Book Review: The Paris Wedding by Charlotte Nash

The Paris Wedding
Author: Charlotte Nash
Publisher: Hachette Australia
Release date: July 2017
Pages: 317 pages
R.R.P: $32.99
                                         
Ten years ago, Rachael West chose not to move to Sydney with high-school sweetheart Matthew. Instead she stayed on the family wheat farm, caring for her seriously ill mother and letting go of her dreams. Now, Matthew is marrying someone else. And Rachael is invited to the wedding, a lavish affair in Paris, courtesy of the flamboyant family of Matthew's fiancé- a once in a lifetime celebration at someone else's expense in Europe's most romantic city.

She is utterly unprepared for what the week brings. Friendships will be upended, secrets will be revealed- and on the eve of the wedding, Rachael is faced with an impossible dilemma: should she give up in the promise of love, or destroy another women's life for a chance at happiness?

My review
Thoughts on the book: The Paris Wedding tells the story of Rachael West whose mother has just died after a long debilitating illness. Rachael is unsure how to live her life now as all it has ever been for the last ten years is looking after her sick mother and maintaing the family farm. She even gave up on moving with her high school boyfriend to attend university when her mother was diagnosed which subsequently made their relationship fall apart. But Rachael has never found another man like Matthew  and has been harbouring feelings ever since. But among the sympathy cards that arrive in the mail is another envelope that will leave Rachael with a hard choice; you see it's a wedding invitation to 'her' Matthew's wedding and an all expenses paid trip to Europe paid by the fiancées family. After deciding to go Rachael convinces her friend Sammy to go with her and what follows is a whirlwind time in Paris. Everything seems to be going along fine until Matthew appears drunk at her door the night of his bachelor party and confesses that he still loves her. What will Rachael do?

The Paris Wedding is not normally a genre that I would pick up but I'm so glad that I recieved a copy for review from Hachette because it was one of my favourite reads this year. I adored our main character Rachael who despite being a real country girl certainly fitted in with the rich folk especially with her handmade one off pieces that she had created for the whole week turning heads everywhere. It would be so hard losing your mother after fighting her illness for ten years together and then realising that you now didn't know what to do with your life but Rachael takes it in her stride and after a fair few hiccups makes a choice in what direction her life should go in. 

Some of my favourite parts of the book were the ongoing feud between town locals Bernie and Beverley. It was clear as day that they were perfect together and some of the things that they did to annoy each other were hilarious. These moments broke up some of the heavy moments that happened in the book, like moments between Rachael and Matthew and the surprising revelation of why Rachael's best friend Sammy was acting the way she was. 

I really can't praise this book enough and recommend it to everyone. I can't wait to read more from Charlotte Nash.

Rating: 5/5


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