Review Detail

Serena can't wait to go on a Romantic Tour of Paris with her older sister to recreate her parent's honeymoon. She wants to do this to remember her father, who had died two years previously. But her plans are messed up when her sister 'forgets' and is instead going to Madrid with her latest boyfriend. Serena is upset, but then her sister's boyfriend is able to set her up with his French friend Jean-Luc. Serena has a list of places she must see before she meets up with her mother in London. Jean-Luc is behind on his photography assignment and sees Serena's plan as a way to finish it. Little do they know what chemistry they ignite while seeing the sights of the 'real' Paris.

What worked: Well, in one word: Paris. Rider is able to show us Paris through not only Serena's eyes, but through Jean-Luc's camera. Serena is very organized and loves her lists. She really wants to go to all the places her parents visited some 25 years previously, but nothing goes as planned. Jean-Luc 'tries' to show her the 'real' Paris by his take on the so-called tourist places. Little by little both of their guards come down. Secrets, loss, and betrayals are shared behind the backdrop of the City of Lights.

Serena's obsession to make a memorial scrapbook for her mother is sweet, but her determination to hit every Parisian tourist spot had her miss at times the real magic of the city. I liked how Jean-Luc shows readers some hidden parts of the city that he captures behind the lens of his camera. Also I like how both characters are able to share some of their pasts with each other. Each have something similar happen to them. Serena's pain of losing her father continues to hang over her while Jean-Luc's grandfather's slow decline in heath affects him too.

I love the stops on Serena's Romantic tour, only I wanted to see more! I felt they went by a tad bit too fast so they blended together. I did love the encounter Serena has with a boy from her school that is similar to her, only he wants her to agree to a life long plan together right on the spot!

There's some funny parts like when Serena and Jean-Luc get on the wrong boat and end up crashing an office Christmas party. Each mishap though seems to pull the two closer together.

Romantic Parisian setting where a teen finds that it's okay to make your own romantic tour and to take a risk on love.