Unless if you're following my Instagram account (@whatshotblog), you probably don't know that I just moved to Paris where I'm doing an internship for 5 months. In preparation for this, my friend gave me 'Paris for One' by Jojo Moyes to read on the Eurostar (without knowing that she is one of my favourite authors!) and this was the book that kicked me back into reviewing. (Sorry for the long absence!)

Paris for One is part of the Quick Reads collection by Penguin to try and encourage those who don't have time to read. This title certainly serves its purpose well as it is only 95 pages long, but Moyes has packed in a full-blown adventure into this short story. It's the sort of story that you can pick up and put down again as you go about your business, no harm done. The story is lighthearted without any complications and it's not the sort of read that you need to dedicate a chunk of your time to. It's the story of Nell, who isn't particularly adventurous and has never been to Paris. She makes a spur of the moment decision to book two Eurostar tickets for herself and her boyfriend but things start to fall apart when he doesn't meet her at the train station in London. Ploughing ahead, Nell goes to Paris by herself, assuming that her boyfriend will meet her in Paris, but everything changes when she gets there. 

This story is a piece of classic chick-lit, i.e. a highly predictable, romantic, but somewhat unrealistic, tale. I am a big fan of Jojo Moyes but I have to say I was actually a little disappointed in this short story. Whilst I appreciate that it is difficult to fit a decent story into such a small number of pages, I couldn't help but feel that some pages were a little floosy and meaningless. There are others, however, which are examples of really good story-telling - much more Jojo Moyes style - and I really enjoyed these. I read this book over several days, only reading a few pages at a time, and I found my interest waning during some passages but peaking during others. This story was quite hit and miss with me with some parts just being a little too silly for my liking.

That said, the character development is quite good and somehow you really get to know Nell and exactly what sort of girl she is from 95 short pages. You get a feel for who her friends her and what sort of life she's lived, which is amazing given how short this story is. As a reader, you start to root for Nell to go forth and be adventurous for once in her life (though it is glaringly obvious what the outcome of this story will be). 

All in all, this a nice, short read, great for taking on holiday with you or reading on the train. It's not too deep but you still get to know the characters quite well and can see Nell's character development throughout which is heartwarming. There was some bits that were too 'chick-lit' for me, if that makes sense, but on the whole it was a decent story. It's got nothing on any full novels that Moyes has written though, so if this is your first taste of Jojo Moyes I highly recommend that you pick up some of her other titles!  

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

I'd seen Me Before You on a couple of blogs so when I saw it at the charity shop I thought I'd give it a try. To be honest, the synopsis didn't really appeal to me at first but in the end I loved this book. Me Before You is about Will Traynor, a rich, active businessman, whose life is turned upside down when he is involved in a motorcycle accident and paralysed from the chest downwards.  His mother is desperate to find a full-time day carer for him and finds Louisa Clark, a recently unemployed young woman who doesn't have any qualifications. At first, Will and Lou don't get along at all, but they learn a lot from each other as time goes on. This is a heartbreaking story about two people whose lives are irrevocably changed from the moment they meet. 

Me Before You is written from the first person perspective of Lou, the female protagonist. Lou is a really likable character and I thoroughly enjoyed reading her narrative because she's really funny and fearless but also sensitive and unique. She is the sort of girl who wears yellow and black striped tights even though she's twenty seven and you can't help but love her. I really connected with her character and felt both her happiness and her pain as I read this book. There are a couple of chapters which give us an insight into the minds of some other characters including Will, Nathan (Will's medical carer), Camilla (Will's mother) and Katrina (Lou's sister). The book starts off with a small chapter from Will's perspective on the day of his accident which is great because it means you can really understand what Will was like before his accident and see the tremendous difference afterwards. 

The story line of this novel is really moving. I've never really thought about what it would be like to be completely paralysed or how it would make me feel but having read this book I feel that I have a greater understanding of what life must be like for those with disabilities. Obviously I'm still nowhere even close to really understanding the life of a quadraplegic but I can certainly appreciate that it's a lot more difficult that one might at first imagine. This isn't the sort of book I usually read, in fact, I usually avoid 'illness'-related books but I seriously regret keeping this book on my shelf, unread, for the past year. 

This is a completely different sort of romance to any that I've read before because it doesn't really involve any physical touching and, in fact, it's not even really mentioned until the last few passages of the book. Even though it is not explicit, you can feel it developing between the characters, a real connection, a not the whimsical ones you often find in romance books. This is, without a doubt, the most beautiful and heartbreaking love story I have ever read in my entire life. This is the sort of love that creeps up on you when you least expect it. There was one moment whilst reading this that I actually started sobbing, like full on sobbing, and I had to put the book down for five minutes whilst I got all my emotions out. This was not the only time I cried whilst reading this novel, oh no, I was pretty much crying not stop for the entirety of the second half and this book touched my heart in a way that no other book has. In some ways, you could call this an adult version of The Fault in Our Stars, as there are similar-ish issues explored, but I was much more moved by Me Before You - if that's even possible! 

Lou and Will learn a lot from each other as the book progresses, so in turn, I too learnt a lot. I think reading this book may have even made me a better person because I certainly have a completely changed perspective on quadraplegics, on life and on love. I cannot recommend this book enough. It is absolutely phenomenal and a must-read for everyone! For teenage readers, if you liked TFIOS, then Me Before You is probably also up your street. For adult readers, anyone with a heart will love this book.