their actions often felt disconnected from the emotions I expected them to be experiencing. As a result, their romance, which should have been the heart of the story, fell flat and felt almost mechanical at times.

The pacing was another issue. The story was surprisingly slow, and I found myself struggling to stay engaged. What should have been an exciting and passionate journey through the French countryside turned into a tedious experience. There were stretches of the book where it felt like nothing significant was happening, and I kept waiting for something to spark, but it never quite did.

Overall, The French Honeymoon just didn’t hit the mark for me. While I’m sure some readers may enjoy the quiet atmosphere it attempts to create, the lack of compelling characters and slow pacing made it hard to stay invested in the story. It’s disappointing, as I really wanted to enjoy this romantic escape, but unfortunately, the book didn’t provide the emotional depth or excitement I was hoping for.

Cassie and Olivier are madly in love, or at least that's what Social Media says. They book the most romantic honeymoon in Paris, staying in a swanky hotel, eating at the fanciest most Instagram worthy restaurants and going on shopping sprees galore. But is it really paradise for them in the City of Love? When solo traveler, Taylor Quinn, overhears them arguing in an alley one night, she can't imagine a being unhappy when your honeymoon looks so perfect. After all, she was jilted and is on her honeymoon alone...at least that's what she told the checkin clerk at her hotel.

Fascinated by Cassie and Olivier's argument, Taylor follows them on Instagram, knowing what they're up to in real time. But the more she watches them, the more questionable things seem. If only she had married Olivier instead of Cassie...but then she would have to have met him...

A thrilling story, told as the present day and the past take place and collide in a twisty way!

The thought of a honeymoon in Paris seems pretty delightful. But clearly, it’s not for everyone.

Olivier, working in NYC, desperately needs a green card to stay. He meets Cassie and puts on the charm. She is thinking over his marriage proposal. What could possibly go wrong?

The characters aren’t filled with respect, kindness and adoration – not like the love you can feel from Rose and Jack in the Titantic. They all have motives and it’s not hard to guess what will take place.

The author is from France so naturally there’s a blend of beautiful scenery, clothes, hair and food. Paris is the perfect place of love. It made me want to get on a plane if only I had a wad of cash.

I was disappointed with the end. It felt like there were too many details missing. It felt rushed.

It’s a quick read with just a few characters to keep your eyes on. It may be a popular beach read. There were discussion questions at the end which would make it convenient for book clubs.

My thanks to Sourcebooks Landmark and NetGalley for allowing me to read an advanced copy of this book with an expected release date of April 15, 2025.

Thanks to Netgalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Cassie and Olivier are on their honeymoon in Paris and Cassie is constantly posting their blissful time on Instagram. Another woman, Taylor, always dreamt of visiting Paris on her honeymoon, but she hasn't gotten married, so she travels to Paris on a whim anyway. While there, she comes across Cassie and Olivier. She wonders if they are actually as happy as they claim.

Overall I liked this book and I read it quickly. I liked the way the reveals happened. The timing of those kept me interested when I may have otherwise gotten bored. I really didn't know where this was going and I liked how it played out. There was a bit of an ambiguous ending, which I don't love, but I still enjoyed the book.

Book review 📖

📜The French Honeymoon
✍️Anne-Sophie Jouhanneau
📠Sourcebooks Landmark
📚Thriller Fiction
🗓️Pub date: April 15, 2025

⭐️⭐️⭐️

✨Thank you @NetGalley and @bookmarked for providing me with an Advanced Reader Copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

✨Paris is the city of love, or so it seems. Taylor, who arrives in her Paris honeymoon suite without a lover or suitcase, but rife with wads of stolen cash, reminisces of the honeymoon she was supposed to have here.

✨When Taylor spots a newlywed couple, Olivier and Cassie, flaunting themselves in the streets of Paris and documenting it all on social media, it’s easy to become obsessed with what would have once been.

✨For newlywed couple Olivier and Cassie, everything appears to be newly wedded bliss, but no one knows the half of it. As Taylor overhears a heated argument of theirs, she is caught in the crosshairs, and no one leaves Paris unscathed.

✨ The premise of the story is enticing and I enjoyed the backdrop of Paris. I felt like there were parts that could’ve been buttoned up and tweaked to be a little bit more believable.

#netgalley #thefrenchhoneymoon #annesophiejouhanneau #sourcebookslandmark #advancedreadercopy #arc #bookreview #bookstagrammer #springreleases #thrillerfiction

I was so excited for this book—the cover immediately drew me in, and I thought it would have a similar feel to The Paris Apartment. I was expecting an atmospheric, twisty mystery, but this ended up being more of a slow-burn version of that.

The premise had a lot of potential, but the execution fell flat. Not much really happened, and the plot felt aimless at times. I could see where things were heading pretty early on, which took away some of the suspense. I kept waiting for a big twist or shocking reveal, but when it finally came, it didn’t feel all that surprising. Something just felt missing.

That being said, the book was a quick read, and I kept turning the pages hoping for something more. What I did enjoy was the dynamic between the stepsisters—their tension and back-and-forth made for some entertaining moments. I was curious about each character’s true motives, but overall, the story wasn’t as gripping as I’d hoped.

This leaned more towards a slow-burn mystery, while I was in the mood for a fast-paced, twisty thriller. However, the setting was vividly described and almost felt like a character itself, which added to the atmosphere.

Thanks to NetGalley for the e-ARC in exchange for my honest review!

This was a really fast paced thriller that was perfect for my reading mood. Loved the short chapters. It was a good page turner.

It featured a couple who had a whirlwind marriage of convenience (one of them needed a green card after getting himself into some trouble). They took off to Paris for a honeymoon to seem like a normal, happy couple. However, both of them have made mistakes and are keeping secrets from each other. Two people lying to each other...what could possibly go wrong?

While there were no epic twists, this was a very entertaining read. I enjoyed the way the whole story came together and I liked the Paris setting.

This book is a great reminder that looks can be deceiving—and Paris isn’t always the City of Love.

The French Honeymoon is a psychological thriller set in Paris, where romance and danger collide. The cover hooked me right away, giving off strong Lucy Foley vibes (and as a fan of her work, I was excited to dive in).

The story starts off strong, with an intriguing premise and a creepy, twist-filled vibe that kept me interested. It’s told from the perspectives of deeply flawed characters, and while they’re not exactly likable, they work really well for this kind of story. Their messy, selfish decisions made everything feel even more tense and unpredictable.

That said, the pacing was a bit uneven. Sometimes, it raced ahead with big twists that shocked me, but other times, it slowed down so much that it felt like not much was happening. The ending was intriguing and leaves you guessing, but it felt a little rushed—I wanted a bit more time to unpack everything.

If you’re looking for a fast-paced thriller, this might not be the best pick. But if you enjoy slower, character-driven stories and don’t mind flawed protagonists, the book has enough mystery and twists to keep you hooked. Plus, the Paris setting is gorgeous and unsettling all at once, proving that even the most beautiful places can hide a dark side.

Told from three points of view, The French Honeymoon is a literary thriller about a honeymoon in Paris that goes horribly wrong. Taylor arrives at a hotel in Paris for her honeymoon alone and carrying a bag of cash but no luggage. She soon becomes obsessed with another couple also in Paris on their honeymoon - Cassie and Olivier - and begins stalking the seemingly happy couple via Cassie's geo-tagged Instagram posts. When Taylor witnesses a heated exchange between the newlyweds, she realizes that Cassie and Olivier are not the lovestruck couple that they are pretending to be and Paris might have been a very bad idea.

A quick read with an interesting premise, The French Honeymoon is a slow-burn, character driven novel with three unlikeable characters. There are some decent twists but, unfortunately, I didn't find it particularly suspenseful and the ambiguous ending left me feeling unsatisfied. Not really my cup of tea but it was fine and I'm sure other readers will enjoy it more than I did.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for sending a digital ARC of this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

Taylor arrives in Paris on her own, supposedly on her honeymoon. She is obsessed with the actions of Cassie and
Olivier who are on their honeymoon. Cassie's frequent postings on social media makes it easy for Taylor to follow
them. Backstories are supplied and a surprising connection is revealed.
Interesting read, but didn't really care for the characters.
#TheFrenchHoneymoon #SourcebooksLandmark #NetGalley

I was really looking forward to this on! The synopsis sounded amazing but it just wasn't a match for me. In comparing it to A Simple Favor, yes both those women are extreme stereotypes but at least they each had a few like-able qualities. I couldn't find that with any of characters here and sadly the book just didn't do it for me. Thank you NetGalley and Sourcebooks for the gifted copy in exchange for an honest review though!

I don’t know what it is but when it comes to someone obsessed about posting everything on their social media, it makes me angry… maybe this just isn’t my cup of tea but you posted your location online….

At the start of this book we meet 2 narrators, Taylor and Cassie. Both just arrived to Paris, Cassie on her honeymoon to Olivier and Taylor alone with a wad of cash and no suitcase also "on her honeymoon". As the story progresses we also get Olivier's POV in the past. Cassie is obsessed with posting her picture perfect honeymoon online. And Taylor appears to be following along.

Initially, I found this story slow. I had no idea how these two storylines were going to intersect. I also didn't really like Taylor or Cassie. Their characters were not very likeable. We come to find out that Cassie's rushed wedding was for Green card fraud on Olivier's side and to make an ex jealous on Cassie's side. They aren't in love. Thru Olivier's POV it is discovered that he fell in love with someone else, Reese. He comes up with a plan to kill Cassie on their honeymoon, make it look like an accident, get his visa, and ultimately be with Reese. This doesn't go to plan.

I will admit that I didn't think Reese and Taylor were going to be the same person, that was a surprise to me! And ultimately learning more about her backstory made her a more sympathetic character.

I would say I wasn't pulled into this book until halfway through. Ultimately, I'm not sure I was rooting for any of the characters. The ending is dark and makes you think, but not entirely unexpected. I know I have thoughts on what happened at the end but I think the fun is that everyone makes their own assumptions when they read it.

My rating is 3.5 stars

This book was unexpected. I ended up putting it down a couple of times but in the end I did pick it back up. I’m glad that I did.

I enjoyed this book. Fast past. Nail biting to the end. I had anxiety about finding out which character would come out victorious in the end.I found myself switching my predictions throughout the whole story, all the way to the last sentence.

This book kept me guessing until the end. I'm still trying to process what happened. Needless to say I loved it. Prior to this, I had only read Jouhanneau's romcom books. I think this is a great thriller debut. I am excited to see if she will write anything else in this genre.

The French Honeymoon is set in Paris, which is so fun. It tells the story of Taylor, who checks into a honeymoon suite with nothing but wads of cash. Taylor sees two honeymooners, Cassie and Oliver, and becomes obsessed with them from finding them on social media to tracking them in person. They are having the honeymoon she should be having, the one she always wanted. However, her perfect bubble is popped when she sees them arguing and she wonders if they aren't the perfect couple after all. This honeymoon in Paris goes from perfect to perilous.

This had all of the great thriller elements. A surprise twist, unlikeable characters, the feelings of unease. I was a little confused at points because the story is told from multiple POVS. It is a slow burn but rewarding read. I will be thinking about this one for a long time to come.

These are my own opinions and I was not required to leave a review. Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

Great Thriller! A little slow as at first but does not take away from the plot. Loved how the character interacted with each other and were some what unlikeable. Was not a fan of the ambiguous ending but a good read over all.

DNF at 120 pages. At almost halfway through and I still felt like nothing was happening. The characters were pretty insufferable and I wasn’t interested in the plot. Thank you for the opportunity.

The French Honeymoon is a compelling thriller that kept me hooked with its numerous twists and turns. The unlikable characters made it easier to accept the story's shifts and kept me guessing until the very end. I was left me with plenty of questions, making it an excellent choice for a book club discussion. The plot is driven by secrets and hurt feelings, creating a no-win situation for the characters. I particularly enjoyed the Paris setting, which added to the story's charm. The narrative focuses more on the characters and their relationships rather than the plot itself. The Overall, The French Honeymoon is a thrilling read with an ending that leaves you pondering after you've finished.

Thank you NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for the advanced reader copy. This is my honest review.

Pros:
Like another reviewer, I found the cover and premise (A Simple Favor meets The Paris Apartment) intriguing.

I read the book quickly.

The Paris setting.

Cons:
It was more character-driven than plot-driven, so not a ton happens throughout most of the book. Definitely a slow-burn thriller.

The characters were quite unlikable.

The ending was ambiguous, which was a bit frustrating.

These traits may not be cons to many people; it just wasn’t my personal favorite type of thriller.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.