Review: Kissing Adrien by Siri Mitchell

One of Siri Mitchell's early works, this is one that I somehow never got around to reading. So when I saw it had been released on Kindle, I decided to pick it up... and I'm so glad I did!

Synopsis:
Claire Le Noyer, 29, wants a do-over. She wants the life where she majors in history, not accounting. Where she takes two-hour lunches, not ten minutes in front of her computer. Where her pastor boyfriend treats her like an attractive women he’s deeply in love with, not like a nice pet dog.

But for now she’s a Seattle numbers-cruncher with a wardrobe from REI sent to fashionable Paris to check out an apartment left to her parents by a mysterious cousin. When her childhood crush-- handsome, pleasure-loving, and very French Adrien--introduces Claire to the City of Lights, she cautiously begins to embrace another way of living.




My thoughts:
Siri Mitchell's books are always great fun, and Kissing Adrien is no exception. The first-person writing style puts you inside Claire's thoughts where her "voice" and view of things are extremely amusing. She's very easy to like and relate to.

The Eiffel Tower

Adrien is completely charming and fun to tour Paris with, however I think to meet him in real life could be a bit awkward. He claims to be a Christian but unfortunately some of his ideas seem slightly misguided. Claire's Christian beliefs are more standard, which causes the two to butt heads several times over their different views. Amusingly, Adrien has a knack for using logic to force Claire into agreeing with his ideals, which is annoying to Claire but extremely fun to see play out. Though Adrien's beliefs don't match up with mine, early on I decided to not take him too seriously and just enjoy the story, which is exactly what I did.

The vast cultural differences between America and France are prominently featured, with both Claire and Adrien being equally horrified by the way things are done in each other's country. This leads to some lively banter and great entertainment, all while providing food for thought as to why the cultures are so different. It also raises the idea that some things in religion are more cultural rather than moral, which is interesting to ponder. In reading this book I actually feel that I've learned quite a bit about Paris and it's people.

If you've ever wondered what it would be like to spend the summer in Paris: read this book. You'll feel like you did spend your vacation there, but without the cost of an airline ticket!

My Rating: 5 stars!