After Paris

A remarkable tale a friendship has lasted years. A trip is a catalyst to bring a lot of truth to light in a friendship. I really enjoyed the setting and characters. But mostly what I enjoyed about this book was the incredible story.

I really liked this book, it was well written with a compelling story and well developed characters that were relatable and believeable. I was gripped right from the start and it has made me want to go to Paris even more.

I absolutely adored this book. I think it is rare to find a book that is purely about female friendships, and while there were romance elements and more secondary significant other characters, this story of the journey of friendship so resonated with me.

Things I loved:
- All three girls' points of views were perfect in following the story and how they perceived certain situations. Sometimes with books that are split perspective, I find myself looking forward to certain narrators over others, but I genuinely loved all of the characters and equally looked forward to their reality.
- Captured the intricacy and insecurity in friendships - even lifelong ones that you should feel the most secure in. Especially in this reality of social media, comparisons of who's doing what and where they're at in their lives, and the fear of being vulnerable when you don't always have it together, even with people you are the closest to.
- The complexity of humans at different stages in their lives. I felt like this novel worked to break down a lot of stigmas of who women "should be" at different moments in their lives, and accurately captured the pressures that come with those stages (careers, motherhood, etc.).
- Such a unique story line. The timeline throughout the book was absolutely perfect, too, with the set up of their friendship when they were younger and then flipping back and forth between the main Paris trip and past trips/events, and then the fall out of the weekend after they all ghost.

The only thing I have to somewhat critique is the formatting of the book. There were a lot of page breaks and changing narrator perspectives within the same chapters and even though the name of each focused character was before the narrative started back up again, it felt a little choppy in some instances. Maybe I should have just paid attention better, and I may just be used to books where each chapter is the different narrator perspective. It certainly didn't take away from the overall enjoyment of the book, though!

This ARC was provided to me via Kindle, Head of Zeus and by #NetGalley. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

Likable characters, well crafted story. Confronting friendships, insecurity and life how we embrace it individually at different stages. ,

I really, really enjoyed this book! It was such a compelling and relatable story! I’ll be looking forward to adding a physical copy to my collection soon!

I enjoyed this book more than I expected to. I don't generally read chick lit, but I found Alice, Jules and Nina compelling. I especially liked Alice. They meet at the Crillon in Paris by chance and become fast friends, texting all the time and reuniting in Paris every year. But then after their most recent long weekend in Paris, they drift apart. This book jumps back in forth to different years in Paris until about halfway through when we find out what happened in Paris. Then the rest of the book addresses the aftermath and the misunderstandings between all three.

After Paris is a heartfelt tribute to friendship and a lovely read!

Alice, Jules, and Nina meet in a bathroom in a fancy hotel in Paris as teenagers and their lives change forever as they become close friends and navigate love, work, life. The story spans 20 years and there are plenty of laughs, heartaches, and surprises along the way. I recommend it to readers of women’s fiction and Francophiles. Enjoy!

Thank you to NetGalley and Head of Zeus for the opportunity to read this ARC.

Thoroughly enjoyed this novel, a well-written look at the complexities of female friendships in modern times. The characters are developed beautifully and the pace of the story is very well developed throughout the book. It will make you want to book a trip to Paris immediately!

I really enjoyed this novel - I liked how it uniquely explored the lives of 3 women, and their growth, regrets and heartbreak they experienced together and individually.
Often with books about women’s separate lives and united friendship, authors utilize the same problems or issues for someone to face, however this one was the opposite. I loved the unique story lines that kennedy explored for each character, with aspects such as neurodiverenge, addiction and fear of failure being investigated in such an honest and vulnerable way for the three main characters.

Loved this book, and it definitely made me want to visit paris more :) highly recommend!!

Thank you to netgalley and the author for the arc of this novel.

First off I would like to thank NetGalley and Head of Zeus for providing me with this ARC. I have always wanted to visit Paris and this book made me want to visit more. The premise of the book is that 3 best friends take the same Eurostar to Paris for a girls' weekend, but take separate trains back. Now the reader is left with the challenge of what exactly happened that weekend. Well I won’t give that away lol. But I will tell you what I loved about the book. The storyline was hilarious and heartfelt. The characters could be felt off the pages. They seem so real but at the same you could see their defects. I also loved that each of the friends had their own problems that they were dealing with, which brought a new aspect to the book. I’m glad each character didn’t have the same problem. My only concern about the book was that it was hard to tell if it was in the past or the present. But despite that concern I still recommend this book!

With believable, relatable characters, this book is a unique and engrossing exploration of female friendships and the way they grow and change over time.

Three women take the same Eurostar to Paris for a girls' trip, but take separate trains back. What happened that weekend? A thought-provoking and gripping novel about trying to hold on to friendships when you start to grow apart. A story that takes a dark turn, has several surprises and kept me on my toes right up to the final page!

Everyone should read this book, it really shows the boundaries of friendship between people, was glued to it from the first page, loved it ..

Alice, Jules, and Nina meet, in rather dramatic fashion, at a debutante ball in Paris, and become fast friends. Over the decades they support each other through the adventures of adulthood--education and careers, romantic entanglements and marriage, pregnancy and child-rearing--and meet regularly for weekends in Paris. Until one weekend, when all three women are "off" and they cannot seem to connect as they once did. Alice is worried about having left her children, especially her autistic daughter, with her husband, and about her nascent career in interior design. Nina seems to have it all together, with her expanding empire of patisseries, but she is hiding the secret of a new pregnancy and is not sure how she feels about it. But, the one thing she knows is that she cannot tell Jules, who is deep in a world of IVF attempts and miscarriages. After two days, in which they fail to truly engage with one another, two of them leave the apartment suddenly and separately, in the early morning, leaving the third sitting alone at brunch and wondering what has happened. Their lack of connection and poor communication leads to months and months of no contact, as their worlds are thrown into upheaval. In these months "after Paris" they wonder about their friends and their friendship.. As I raced through this lively and engaging book, I wondered when they would actually talk to each other and get beyond these obstacles. This is a thoughtful story of female friendship, for better or worse. Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to review this ARC!

This is definitely one to read about friendships and how they can test you. Loved all the twists and turns and also the unexpected!

This book touched on so many important concepts: female friendships, neurodiversity, substance abuse, addictions, and fidelity. The book’s characters seem totally normal—our friends and struggles. But it still transported me by taking me to Paris, walking along the Seine, eating croissants. I loved it.

I enjoyed <i>After Paris</i> a lot more than I expected to. The major plot points aren't that different from a lot of the female friendship-centered books on the market right now, but I really like how Nicole Kennedy explores the breakdown of those friendships that tend to happen when people hit their 30s. The characters each have to work through their flaws and struggles while becoming more aware that everyone in their lives is going through something.

Thank you, NetGalley, for the ARC of this book.

This for me was a unique tale about friendship.

Three women who have essentially watched each other grown and evolve over the years suddenly find themselves you at a cross roads of sorts.

I loved that it was told from three points of view. It was interesting to see each characters thoughts on certain events, just how they differed from one another. These narrations made it more realistic as it is true in real life, we all perceive things in a variety of ways.

There were times throughout where I didn't feel as though I really liked any of them. Although they'd all experienced sadness and trauma, they also came across as quite selfish at times. This wasn't something that I disliked though, it was refreshing. We all love to hate certain characters don't we.

Kennedy has really worked hard to show the complexities of humans as a whole. Even better, these complications were shown over various time periods. Showing us that no matter how old we get, life really doesn't get simpler.

Not everything is black and white and some secrets and lies seem necessary at times (we've all hidden things for what we think is the greater good haven't we).

There are many subjects covered in this novel. From abortion and miscarriage to adultery and addiction. I was impressed as none of the above were simply glossed over. Each issue was treated as important and the reasons behind them also came across as honest and justified.

Over all, After Paris is filled with great emotions.

I admired its honesty.

This book was a fun treat! I loved it! It was a good reset after I read a heavier book. It kept me flipping pages well past my bedtime!!

Friends can become your family as they truly support you to become the best versions of yourself. Jules, Alice and Nina may have met simply due to coincidence but they grew to be sisters in all sense and purpose. What saddened me as a reader that when they needed each other and had a whole different side of themselves that caused serious emotional and in Jules case financially as well, they simply didn't feel they had each other and was effectively "ghosted". What's App remained silent. I was so happy that each spoke their truth and regained their friendship. Like Paul said, they raised their arms to the sky and celebrated life. It is love that matters.

After Paris is a novel which follows the friendship and falling out of three women - Jules, Alice and Nina - who meet in Paris as teenagers and forge a relationship that grows as they do as women.
It is almost 20 years after they meet and they have a weekend together to refresh and refocus - but by the end of the trip, each one comes back alone and swears the others have ghosted her.

The blurb caught my attention as I think ghosting people has become all too much of a reality in our modern techno-focused world, Kennedy skillfully weaves the plot together, revealing just enough to keep the reader hanging on for more. I thought each of the women had a very real issue that prevented them from reaching out and the author doesn't shy away from big topics like addiction, abortion, neurodiversity and handles them deftly where the issue doesn't overtake the character.

What I enjoyed most about this novel was that the love story was between the friends and celebrated the richness of long term female friendships.

After Paris is a wonderful story about female friendships, growing up, finding out who you are and what you really want- all the best things in a story like this. It starts with some very posh debutante types about to attend a ball in Paris - I had no idea that even happened! - and we meet Alice Digby who is there with her friend Teddy, who she doesnt find attractive at all. honest. Whilst they are getting ready for the ball, we also meet the beautiful artistic Nina, who is at the ball because of her father, and sensible (almost dowdy) Jules who is there to watch from the sidelines. The four teenagers decide to make a break for it, and leave the ball in search of wild Parisian adventures - and a circle of best friends is born that night.

Fast forward 20 years when the women are now meeting up for a regular trip to Paris to spend time together. Julia is a city exec who is desperate to have a child, Nina is head of a fabulous chain of chic bakeries , and Alice married Teddy, had three children and is trying to find out what she wants from life.

The story flits between their teenage idealism and passions to the current day where they have all such different lifestyles from one another and fear they may be drifting apart. The latest weekend in Paris uncovers deeply hidden truths for all of them and they return as very different people from when they set off. The blurb on the back tells us that they don't return together - although this is quite a long way into the story - so the seed is set from the beginning for a falling out, and how this can be handled

It is an ideal summer read, it will make you appreciate your friends and what you have, and maybe question what you're really after. Its very easy to read and get engrossed into, the friendship and love between the three of them is strong and real. It also tackles some trickier issues which aren't often covered in female-led fiction, which was refreshing to see.
A solid 4 stars from me!

Such a great read! There are so many aspects of each friend that feels relatable and real, all while exploring the importance of honest connection in friends. Loved it!

~thank you to the publisher Head of Zeus, Aria and NetGalley for the advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review ~

I have extremely complicated feelings about this one.
On the one hand, I devoured this is one sitting because it was so enthralling and I just needed to know what would happen next. Knowing the secrets and just waiting to see them be reveal honestly was making my heart race throughout, I haven't been so completely captivated in a while, granted the reveals felt anti-climatic when we did come to it.

But on the other hand, and I'm sure this is not meant to be the takeaway from this story - I just could not for the life of me understand why Alice, Jules and Nina were ever friends in the first place. I found their individual stories so compelling (albeit a little toxic) but their friendship made absolute no sense to me. When I think of true sisterhood and friendship, I wouldn't think of trio as exemplar of this. The secrets that they kept from each other, big secrets at that, that really affected one another's lives completely blew my mind. It was completely unsurprising that they drifted apart the way they do, when you spend the first half learning how their friendship was riddled with lack of communication and jealousy. Did 'After Paris' capture the intricacies that come with female friendships? Sure. But I think I struggled with understanding the trio, when my own personal experiences and beliefs of what these friendships should be is so far removed from I read. I'm in awe their friendship lasted as long as it did if I'm being honest, but I still appreciated how it all came together in the end and the acceptance they found with each other. The epilogue was so sweet to read to.

The structure of this book was confusing to navigate - not only the back and forth between time periods but working out who was narrating at any given time.

That being said, Nicole Kennedy expertly handled many important topics throughout such as addiction, abortion, infertility, neurodiversity in a manner that never felt forced, but engaging and real.

Thoughts on the friendship aside, this was an enjoyable read that has me counting days till August when I get off the Eurostar at Gare du Nord and walk along the Seine with my closest gal pals!

3.25☆

This is a great book! The characters are believable, the settings are amazing. This is definitely one I will add to my Amazon wish list! Nicole Kennedy has a masterful book on her hands.

I really enjoyed this book from the very first chapter. Alice, Nina and Jules are all so different yet they meet in the bathroom at the Hotel Crillon in Paris when they’re seventeen and revisit Paris every year after that.

Told in all three voices, the narrative jumps around in time to give you background on their relationships. And my goodness, are they messy. Nothing is as it seems and although they tell themselves that they share everything, they don’t.

I raced through the book, desperate to find out what happened. But also to see how these women developed and grew as people - how the things that occurred in their lives changed them and their relationships. There was so much going on with each one.

I loved this immersive read. I’ll be back for more from Nicole Kennedy.

Alice, Nina and Jules met 20 years ago in Paris when they were teenagers. Each year they return to France to relieve their youth and enjoy their friendship. But this year is going to be different. Each of them is hiding a secret and cracks in their relationships are starting to show.

This was a beautiful story about friendship and how sometimes no matter how hard you try things don’t always go to plan.

After Paris tells the story of Alice, Jules, and Nina. They are three close friends who go on a holiday in Paris together but return their separate ways. What happened in Paris? Can it be fixed?

I was instantly atracted by this book's description and knew I would totally love it! After Paris didn't disappoint. I did see a few nods to The Beautiful and Damned by F. Scott Fitzgerald which made me feel very excited and ultimately connected to Nicole Kennedy as a writer.

In After Paris, Nicole Kennedy is able to create seemingly flawed characters that you can root for which as we all know, is not always easy to do. I was particularly interested in the way friendship was analysed, and how a small incident and miscommunication can break down a years-long friendship.

A solid read!

goodreads.com/booksireadandliked
Disclosure: I would like to thank the publisher and author for my advanced review copy of the book. This is my honest review

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC of After Paris.

Overall a fun read, some minor twists and turns. The way the three friends meet in the beginning was unique and creative.

A story focused on female friendship spanning multiple decades, the ties that bind us, and the circumstances that slowly sever us or completely tear us apart, After Paris is a lovely narrative on the way friendships change and evolve as we age.

Easy reading, kept me interested to turn the page.

This is the story of a friendship between three women from different backgrounds. They meet at Le Bal in Paris as teenagers, and the story follows the development of their friendship over the next several years. Through their individual struggles and growth, they always share their love of Paris. The story jumps from the weekend trip they take in their mid-thirties to their trips in the years leading up to it.
I had a little trouble following the storyline at the beginning since it jumps around a bit. But by the time I caught on (I would say 20% of the way into the book) I was sucked into the story. Each chapter is labeled with when it’s happening so it’s really not that confusing, I just struggled. She incorporates small details in a very subtle way that allows for their story to unfold naturally on both timelines. And by the time I got to the climax of the story, I had a hard time putting this book down.
In addition, this book addressed a lot of themes that I haven’t seen a lot in contemporary fiction, and I really enjoyed that. I don’t want to get into the details because I don’t want to spoil anything, but it really was refreshing to read about something new. I love a good story that gives me wanderlust- and I definitely got some ideas for things to do the next time I’m in Paris- but the relationships that develop in this book really drive the story. Their friendship has lasted over so many years. They have each grown and changed during that period, but they continue to support one another through their individual struggles. And I think that is highlighted well by the time span of the story. This book is a good combination of relationship-driven story that still has a pretty juicy plot. A great summer read!

Nice to have a book about girlfriends and female friendships gone awry. Found this to be fey poignant and an enjoyable read.

I love books about female friendships — perhaps a topic that does not get as much attention as it should! After Paris was a great read that embodied the complex nature of female friendships.

I enjoy stories where women are allowed to be struggling, messy, and relatable. I feel like I related to all the characters in one way or another, as they are all so different but similar. I loved the inclusion of different perspectives, making the story more realistic and intricate.

Overall, I loved this book more than I thought I would. I’m excited to read Nicole Kennedy’s other books!

After Paris by Nicole Kennedy is a novel that is very...chick lit, but one that, while predictable, is about the strength of friendship and the truth of growing up and growing together.

Alice, Nina and Jules all meet by chance when they are young women in Paris by chance. After one wild night. the three women have formed a bond that is exactly what each has always needed. They plan to meet in Paris, year after year to relive that night.

This isn't like a 'one night in Paris' sort of friendship. They are friends in London and while in University, but their trips are always something special. But now, in present-day, this current trip, they all have secrets. Jules is desperate to have a child...but seems distracted by something else. Nina, currently running an up-and-coming patisserie, doesn't seem to be drinking as much as normal. Alice seems to be subdued and distracted by her children at home.

They all leave the trip separately, and without telling each other. Months go by....and silence.

This is a story of friends and secrets. And how we sometimes keep secrets from those we love the most. It's a wonderfully lovely book about women, modern women and I quite enjoyed it.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book.

After Paris is a beautiful story of adult friendships that spans years and really resonated with me. I absolutely loved the setting and characters and can't wait to read another story told by Nicole Kennedy. Thank you to publisher, Head of Zeus for gifting me an eARC of this novel.

This was an excellent story. I loved getting the 'inside peak' of each character throughout the novel, and it was nice to see the characters grow and develop through the years with the flashbacks. I really enjoyed the friendship and various portrayals of strong female characters - each doing her own thing, yet finding a way to connect with each other and readers. I was surprised by each of the characters struggles and triumphs throughout, and my only complaint is that the story was 'too favorable' on adultery, which I found offensive.

Alice, Jules, and Nina met in Paris as teens and have been meeting there every year since, But now they are 35 and at crossroads involving motherhood- Julia, a banker, is undergoing IVF, Nina who has a chain of bakeries is hiding her pregnancy,, and Alice who is married with three kids is very worried about her autistic daughter and her own future. What happened this latest weekend to make them split apart? No spoilers. This goes back and forth in time and between the characters and while it caroms a bit too much, it's still an engaging story. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. A good read about how friendships change over time.

Just wow. This beautiful book crams so much into one story, It follows the lives of three women over the course of 20+ years from the age of their first meeting in Paris, a city they return to time again, at the age of 17. It covers some serious topics, and I would say the description and portrayal of autism and ADHD, whilst a secondary storyline, is probably one of the best I’ve ever read. A gorgeous study into the complexity of female friendships and how we perceive each other, this story gave me One Day kind of vibes, but without the “romance” and instead showing us the important of friendship.

We are all flawed. We are messy. And our relationships either strengthen or falter on how we deal with our own issues and histories.

A beautifully messy tale that bounces between three women who meet when they are teenagers and their lives leading up to and beyond their latest reunion in Paris.

I loved the deep hard issues that these women are faced with and how it is clear, like in real life, that they aren’t simple resolutions or decisions to be made.

However as raw as their stories were, I was disappointed in how contrived the ending became.

The writing was decent but choppy and confusing in parts. Solid 3.5 stars.

I was given a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

A special thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this advance copy in exchange for my honest review. This one was unexpected but I really enjoyed it!

I’ll admit that I requested this one because the allure of three friends meeting in Paris - I love all things French and the culture, but aside from being the setting of some of the book, these characters were so endearing and raw, and honest at times. I loved how the author described each of their stories and how they came together, and wrote with such real emotion when conflict struck. I loved it.

I also should note that one character’s daughter is autistic, and being the mom of an autistic son, I thought it was really refreshing to honestly describe the struggles, as well as the celebrations of being a parent to an autistic child - I’ve felt them all. I felt like she was really trying to celebrate neuro diversity, and I appreciated that. I highly recommend if you’re a fan of contemporary fiction.

Thank you again to NetGalley and the publishers for this advance copy! Pub date is next week, July 26th!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and will definitely be looking out for more by this author. It's a story I can relate to, 3 friends for a long period of time trying to keep their friendship going amongst their personal hectic lives.

I loved the writing, the interactions between the three main characters and the scene setting, all just perfect.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for an early copy in return for an ho est review.

Girl power, without the cheesiness - this book gives us the p.o.v of three women, following the stages of their lives and us getting to see how they cope, love, and help one another. This was a fun, emotional ride.

I loved the different pov of each woman in the story. I as relatable in the insecurities of friendships. I was able to look at my own friendships and see if they are true friendships or not. Friendships come and go and sometimes they just grow overtime the more you learn about each other. Thank you for my advanced copy!

3.5 stars

At first, I couldn’t really connect to the book, and it took me a while to get into. It follows a group of three friends throughout their friendship, from when they first meet to them drifting apart. However, once the plot picked up, I couldn’t put it down because I wanted to know what happened next. As the character’s secrets were being discovered by the reader, I wanted to see what would happen when it was revealed to the other women.

The chapters in the book alternated between past and present. Normally I’m a fan of this, however, I just felt like it didn’t work with this book. It was difficult to distinguish who was narrating or whether it was past or present.

The book discusses a lot of relevant subjects (i.e. addiction, pregnancy/infertility, neurodiversity), and each woman is relatable in some aspect of their experience/life views. However, I found that their friendship group as a whole wasn’t very relatable, and the chemistry between them just wasn’t there. I think the alternation between the time periods played a part in this. I think it would have been better executed in a linear timeline, as it would make it easier to distinguish and see their friendship grow and drift over time.

Overall, it was a decent book and was interesting to read. I think this would be a great book for a female book club to discuss friendship, women supporting women, and the other topics discussed in the book.

After Paris by Nicole Kennedy ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Jules, Alice and Nina became best friends after a chance encounter in Paris 20 years ago, despite their differences their friendship has stayed strong and we join them on one of their reunions in the city of love.

I went into this expecting it to be fairly lighthearted read so was pleasantly surprised to find that it goes a lot deeper than that with themes of infertility, addiction, infidelity and neurodiversity.

Would recommend this to anyone who enjoys a multi timeline and POV read about female friendships


The cover alone will have you packing your bags and booking yourself on the Eurostar, or at least sitting outside your favourite cafe with a croissant and cafe au lait!

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I really thought I was walking the streets of Paris when I was reading this book. It’s a story of females and their friendships in the modern era!

I really enjoyed this story focused on female friendships. I was invested in each character and the setting was an additional beloved character. Fun, light summer reading!

We are used to reading about the perfect friendship, the one that saves us from making mistakes and keeps us happy; but we are all aware that this is only fiction. Friendship is not perfect and sometimes when we struggle, the most difficult person to tell is the one that we trust, for fear of disappointment and shame. So, this is a book about “real” friendship, the one you have with your friends, the one that you want to talk to and normally talks about everything, but that sometimes you keep pieces hidden, because you don’t know how they will react…
“After Paris” is a beautiful book about friendship; one that has been connecting Alice, Nina and Jules for years but now is crumbling down. They met a long time ago in Paris, and for years they’ve been meeting for a weekend in Paris, to remember good old times. But now, the lives of these three intelligent and brave women are changing, the only safe place they know and trust is not there. Will they be able to repair their friendship after everything is broken? You’ll have to read the book to discover the answers!
I have to say that this was a quick read, it was easy to enter the story and keep turning pages to discover what happens in the end.
The story is told between different time lines and the voices of the different characters; I have to say that in the beginning I struggled to like all of them, but once you start discovering their stories it’s impossible to not love them all!
I liked how the story talks about neurodiversity, abortion, addiction and IVF; they make the reader remember that we all struggle and that, step by step, it will get easier.
I think this has been a beautiful and emotional read; a story I will never forget.
Are you ready for “After Paris”?

A lovely story of female friendship - I loved the characters of Alice, Nina and Jules. I felt that I could almost recognise a fragment of myself in all of them! I loved the careful study and observation of all the nuances of female friendships - the good, the bad and the ugly. I also enjoyed following these three characters over time. I felt that they were well written and well developed. I loved the backdrop of Paris too. Reading this book has definitely made me want to look up other books by this author. I think I've found a new favourite!

I was lucky to receive an advance copy of After Paris by Nicole Kennedy from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review and opinion. I absolutely LOVED this book! I loved the perspectives from three different friends and how it explored their lives. Such a great read and will leave you wanting more from this author. Do yourself a favor and read it as soon as you can!

After Paris begins like an episode of Gossip Girl. Teenage sons and daughters of the great and good have descended upon Paris for the grandest Debutante event in Europe. And this is how Alice, Nina and Jules met. The start of an unlikely friendship that has lasted for 20 years. No matter what life throws in their way they always agree to meet up in Paris every year and spend one valuable weekend together.

Except this year is different. All three women head to Paris together on the Eurostar train but end up taking separate trains back home at the end of the weekend. What happened on the trip that sees their lasting friendships torn asunder?

Nicole Kennedy has crafted a surprising novel. At the beginning I was expecting it to be quite light and frothy – more in the vein of Gossip Girl – but she has a surprise up her sleeve and After Paris becomes the ultimate expose of the women’s friendships and their other relationships.

Each friend gets to tell the tale from their point of view and all of these scenes are woven together as each believes themselves to have been betrayed by the others. Life causes their paths to diverge quite differently and it is nearly always not the way that they had intended. After Paris is a fascinating book that will make you think about the girls and your own friendships long after you’ve closed the cover.

Supplied by Net Galley and Head of Zeus in exchange for an honest review.

I liked that this book focused on long lasting friendships as well as earnest honesty in the long run. The characters were fun to get to know and were genuinely enjoyable. There were a lot of character shifts within chapters which I did not love, but you get used to it while reading. The setting was ever so decadent, it made me wish I was travelling with some girlfriends right now! The story really was phenomenal and I enjoyed it so so much. You should read this book if you want a warm and fuzzy feeling after you finish it!

Jules, Alice and Nina have been friends for some time, yet the friendships have broken down over the years, although the bond that entwines them together remains strong.

This story is character driven and recommended to anyone looking for a fast plot that explores the boundaries and limits of these characters. The complexities within their companionship and personalities are well written, resulting in a relatable, enticing, and fascinating read.

This author's writing style is easy to follow, with multiple points of view adding to the dimension of the plot. There are also entertaining plot twists that I didn't expect at all, and the descriptive writing of the destination is flawless.

There are a lot of sensitive issues within this book some readers may find upsetting. It would make a great book club read, as this is thought-provoking and has plenty to discuss.

Alice, Nina and Jules have been friends for twenty years, after meeting during a debutantes' ball at the swanky Hôtel de Crillon in Paris. In the following years, they have taken annual trips to Paris to relive their youth, but it is getting harder to ignore the fact that the different directions their lives have taken means they have gradually grown apart.

This year, the weight of all the baggage that has built up over time leads to significant cracks in their relationships. Each of them is consumed by their own problems, but unable to share what troubles them, and the reunion is a disaster. Although they arrived together, they make solo journeys home, and the many misunderstandings that have arisen lead to them falling out of contact. What happened to their friendship?

We first meet Alice, Nina and Joules in 1999 when they bond over their desire to escape from a fancy debutante ball. The story then plays out over the years, cutting back and forth between significant episodes of their annual visits to Paris, and their disastrous reunion twenty years later. Kennedy slowly weaves together the many threads about how their visits to Paris have changed their ability to confess their true feelings to each other, and very cleverly uses this to show of how the cummulative 'after Paris' ripples break their friendship.

My goodness, there is a lot to unpack in this novel. What starts as an intriguing look at privilege via a youthful escapade behind the scenes of one of the events of the Parisian social calendar, burgeons into a story that delves deeply into how our pasts, and the twists and turns of modern life, affect the decisions we make.

Alice, Nina and Joules are from very different backgrounds, and in many ways their expectations and opportunities are poles apart. There is genuine warmth and tenderness between them, but as the years go by they find themselves telling lies and putting up barriers that really complicate how they relate to each other, and their partners and families. The excuses they make (especially to themselves) are based on good intentions, and are the kind of ones we have all made at some time or another. This makes these women and their dilemmas very relatable, and Kennedy shows real insight into the dynamics of close female friendships as the tale unfurls. I like how she paints these women in authentic shades of grey, balancing out their positive and negative emotions, and their strengths and vulnerabilities. There are times when you do not like them or what they are doing, dying to tell them to stop and think; and others when you feel such empathy for the situations they find themselves in that you want to enfold them in a hug. It makes them seem curiously real somehow.

I am not about to go into the veritable buffet of themes Kennedy touches on in the telling of this tale, as there is real enjoyment the way in which she employs them through such a character driven story. I particularly enjoyed how she explores motherhood, father-daughter relationships, and female addiction, but there is so much more to ponder on too - and she has some very thought-provoking things to say about neuro-diversity, especially in adults.

This has all the secrets, lies and drama you want from a compelling summer read, but it also takes you to some unexpectedly deep and poignant places. What a great combination!

#adprproduct Book Review ✨⠀
After Paris by Nicole Kennedy 📖⠀
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🌟A beautiful messy portrayal of female friendship.⠀
🌟I adored Alice, Jules & Nina my heart sank and soared with them all as their stories started unfolding.⠀
🌟I really loved the way it captured the complexity, fragility and insecurities of friendships. ⠀
🌟Paris was brought to life in these pages and you could almost imagine you were really there.⠀
🌟Give me all the feels the good, the bad, the ugly. I loved every moment of it! My only problem is it has induced a book hangover 😱 ...what can I possibly pick up next?! ⠀
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It deals with lots of big topics in a sensitive, relevant & thought-provoking way. I won't name them here but do check the trigger warnings.⠀
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💖 A big thanks to Head of Zeus & NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read and review it.

I think patrons will enjoy it, so we will definitely be purchasing for the collection. Thank you for the early read!

This tells the story of three women who have been best friends for 20 years, but cracks start to appear in their friendship and an ill-fated annual trip to Paris, a trip they do every year goes wrong leaving their friendship in tatters and claims being ghosted.

Alice, Nina and Jules have been firm friends for half their lives, they met in Paris and vowed to go back every year to have a good time, relive their youth and basically have a weekend without the worries of their regular life, a weekend to be young and carefree again. Only this year everything go wrong, and their friendship faces the ultimate test. Can a friendship survive After Paris?

I loved that this told the story through all three of the women’s points of view, it brings reclaims and depth to the story and allows the reader to get to know each of the women on their own terms. They each give an insight into events and their shared past, plus as the story progresses you start seeing that maybe all wasn’t as perfect as we first thought. They are three very real and relatable women who as their lives change and go in different directions at times have drifted apart, eys they are still friends, but are they really the best friends they thought or has life itself come between them?

I have just realised that I seem to be ending paragraphs with questions, but whilst reading you do have questions like this going through your mind. The way this brings to light aspects of women’s lives, situations in certain stages of our lives and how others and society (and friends) look at that something which befalls most of us at one time or another.

I have to admit, that I was unfamiliar with the term Ghosted/Ghosting and did have to do a bit of Google search. I think we have all been Ghosted at one time or another, right? And I do hate to admit it as I know how hurtful it is, that I may have been guilty of it when I was in my twenties. Alice, Nina and Jules all say the others have ghosted them, and yet they are all guilty, but why and what is the reason behind this sudden behaviour from friends. As we read, the truth is slowly revealed, it’s beautifully done and keeps you engaged.

I read the author’s previous book and I hate to say that I didn’t love that one, I enjoyed it but it didn’t hit the mark for me. Yet, this one is completely different, the story is so perfectly paced, and beautifully written. It’s honest and thought-provoking, relatable, it’s a multi-layered emotional ride full of secrets and some serious subjects which may be triggering for some, but a story which will keep you reading right to the very last page.

A definite must-read for those who love their contemporary women’s fiction which focuses primely on women’s relations and friendship. I have to admit that it wasn’t what I thought it was. I’m not sure what I was expecting, but it ended up being completely different, but in a very positive way and now I can’ wait to read more from the author.

In this authentic and contemporary exploration of female friendship, three women meet by chance and become friends. Their friendship endures, and each year they revisit Paris. Their last reunion starts well but ends badly. The story explores their friendship from the women's viewpoints, and the mystery behind their imploding friendship gradually emerges.

Believably flawed characters give this story an authentic vibe, and the discussion of current issues facing women is insightful. What makes this special is each woman's story and the intriguing layers of their friendship.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher.

Happy Pub Day to "After Paris" by Nicole Kennedy! This was a really fun book that I give 4 stars.

Jules, Alice, & Nina meet on a wild night out in Paris in 1999. They come from very different backgrounds but each of them is running away from their own issues in some way. They make a pact to come back to Paris every year. Some years, they make it happen, but slowly "real life" gets in the way. The novel follows their lives over three decades - will their friendships survive all the ups and downs?

I initially found it a little chaotic with every chapter being a different year (and not in order) as well as trying to keep track of everyone's lovers, partners, and kids. This was particularly true when some side characters were connected to more than one main character. Eventually I was able to figure it out! I also thought the first half of the book was a bit slow, as it was mostly stage-setting.

BUT I really enjoyed the second half - it picked up a lot of momentum and I just sat back and watched the fireworks! I love when a book surprises me and there were tons of unexpected twists and turns throughout! I also found the ending satisfying because the characters all all found resolution in some way.

Content warnings: infertility, IVF, bleeding during pregnancy, abortion, brief thoughts of su1cide, infidelity, gambling addiction, binge drinking, brief drug use, ableism, possible child abuse

Shareability: Readers who have ever vacationed in Paris, or wanted to! Themes of empathy, trust, betrayal, forgiveness, and growing up

Spice: n/a

Pairs well with: ham and cheese baguette and a can of Coke