Paris My Sweet by Amy Thomas #Review

About the Book:

Forever a girl obsessed with all things French, sweet freak Amy Thomas landed a gig as rich as the purest dark chocolate: leave Manhattan for Paris to write ad copy for Louis Vuitton. Working on the Champs-Élysées, strolling the charming streets, and exploring the best patisseries and boulangeries, Amy marveled at the magnificence of the City of Light.

But does falling in love with one city mean turning your back on another? As much as Amy adored Paris, there was part of her that felt like a humble chocolate chip cookie in a sea of pristine macarons. PARIS, MY SWEET explores how the search for happiness can be as fleeting as a salted caramel souffle's rise, as intensely satisfying as molten chocolate cake, and about how the life you're meant to live doesn't always taste like the one you envisioned.

Part love letter to Paris, part love letter to New York, and total devotion to all things sweet, PARIS, MY SWEET is a treasure map for anyone with a hunger for life.

About the Author:


Amy Thomas is a New York–based writer who, for two lucky years, got to call Paris home. In addition to working as a copywriter in advertising, she writes about food, travel, design, and fashion for various publications such as the New York Times, National Geographic Traveler, Town & Country, and Every Day with Rachael Ray. She is slightly obsessed with sweets.


My Opinion:


This is a light, frothy memoir about one woman's divided love for two great cities and decided passion for anything sweet. I was expecting it to be a younger woman's tale and was somewhat surprised to find it the story of a woman in her mid-thirties. Maybe I am just old but her seeming so lost at that age did not resonate with me; I had been married for 14 years by this age and well settled into my career although about to get the health shock that would alter my life in unimaginable ways. 


The stories were very personal and I do commend Ms. Thomas for putting herself out there like that. I, too, love Paris and would love to return some day. I also love sweets but prefer to make them myself but I have found myself struck dumb by the beauty of the creations in a fine patisserie. But looks can be deceiving and sometimes this book fails to deliver - at least it did for me. It became a bit repetitious and seemed to be a series of essays loosely strung together with an overlay of spun sugar binding them together. Each chapter is written around a specific treat and her observations of her life and trials at that time are tied to that treat. It gets old after the first few treats - as too much sugar will.


Perhaps this is a book best read a snippet at a time so each cookie, cake or cup of hot chocolate can be savored for itself rather than gorging on every sugary sweet under the sun. Ms. Thomas' writing is engaging and her way of describing a cake can make your mouth water. 




You can purchase Paris My Sweet at Sourcebooks
You can purchase Paris My Sweet at Amazon.com


Disclosure:  I received an e-copy of Paris My Sweet gratis. Any opinons expressed are my honest opinions and were not impacted by my receipt of the free e-book. I received no monetary compensation for this post.