Review: Paris Adieu by Rozsa Gaston

Title: Paris Adieu
Author: Rozsa Gaston
Series: Paris Adieu
Publisher: Self Published
Publication Date: December 16, 2011
How Received: For Review
Rate: 5

Summary (as quoted from Amazon) : The first time Ava Fodor visits Paris as a nineteen-year old au pair, she has no idea who she is. Paris introduces Ava to the type of woman she'd like to become. Her French boyfriend introduces her to the concept of being comfortable in her own skin - bien dans sa peau. She's intrigued. If only she knew how...
When she gets into Yale, she returns home, but four years later she's back for an encounter with a Frenchman that awakens her to womanhood. If only she could stay...
Five years later, Ava returns to Paris as a singer/pianist. She meets Arnaud, a foreign correspondent, who captures her heart, but tortures her with long absences. While he's away, she throws herself into song-writing where she achieves an authenticity she doesn't feel on-stage. With the help of Arnaud's childhood chum Pierre, who appreciates Ava's original songs in a way Arnaud doesn't, Ava takes the reins of her own future. Armed with the lessons Paris has taught her, she bids adieu to Arnaud, Pierre and her very first love -- the City of Light.

My thoughts:
Paris Adieu was a very fun read. The story follows a woman named Ava and her adventures and misadventures in life. The story starts with her, at age nineteen, trying to avoid her grandmother’s overbearing expectations and find something to do with her life. By chance, while running from a man with bad intentions, Ava stumbles into a club, and sees a flyer for a woman asking for someone to baby-sit her three kids - in Paris. This starts her first trip to the most romantic city in the world, and she doesn’t just find nice kids to baby-sit ; she finds romance. But as she weaves her way through the complexities of growing up and growing into herself, Ava finds that maybe romance in Paris is not exactly what she wants after all. I loved Ava! She is funny, witty, sarcastic, a beautiful dreamer, and extremely smart. She is also liable to mistakes and tends to underestimate her own abilities (I mean, she gets accepted into Yale and doesn’t let it faze her. You are awesome in my eyes, Ava.) It was crazy how she kept ending up back in Paris, with different lovers, and different attitudes. But by the end of the story I think she learned that the things you think you want, and the things that you know you want, are very different - and that holding onto to the past will not make your future. With a quick, fast-paced plot, an awesome leading lady, and beautiful writing style, Gaston has created a great novel - I recommend it to anyone looking for a quick, romantic read.
5/5
~Moujnir