I had never read a book by Rebecca Raisin before, but the title, The Paris Bookshop for the Broken-hearted intrigued me. The description of the setting ( Paris in the spring and bookshop) drew me in. I was not expecting such a well-written novel, that is a romance, but also quite a bit more.

Publisher, Coco Chevallier, returns to her parents’ home in Paris after a disastrous love affair and business fiasco. In tow is her 13 year old daughter Eloise. Since her professional reputation is in ruins, she gets a book adjacent job in a bookstore that is downright magical. Our heroine is smart and resourceful, so even though her life has imploded, we know she is going to do all right.

The scenes with her daughter are mostly very humorous. There is a bit of drama too as the 13 year old is very unhappy about leaving her London life. But Coco’s inner life in dealing with her daughter, along with her interpretations of all the parenting books read, are hilarious.

The descriptions of Parisienne neighborhoods and food are quite lovely, and the romance has a somewhat meet cute and an enemies to lovers vibe. And of course, because of the bookstore setting, there are conversations about writers and books.

I ended up staying up late to finish this book in one setting. It was an absolute delight!